KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER — Lindale native Miranda Lambert’s pet focused nonprofit, MuttNation, awarded over $130,000 toward spay and neuter programs throughout Texas, including several in East Texas. According to our news partner KETK, the grants were awarded as a part of their “It Takes Balls” program to prevent pet overpopulation.

According to their website, MuttNation is a nonprofit started by the Lindale native country singer and her mother Bev, the nonprofit has “raised over $9 million since inception with a mission to promote the adoption of shelter pets, advance spay & neuter; and educate the public about the benefits of these actions.” Continue reading Miranda Lambert’s nonprofit awards grants for animal services in East Texas

LAKE PALESTINE — Many in East Texans were out on the water at Lake Palestine for Memorial Day, but one side of the lake is still facing difficult challenges. According to our news partner KETK, they’re continuing the cleanup from the EF1 tornado that touched down on Thursday right before the holiday weekend.

On any typical Memorial Day there would have been hundreds of people on the lake taking off from the Lake Palestine Resort but this year it is quite different.

On the west side of the lake, some visitors had to adjust plans and take off from the Lake Palestine Marina because of the extensive damage seen on the other side. Continue reading Lake Palestine tornado cleanup continues

ZAVALLA — According to our news partner KETK, the Huntington Volunteer Fire Department responded to a church fire in Zavalla suspected to have started from an explosion. The Huntington Police Department announced on Monday that the fire department responded to a call at Solid Rock Baptist Church on FM 2109 in Zavalla. Officials said the church was under construction when calls came in of a fire. Huntington PD said it appeared “to have been an explosion,” causing a door and debris to be thrown up to 100 feet from the building.

The Huntington Volunteer Fire Department was assisted by other volunteer fire departments from Angelina County. The incident is being investigated by the Zavalla Fire Department and the Zavalla Police Department.

LONGVIEW — According to our news partner KETK, the Longview Economic Development Corporation will hold a public meeting on Tuesday to discuss a proposed bio mining process facility on 2120 E. Loop 281. The meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall to approve of a “bio mining process facility to extract precious metals and other elements from recycled materials in heavy commercial zoning district.”

According to the city, a vessel fabrication shop previously occupied the space but now the newly proposed facility would “recover precious metals and other elements from recycled materials in a low-carbon biotech process.”

LOG CABIN – The City of Log Cabin in Henderson County has declared a local state of disaster because of recent severe weather according to our news partners at KETK. The city said in a post that they’ve had a loss of power, downed power lines and blocked roads after being hit by weather on Saturday. Currently, the city park is closed and city personnel are responding around town with law enforcement and local fire departments.

TROUP – The Troup Police Department said they’ve arrested a 17-year-old in connection to reports of shots fired in the city on Saturday. According to our news partner KETK, the Troup PD, after the reports of shots fired came in on Saturday, they were able to find several people involved at a residence on Railroad Street with the help of Smith County Sheriff’s Office and other near-by agencies. They took several people in the home into custody and learned about other alleged criminal activities. They also found several firearms in the area. Latravion Dewberry, 17 of New Chapel Hill, was arrested on Sunday for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in connection to Saturday’s “shooting incident”, according to Troup PD.

Troup PD said that their investigation into the incident is ongoing and more charges are pending.

TYLER – UT Tyler’s College of Arts and Sciences ceased operations of the KVUT 99.7 FM radio station at 5 p.m. Friday. UT Tyler started broadcasting on KVUT back in 2021.

Dean of UT Tyler College of Arts and Sciences Neil Gray said in a release, “This move aligns with our core mission and allows us to reinvest in our academic programming, offering more educational opportunities to students, particularly in our Department of Communication. “I want to thank the KVUT team, donors and listeners for their support. Reinvesting in our students is crucial for fostering the next generation of communicators, journalists and media professionals.”

KVUT’s broadcast ended with ‘Take Five’ by the Dave Brubeck Quartet and the station’s hourly announcement at 5 p.m.

SMITH COUNTY – Smith County issued a disaster declaration on Friday following Thursday night’s storms. According to our news partner KETK, declaring a disaster allows officials to access additional resources and support that will also be made available to residents. The Bullard and Emerald Bary areas were affected by a severe storm at around 8 p.m. on Thursday. There were reports of downed power lines and uprooted trees. County officials said in a release, that road and bridge crews worked overnight Thursday to clear about 20 trees that had fallen on roads. They added that Monday, a recovery center located at Bullard City Hall will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Bullard city officials say they will have resources offered to those affected by the weather.

County Judge Neal Franklin said residents on county roads can place storm debris in the right-of-way of their road and it will be picked up by crews. The state of disaster will continue for no more than seven days unless the Smith County Commissioners Court decides to continue or renew it. To report damage, people are urged to complete the Texas Division of Emergency Management damage assessment form. You can find your copy here.

TYLER — Because of severe weather Friday, many school districts in East Texas have rescheduled or delayed their graduations. Our news partner KETK hass a list of graduations that have been rescheduled here.

UPSHUR COUNTY – The Union Hill ISD, located 9 miles northwest of Gilmer, has recently announced that the district will be making $700,000 in cuts in an attempt to recover from financial hardships. According to our news partner KETK, interim superintendent John Booth in a video, that can be found here, said the district faced “close to a $1 million in deficits back in February.” Multiple employees have been cut including multiple fine arts and athletic programs at the high school, junior high and elementary levels. Booth also stated that there were no signs of money stolen or any other signs of financial malpractice.

SMITH COUNTY — Smith County Road and Bridge crews have been working throughout the night and morning to clear roads with downed trees in the Bullard and Emerald Bay area.

Smith County Engineer Frank Davis said there were about 20 county roads that had trees down after Thursday night’s storms. There have been crews working throughout the night to clear the roads. Many roads still have trees on them but at least one lane has been cleared for drivers to pass through, he said.

For Smith County residents living on county roads – you can place your storm debris in the right-of-way of your county road (not on the road) and Road and Bridge crews will pick it up. It may take several days to be picked up. Smith County Road and Bridge crews will only pick up storm debris left in the right-of-way of county roads. They cannot go on private property or pick up debris on city or state roads.

If you received property damage due to last night’s storm, please report it here.

EAST TEXAS — Downed trees and structure damage has been reported in Coffee City as severe weather hit the area on Thursday. According to Henderson County Sheriff Botie Hillhouse and our news partner KETK, one person has been taken to the hospital for non-life threatening injuries. As of Thursday evening, no other injuries have been reported.

South Rather Street between Cain Street and West Main Street will be shut down for thru traffic until further notice, City of Bullard officials said.

A temporary shelter has been set up at the Coffee City Civic Building and they are working to get power turned on there with a generator. The Henderson County Senior Center at Regional Fair Park is also opening up as a shelter, according to Henderson County officials. Continue reading Shelters open for displaced residents following severe weather

TYLER – Severe weather hit our area again Friday night and more than 4,038 are without power across East Texas as 1:52 p.m. Sunday. Our news partner KETK has a list of power outage numbers that have been compiled from various power companies and electricity cooperatives. You can find the current list here.