TYLER – All non-emergency Smith County offices will be closed for business on Monday, September 2, for Labor Day. Offices will reopen for normal business hours on Tuesday, September 3. Smith County Commissioners Court will be held at its normal time, at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. Smith County hopes you all have a relaxing and safe Labor Day!
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Bullard ISD approves 2024-2025 budget, sets tax rates
BULLARD – The Bullard ISD announced their budget for 2024-25 and set tax rates at a special meeting held on Monday, Aug. 26. According to a release from the district, the district Board of Trustees approved a $31,500,000 budget before adopting a total tax rate of $1.2469 per $100 valuation. The adopted tax rate includes a maintenance and operation (M&O) rate of $0.7469 and an interest and sinking (I&S) rate of $0.50. The district noted the 2023-24 rates and budget, where the M&O rate decreased by $0.0023 due to rising property values and tax rate compression. The I&S rate remains at $.50 due to the $103 million bond package voters approved in May 2022.
Senator Ted Cruz speaks at TABA event
TYLER â United States senator Ted Cruz was in Tyler on Tuesday as the featured speaker at a luncheon for the Tyler Area Builders Association. According to our news partner KETK, Cruz spoke to about 200 members for the TABA and their guests at Willow Brook Country Club in Tyler.Â
âWe are very pleased and honored today to have senator Ted Cruz come and speak today.â Sam Mezayek, former president of the Tyler Building Association, said
This is the third time in as many weeks that Senator Cruz has been in East Texas speaking about his race for the United States Senate. He said that without East Texansâ support in the 2018 election, he likely wouldnât be in office today. He continued to thank Texas republicans for the majority support throughout the years.
Continue reading Senator Ted Cruz speaks at TABA event
Ex-jailer in Mississippi is charged in escape of inmate who had standoff with Chicago police
HERNANDO, Miss. (AP) â A former employee of a Mississippi jail has been arrested and charged in the June escape of Joshua Zimmerman, an inmate who fled to Chicago and was captured there last week after a 15-hour standoff with police at a restaurant just blocks from the Democratic National Convention.
Ronnie Hunt was charged with conveying articles useful for the escape of a prisoner, Mississippi Department of Public Safety spokesperson Bailey Martin said Tuesday. Martin said âadditional charges are probable.â She did not respond to a question about whether Hunt is represented by an attorney.
The DeSoto County Sheriffâs Department said Hunt, 32, has been fired from his job as a deputy jailer, WREG-TV reported. He was being held about an hour’s drive away in the jail in Lafayette County, Mississippi.
The U.S. Marshals Service said Zimmerman escaped June 14 from the DeSoto County Courthouse in Hernando, Mississippi, where he was being held on attempted murder and armed robbery charges. He was also awaiting extradition to Houston, where heâs charged with murder, the Marshals Service said.
Investigators said last week that they believe Zimmerman was working at the seafood restaurant where he was captured. The restaurant is about a half-mile from the United Center, where the political convention was being held. The Marshals Service said there was âno connection or threat to the event or those attending.â
Zimmerman was wearing street clothes, not a jail jumpsuit, when he escaped in Mississippi. A screenshot from a courthouse security video showed him wearing khaki pants and a white shirt and no handcuffs.
According to court records in Harris County, Texas, Zimmerman is accused of fatally shooting a woman, Keyanna Mercer, at a Houston motel on Sept. 2, 2023. The two were asked to leave the motel after multiple complaints of fighting, and when staff members checked the room to see if they had left, they found Mercerâs body with a gunshot wound to the head, police said.
Court records also show Zimmerman was arrested in Connecticut in 2022 on a felony sexual assault charge. He pleaded not guilty and was freed on a $200,000 bond, but a warrant was later issued for his re-arrest.
The DeSoto County sheriff, Thomas E. Tuggle II, told WREG-TV after Zimmerman’s escape: âThe notion that he had help, thatâs false. The notion that he had an extra set of clothes, thatâs false. This is a career criminal. He knew what he was doing.â
Immigrant families in limbo after judge puts U.S. program for spouses on hold
McALLEN, Texas (AP) â After President Joe Biden this summer announced a new U.S. citizenship pathway for immigrant spouses, Oscar Silva rushed to apply and was elated Monday when an email arrived confirming his appointment for a required biometric exam.
But hours later, Silva received a jolt: a federal judge in Texas was temporarily suspending the program that could benefit an estimated 500,000 immigrants in the U.S., freezing in place one of the biggest presidential actions to ease a path to citizenship in years.
âI donât know what is going to happen,â Silva said Tuesday. The 23-year-old college student arrived in the U.S. as a baby and lives in Texas with his wife, Natalie, an American citizen who provides for their family as a high school teacher.
Although the Biden administration’s âKeeping Families Togetherâ program only began accepting applications last week, families and immigration attorneys say confusion, uncertainty and frustration is already mounting following the order by U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker. Couples who already applied say they are in limbo and those who haven’t yet must weigh whether to wait for Republicans’ court challenge over the program to play out.
Applicants must pay a $580 processing fee. Following Barker’s order, the Florida Immigrant Coalition said it was asking people âto weigh their options and to make the best decision for their families at this time.â
The court order followed a challenge by 16 states, led by Republican attorneys general, who filed a federal lawsuit days after the program began taking applications on Aug. 19. Barker’s order, known as an administrative stay, will be in place for 14 days but could be extended.
âThat ruling is wrong. These families should not be needlessly separated,â Biden said in a statement.
The states claimed the move would cause irreparable harm and accused the administration of bypassing Congress for âblatant political purposes.â
Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whose office is helping lead the lawsuit, applauded the order. âThis is just the first step. We are going to keep fighting for Texas, our country, and the rule of law,â he said in a statement.
On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security said the government would continue to take applications and defend the program in court. Any applicants whose parole was granted prior to the order will be unaffected, according to the department.
DHS did not respond to questions about how many applications were received or approved or how long it takes to determine the outcome of a case under the program.
Fears of separation returned for Silva and his wife, Natalie. Under the traditional process to apply for a green card, spouses living in the U.S. illegally can be required to return to their home country â often for years â and they always face the risk they may not be allowed back in.
âWe thought this was finally our opportunity to be able to go through this process together and not fear the possibility of spending ten years away from each other,â Silva said. Now âI feel pretty heartbroken, very sad⌠because without it we face so much uncertainty.â
Immigration attorney Laura Flores-Perilla said it was âreally unclearâ what will happen with Silvaâs appointment scheduled for September.
âI cannot underestimate the impact that this temporary pause is having,â said Flores-Perilla, an attorney at the Action Justice Center.
Gregory Chen, the director of government relations for the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said he had heard from lawyers affiliated with the association of at least hundreds of people who had applied since the program was launched, including some who applied and were approved the next day.
Lawyers are rushing to understand what the order means for their clients, too. According to Chen, the organizationâs listserv for lawyers interested in the Keeping Families Together program âblew upâ after the judgeâs decision late Monday with questions about what the decision means.
Advocates are concerned the changes, even temporary ones, created by such litigation âcreates chaos and uncertaintyâ for those looking to apply. Chen said heâs seen the effect litigation has had on other immigration-related programs.
His organization has held three webinars designed to educate lawyers about the program. One of those seminars had about 1,000 lawyers in attendance, an extremely high number for one of the groupâs educational offerings, Chen said.
Roberto GarcĂa, 37, and his wife Maria in Los Angeles had just paid an attorney $3,000 to help them fill out the lengthy application for the program but the application wasn’t submitted yet because of Monday’s order. Now, they’re wondering if they should gamble their chances and pay the processing fee for a program on hold.
âI didnât think this was going to happen. Itâs very hard,â said Roberto Garcia, referring to the order that halted the parole program. âWe are not a priority. It is bad that they play with peopleâs feelings.â
Roberto is the sole provider for the family of five and earns a living through this construction business in California. He also sends money back home to family in Mexico.
If approved, applicants have three years to seek permanent residency. During that period, they can get a work authorization.
But Maria GarcĂa said she is losing hope and considering moving to Mexico, where her husband has his parents and brothers.
âWe will never be able to buy a house here,â she said. âHere if you do things wrong, they reward you. If you do things right, they punish you.”
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Salomon reported from Miami. Associated Press writer Rebecca Santana in Washington contributed to this report.
Update: Natural gas leak in Athens is contained
UPDATE: Athens Public Safety said that as of 6:25 p.m. Tuesday, the gas leak has been contained and access to the previously evacuated businesses has been restored.
ATHENS â Multiple buildings and businesses have been evacuated due to a natural gas leak in Athens. According to our news partner KETK, Athens PD said, the natural gas leak is from a four-inch natural gas main on Ben Belt Drive. This has led to the evacuation of Gibson Pharmacy, a CEFCO convenience store and gas station and the Trinity Valley Community College administration building.
City officials say that Athens police and fire are on scene and are working with Atmos Energy to stop the leak. Drivers are urged to avoid the area until the leak has been fixed.
Former police chief sentenced to 15 years
HENDERSON COUNTY â Former Payne Springs Chief of Police April Meadows was sentenced to 15 years in prison for money laundering and manufacturing/delivering drugs, according to our news partners at KETK. She was sentenced to two years for the money laundering charge and 15 years for the felony drug charge in a Henderson County court on Tuesday. Those sentences are set to run concurrently to one another and Meadows already has almost a yearâs worth of jail credit. Meadows was arrested along with Jonathan Hutchison, a former police officer. Earlier this month, Hutchison was sentenced to 20 years in prison for manufacturing or delivering a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance. Henderson County Sheriff Botie Hillhouse said at the time of their arrests that search warrants served at their homes revealed controlled substances inside.
David Ranckenâs App of the Day 08/27/24 â Timeleft!
Texas ranks third most religious state
FORT WORTH -The Fort Worth Report says that despite declining religious-affiliation numbers across the U.S., a new study reveals how Texas has remained one of the countryâs most faithful states. Texas ranks as the third most religious state in the U.S., according to a recent study by the nonprofit tech company SmileHub. The findings, released in early August, used U.S. Census data and research from religious nonprofits to rank states based on the number of people who adhere to a particular faith, religious studies degrees awarded per capita and faith support charities per capita. A majority of Texans are Catholic or Southern Baptist, with over 9 million combined adherents, according to a 2020 membership report from the Association of Religion Data Archives. The two denominations also share the largest number of worshippers in Tarrant County. Leaders of the Catholic and Baptist faiths said the studyâs statewide findings mirror Tarrant County.
Texas ranked second in the studyâs first category, which looked at the share of adults who consider religion important in their lives, people who attend service at least once a week and places of worship per capita. Southern Baptists are the largest evangelical Protestant group in the United States, according to Pew Research Center. Tarrant County is home to 325 Baptist churches affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and the Baptist General Convention of Texas, according to a spokesperson with the Tarrant Baptist Association. Jason Whitehead, director of evangelization and catechesis for the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth, said he believes the poll reflects Tarrant County because of how large a reach the diocese has. The Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth comprises 92 parishes and 17 schools across several counties in North Texas. Fort Worth is home to St. Patrick Cathedral, which was dedicated in 1892 and is known as the âmother churchâ of the diocese. There is also a devotion to attending mass within the Catholic faith, which can contribute to regular attendance numbers, Whitehead said.
Apparent murder-suicide at Rice U.
HOUSTON – The Houston chronicle reports a Rice University junior was killed on the first day of the fall semester in what police are investigating as a murder-suicide in her dorm room. Andrea Rodriguez Avila was found shot to death in Jones College after a 4:30 p.m. Monday welfare check by the university police department, school officials said. A man who was not believed to be a Rice student was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. A shelter-in-place was issued for about an hour Monday for all students and staff on campus, and all classes were canceled Tuesday, officials announced late Monday
“It is with deep sadness and shock that I write to you on what should have been a day filled with promise and new beginnings. Instead, we find ourselves mourning the loss of one of our own in a tragic event that has shaken our campus to its core,” university President Reginald DesRoches wrote. “This is a heartbreaking, devastating incident, and it is important to recognize that this loss will affect our close-knit community in the days and weeks ahead.” DesRoches urged students to seek support from friends, faculty and staff in the counseling center. “We encourage you to come together as a community, spend time with each other to mourn and use the campus resources available for counseling,” he said. Authorities conducted a welfare check at the request of the victim’s family and visited the dorm after learning she missed a class, Rice University Chief of Police Clemente Rodriguez said.
Gov. Abbott decries voter fraud, activists question the data
HOUSTON – The Houston Chronicle reports that Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday announced that the state has removed over 1 million names from the Texas voter rolls, mainly people who moved out of state or died but including 6,500 who Abbott described as potential noncitizens. âIllegal voting in Texas will never be tolerated,â Abbott said in a statement. âWe will continue to actively safeguard Texansâ sacred right to vote while also aggressively protecting our elections from illegal voting.â Abbott added in a social media post that the removed names are being passed on to the attorney generalâs office for possible criminal charges. The governorâs announcement came five years after a botched attempt in 2019 to purge up to 100,000 suspected noncitizen voters led to the resignation of a Texas Secretary of State and a settlement with voting rights organizations setting parameters for future cleanups.
Ashley Harris, attorney for the ACLU of Texas, said the group has unresolved questions about the accuracy of the stateâs latest data because the organization has not been allowed to review it. Several local election officials in 2021 had warned that the stateâs data continued to wrongly flag people who became citizens through naturalization. âGov. Abbottâs recent announcement about voter registration list maintenance lacks context, and instead points to routine voter list maintenance that does not provide evidence of wrongdoing by any voter,â Harris said. âAny attempts to point to this data as evidence of criminal wrongdoing is part of a pattern of voter intimidation and suppression by the state of Texas and certain elected officials.” Senate Bill 1, the Republican-backed election law overhaul passed in 2021, requires that the secretary of stateâs office conduct regular sweeps of the voter rolls. It also laid out new consequences for local voter registrars who fail to comply with voter roll maintenance requirements, such as mandated training or audits.
TWU replacing 8,000 water meters
TYLER – Tyler Water Utilities (TWU) began replacing 8,000 water meters last week. This project was approved by the City Council in December 2023. The first phase will take one year to complete and will replace meters identified as having issues with accuracy and reliability. For the next three years, 1,650 meters will be replaced annually until all identified problem meters are switched to the new model. Water meters measure the amount of water delivered to a customer’s tap. The most recent meters in our system were installed in 2005. Over the last several years, 27 percent of the existing meters had problems accurately reading water usage, not registering consumption, and not communicating the information to the Water Business Office. Continue reading TWU replacing 8,000 water meters
Patrick Mahomes’ father pleads guilty to DWI charge
TYLER (AP) â The father of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes pleaded guilty Tuesday to a drunken driving charge in Texas, according to court records. Smith County District Court records show that Patrick Mahomes Sr., 54, pleaded guilty in Tyler to the driving while intoxicated charge. The records do not provide details of the plea, but local media report a five-year suspended sentence was agreed upon. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Sept. 23. Continue reading Patrick Mahomes’ father pleads guilty to DWI charge
Multi-county pursuit of stolen vehicle ends in Kilgore
KILGORE â A multi-county pursuit of a stolen truck from Dallas came to an end in Kilgore on Saturday. According to the Kilgore Police Department, on Saturday officers were alerted of a pursuit that originated in Smith County of a stolen truck from Dallas that was approaching Kilgore. According to KPD multiple agencies were part of the pursuit and âaskedâ if KPD had access to spikes.
Our news partner KETK reports that they set spikes up in multiple locations to keep the high-speed chase from âgetting into townâ and to prevent the vehicle from escaping. KPD said that the vehicle hit spikes twice on 259 South and Baughman Road which slowed the vehicle down as it âcontinued north into the center of town.â
The police department said that officer Vance Callahan was waiting on Dudley Road when the suspect passed him and he began to pursue it while the âout-of-town squad cars had to stop and slow while spike strips were removed.â
According to KPD the stolen vehicle had multiple flat tires and was smoking when it turned and âwrecked out in the parking lot of Meadowbrook Preschool.â Officials said the suspect exited the vehicles and began to flee, but was apprehended by Callahan.
Black tar heroin, Xanax found in Kilgore residence
KILGORE â The Kilgore Police Department said two East Texans were arrested on Saturday after police found drugs ready for distribution. According to our news partner KETK, a search warrant was conducted at a residence near the LoneStar Speedway off CR 2207 on Saturday morning. Investigators found methamphetamine packaged for sale, black tar heroin, Xanax and Lorazepam.
Bryan Thompson, 46 of Kilgore, was taken to the Gregg County Jail and has been charged with possession or delivery of drug paraphernalia, manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance and two counts of possession of a controlled substance. Thompson is being held on a $85,000 bond.
Courtesy of the Kilgore Police Department
Ashley Norris, 43 of Kilgore, was taken to the Gregg County Jail and was arrested on manufacturing or delivering of a controlled substance and two counts of possession of a controlled substance. Norris is being held on a $40,000 bond. Continue reading Black tar heroin, Xanax found in Kilgore residence