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ATHENS — A former Athens school bus driver charged in connection to a fatal crash with a train in 2019 had his charges dismissed. According to our news partner KETK, in a Henderson County court on Nov. 21, 83-year-old John Franklin Stevens had his injury to a child and criminally negligent homicide cases dismissed. He was charged in connection to a January 2019 crash with a Union Pacific train that killed 13-year-old Christopher Bonilla and injured 9-year-old Joselyne Torres. He was driving the bus at the time when it was hit by the train and reportedly was pushed one-quarter of a mile before coming to a stop. Continue reading Charges dismissed for fatal bus crash

SMITH COUNTY — The executive director of the Sheriff’s Association of Texas has resigned in lieu of termination after being accused of misappropriation of funds. According to our news partner KETK, Smith County Sheriff and President of SAT Larry Smith announced on Thursday that Executive Director Steve Westbrook is accused of misappropriating the association’s funds after receiving two tips from employees on Nov. 16. On Nov. 17, Smith received confirmation that the Texas Attorney General’s Office was investigating the case and secured documents. Continue reading Executive Director of Texas Sheriff’s Association under investigation

TYLER – Five people have been found guilty of violating the Anti-Kickback Statue in connection to a $1.2 billion dollar healthcare kickback conspiracy,  U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs said on Thursday. According to our news partner KETK, those convicted were Susan L. Hertzberg, 65 of New York, New York, Matthew John Theiler, 57 of Mars, Pennsylvania, David Weldon Kraus, 65 of Loudon, Tennessee, Thomas Gray Hardaway, 51 of San Antonio and Jeffrey Paul Madison, 48 of Georgetown.
Continue reading Five convicted in $1.2 billion healthcare kickback scheme

TYLER – Our news partner KETK reports that Tyler ISD notified families on Thursday that internet and phone lines are down district-wide as of 11:40 a.m. In a statement, the district said that they are aware of the outage and are working to restore it. No timeline was given for a resolution.

NEW LONDON — The City of New London has issued a boil water notice on Wednesday according to our news partners at KETK. “Due to conditions which occurred recently in the water system, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has required the system to notify all customers to boil their water prior to consumption,” said New London officials. Continue reading New London issues boil water notice

TYLER – Tyler Junior College’s DrumBeat Student Media has earned three Pinnacle awards from the College Media Association in Atlanta. According to our news partner KETK, DrumBeat Student Media placed second for division III periodic newspaper of the year, two-year radio station of the year and two-year TV station of the year. TJC’s student journalists competed with 600 CMA college publications across the United States.
Continue reading TJC’s DrumBeat Student Media receives national honor

TYLER – Three people were indicted in the shooting death of an Army veteran in his Tyler home earlier this year. According to our news partner KETK, Stephanie Brasher, Anthony Taylor and Herbert Simpson were indicted by a Smith County court with capital murder Nov. 19. They’re charged with the February 6 shooting death of 61-year-old Warren Edward Rogers. Tyler Police arrested Brasher, Taylor and Simpson on capital murder charges and they remain in the Smith County jail on a $1 million bond each.

TYLER — The downtown Tyler area is now set for Christmas, but a big part of the celebration will be missing. In a public statement made on Monday, the Tyler Rotary Clubs shared why the Rose City Christmas Parade could not have been rescheduled. Locals were reportedly not happy with the decision, saying the event serves a vital purpose every year. “That parade is kind of important for the downtown businesses and for Tyler at large and for East Texas,” said Tyler resident, Aaron Thomas Hinds. The Rotary Clubs of Tyler released the following statement: Continue reading More details following Rose City Christmas Parade cancellation

LONGVIEW – Longview Regional Medical said Tuesday that one of their cardiovascular surgeons was named to the Diamond Level of the Beating Heart Hall of Fame. According to our news partner KETK, Dr. David Jayakar with the cardiovascular team at the Heart and Vascular Institute at Longview Regional Medical is the 47th person in the U.S, but the first in East Texas, to achieve this level. Dr Jayakar completed more than 1,100 off-pump coronary artery bypass procedures, according to the hospital.
Continue reading Longview surgeon named to Beating Heart Hall of Fame

TYLER – A former Tyler ISD substitute teacher was arrested on Tuesday after middle school student reported he had been sexually assaulted. According to his arrest warrant, and our colleagues at KETK Tyler ISD police were called to Hubbard Middle School on Oct. 27 after a 13-year-old student reported to the principal that substitute Davian Hunter, 29 of Tyler, had followed him into a bathroom. The warrant said district police spoke with the student and the principal contacted human resources “to ask that Hunter not be allowed to sub on any campus pending the outcome of the investigation.” Continue reading Ex-Tyler ISD substitute allegedly assaulted student

MARSHALL — A Shreveport man was arrested for driving while intoxicated and child endangerment after a wreck on Thanksgiving according to our news colleagues at KETK. The Marshall Police Department said 31-year-old Louis Elliot Tackett was booked into the Harrison County Jail and given a $77,000 bond. Police said Tackett was driving erratically on I-20 when he took the westbound exit ramp at East End Boulevard South, ran a red light and hit an 18-wheeler in the intersection. Tackett allegedly put his car in reverse and tried to back down the ramp before his vehicle jumped a curb and came to a rest. Responding officers said Tackett appeared impaired and had three children as passengers in his vehicle. No injuries were reported and children were put in the care of relatives, police said.

EAST TEXAS — East Texas Council Of Governments announces its Executive Committee approved the renewal of purchasing the Smart911 mass notification system as a part of its public safety program for the thirteenth consecutive year. This system allows ETCOG to partner with East Texas’ city and county emergency management coordinators to send messages quickly notifying citizens about emergencies such as: tornadoes and storm events, drinking water contamination, utility outages, evacuation notices and routes, missing persons, chemical spills or gas leaks and other emergency incidents where rapid and accurate notification is essential. Continue reading ETCOG funds Smart911 Emergency Mass Notification System

KILGORE — The City of Kilgore kicked off their the holiday season with their 92nd annual Christmas parade. According to our news partner KETK, the streets were filled with families in downtown Kilgore to see all of the floats go by in the themed ‘Rocking around the Christmas tree’ parade. Sheroa Hennigan, a resident, has watched the floats go by for more than 30 years. “This is one of the big highlights is the parade and we just absolutely love our small time feel, get to walk the city and get to do fun things and enjoy the lights and all the friends we get to see,” said Hennigan. For some it is a long time tradition to bring your loved ones and set out lawn chairs. For others it is a tradition to be apart of the parade. “We put it in a lot of parades. This is about the tenth time it’s been in this parade. We enjoy doing this its a lot of fun,” said Tulley Borders, a parade participant. Continue reading Kilgore kicks off holidays with 92nd Christmas parade