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TYLER – The Smith County Commissioners Court on Tuesday, May 14, received an update on the Parking Garage and Courthouse construction projects. The five-story, 543-vehicle parking garage is on schedule to open in the fall of 2024, with a cost of $15.4 million.

Brandy Ziegler, partner with Fitzpatrick Architects, told the court, “We are extremely pleased with the progress. We are on time and under budget for this project.”

In her presentation, Mrs. Ziegler showed an updated time-lapse video, that shows the work that has been done on the parking garage since it began in November. The time lapse video can be found here. Continue reading Smith County parking garage and courthouse construction update

HOPKINS COUNTY — Our news partners at KETK report that a retired U.S. Air Force brigadier general has been arrested for continuous sexual assault of a minor under the age of 14. According to a probable cause affidavit, deputies conducted a traffic stop on Saturday and identified the driver as Mike McClendon, 69, who was “named to be a person of interest in a sexual assault investigation.” Officials said McClendon was then asked to drive to the Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office to speak with investigators, later arrested and taken to the Hopkins County Jail. Records show that the offense date was January 1, 2014. Continue reading Former Air Force general arrested for sexual assault of minor

TYLER — Chapel Hill Independent School District proudly announces Regnal McGowan as the new Principal of Chapel Hill High School, effective July 1, 2024. With five years of dedicated service to the district and 18 years in education, Mr. McGowan was formerly the Assistant Principal and Freshman Academy Principal at the High School. He is a graduate of Rusk High School and after completing his undergraduate degree at Sam Houston State University, he later pursued a degree in educational leadership from Lamar University. Mr. McGowan has served at Lufkin ISD and Tyler ISD prior to coming to Chapel Hill ISD where he was the Assistant Principal at the Junior High before transitioning over to the High School.

GLADEWATER, Texas – Gladewater Police need the public’s help searching for two men involved in a recent store robbery. Our news partner KETK reports that the robbery occurred at the EZ Mart on 400 W. Upshur Ave. early Monday morning. Police announced that an undisclosed amount of money and merchandise were stolen from the store. People are encouraged to contact the police department or Gregg County Crime Stoppers if they have any information.

TYLER — Several Red Lobster seafood restaurants have reportedly closed across East Texas. According to our news partner KETK, the endless Cheddar Bay Biscuits will no longer grace the following cities in East Texas: Tyler, Longview and Lufkin. All three restaurants have their hours listed as “closed” all week and they could not be contacted over the phone. Many Red Lobster locations have reportedly closed across the country, according to various local outlets. On May 3, CNN reported that the restaurant chain was considering filing a Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Continue reading East Texas Red Lobster locations close

LONGVIEW – According to our news partner KETK, a Longview man that was accused of killing one of his housemates during a dispute over loud noises and stabbing another pleaded guilty to murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on Monday. According to court records, Michael Ralston, 51 of Longview, pleaded guilty to murder on Monday and was sentenced to 30 years of confinement.

Records also show that Ralston pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on Monday and was sentenced to 20 years of confinement concurrently.

In March of 2022, Ralston and his housemate Eric Wynns, 44, were having a dispute over loud noises. The two were reported as “intentionally being loud to annoy each other.” Another housemate told police that both Ralston and Wynns were hearing impaired and that they called Ralston the “Deaf Dragon.” Continue reading Longview man pleads guilty to murder of housemates

UNION GROVE – A Gladewater man was sentenced to 40 years in prison for delivery of methamphetamines on Monday. According to our news partner KETK, 49-year-old Jabar Okeith Miller of Gladewater, pled guilty to delivering meth to a confidential informant in Union Grove in August of last year.

A release from the Gregg County DA’s office said that the state filled for an enhancement in the case due to a prior felony that Miller had served time for in Gregg County. Miller had waived his right to appeal, and he pleaded to a meth possession charge from Sept. 6, 2023 where he was allegedly caught with meth in his pocket at a traffic stop. Officials add that Miller will serve 20 years for his possession charge concurrently with the 40 year sentence for delivery.

KILGORE – The Kilgore College Rangerettes announced on Monday that they will be performing at the London New Year’s Day Parade, according to our news partner KETK. The Rangerettes said that this performance will be part of celebrating their 85th anniversary. The London New Year’s Day Parade will start at noon GMT, which will be at 6 a.m. CST on Jan. 1. To get more information on how to watch the parade, check the LNYDP website.

ATHENS – The City of Athens announced that some residents will experience an interruption of their water service on Tuesday while utility work is completed. City official say North Pinkerton Street to Stirman Street will be closed starting at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday. While the water outage will take place on the 200 and 300 blocks of Jonathan Street beginning at 11 a.m.

NACOGDOCHES — The Nacogdoches Police Department served search warrants on two massage parlors on Thursday, resulting in three arrests. According to Nacogdoches PD and our news partner KETK, at approximately 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nacogdoches PD officers and the Texas Department of Public Safety served search warrants on two massage parlors located in the 1300 and 3200 blocks of North University Drive.

Officials said that during the service of the warrants, three suspects who worked at the parlors were arrested. Nacogdoches PD reported that Mona Ma, 56 of Katy, and Xuefang Wu, 52 of Nacogdoches, were both arrested for indecent assault and Shuwen Xu, 54 of Nacogdoches, was arrested for indecent assault and prostitution. Continue reading Several arrests following investigation into massage parlors

VAN ZANDT COUNTY — TxDOT is warning drivers of puncturing spikes found on I-20 again. According to our news partner KETK, rebar caltrops have been found on I-20 since last year, with the most recent discovery on May 6 in Van Zandt County. They are usually four-pronged, heavy gauge steel puncturing spikes that can be thrown or linked together to cause immediate and irreparable failure of tires. Twelve caltrops were found on I-20 westbound near mile marker 533 and eastbound at mile markers 518, 520, 528 and 529.

Anyone with information on the incidents is asked to call Lt. Bob Keltner with the Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Department at 469-576-1274 or call Andrew Fagile with the Texas Department of Public Safety at 90-567-2011 ext. 10914.

ANGELINA COUNTY – UPDATE: Officials said the woman has been identified. The Angelina County Sheriff’s Office is asking for help identifying a young woman found walking down the side of a highway on Sunday. She was found on State Highway 94 eastbound heading towards Lufkin in the area of Della Russell Road. The sheriff’s office said that she seems to be unable to communicate with them. Anyone who knows her identity is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 936-639-3331.

MARSHALL – The Harrison County Sheriff’s Office said that a man was arrested for possession of crack, cocaine and marijuana, after a pursuit in Marshall on Saturday. According to our news partner KETK, deputies reportedly saw a speeding vehicle and made a pull over attempt. The car didn’t stop and kept going across several city streets. The vehicle hit a dead end and the officers continued their chase on foot. At this point, deputies arrested 37-year-old Justin Jones of Marshall. Jones reportedly had 2.5 ounces of cocaine, 9 grams of crack, 35 grams of THC and 2.5 pounds of marijuana in his possession. Jones is charged with evading arrest/detention with a vehicle, three counts of manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance between 4 and 200 grams, possession of marijuana between 4 ounces and 5 pounds. He is currently in the Harrison County Jail.

TYLER – On Friday, local and state emergency services had the opportunity to sharpen their skills in a realistic trauma simulation at Green Acres Baptist Church. According to our news partner KETK, the full-scale drill in Tyler brought together more 150 personnel from agencies from around East Texas for disaster exercises. Some of those participating in the drill were Christus Health, Tyler Police and Smith County Fire. The agencies used over 200 volunteer actors and students to act as the victims.

Charles Clanton, Smith Co. ESD 2 Division Chief Of Training In Emergency Medical Services described the drill concept, “A device was trigged of some variety. It was not real clear what the device released in the area of the band concert and so there were a number of injured people. They’ll go through the full process today of how one of these situations would be managed both from a response component and a recovery component. The ability to respond to something, get a command structure in place properly manage it, make sure what we’re dealing with, and then respond appropriately.
Continue reading East Texas ER services in drills Friday in Tyler

TROUP – The Smith County Emergency Services District 2 has reported that an oil tank exploded at a site on County Road 4703 near Troup on Saturday afternoon. According to our news partner KETK, Smith County ESD2 responded along with with New Summerfield and North Cherokee County Volunteer Fire Departments. No injuries were reported from the explosion.

LONGVIEW – The Longview Police Department said that one person was shot and four others were injured in a shooting at the Belaire Manor Apartments late Friday night. According to our news partner KETK, officers responded to call at the apartments in which, “unknown actors” targeted one person specifically and shot them but four others were also injured during the aggravated assault. The five were taken to local hospitals and treat for injuries that were not life threatening. Longview PD will continue to investigate the case. And they asked anyone with information to call them at 903-237-1110 or Gregg County Crime Stoppers, who pays a reward for the first most accurate tip, at 903-236-7876.

TYLER – The Texas Department of Transportation announced on Saturday that the Loop 323 extension near US 271 in Tyler is closed until further notice. According to our news partner KETK, the closure is needed so contractors can safely make repairs in the area for however long they need to. TxDOT said the closure is open-ended and that they will notify the public when the road is reopened.

TYLER – A woman has been sentenced to two years in jail and five years of probation and community supervision in connection to a 2023 Tyler rent scam. According to our news partner KETK, police reports say Sedona Cheayann Francis stole $5,096 for rent payments from seven tenants at a Tyler apartment complex in summer of 2023. She was employed at NuRock property at the time of the theft. The report also states that Francis texted a tenant with a back-to-school half-off rent deal that the tenant then paid to Francis on CashApp. Six other cases with this similar method were reported involving tenants at the apartment complex on Frankston Highway near Earl Campbell Parkway. The tenants that fell for this scam faced eviction because they were not being able to pay rent. Francis was found guilty of theft of property between $2,500 and $30,000 and started her sentence on March 19, 2024.

TYLER – Thursday, Gov. Greg Abbott appointed a University of Texas at Tyler student to serve on the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board as a student representative. According to our news partner KETK, appointed by the governor is Luke Schwartz, a Tyler Junior College and Texas A&M University graduate. Luke is pursuing a doctor of medicine degree and an executive master of business administration in healthcare management degree from UT Tyler. He will serve on the board starting June 1.

QUITMAN– A Winnsboro man was sentenced to life in prison after a Wood County jury convicted him of sexual abuse of a young child over a long period of time. According to our news partner KETK, Justin Blaine Sicard was convicted and sentenced on Thursday and will serve a life sentence consecutively after a 15-year sentence he received in 2018 from Hopkins County authorities.
Continue reading Winnsboro man to serve life sentence for child abuse

TYLER — Chapel Hill Independent School District announced the that one of its students is being recognized at a national level. CCHS art student Everett Murrieta will have his art showcased at the Congressional Art Exhibition Reception breakfast in Washington, D.C. June 27. Congressman Nathaniel Moran will present Everett and his artwork to an audience that morning. Following the reception, Everett and his mother, Samantha Hembroughwill enjoy a private tour of the nation’s capital.
Continue reading Chapel Hill ISD student recognized in national art contest

VAN ZANDT COUNTY – TxDOT is warning drivers of puncturing spikes found on I-20 again. This time in Van Zandt County. According to our news partner KETK, 12 caltrops were found May 6 on I-20 westbound near mile marker 533 and eastbound at mile markers 518, 520, 528 and 529. Caltrops usually are four-pronged, heavy gauge steel puncturing spikes that can be thrown or linked together to cause immediate and irreparable failure of tires.

If you have with information on the incidents, your asked to call Lt. Bob Keltner with the Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Department at 469-576-1274 or call Andrew Fagile with the Texas Department of Public Safety at 90-567-2011 ext. 10914.

TYLER – Smith County Clerk Karen Phillips has been found guilty of misdemeanor interfering with public duties after a March 2023 traffic stop that led to the arrest of her son, his friend and herself. According to our news partner KETK, her trial began on Wednesday, and her sentencing has been scheduled for June 14. Her son Derek was sentenced for the same offense and was sentenced to 30 days in the Smith County Jail. Body cam footage of the incident from KETK shows their confrontation with police which led to their November indictment.

CHANDLER — Gov. Greg Abbott announced that the City of Chandler has been designated by the Texas Music Office (TMO) as a Music Friendly Texas Certified Community. According to our news partner KETK, the Music Friendly Texas program was created in 2016 to foster music business-related economic development and job creation in cities and communities. The city will host a ceremony alongside TMO, Chandler Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and the Chandler of Commerce on Thursday during the Chandler Chamber/EDC luncheon.

“Being a Music Friendly Texas Certified Community will make Chandler an even more desirable location to be a part of. As a community that supports many local events, this partnership will help play a role in the continued growth in our musicians within our schools, community, and neighboring areas. Exciting times are here in the ‘City with a Heart,’” Chandler Chamber of Commerce President Mike Yates said. Continue reading Chandler named Music Friendly Community

LONGVIEW — The City of Longview held a celebration for longtime mayor, Andy Mack who’s been in leadership for nine years, on Thursday. According to our news partner KETK, Mack’s remaining weeks in office are wrapping up with a reflective tone as countless people in the community showed up to share their gratitude. The Longview mayor played an instrumental role in projects to promote economic growth with lasting benefits for the community. The 2018 bond included $52 million for police and fire facilities, $27 million for infrastructure projects and $24 million for park projects.

“It’s been an honor,” Mack said.

First responders and department leaders expressed their gratitude toward Mack and their ability to work together to keep citizens safe. Continue reading Longview celebrates longtime mayor

TYLER – UT Tyler announced that 15 mass communication students have won 34 awards at the 2024 Texas Intercollegiate Press Association Convention. TIPA is Texas’s largest college level mass communication organization and they regularly recognize students for their achievements in written journalism, photojournalism, broadcast journalism, videography, public relations and publication design.
Continue reading UT Tyler mass communication students earn over 30 TIPA awards