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RUSK COUNTY – The Rusk County Sheriff’s Office says a juvenile was arrested on Thursday after a terroristic threat was made against the Carlisle Independent School District. According to our news partner KETK, deputies said they received a call from the school district, and after their investigation, the juvenile was arrested and charged with felony 3 terroristic threat. “The Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the Carlisle ISD administrative team for their quick actions that enabled us to quickly resolve this situation before it happened. We will work hard with all our school districts to ensure the safety of our children and their staffs,” said the sheriff’s office in a prepared statement.

TYLER – The Christmas season is almost here, and The Tyler Salvation Army began celebrating Friday with a Christmas Kick-Off. Celebrations began at 11 a.m. in the breezeway between JC Penney and Chick-Fil-A at Broadway Square Mall. The Christmas Kick-Off launches The Salvation Army’s Kettle and Angel Tree season. This holiday season, 43 locations will be hosting the iconic red kettle as volunteers ring a bell to raise money for The Salvation Army with the goal set at $385,000. This year, each kettle stand will have a QR Code and an NFC tag which will allow donors to use Apple Pay, Google Pay, Venmo, and PayPal rather than dropping cash or coins in the kettle. Continue reading Tyler Salvation Army holds Christmas Kick-Off

TYLER – A UT Tyler professor has been awarded a TxDOT grant of nearly $600,000 to enhance the asphalt currently being used in highway/road resurfacing projects for improved wet-weather driving. Mena Souliman, PhD, is an associate professor and the Ronald D. Brazzel Endowed Professor of Civil Engineering at the university. The Texas A&M Transportation Institute will work with Souliman on the three-year project. Souliman and his collaborators will examine the current highway/road construction processes in the hope of decreasing crashes on wet resurfaced pavements. The 2021 “Weather Conditions for Crashes” report from TxDOT found that “rain” was the most repeated weather condition behind “clear/cloudy” in all reported crashes. Continue reading UT Tyler professor awarded TxDOT grant for road safety enhancement

LONGVIEW — The City of Longview has scheduled a number of holiday events through December – and that’s only part of what will be happening around town. Celebrations kick off Saturday, Nov. 19, with the Downtown Longview Christmas Tree Lighting at Heritage Plaza. District 3 Councilman Wray Wade will host a free community Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, Nov. 24, at the Green Street Recreation Center. Then on Thursday, Dec. 1, at 6:30 p.m., the Longview AMBUCS Christmas Parade will return to downtown Longview. Other activities include pics with Santa, ArtWalk Longview, and the Longview Public Library Cheermeister Party. In addition to all that, businesses and nonprofits across the community have scheduled their own holiday events. Click here for a detailed rundown.

AUSTIN – The University of Texas Board of Regents Thursday gave final authorization for design, development, and additional construction funding for the University of Texas at Tyler School of Medicine’s new Medical Education Building — a $308 million project. The UT Tyler School of Medicine will welcome its first students to campus in the summer of 2023, and the building is expected to be completed in March 2025. “The regents are taking the next pivotal step in launching the UT System’s seventh medical school – one that is specifically dedicated to benefiting Northeast Texas for generations,” said Board of Regents Chairman Kevin Eltife, as quoted in a news release. Continue reading UT Regents approve cost for UT Tyler Medical Education Building construction

EAST TEXAS — Governor Abbott is requesting a disaster declaration for parts of Northeast Texas. Storms that moved through the Dallas-Fort Worth area the afternoon of November 4th intensified when they got to Northeast Texas that evening, and several tornadoes developed. Abbott’s office says crews have been assessing damage, and they believe it meets the threshold set for a disaster declaration from the U.S. Small Business Administration, which would make people in that region eligible for low-interest disaster recovery loans. The request is for a disaster declaration covering Lamar and Morris Counties, plus Bowie, Camp, Cass, Delta, Fannin, Marion, Red River, Titus, and Upshur Counties.

GILMER — The body of an East Texas missing man was found on Wednesday. According to our news partner KETK, the Upshur County Sheriff’s Office says William Chad Martin, 38, of Ore City, was located in the Latch Community in Upshur County in a pasture creek bed close to North Live Oak Road. He was found about half a mile from where he was last spotted on Nov. 5. Martin was last seen running into a 500-acre wooded area. His body was located by property owners who were helping in the search. An autopsy has been ordered. Officials are still investigating the situation. Continue reading Missing man’s body found

LONGVIEW – The Longview Police Department said Wednesday they are working on creating means to help support an officer who was determined to have a rare form of cancer after undergoing open heart surgery. According to our news partner KETK, the police originally called on the public in mid-October to offer prayers for Officer Larry Solomon as he underwent the heart surgery. The department now says a mass was found near his heart during surgery and it turned out to be angiosarcoma. Officials said Solomon has already begun treatment. The department says the Longview Police Benefits Association will be fundraising for Solomon starting with t-shirt sales. You can learn more here.

TYLER — The Smith County Peace Officers Association Wednesday delivered almost 1,000 pounds of canned and non-perishable food items to PATH in Tyler. Officials say the donations were collected at the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, Courthouse, Annex Building, Emergency Operations Center, and Juvenile Probation office, along with the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Tyler Police Department. Also, the Peace Officers Association collected donations at their monthly luncheons. Law enforcement personnel say they encourage everyone to donate to PATH during what’s termed “this critical time of need.” You can drop off your donations at the PATH office at W. Front Street and Chilton Avenue in Tyler.

TYLER — The Tyler Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Transportation Policy Committee will be holding a regularly scheduled meeting Thursday at 2 p.m. in the Tyler Development Center Large Conference Room on W. Ferguson St. The committee will consider adopting an amendment to the Transportation Improvement Program to update the highway projects list to reflect the latest project information in the TxDOT Unified Transportation Program. Also up for consideration: adopting an amendment to the Unified Planning Work Program to redistribute funds related to Task 5 – Special Studies. You can learn more here, and you can contact the MPO by calling (903) 531-1175 option 5.

HENDERSON COUNTY – Texas game wardens in Henderson County are asking for assistance identifying the person responsible for leaving a white-tail buck to waste — a case of illegal dumping. According to our news partner KETK, the deer was dumped on County Road 1311 near Crossroads during the evening of Nov. 11 or the early morning of Nov. 12. Anyone with information is asked to call Operation Game Thief at 1-800-792-4263 or Texas Game Warden Mark Anderson at 903-907-2102.

TYLER – The road to the White House in 2024 began Tuesday night with former President Trump announcing he is running to be president again. The Smith County Democratic Party said they welcome the announcement. “We kind of look forward to seeing Trump galvanize around the country. It’s gonna help the Democrats quite a bit,” said Smith County Democratic Party Chair Hector Garza. Smith county Republicans said it is too early to predict a nominee. Smith County Republican Party Chair David Stein remarked, “If he wants to run and feels that he has the backing to run again for the presidency, it’s his right to do that and if he decides not to, that’s his right also.” Continue reading Local party leaders react to Trump announcement

TYLER – One of the people who has been confirmed to have died in the Dallas Air Show on Nov. 12, Dan Ragan, attended the 2021 Rose City Airfest in Tyler. Ragan flew the B-17 Flying Fortress Texas Raiders war craft that appeared at the Airfest’s inaugural 4th of July event. “I flew in that B-17, it was a navy plane back then and I was a crew member 67 years ago,” Ragan shared with our news partner KETK in a 2021 interview. An investigation is underway to find out why and how the crash took place at the Dallas Air Show over the weekend. It’s said that the investigation could take up to 18 months.

GILMER – The Upshur County Sheriff’s Office said on Tuesday they are looking for a 38-year-old missing man last seen after running into a wooded area with his girlfriend. According to our news partner KETK, officials said William Chad Martin of Ore City was last seen early Nov. 5 after his girlfriend said they had been smoking meth and were drunk the day before. According to his girlfriend, they thought they had been caught stealing tires and fled in Martin’s truck before running out of gas. She says the two ran into nearby woods near Live Oak Road in the southwest part of the county. She later emerged from the woods, but officials said Martin did not and has not been seen since. You’re asked to contact the Upshur County Sheriff’s office if you have any leads.

TYLER – The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission is investigating a local bar due to an alleged drunk driving crash that injured a pedestrian. According to our news partner KETK, it’s the second probe of Where’s Rufus announced in recent days. DPS said a construction worker went to the hospital after they were allegedly hit by a pickup truck being driven by Matthew Ray Pallitto, 35, of Tyler on Thursday on Highway 155. Pallitto was charged with intoxication assault with a vehicle and disregarding an official traffic control device. His bond was set at $50,500, and he was released from jail on Nov. 10. The pedestrian suffered serious injuries. TABC said Pallitto was possibly at Where’s Rufus before the crash and that the commission is looking into whether any rules were broken by the bar. Continue reading Bar faces second investigation over alleged drunk driving