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UPSHUR COUNTY, Texas – After allegedly scamming an elderly Upshur County resident out of more than $70,000, a man was arrested on Wednesday by officials. According to our news partner KETK, 85-year-old man was contacted on June 9 by someone claiming to be with the Securities and Exchange Commission and was coerced to pay them after being told about multiple warrants. The Upshur County Sheriffs Office said in a statement that the vitim paid $70,000 to Davan Patel, 38 of Melissa, who was arrested after going to the victim’s home to collect the money. Patel was taken to the Upshur County Jail and was charged with theft against the elderly with bond set at $1 million.

WHITE OAK, Texas – Our news partners at KETK report that after almost a year at the position, White Oak ISD superintendent William Paul has resigned. According to a release from the district and a Friday afternoon board meeting, Paul and the district reached an agreement that allowed Paul to “pursue other interests.” The district also said the search for his replacement will begin soon.

TYLER – Officials from the City of Tyler have announced multiple road closures for this weekend’s Juneteenth Parade which is slated to begin at 9 a.m. Saturday. The parade will start at the intersection of Glenwood Boulevard and Martin Luther King Jr.(MLK) Boulevard traveling east on MLK until it reaches North Border Avenue. It will end at the intersection of 32nd Street and North Broadway Avenue. The city also provided a map of the parade’s route and a list of road closures which can he found here: Continue reading City of Tyler announces Juneteenth Parade routh

TYLER – The East Texas Anti-Gang Center – Tyler (TAG) conducted a “proactive investigative enforcement operation” in the Tyler area on Wednesday according to our partners at KETK. According to a release, the operation was proactive enforcement intended to target “criminal street gang activity.”Eleven people were arrested as a result of the operation. Continue reading Anti-gang operation in Smith County leads to 11 arrests

TYLER — The nation’s largest evangelical community, the Southern Baptist Convention, ended a two-year fight on Wednesday night rejecting a proposal that would ban women from becoming pastors in the church. Our news partners at KETK report that Lindale’s First Baptist Church Pastor Tom Buck said the 20 year doctrine is true to scripture, that women can lead ministry but not hold the pastoral office in any capacity. Continue reading Local reaction to SBC rule on women pastors

TYLER — Curbside recycling collection will stop on Monday, June 17, until further notice. This change is due to a structure fire at Rivers Recycling in Kilgore. The facility sustained significant damages and will be closed for repairs. Rivers Recycling was the current material recovery facility used by the City of Tyler to accept and repurpose curbside recycled materials.

Any material collected from residential and commercial curbside recycling customers that continue to utilize the recycle cart will be taken to the landfill with the regular municipal waste collected. If the cart will continue to be used, it should be set out on its regular schedule. Continue reading Curbside recycling in Tyler paused due to recycling center fire

VAN ZANDT COUNTY — Gov. Greg Abbott is allowing the Texas and U.S. flags in Van Zandt County to be lowered at half-staff in honor of a county commissioner who died during severe storms. Longtime Van Zandt County Precinct 2 Commissioner Virgil Melton Jr. died on June 3 after a tree fell onto his car while he was driving at night.

According to our news partner KETK, Van Zandt County will be allowed to lower the flags to half-staff beginning June 17 in honor of the life and public service of Melton. Flags should be returned to full-staff by sunrise on June 19, Abbott said.

“The First Lady and I extend prayers of comfort for the Melton family during their time of grief and urge all Texans to remember and honor Commissioner Melton’s service to his community as a dedicated elected official and to his country as a United States Marine who was awarded a Purple Heart and a Navy Commendation Medal for Valor,” Abbott said.

The governor said individuals, businesses, municipalities, counties and other political subdivisions in the surrounding area may fly flags at half-staff.

LONGVIEW – After a long discussion Thursday evening and a vote, the Longview City Council unanimously approved a proposed bio-mining facility. According to our news partner KETK, the plant will be located on 2120 East Loop 281 and operated by Mint Innovation. There, the company will extract valuable metals like gold and copper from old devices that ended up in the trash.

During public comment, several people expressed concerns over the environmental impact the facility could pose. Specifically, the chemicals that will be used. The final decision will come from Mint Innovation, which is considering the City of Longview and other cities for their second facility.

“I’m a byproduct of Flint, Michigan,” one speaker said. “Was born and raised there. I in good conscience could not sit here and by the side and not say anything.” Continue reading Longview unanimously approves biomining facility

TYLER – Smith County Officials awarded veteran volunteers with Team Rubicon with the Smith County Community Hero Award Thursday after the group worked for nearly a week helping a dozen residents cleanup storm damage. County Judge Neal Franklin and Emergency Management Coordinator Brandon Moore presented the group with the award Thursday morning before they left to return to their various homes around Texas and other states.

About 15 volunteers from Team Rubicon worked Saturday, June 8, through Wednesday, June 12. The team helped 12 residents clean up large tree debris in the Tyler, Flint and Chapel Hill communities.Team Rubicon is a nonprofit, veteran-led disaster response and humanitarian organization.

Team Rubicon’s services were free to the homeowners. They are funded by donations and grant funding. For more information about Team Rubicon, visit their website.

TYLER – A Tyler man was found guilty of sexual assault after a jury trial, and is scheduled to be sentenced next month. According to our news partner KETK, Vincente Zavaleta, 45 of Tyler, was originally arrested in March 2023 in connection to a cold case investigation involving the sexual assault and kidnapping of women going back more than 10 years. Zavaleta was linked to the 2012 case he has now been convicted of after a DNA profile was linked to him, and investigators said the victim gave a description of a truck used in the crime that reportedly matched the description of a truck linked to Zavaleta. His jury trial began on June 4, and he separately has been indicted for sexual assault and aggravated kidnapping in connection to a case from 2016. Zavaleta’s sentencing has been set for July 16.

LONGVIEW – The Longview Chamber of Commerce hosted their state of the economy on Wednesday. The main topic of discussion was that business in Gregg County is booming, according to our news partners at KETK. “Progress that we’re seeing in Gregg County some of the growth that we’ve seen from projects and what we’ve been looking forward to in the future,” Kilgore Economic Development Corporation executive director Lisa Denton said. Continue reading Business booming in Gregg County

TYLER — The Keep Tyler Beautiful staff presented the 18th Gold Star Affiliate and Sustained Excellence awards to the City Council during Wednesday’s meeting according to our colleagues at KETK. Keep Texas Beautiful awarded the City of Tyler after they reached the Gold Star affiliate status because of its continuous efforts in beautification, litter reduction, maintaining public-private partnerships, the city said. Continue reading Keep Tyler Beautiful receives Gold Star