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LONGVIEW — A Longview man has been arrested and charged in the shooting death of a 10-year-old child. David Russell Stice, 50, was booked into the Gregg County Jail Thursday on a charge of making a firearm accessible to a child causing death. According to our news partner KETK, he was released Friday on a bond of $20,000. Stice’s arrest stems from an incident on August 9. According to police, they were called to a residence in Longview for a shooting. When they arrived, they found a child with what they described as “life-threatening injuries.” The child died in a local hospital. The case remains under investigation.

LONGVIEW — The view at Stamper Park will soon change no longer include the scene of derailed train cars in Longview. According to a press brief from the city, the Longview Fire Department has maintained a training facility adjacent to the park, since the 1950’s. In the late 1990’s, the department added several rail cars to teach emergency response to a train derailment. The Fire Department has hosted numerous firefighters from around the United States at the unique facility. The train cars were moved to a new location on Friday morning as part of the 2018 voter approved bond package, which includes the development of a new Fire and Police Training Center and the renovation of Stamper Park. Continue reading Train cars removed from Stamper Park

TYLER — Smith County has recently completed a Road Bond project in the New Chapel Hill area. Road improvements were made to County Road 2249, located across from Chapel Hill High School; and County Road 2267, also known as Timber Creek Drive and Timber Creek Circle, across from Kissam Elementary School. The project included four residential streets and cost $387,305. Work included grinding and cement treating the existing roadway and then overlaying it with 2 inches of hot mix asphalt. Continue reading Smith County road projects

VAN ZANDT COUNTY — An East Texas man was sentenced for drug trafficking Thursday. According to our news partner KETK, Timothy Dwayne Henson, 52, pleaded guilty in January for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Henson was sentenced to 65 months in prison. Henson also sold methamphetamine twice in July 2018. On September 9, 2018 officials searched his home in Van Zandt County and recovered methamphetamine. The Edgewood native admitted to being involved in a conspiracy to obtain and distribute meth. He said he was also responsible for the distribution of at least 500 grams. He was indicted in Aug. of 2018 and charged with federal drug trafficking crimes.

TYLER — Free COVID testing sites are available to residents from any city in East Texas. These locations are offering local testing sites. who can receive a free test at any of these locations. Each person being tested will need to provide a working cell phone number when they go to any of the listed sites, as results will be sent via text message. The COVID-19 tests are being administered by the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM), the agency that will also contact each tested person to notify them of their test results. Complete details available by clicking the link. https://www.nethealthcovid19.org/testing Continue reading Free COVID-19 testing sites continue for East Texans

TYLER — Gov. Greg Abbott proposed stripping cities reducing police budgets of annexation powers and allowing annexed residents to depart from those cities on Thursday. In a Friday interview with KTBB, Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen said, “There are very few professions in America where you go to work and you may not come home. This is one of them. Today is Patriots Day. Today is September 11th. It is called Patriot’s Day because we did not want today to be remembered for the devastation and the tragedy and the loss of life and more that occurred. We will honor that memory. But, we also want to honor the memories of the brave law enforcement officers, fire-fighters, and EMT’s, who you and I know, went into that building, knowing they may not come out.” Continue reading Bonnen: “make your support known for law enforcement”

SMITH COUNTY — DPS Troopers are investigating an accident that left a pedestrian dead Thursday night in Tyler. According to the DPS officials, it happened around 9:25 on US-69, just south of CR 4132. Carolyn Nguyen, 29, of Tyler was traveling southeast on US-69 when she struck the pedestrian, who was walking west across the roadway. He was identified as Donnie Louise Johnson, 53, of Tyler. The driver was not injured.

TYLER — A former Lindale High School coach and standout UT Tyler baseball player has been indicted for an allegedly having an inappropriate relationship with a student. According to our news partner KETK, Blake Maddox, 24, was arrested in February upon the district becoming aware of the allegations on January 28. He was an assistant football and baseball coach. Maddox was a pivotal player on the UT Tyler baseball team during the 2018 national championship campaign. He also played his senior year in 2019. Maddox is from East Texas and graduated from Brook Hill High School in 2015. Maddox is facing a second-degree felony that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

TYLER — A free drive-in movie is coming on Saturday to the Harvey Convention Center parking lot. The event is being hosted by the Tyler Parks and Recreation Department and will begin at 8:30 p.m. in the parking lot at 2000 W. Front St. They will be showing the 2019 live-action version of The Lion King.There is no admission cost for this event. In order to hear the movie, each car will need a radio to tune in to a station that will be announced on the screen prior to the movie beginning. Concessions will not be available, and families are being asked to stay in their cars and practice social distancing. For questions, contact Debbie Isham at (903) 531-1214.

KILGORE — Fire units and police responded Wednesday,to the scene of a structure fire at Popeyes Chicken on Business 259 in Kilgore. According to our news partner KETK, first responders noted fire and smoke were coming from the roof. The fire was quickly knocked down and fire units were able to get the flames under control. The restaurant just opened their doors a few weeks ago. No injuries were reported, and the investigation into what caused the fire has not been released at this time. The damage from the fire is still being assessed.

MINEOLA — A murder in Wood County has resulted in the arrest of Timell Tiquan Jones. Mineola police and the Wood County Sheriff’s Office arrested Jones Wednesday in connection with the death of Dustin James Thomas, 20. Authorities believe Thomas died Sunday night or early Monday on CR 2800 in Wood County. Jones has been arraigned for murder and is in Wood County Jail on a $1 million bond.

TYLER — A community is remembering “Jay” Rumbelow after the owner of Bruno’s Pizza and Pasta, died Tuesday. John “Jay” Walter Rumbelow III was 65 and graduated from Bullard High School in 1973, and earned his Bachelor of Arts from UT-Tyler. The Rumbelow family opened the first Bruno’s on Vine Street in 1976. The family opened a second location on Old Jacksonville Road. Rumbelow began running the family business following his father’s death in 1991. Visitation will be Friday at Lloyd James Funeral Home in Tyler, 5-7 p.m. Funeral services will be at First Baptist Church in Bullard Saturday at 11 a.m. Continue reading Owner of crowd pleasing restaurants in Tyler dies

LONGVIEW — A virtual meeting is scheduled for the city of Longview. On Thursday, the Public Works Department announced citizen input is being sought on median improvements to US 80/East Marshall Avenue, between Eastman Road and Nansemond Way. The online forum will be next Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. Instructions and direct links to view the meeting or to speak during the meeting can be found by clicking the link. https://longviewtexas.gov/4005/Meetings-via-Teleconference. Organizers say, there will be an opportunity for public comments during the meeting and for 14 days after. Contact Longview’s engineering consultant for more information at [email protected] or 903-617-5368.

SMITH COUNTY — The City of Bullard has identified the woman who died after being pinned between two vehicles as a city employee. According to our news partner KETK, a City of Bullard Facebook post identified the woman as Jennifer MacWhirter, 58. She was the human resources director and had been with city administration since 2004. The Smith County Sheriff’s Office and DPS say the accident occurred just after midnight early Wednesday morning in the 13000 block of CR 192, just north of the Toll 49 and Highway 155 intersection. Investigators said MacWhirter was at the location to perform custodial services, and while outside preparing to load a pickup with trash, she was pinned between two vehicles and died from her injuries. Continue reading Smith County Sheriff’s Office investigating accidental death

TYLER — A local author has released the first offerings in a storybook series for children. On Wednesday, Renee Goodwin told KTBB how the idea came to life. “About a year ago, I was blessed with my puppy. She is a Cane Corso breed and her name is GG. As I watched her play and watched all of her little antics, I just started seeing all of these stories in my mind.” The life pointers are learned from the perspective of a very energetic puppy: GG. The first two in the series are GG Cleans House and GG Meets Her Match, tackling teamwork, and forever friendships. Continue reading Local author releases first books in children’s series

KILGORE — The Kilgore Police Department is asking for help, from the public, in identifying a vehicle wanted in connection with a home invasion. According to our news partner KETK, the department has reason to believe the pictured Jeep Grand Cherokee, could be involved. There may also be some type of damage on the driver’s side. The home burglary took place August 27, and numerous items were taken. If you have any information regarding the location of this vehicle, or the owner, please contact Det. Andre Phillips at (903) 218-6904 or email at [email protected]. More details are available by clicking the link. https://www.facebook.com/kilgorepolice/posts/3502368923132053.

TYLER — The Tyler City Council unanimously approved the adoption of the City of Tyler’s fiscal year 2021 budget proposal, on Wednesday. The proposed budget was introduced Aug. 12, with a public hearing two weeks later. The budget will decrease by 3% over last year, at a little more than $202 million. The city said, economic hardships due to COVID-19 have hit many residents in Tyler hard, and with that thought in mind, the budget adopted the “no new revenue” rate of 25.9 cent, which is a .09 cent decrease from the prior year. With this adoption, the City of Tyler will continue to keep the lowest tax rate for a city over 15,000 residents in the State of Texas.

WINNSBORO — Multiple unites responded to a fire Sunday night at the Administration building of Winnsboro ISD. On Wednesday, Public Relations Officer Adrianna Weems told KTBB, “It was confirmed that it was an electrical fire, but moving forward the district administration offices have been temporarily set-up and moved to the Winsborro Memorial Intermediate Campus, which last year was Winsborro Memorial Middle School. Once we built the new high school, we restructured our campuses and realigned, so now we have four campuses.” Continue reading Update: Winsborro ISD admin office confirmed as electrical

LONGVIEW — The East Texas Food Bank distributed over 10.2 million pounds of produce last year through their partner agencies and feeding programs. On Tuesday, ETFB announced they will be holding a produce distribution at the Gregg County Fairgrounds this Friday from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Produce is available first-come, first-serve, while supplies last. Inclement weather may affect outdoor distributions. If you have questions contact the East Texas Food Bank.

CHANDLER — Customers were lined up at the newest McDonald’s in the world on Tuesday morning in Chandler. Owner-operators Kevin and Jeaneane Lilly celebrated their 24th grand opening at the location, right off HWY 31. Kevin Lilly told KTBB, “You know, never did I think when I started out becoming an owner operator in 1997, that we would ever have one, much less three or four, but never did I ever think we would have 24. One unique thing about this store, we did put the active pure technology in this restaurant. The air is sanitized through the air conditioning system with UV Light. So, essentially every 25 minutes or so, all of the air in the restaurant has been sanitized.” Continue reading Lilly McDonald’s celebrates new location

TYLER –The 2020 East Texas State Fair was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. On Tuesday, ETSF announced “Taste of the Fair” will offer fair food lovers their favorites in a socially distanced environment. Organizers say fair food classics including turkey legs, funnel cakes, candied apples, and jumbo corn dogs, as well as local favorites like the tamale slammer, the wonderstick, peach puppies, volcano fries and more will be readily available. Items will be packaged to take to-go. Continue reading Fair food pick-up coming to ETSF

TYLER — Smith County Commissioners Court took action steps Tuesday to lower the property tax rate. The new rate is down from 34.5 cents per $100 valuation to 33.5 cents for the 2021 fiscal year. However, in spite of the tax cut, the county will still take in more money from property taxes next year due to new property being developed that will bring in new revenue. The new budget will be $14.5 million dollars smaller than the current fiscal year. The county made several cuts, including delaying the previously planned bond election for a new Courthouse, originally planned for November of this year. Continue reading Smith County cuts property tax by penny, passes new fiscal budget

LONGVIEW — Jimmy Yancey celebrated his 90th birthday in style on Sunday. The legendary former band director was surprised by carloads of family and friends that honored him with a birthday parade at Longview High School. Chris Yancey told our news partner KETK original plans changed, “We had the idea that when he turned 90 we were going to have a banquet for him and have ex-students come in and tell stories about him. But, when the virus and current health care climate came along, we had to change all this.” Continue reading Former Longview band director celebrates birthday in style

AUSTIN — The latest poll from UT Tyler and the Dallas Morning News shows a continued tight presidential race in Texas. According to our news partner KETK, the poll was taken Aug. 28 – September 2. The most recent numbers shows Biden with 44% of the vote, and Trump at 43% (Independent candidate Jo Jorgenson had 2%, Green Party Candidate Howie Hawkins had 1% and 11% were undecided). However, when the poll accounted for those most likely to cast a ballot, Trump had 48% of that vote to 46% for Biden and 1% each for Jorgenson and Hawkins with 5% undecided. The margin of error for this poll is +/- 2.85 percentage. This poll is from a random sample of 1,182 voters surveyed over the phone and online. Continue reading Trump/Biden remains close in Texas, Cornyn leads Hegar

PALESTINE — A Trump boat parade was held Sunday at the Bella Vistas event center at Lake Palestine. Signs, banners and flags could be seen for miles. With the coronavirus making tradition political rallies hard to organize,Terry Kenny told our news partner KETK, these events were created to allow people to gather while maintaining social distance. “Well we can’t go to an indoor rally, so this is the next best thing. We need this, we need to show our support for President Trump.” This is the second Trump Rally held on the water in East Texas. Lake Tyler was the site of hundreds of boaters and more than a thousand participants on August 23.