TYLER (KYTX) -- From rundown rentals to sex offenders on campus -- in the past seven months, KYTX CBS 19's Michele Reese and the Tyler Morning Telegraph's Kenneth Dean have looked into five important issues facing East Texas. The Investigators take a look at what, if anything, has changed since those reports first aired.
Rundown Rentals
"I used to have to sleep with my stove on," Ethel Foley said. In April, we introduced you to Foley. She was using her stove to heat her Tyler apartment because her landlord wouldn't fix her heat, among other things.
"I'm enjoying my new place," she said. "It's nice."
Now in her new home, Foley only uses her stove for cooking.
"They come in and check the heating system. I had a person come and check my stove and my filters. They changed them and that smoke alarm."
Since we last visited with Foley, she was sued by her former landlord for nonpayment of rent. Foley had refused to pay rent when her landlord refused to fix what was broken.
"I had to pay $200 out of my pocket," she said. Foley is on the city of Tyler's voucher program, but the city stopped paying a portion of her rent, too, when the landlord didn't make the repairs.
Now, Foley has moved to a new place. "Everything has fallen into place for me," she said. "It's a big change. A whole lot better than I used to have."
The City of Tyler currently has 500 people on a waiting list for the voucher program.
Sex Offenders on Campus
You might remember Jaime Newburn. He's a registered sex offender taking classes at the University of Texas at Tyler. We spoke with Newburn last May. He is still a student at UTT, but what has changed is a link on the school's website. The link is supposed to advise students which, if any, of their classmates are sex offenders. When we aired our story, the link was broken. Now, UTT's spokesperson, Beverly Golden, says as soon as we told them about it, the link was fixed.
"The problem was simply that DPS had changed the URL," Golden said.
As Kilgore College and Tyler Junior College do, UTT looked into doing background checks on students living on campus, but the idea was scrapped.
"We do not have sufficient resources to conduct a comprehensive background check. As a result, we could only get information for criminal incidents occurring in Texas, not the nation. Also, if the crime were committed prior to the age of 18, that information may not be included as juvenile records are often sealed," Golden said.
Tyler ISD Police Department
In June, we told you the Tyler Independent School District spends $1.1 million on its school police department. Since our report aired, Tyler ISD has cut $35,000 from the police budget.
Since July 1, the department has responded to 216 incidents at John Tyler High School and 212 incidents on the Robert E. Lee campus. Those calls range from reports of bad language to aggravated assault.
Bootlegging Tyler
Bootlegging was the focus of our fourth investigation in late July. Remember William "June Bug" Coleman? He was arrested for bootlegging in June. Just this week, Williams was indicted on those charges.
Since June, Tyler police have made no arrests for bootlegging, but investigations continue.
Aging Inmates
In October, we investigated the rising cost of prison health care and a push by State Senator John Whitmire to release ailing, elderly prisoners rather than pay their medical costs.
The story has also launched an effort behind bars. The Investigators received a letter from prisoners explaining a proposal they want lawmakers to consider. It would release prisoners 50 and older who have been in prison at least 20 years.
Victims told The Investigators team that they were bothered by seeing prisoners ask for their release. Courtney Tanner, whose father was killed by Fred Durrough, one of our interviewees, told us that she was upset to see her father's killer talk about being released and earning his freedom.
"He took my father's life, and he deserves to be locked up for the rest of his life," she said. The case of Tanner's father's murder led to the practice of victim impact statements, which are read after a guilty verdict in a trial.
As we continue to work on new investigations for you, we feel it's important to bring you up to date on any changes spurred by past stories. And, as always, we'd love to hear your ideas. You can email Michele Reese at mreese@cbs19.tv or Kenneth Dean at kdean@tylerpaper.com.
