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TYLER – Three Tyler city councilmembers took their oaths of office on Wednesday morning. Newly-elected District 5 Councilmember Lloyd Nichols, re-elected District 1 Councilmember Stuart Hene and re-elected District 3 Councilmember Shirley McKellar were sworn into office and District 6 Councilmember Brad Curtis was elected Mayor Pro Tem. This will be Lloyd Nichols’ first term as a Tyler councilmember. He came to Tyler in 2000 while working as Area Vice President for Luby’s Cafeteria. In 2007, Lloyd left Luby’s and opened The Diner, which he operated for 15 years before selling it in 2022. Continue reading Tyler councilmembers sworn in, Mayor Pro-Tem selected

SMITH COUNTY — A man has been arrested after being indicted for the charge of assault to a pregnant person. According to our news partner KETK, Trevor Starnes, 27, caused bodily injury to a pregnant woman by striking her with his hand and “with a hard object and causing the complainant to strike a hard object.” Starnes was booked into the Smith County Jail on May 5 with a bond amount of $25,000. According to online records, Starnes was previously arrested May 20, 2022 for assault of a pregnant person. His record also lists numerous arrests for possession of a controlled substance.

TYLER — The son of the Smith County clerk who was accused of interfering with deputies during an arrest, and Precinct 3 Commissioner Terry Phillips, returned to commissioners court Tuesday morning and was arrested for disruption of a meeting. According to our news partner KETK, this is the second week in a row, Lance Phillips has attended the Commissioners Court meeting. The previous week, he was speaking in court defending his family against slander but was removed from the podium because he wasn’t commenting on the agenda item. Before court Tuesday morning, The Smith County Sheriff said Judge Neal Franklin spoke to Lance Phillips about the court’s rules. Continue reading Son of Smith County commissioner removed from court

LINDALE — East Texas native and Grammy Award-winning country singer Miranda Lambert held a signing for her cookbook “Y’all Eat Yet?” on Tuesday in Lindale. According to our news partner KETK, the book signing was held at Lambert’s boutique called The Pink Pistol which is located on 55 Miranda Lambert Way. Her hometown, Lindale, was the final stop for Lambert’s first book tour after she went to New York City and Los Angeles. “Y’all Eat Yet?” features recipes for everyone with the stories highlighting memories to go along with them.

TYLER – Six people from Bullard, including four teenagers, were awarded during the Smith County Commissioners Court meeting on Tuesday with Community Hero Awards for their efforts in saving a woman after her car crashed into a pond in March. “This court rarely gives out a Community Hero Award and we feel like it is very fitting for these six people that went beyond their character and went beyond what is expected of them and saved the life of another human,” Commissioner Pam Frederick said. According to our news partner KETK, Derek and Drue Bowers, their father Troy Bowers, teenagers Sheane Congo and Kyle Schneider and neighbor David Isabell jumped into the water after seeing the woman’s car upside down in the pond. Continue reading Community Hero Awards given to Bullard teens

TYLER – A 20-year-old was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to terroristic threat in a Smith County court. According to our news partner KETK, Tyler Auston Tate was indicted in February 2022 and entered a guilty plea on April 6. Tate was arrested in December 2021 after the FBI National Threat Operations Center received a tip about a possible shooting threat at Winona High School, where he was a student at the time. According to the sheriff’s office, evidence was gathered including documentation of credible threats of death and/or serious bodily injury to individual students at the high school. Tate was found incompetent to stand trial on June 15 of last year. A status hearing was held on Jan. 18, then Tate appeared in court again in April to plea and be sentenced.

WELLS — The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office said one person has died after a shooting on Mitchell Street Monday. Wells Police Department were the first responders and Chief Harold Rapsilver detained the suspect, Noel Price Jr, 56, of Wells. Officials said EMS and the Wells Fire Department attempted to save the victim, Samuel Murrell, 42, of Wells, but attempts were unsuccessful and the victim died at the scene. Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division is investigating. Price was booked into the Cherokee County Jail on a murder charge.

RUSK — A Rusk man was arrested for invasive visual recording after allegedly stealing his his coworker’s intimate photos from her phone, according to an arrest warrant. According to our news partner KETK, Michael Andrew Dorsey, 26 of Rusk, allegedly sent himself a female coworker’s intimate photos without her consent while he had her phone to order pizza at work, arrest documents show. An arrest warrant describes his coworker’s report to Crockett Police Department. Continue reading Rusk man arrested for allegedly stealing coworker’s intimate photos

EAST TEXAS — This round of elections is bringing change to two local school districts. According to our news partner KETK, arguably the biggest result of the election comes from Chapel Hill ISD, as all three bond propositions passed totaling over $113 million. This bond means the construction of a new middle school, a new multipurpose center for athletics and fine arts, a new career and tech facility, classroom additions and a new operations facility. Cody Levrets was also elected as the District 4 seat of the Tyler ISD Board of Trustees. The City of Chandler also elected against the sale of alcohol for off-premise consumption.

LONGVIEW – A woman is dead after being hit by a vehicle while riding her motor scooter in Longview. According to our news partner KETK, on Sunday, around 10:47 p.m., Longview Police responded to reports of a hit-and-run involving a vehicle and a pedestrian on a motorized scooter on the 1500 block of E. Marshall Avenue. When officials arrived, they learned that the vehicle was traveling eastbound when the collision occurred and left the scene in the direction of Eastman Road. Officials said the pedestrian hit by the vehicle was identified as Carrie Evette Pickron, 39. Pickron was taken to a local hospital where police said she succumbed to her injuries. The vehicle police are looking for is described as a two-tone black/grey Dodge Challenger car with black wheels and possible front-end damage.

HENDERSON COUNTY – On Sunday, a woman was arrested after Henderson County officials went to her house regarding a theft investigation and allegedly found drugs while they were there. According to our news partner KETK the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office said that they sent two officials to Amy Fann’s residence in Golden Oaks just outside of Payne Springs while investigating a theft. While at the residence, officials discovered suspected methamphetamines inside the home. They proceeded to arrested Fann for manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance and a harassment warrant out of Grayson County. Fann was booked into the Henderson County Jail where she is awaiting arraignment.

LONGVIEW — Longview Police were dispatched to an armed subject call just before 11:00 Sunday night on Morrison Street. Arriving officers encountered the suspect, who reportedly reached for and produced a handgun. The officer then shot, striking the suspect. The suspect was transported to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries. Following the Longview Police Department’s procedures, the Texas Rangers were requested to conduct the investigation. Additional information was not available.

TYLER — Keep Tyler Beautiful and the Tyler Solid Waste Department are hosting a Paint Recycling/Collection Event on Saturday, May 20 for Tyler residents who have old and partially used buckets of paint that they would like to dispose.  Residents may bring up to 25 gallons of latex or non-latex paint to the Solid Waste employee parking lot in the 300 block of N. Bois D’Arc Ave. on May 20 between 8 a.m. and noon. The Solid Waste employee parking lot is located just north of the intersection of W. Locust Street and N. Bois D’Arc Avenue, near the bus station, just south of the Recycling Center. Continue reading Keep Tyler Beautiful to host Paint Recycle Day in May

RAINS COUNTY — Remains that were found in Rains County in November 2022 were identified as a retired Dallas firefighter who was missing since 2017. According to the Rains County Justice of the Peace, DNA confirmed that the remains were identified as Michael Glenn Chambers who was reported missing on March 10, 2017. Our news partner KETK reports that Chambers’ remains were found in a wooded area near Highway 276 east of the City of East Tawakoni. The Texas Rangers and Hunt County Sheriff’s Office assisted RCSO with the recovery and investigation. The remains were then sent to the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification in Fort Worth.

“I ask for the continued prayers for the Chambers family. Mr. Chambers’ family has waited for answers for a long time, and I hope this brings some closure to the Chambers family. This remains an open investigation and my office will continue to diligently investigate this case,” Hunt County Sheriff Terry Jones said in a statement.

Officials said the investigation remains open and no further information will be released as of this writing.