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SMITH COUNTY — Smith County has added additional polling locations for Primary Election Day on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. Smith County registered voters can choose from any of the 38 locations throughout the county to cast their ballots. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Smith County has launched a new interactive map that shows all polling locations available. Users can input their address to see which voting precinct they are in and what will be on their ballot. The “Interactive Map of Smith County” link can be found here.

Continue reading Smith County Election Day information

WOODLAWN – Our colleagues at KETK report that Woodlawn Volunteer Fire Department ESD#6 members Justin Blassingame and Mitchell Guffey are driving a trailer full of boxed food to help those in need in the Texas Panhandle. As Texas’s largest wildfire ever continues to burn, help is pouring in from across the state including here in East Texas. The Harrison County Fire Marshal’s Office thanked Blassingame, Guffey and several others for their work to get these supplies to where they’re needed. Continue reading Firefighters take food to Panhandle

MARSHALL – The City of Marshall said that a fire that happened at a home in the 800 block of Alvin Street on Friday has displaced a family of five. According to our colleagues at KETK, a large plume of black smoke was seen from the fire station and when firefighters arrived they saw fire coming out of the windows of the home. No injuries were reported and all five family members had safely left the home. However, the home was severely damaged by the fire and the Red Cross has been notified to help the displaced family.

TEXARKANA – The Texarkana Police Department said that they arrested a man on Saturday after he was reportedly seen at a local McDonald’s with a machete and a whip according to our news partners at KETK.

Around 10 a.m. on Saturday, Texarkana PD said they received a call about a suspicious person with a machete and a whip at a McDonald’s near New Boston Road.
Continue reading Texarkana officer hit in head with machete

ATHENS – Cattle auction prices have risen to record numbers in part due to East Texas rancher’s reducing their herd sizes in response to the 2022 drought.

“We actually had record-high calf prices last week in parts of Texas,” David Anderson, extension economist with Texas A&M AgriLife, said.

Due to the extreme drought in 2022, East Texas ranchers resorted to selling their cattle resulting in increased cattle sales for the Athens Commission Company.
Continue reading Cattle prices boom due to drought

PARIS – Our news partners at KETK report that a recent development in a murder case from 1996 has led to a Hopkins County Jail inmate being under investigation. According to the Paris Police Department, a DNA analysis reportedly reveals that it was likely that David Davy, a current inmate of Hopkins County Jail on unrelated felony charges, was present during an aggravated assault that resulted in a death in 1996. Continue reading Hopkins County inmate investigated in cold case

GREGG COUNTY – Our news partners at KETK report that during this year’s early voting primary, Gregg County voters surpassed the early voting totals reached in the 2022 and 2020 primaries. According to data provided by Jennifer Briggs, the Gregg County Elections Administrator, 7,068 people voted early in the 2024 primaries, compared to 6,762 early votes in 2022 and 6,709 in the 2020 primaries. Continue reading Gregg County early voting outperforms past primaries

TYLER – The Tyler Police Department said they are searching for a woman suspected of pulling a gun at a man at Discount Tire on Friday according to our news partners at KETK. According to Tyler Police Department PIO Andy Erbaugh, at around 1 p.m. a woman was getting her vehicle serviced at the Discount Tire on Loop 323 when a man attempted to repossess her vehicle. The woman reportedly pulled out a gun on the man who then stopped trying to hook up the vehicle. The woman allegedly drove off and police are now working on an arrest warrant. Erbaugh said they know the identity of the woman but will not release the information as the investigation continues.

HENDERSON COUNTY – Five people accused in the 2022 kidnapping and torture of a woman found in Athens were each sentenced to 10 years deferred adjudication after either pleading guilty or nolo contendere to engaging in organized criminal activity, according to our news partners at KETK. Six people have been charged in the case, with the sixth person set to start pre-trial on March 19. All of them were initially arrested for aggravated kidnapping and later indicted for engaging in organized criminal activity. They were accused of holding a woman they had met online against her will in a home for a week as she was “severely tortured.” Continue reading Sentencing in Athens kidnapping, torturing case

LONGVIEW – It was a guilty verdict for a Longview man in the 2020 shooting death of Valerie Hackett. According to our news partner KETK, 41-year-old Brandon Harris shot and killed the 24-year-old Hackett Jan. 30, 2020 at the Ware Meadow Apartments in Longview. Harris was indicted for capital murder June 28, 2023. His trial began on Monday and concluded with the guilty verdict by a jury.

LONGVIEW – A man is in custody for attack by dog causing death after a man was found dead lying near a Longview roadway. According to our news partner KETK and the Longview PD an arrest warrant was issued for Martin Rodriguez. Rodriguez, 56 of Longview was arrested, based on an autopsy report from Forensic Medical Management Services and was booked into the Gregg County Jail on Feb. 1 on multiple animal at large charges where he is being held without bond on the attack by dog causing death warrant. On Feb. 1, Longview PD reported that animal control had confiscated multiple dogs from a home in the area after a 46-year-old man was found lying near a bicycle “with wounds consistent with that of a dog bite.”

TYLER — Tyler Animal Services will waive adoption fees for dogs and cats with the donation of at least six bags of dog or cat food 15 lbs or less during the month of March. It’s an effort to help restock the Community Pet Food Bank. The Pet Food Bank was established in 2015 so families in need or those who could not afford to feed their pets would have a safety net to keep them in their homes. Many times, people who want to surrender a pet to the Tyler Animal Control and Shelter only need time to get over a short-term financial hurdle. The Pet Food Bank provides assistance through donated food and cat litter, and so far, 32,000 pounds of food and litter have been distributed over the years. All donated items go back into the community and are not used by the animals kept at the shelter. The standard dog adoption fee is $120 and $80 for cats. All animals adopted from Tyler Animal Services are spayed/neutered, microchipped and vaccinated. If you would like to adopt, see all pets available for adoption or submit an application, click here. The Tyler Animal Shelter is located at 4218 Chandler Hwy. For more information, call (903) 535-0045.