LUFKIN, Texas (KETK) â A Lufkin man was sentenced to more than 14 years in federal prison for drug trafficking and illegal possession of a firearm on Thursday.
According to our news partner KETK, acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas Abe McGlothin, Jr. said that Bradley Skyler Bryan, 27 of Lufkin, has pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamines and possession of a firearm by a felon.
SMITH COUNTY â Acccording to our news partner KETK, Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith has apologized after holding an immigration panel where he attempted to ease concerns within the Hispanic community. Smith said the forum came about after Hispanic employees working for the sheriffâs office reportedly advised Smith that many illegal immigrants were afraid to send their children to school, attend church, go to work and report violent crimes.
âI am but a mortal human being who strives to always do what is right. That does not mean by any stretch of the imagination that I am exempt from making mistakes. In a rush to try to make matters better, unfortunately I made some of those matters worse,â Smith said.
JACKSONVILLE â In reports from our news partner, and the Cherokee County Sheriffâs Office, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have arrested five âundocumented aliensâ in Jacksonville.
According to a press release from Cherokee County Sheriff Brent Dickson, an ICE Removal Operations team and Homeland Security investigators arrested five people in a âtargeted enforcement action.â
The five people arrested were described as âundocumented aliens ranging in age from mid-30âs to mid-60âs with criminal histories.â No further information on their arrests was provided by the sheriffâs office.
The arrests come during continued stress and confusion around this latest round of ICE raids. On Jan. 30, several East Texas sheriffs held an immigration Q&A session held in Tyler to explain the role of local sheriffâs offices in regards to ICE raids. The Cherokee County Sheriffâs Office is not a part of ICEâs 287(g) program unlike Smith County and Gregg County, which just joined the program on Tuesday. The program allows local deputies to identify undocumented immigrants with criminal charges for ICE to pick up.
Tyler â The 2025 Campus Teachers of the Year have been selected. A total of 30 outstanding teachers have been nominated for their commitment and dedication to excellence in education. Chosen by colleagues at their respective campuses, these teachers exemplify the highest standards of teaching excellence. Their diligent efforts and innovative approaches have contributed to the academic success and personal growth of their students. The 30 nominees will now vie for the titles of District Elementary Teacher of the Year and District Secondary Teacher of the Year. The selection process involves the submission of written portfolios and interviews with a selection committee. Winners will be determined based on scores from both components. Continue reading Tyler ISD announces 2025 campus Teachers of the Year
Given the amount of fire heâs taking, we can be certain that Elon Musk is directly over the target. In addition to having ignited a wave of howling by enraged Democrats over his upending of the waste and corruption at the United States Agency for International Development ($2 million for sex change surgeries and âLGBTQ activism” in Guatemala anyone?), Musk has uncovered breathtaking sloppiness and massive fiscal irresponsibility at the Treasury Department.
Thatâs not all. Heâs all over the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, calling for it to be shut down because it is operating without congressionally approved funding, and it is promulgating banking regulations that have the perverse effect of making credit and financial services harder to obtain for low-income consumers.
Everywhere he shows up, he finds staggering levels of waste, inefficiency and fraud on the part of the federal government that we pay for and that is supposed to be working for us.
Youâd think that rooting out waste and fraud would be enjoy bipartisan support. But no. Democrats are beside themselves. Hereâs Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, (a Native American descendant, just ask her), shrieking about Elon Musk at a small public rally Monday.
This is like a bank robber trying to fire the cops and turn off the alarms just before he strolls into the lobby.â
Yeah, Liz, thatâs it. Itâs not that billions of dollars taken from the paychecks of those hard-working low income and middle-class taxpayers you say youâre all about are being wasted in the most grotesque ways possible. Itâs that Elon Musk â the richest man in the world â is trying to steal from them. In fact, itâs the Leviathan state that Democrats so strongly favor that is stealing, and in ways that no one has dared to imagine until now.
You sometimes have to ask, can these people hear themselves?
In the case of Muskâs criticisms of the Treasury Department, rather than saying, âWow it looks like the Treasury is long overdue for an audit,â attorneys general from 19 blue states filed suit in Federal Court for the Southern District of New York â a friendly venue for Democrats. The judge, Obama appointee Paul Engelmayer, issued an order blocking access by Musk and the DOGE team to the Treasury payments system.
The order essentially says that only permanent federal bureaucrats can have access. Mere âpolitical appointeesâ cannot. Never mind that the Secretary of the Treasury is a political appointee. The ruling is ridiculous on its face. The Treasury secretary can look at anything at the Department of the Treasury that he wants. And so can anyone else appointed by the president â say, for example, Elon Musk.
God bless Elon Musk and God bless Trump for appointing him to this role. All of us who pay taxes take have long known that we are, to some degree or another, being ripped off. But Democrats are panicking because weâre all about to find out that it is many, many, many orders of magnitude worse than we thought.
UPDATE: According to the Tyler Police Department Cathy Gray was found on Thursday evening not far from her home.
TYLER â Our news partner, KETK, reports that Tyler officials are searching for missing 62-year-old Cathy Gray who is believed to have walked away from her home.
The Tyler Police Department said Gray was last seen at her residence in the 3400 block of Pebblebrook Drive at around 9 a.m. on Thursday. She is described as being 5 feet, 2 inches and is slim with brown hair and blue eyes. Authorities said she was last seen wearing a white puffy coat, blue jeans and brown shoes. Anyone who has seen her is asked to contact the Tyler Police Department.
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TYLER â Our news partners at KETK report that for years veterinarians, shelters and rescues have recommended pet owners to get their dogs and cats microchipped. There are dozens of companies that manufacture the microchips. In the past five years, Spence and White Veterinary Hospital in Tyler, has used Save This Life. However, in recent days, pet owners and veterinarians have noticed that the microchip company had gone dark. Save This Life has pulled their records from the national registry where owner information could be found if their pet was ever lost. Continue reading Texas-based pet microchip company shuts down
SMITH COUNTY â Our news partner, KETK, reports that an East Texas man has been sentenced after a jury found him guilty of murder in July 2024.
Melvin Orlando Guevara, 22 of Tyler, was sentenced on Wednesday in the 114th Judicial District Court for capital murder by terror threat. This comes seven months after the murder of Eduardo Torrez, who was shot at his birthday party. According to the Smith County Sheriffâs Office, deputies were dispatched to a house in the 8900 block of CR 4136 at approximately 6:30 p.m. after receiving reports that a man had been shot and was not breathing.
Once deputies arrived, they reportedly found Torrez in his bedroom, and began lifesaving measures before EMS arrived and pronounced him dead at the scene. A court document said that Torrez was celebrating his birthday with family and friends when Guevara walked into the residence displaying a pistol, entered Torrezâs room, and shot him multiple times in front of his ex-girlfriend. After obtaining an arrest warrant, officials located a vehicle said to belong to Guevara at Highway 31 East and Loop 323. A felony stop was conducted at a nearby car wash and he was taken into custody.
GREGG COUNTY — Gregg County is the second county in East Texas to partner with ICE to identify and report immigrants in the United States illegally. According to our news partner KETK, on Tuesday, Gregg County commissioners voted 4-1 to approve the sheriffâs office to enter an agreement with federal officials, which is the ICE 287(g) program apart of The Illegal Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1966.
This program gives deputies the ability to identify undocumented criminal immigrants through the federal immigration system then contact ICE directly and have the detainer put on immediately.
âThe 287g program is not new. Weâve been doing it for four decades and if youâre not here illegally, then you have absolutely nothing to worry about, but if youâre here illegally and you commit a crime and come to jail, will you get a detainer on you? probably,â Chief Deputy Craig Harrington said. Continue reading Gregg County second in East Texas to have agreement with ICE
LONGVIEW â OUr news partner KETK is reporting that the Longview Police Department will begin encrypting their radio communications, or police scanner, as an essential move to protect department communication and combat crime. Many calls contain sensitive information including medical information, addresses and witness identities. By encrypting their communication, the police department says this will ensure that information remains protected and out of the public domain.
Additionally, the move is expected to improve officer safety, especially during rapidly developing situations. Suspects can flee crime scenes, destroy evidence or ambush officers if they have access to instant information through the radio channels. Though, this access will be closed to the public, authorities reassured they are committed to transparency and will continue to provide timely updates through official channels.
âThe community can stay informed about major incidents without compromising security or personal privacy,â the police department said.
TYLER – On Wednesday, the Tyler City Council approved a request to name an unnamed field at Fun Forest Park in honor of Reverend Ralph Caraway, Sr. The North Tyler Youth Baseball and Girls Softball Association initially proposed the request in recognition of Reverend Caraway’s profound impact on the community.
Under Tyler’s ordinance for naming or renaming parklands and park facilities, a park can be named in honor of a living community leader. On Jan. 29, the City of Tyler Parks Board voted unanimously in favor of naming the field after Rev. Caraway. While parks are often named after financial donors or coaches with extensive records of wins, Reverend Caraway’s contributions go beyond the scoreboard. His leadership and mentorship have shaped the lives of thousands of youth and adults throughout the Tyler area. Continue reading Baseball field named in honor of Rev. Ralph Caraway, Sr.
HENDERSON â The Henderson ISD Board of Trustees formally announced the hiring of their new superintendent during a special Tuesday night meeting. According to our news partner KETK, Brian Bowman joins the district with over 20 years of service in education leadership. Before coming Henderson, Bowman served as the superintendent of Diboll ISD.
Bowman said in a press release about how excited he is to join Henderson ISD, âFor me, this new role represents more than just a new opportunityâitâs a return to the East Texas region I call home. With children and grandchildren in the area, this is more than just a professional been move; itâs a chance to reconnect with a community that has always to me and my family. Iâve long admired Henderson ISDâs tradition of excellence and am eager to build on its strong foundation to support students, staff, and families.â
Bowman officially started his new role with the district on Wednesday.
HOUSTON – The Houston Chronicle reports that Houstonâs largest health care institutions stand to lose tens of millions of dollars under a new National Institutes of Health policy that slashes grant funding for medical research, triggering widespread concern among researchers and university administrators. The funding in question, also called âindirect costs,â reimburses grant recipients for overhead costs associated with research, such as the cost of support staff and maintaining lab space. The policy change would not affect direct costs, which go directly toward specific research projects. The NIH on Friday announced plans to dramatically lower the rate at which it reimburses indirect costs, drawing a lawsuit from 22 states (not including Texas). A federal judge blocked the policy in those 22 states Monday afternoon. On Monday night, the judge expanded the order to apply nationwide. In Texas, many university leaders and researchers remained anxious about what the future holds. Research institutions in the Houston area collected a combined $263 million in indirect costs last year from the NIH, according to an agency database.
âWithin a short order, there would probably have to be personnel decisions,â said Darren Woodside, vice president of research at the Texas Heart Institute. âThe long term consequences are dire. Youâre really talking about the U.S.âs leadership role in medical research being affected.â The new NIH policy caps reimbursements for indirect costs at 15%. Until now, large research institutions have been paid considerably higher reimbursement rates â some greater than 50% â to account for their high overhead expenses. In announcing the decision, the agency said it is “obligated to carefully steward grant awards to ensure taxpayer dollars are used in ways that benefit the American people and improve their quality of life,” adding that indirect costs are “difficult for NIH to oversee.” The policy change could have devastating impacts in and around the Texas Medical Center, officials said. Rice University â which received $24.6 million in NIH grant funding last year â would lose $9.1 million this fiscal year and at least $11 to $12 million in every future fiscal year, according to a university spokesperson. The University of Houston estimated that it could lose about $10 million annually and braced for the possibility of further cuts from other federal agencies. âWe must consider the possibility that other federal agencies may adopt similar policies, further compounding the challenges faced by research institutions nationwide,â the university said.
TYLER – On Wednesday, the City Council approved an agreement with Cyclyx International, marking a significant expansion of the City’s recycling program. For years, the Tyler Recycle Center has only accepted plastics #1 and #2 due to limitations in processing capabilities. Through this new partnership, starting March 3, the City will now be able to accept all plastics, except PVC, helping to divert more waste from the landfill. Under the agreement, Cyclyx International will accept all eligible plastics for at least one year and will pay the City $0.035 per ton of collected material. The partnership aligns with Tyler’s commitment to sustainability and waste reduction. Cyclyx specializes in breaking down plastics into a feedstock that can be reused by industry partners such as Exxon to create new plastic products. This process ensures that more materials are repurposed rather than discarded, keeping more materials out of the landfill. Residents are encouraged to take advantage of this expansion by bringing their plastics to the Downtown Tyler Recycle Center.
LUFKIN, Texas (KETK) â A Lufkin man was sentenced to more than 14 years in federal prison for drug trafficking and illegal possession of a firearm on Thursday.
