KTBB News, Weather, Talk

SMITH COUNTY – Smith County Emergency Services District 2 firefighters fought two fires that burned the same home. According to our news partner KETK, firefighters responded to call of a structure fire at Valleyview Ridge and Dean Road just after midnight on Sunday morning.

Firefighters extinguished this fire and officials said that they used a variety of tools, including a drone, to make sure it was totally put out. Hours later, ESD2 said firefighters were dispatched to the same address for another reported fire. When they arrived at the scene, the second fire had totally engulfed the home.

Firefighters were eventually able to put the fire out before it could spread. No injuries were reported from either of the two fires. The Smith County Fire Marshal’s Office is currently investigating the cause of the two fires.

TROUP – Troup ISD is in mourning this week after announcing that Troup ISD 6th grade student Easton Roper has died. According to our news partner KETK, school officials said counselors will be available to support students who need someone to talk to at Troup Middle School on Monday. The district also encouraged families to talk with their children and to contact the school if they need any extra support.

Donations for Roper’s family can be made to the Autry Funeral Home in Jacksonville or at Troup Middle School. The district said they’ll share information about Roper’s funeral services when they can.

TYLER – The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has awarded a total of $638,659 in grants to help improve community parks in cities across East Texas. According to our news partner KETK, the cities of Center, Daingerfield, Gladewater and Kemp have all received local park grants as part of a record $21.2 million round of grant funding that the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) recently awarded for parks across the state.

Center received a $250,000 non-urban outdoor grant through the TPWD’s Non-Urban Outdoor Recreation Grant Program to improve the city’s American Legion Park and the Community House grounds. Continue reading $600K for city park improvements

LONGVIEW – Pine Tree ISD High School’s Career and Technical Education program unveiled its brand new Skilled Trades Center on Friday. The new Skilled Trades Center has been in development for the past three years, following its funding by a $55 million bond measure in 2023. The center will enable Pine Tree High School students to develop skills in automotive repair, carpentry, welding, electronics, and more.

“We want them to be functional, contributive members of society. We just want to produce graduates that employers here in Longview and East Texas want to hire, and this building helps us accomplish that,” Pine Tree ISD Career and Technical Education program director Jacob Lusk said.

The new center is located on the Pine Tree High School campus behind the Pirate Center Gym. To learn more, visit the Pine Tree ISD Career and Technical Education program online.

UPDATE: Boil water notice for the City of Winnsboro was rescinded late Friday.

WINNSBORO – Due to a water line break, the City of Winnsboro has issued a boil water notice. According to our news partner KETK, the notice has been issued for all of the City of Winnsboro public water system customers, asking them to boil water for at least 2 minutes and to let it cool off before consumption. City officials will notify customers when water is safe to consume and will issue a rescission notice. For questions or concerns about the boil water notice, Winnsboro residents may contact the water office at 903-342-3654.

LONGVIEW – Dozens of Longview community members and leaders gathered off of Garfield Drive on Thursday to break ground on the new Martin House Children’s Advocacy Center facility. The new facility will be nearly three times the size of the current Martin House building and will serve more children and teens, with new child-friendly therapy spaces, forensic interview rooms, and enhanced safety features.

“Right now, we’ll have we have currently as much as a six month waiting list for counseling. So a larger facility will allow us to hire more staff to be able to get children in sooner for forensic interviews, for counseling appointments, so that we don’t have a lag time in services,” Martin House CEO Roxanne Stevenson said.

Several local leaders, including Longview Mayor Kristen Ishihara and Judge Bill Stoudt, attended the event on Friday, along with Stevenson and other Martin House leaders, staff, and supporters.

TATUM — A Tatum thrift shop and food pantry, designed to support the community, recently experienced a series of alleged thefts that resulted in the loss of dozens of bags of donated goods, Jan. through Jan. 20. According to our news partner KETK, a total of 31 bags of resale items and pantry supplies were stolen during these three incidents. Using surveillance video, the Tatum Police Department have identified suspects in the case. 34-year-old Thomas Frazier, whose currently in the Panola County Jail on unrelated charges.

Another suspect, Amy Nichole Terry, 36, later contacted investigators and identified herself as one of the women in the video. She claimed that she believed she had permission to take the items and offered to repay their value, according to authorities. Also arrested was 29-year-old Haley Marie Dean. She was arrested on Friday morning at a business in Carthage. Terry was taken into custody later the same day at a residence in Beckville. Both were booked into the Panola County Jail with a bond set at $12,500. While Frazier remains in custody.

UPDATE: The boil water notice in Mount Enterprise was rescinded on Friday due to all conditions requiring the notice being resolved.

MOUNT ENTERPRISE – A boil water notice has been issued in Mount Enterprise following a water line break. A notice has been issued to all Mount Enterprise Water Supply Corporation customers, asking them to boil water for at least 2 minutes and to let it cool before consumption.

“To ensure destruction of all harmful bacteria and other microbes, water for drinking, cooking and making ice should be boiled and cooled to prior use,” Mount Enterprise Water Supply Corporation said. “The water should be brought to a vigorous, rolling boil and then boiled for two (2) minutes. In lieu of boiling, you may purchase bottled water or obtain water from some other suitable source.”

Water system officials will provide a notice when water is safe for consumption. For questions or concerns about the boil water notice, residents may contact the water office at 903-822-3464.

Tyler – Four Tyler ISD campuses have been recognized as Star Schools on the 2025 Texas Honor Roll Schools list, presented by Educational Results Partnership (ERP) as part of the national Campaign for Business and Education Excellence. The honored schools include Owens Elementary School, Andy Woods Elementary School, Birdwell Dual Language Immersion School, and Early College High School. The Texas Honor Roll recognizes schools that demonstrate consistently high academic achievement and progress. In 2025, approximately 15% of eligible schools statewide earned a place on the list, with 1,076 schools across Texas receiving the distinction. Continue reading Star Schools on Texas Honor Roll

PANOLA COUNTY – A body was found floating in Clear Lake Thursday afternoon in Panola County. According to our news partner KETK and the Panola County Sheriff’s Office, deputies received reports of an unoccupied boat floating in the area off Country Road 4552. Once deputies arrived at the lake, along with game wardens, the boat was recovered, and a body was discovered floating nearby. The Justice of the Peace was notified about the investigation. According to the sheriff’s office, an autopsy has been ordered, and the victim is being transported to the Southwest Institute of Forensic Sciences (SWIFS) in Dallas for examination. No foul play is suspected at this time, and family members have been notified. The victim will not be identified until family members have been contacted.

LUFKIN – A Lufkin pediatrician was arrested on Thursday after killing a person and dog in a car crash earlier this month while driving intoxicated. The crash occurred on Jan. 17 after the Lufkin Police Department said Demarcus Hadnot was driving west on College Drive near the Texas Bible College when a Mercedes crashed into Hadnot’s Kia at around 10:15 a.m. Handot and his dog were pronounced dead following the crash.

According to our news partner KETK, the driver of the Mercedes was later identified as Woodland Heights Pediatrician George Fidone. On Thursday, Fidone was arrested and booked into the Angelina County Jail after it was revealed he was intoxicated at the time of the crash. Following his arrested Fidone was charged with two counts of intoxicated manslaughter with a vehicle and two counts of intoxication assault with a vehicle. His bond was set at $92,500. He’s since been released from the Angelina County Jail after posting his bond. Continue reading Doctor charged after fatal car crash

JACKSONVILLE — One man has been arrested after a drug-related search warrant of a home led to deputies discovering narcotics, firearms and a pipe bomb.

According to our news partner KETK and the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, deputies obtained a probable cause for the search warrant of a home in the 200 block of County Road 1814 in Jacksonville, after attempting to serve arrest warrants for 42-year-old Charles Phifer and smelling marijuana coming from the residence. Deputies arrived at the home on Wednesday and executed a narcotics search at the residence where they found methamphetamine, firearms, marijuana and a suspected pipe bomb.

According to officials, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) responded to the scene and safely removed the pipe bomb. Continue reading Pipe bomb, drugs, firearms found

VAN ZANDT COUNTY — Two people in Van Zandt County have been arrested after officers discovered an emaciated dog left outside in freezing weather on their property over the weekend. According to our news partner KETK, this happened Jan 24, when the Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call at a property where a male shepherd-mix dog was found chained to a tree.

The dog was found to appear emaciated, with ice coating his fur, and had no access to shelter to protect him from the 20-degree weather. The sheriff’s office requested assistance from the SPCA‘s Animal Cruelty Investigations (ACI) Unit, which promptly arrived at the scene.

The dog’s owners, Charles Brumbelow and Darla Brumbelow, agreed to surrender the dog to the SPCA of Texas. The dog is currently being treated for starvation after being transported to the SPCA of Texas’s Russell E. Dealey Animal Rescue Center in Dallas. The pair were arrested and booked into the Van Zandt County Jail the same day with cruelty to nonlivestock animal charges. Their bonds were set at $5,000 each, but they have since bonded out.