Two men have been sentenced to Federal Prison on bank robbery charges in unrelated incidents. Tony Anthony Johnson, of Winters, was sentenced on Friday to 125 months in federal prison on one count of bank robbery. He pleaded guilty to robbing the Compass Bank in Winters on August 11, 2009. Terry Don Foley, of Littlefield, was sentenced, also on Friday, to 57 months in federal prison on one count of bank robbery. Foley pleaded guilty in November of 2009.

A man has died after crashing his car into a concrete barrier this afternoon. At circa 3:30 this afternoon, a white Bonneville crashed in to the concrete barrier near Municipal drive and North Ash just outside of the Lubbock Animal Shelter.

District 1 City Councilwoman Linda DeLeon announced today that she won’t be running for re-election in May. DeLeon said “I believe the time has come to step aside. No office-holder is irreplaceable and no one is indispensable. Those who think differently are just wrong.” DeLeon has spent a combined 24 years in public service, first, with the LISD School Board and most recently the Lubbock City Council.

Gov. Rick Perry congratulated the Boy Scouts of America today on 100 years of scouting. The Governor spoke to more than 200 Scouts and family members at the Texas State Capitol about how “Scouting changed my life and continues to change the lives of young men by building confidence and creating leaders.” Gov. Perry is an Eagle Scout.

A former Lubbock insurance agent has been charged with embezzlement.  48 year-old Denton Rose, who was a Farmers Insurance agent, is accused of depositing customer checks into personal accounts from July 2005 to June 2009.  Rose has already been booked into the Lubbock County Jail and bail set at $5,000.

The top two candidates for the Democrat nomination for Texas Governor face off tonight in a debate.  The debate between Bill White and Farouk Shami will take place at a Fort Worth television studio and be televised to stations across the state.

Lubbock City Councilwoman Linda DeLeon apparently is stepping off the local political stage. She made a surprise announcement this morning that she will not be seeking re-election from District One. Deleon was making a formal announcement at the City Council chambers this morning. In advance of that  she gave no reason for her decision not to run, saying only that she is ready for new leadership to step forward from District One. DeLeon has spent a combined 24 years in public service, first  with the LISD School Board and most recently the Lubbock City Council. She said, quote: “In the few months I have left to serve, I will work for District One, and the entire community, every day until the last day of my term.”

Some early airline flights were cancelled this morning at Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport due to a continuing problem with the instrument landing system used to pilots to land when visibility is limited. Yesterday’s heavy fog compounded the ILS problem, prompting cancellation of all incoming and outgoing flights at the airport. Travellers expecting to depart the airport or people planning to pick up arrivals should check the status of their flights. For updated schedule information, go online to KFYO.com and click on “Lubbock Flight Info.” 

A three-car crash in Lubbock has left  a two-year-old boy critically injured. The accident happened at the Marsha Sharp Freeway frontage road and Slide Road yesterday afternoon around 3 o’clock. The child, Giovianni Nelson, was one of four people taken to the hospital after the crash. Police Sgt. John Hayes reported that the boy was a passenger in a car driven by his mother, 30-year-old Monica Moreno, which ran a red light and struck another vehicle. Moreno’s vehicle then spun and hit a third car.

A woman had to be rescued from her car after it somehow drove into Buffalo Springs Lake. Emergency crews smashed car windows to help the woman get out of the vehicle in water about three feet deep. It happened Saturday around 7:45 p.m. The woman was not injured but was checked at a hospital later.　

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is adding some national Republican star power to Governor Rick Perry's re-election campaign. She appeared with Perry yesterday at a rally in suburban Houston. She told a crowd the connections between Texas and Alaska include ``wide open spaces'' and many residents who, quote, ``proudly cling to our guns and religion.'' 

The two top-financed Democrats in the race for Texas governor will meet this evening in a televised debate. Hair care mogul Farouk Shami and Bill White, former three-term Houston mayor, will have an hour-long debate before a small TV studio audience in Fort Worth.

In college basketball, Texas Tech’s Lady Raiders lost their sixth straight game yesterday at Austin, falling to the University of Texas. 81 to 51. It’s the longest losing streak for the Lady Raiders since the 1978-79 season when they lost seven in a row. Tech now has a Big 12 Conference record of 1 and 7.

Saturday, on the eve of the U-T game, Lady Raiders Coach Kristy Curry indefinitely suspended sophomore center Kierra Mallard. Curry would not discuss the reason for the suspension, saying only, quote:  “Sometimes you have to make decisions that are best for your team, and I believe this is the right thing for our program at this time.”

Tech Coach Pat Knight’s Tech Red Raiders have improved to a 3 and 4 record in the Big 12. They beat Oklahoma State 81 to 74 win Saturday at United Spirit Arena.  A month ago at Stillwater the Red Raiders were blown out by Oklahoma State 81 to 52.

A former football player from Frenship High School was suited up for last night’s Super Bowl 44. Former FrenshipTiger David Thomas is a tight end for the New Orleans Saints, who won the Superbowl Championship over Indianapolis , 31-17. Thomas also participated in the Super Bowl two years ago when he played for the New England Patriots, although he was injured at the time.

In college baseball, Lubbock Christian University’s top-ranked Chaparrals split a doubleheader with Texas Wesleyan at Fort Worth over the weekend. LCU won the opener 2 to 1 before falling 1 to nothing in the second contest in 10 innings. The Chaparrals return to action tomorrow with a doubleheader at Angelo State University. 

                                                 ### 

Lubbock City Councilmember Linda DeLeon will not be seeking reelection.  After 24 years of public service with the Lubbock Independent School Board and the Lubbock City Council, Councilwoman DeLeon says she is ready to step aside for new leadership to step forward from District One.

DeLeon states, “In the few months I have left to serve, I will work for District One, and the entire community, every day until the last day of my term.”

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LUBBOCK TX
508 PM CST SUN FEB 7 2010

PARMER-CASTRO-SWISHER-BRISCOE-HALL-CHILDRESS-BAILEY-LAMB-HALE-
FLOYD-MOTLEY-COTTLE-COCHRAN-HOCKLEY-LUBBOCK-CROSBY-DICKENS-KING-
YOAKUM-TERRY-LYNN-GARZA-KENT-STONEWALL-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...FRIONA...BOVINA...DIMMITT...HART...
TULIA...SILVERTON...QUITAQUE...MEMPHIS...TURKEY...CHILDRESS...
MULESHOE...LITTLEFIELD...OLTON...PLAINVIEW...FLOYDADA...LOCKNEY...
MATADOR...ROARING SPRINGS...PADUCAH...MORTON...LEVELLAND...
LUBBOCK...SLATON...WOLFFORTH...CROSBYTON...RALLS...DICKENS...
SPUR...GUTHRIE...PLAINS...DENVER CITY...BROWNFIELD...TAHOKA...
O`DONNELL...POST...JAYTON...ASPERMONT
508 PM CST SUN FEB 7 2010

...DENSE FOG ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM CST MONDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LUBBOCK HAS ISSUED A DENSE FOG
ADVISORY...WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM CST MONDAY.

* TIMING: WIDESPREAD FOG HAS DEVELOPED ACROSS MOST OF THE AREA.
  IT IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN DENSE AT MANY LOCATIONS THROUGH MONDAY
  MORNING.

* VISIBILITY: VISIBILITIES WILL DROP TO BELOW ONE QUARTER MILE
  ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA.

* IMPACTS: THE DENSE FOG WILL RESULT IN HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS
  DUE TO LOW VISIBILITIES.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A DENSE FOG ADVISORY MEANS VISIBILITIES WILL FREQUENTLY BE
REDUCED TO LESS THAN ONE QUARTER MILE. IF DRIVING...SLOW DOWN...
USE YOUR LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS...AND LEAVE PLENTY OF DISTANCE AHEAD
OF YOU.

The driver of a truck is dead in the aftermath of a one-vehicle accident on I-27 near New Deal early this morning. The driver was not killed in the crash but was fatally injured when he left the truck, stepped over a guard rail, and fell off the overpass at Farm-to-Market Road 1294. Thirty-eight year-old Thomas M. Randall of Oklahoma was pronounced dead at the scene below. The driver was reportedly going the wrong way on the Interstate when he hit a concrete barrier about 3:30 a.m. The Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office is still investigating the accident. Authorities believe alcohol was likely a factor.

A woman crashed her van into a house in central Lubbock this afternoon. The woman said she lost control of her vehicle, and ended up smashing into a house at 44th Street and Memphis Avenue. The driver was not seriously injured, and the residents were not home at the time.

United Blood Services Critical Appeal continues for O Negative blood donations.  Some hospital orders are not being filled right now.  To donate blood, stop by United Blood Services’ offices at 48th and University or give them a call at 797-6804.

A national magazine has given Lubbock a dubious honor. Men’s Health magazine has ranked Lubbock as one of the top ten drunkest cities in the nation. Lubbock placed eighth in the ranking, which chose cities according to death rates from alcoholic liver disease, binge drinking frequency, DUI arrests, and alcohol-related car crashes.

Mediation in the lawsuit between former Texas Tech Head Football Coach Mike Leach and Texas Tech will continue, despite today being the original deadline set last month. The sides have yet to reach an agreeable outcome, and will continue later on.

An Amarillo used car dealer has pleaded guilty in a bank fraud case. Ronald Evan George Jr. pleaded guilty yesterday to defrauding FirstBank Southwest, who funded vehicles purchased and sold in his business. Vehicle titles were entrusted and released to George in order for him to sell the vehicles, and after the sale, he was required to send sales proceeds to the bank. George’s business, Amarillo Auto Gallery had sold twenty-seven vehicles between summer 2007 and October 2007, and not applied any funds to the line of credit at the bank. FirstBank Southwest’s total loss is over 164 thousand dollars. George faces a maximum sentence of thirty years in prison and a one million dollar fine.

The co-owner of a barbecue restaurant chain has been found dead in a car that had gone into a creek. Randy “Rib King” Goss, co-owner of the County Line restaurant chain was found dead in his car in Cibolo creek after heavy rains caused flooding in the area. Services are pending for the fifty-five year-old businessman. County Line has locations in multiple cities including El Paso, Austin, Houston, and formerly Lubbock.