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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.