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CARTHAGE — As the USDA announces a historic round of investments in meat and poultry production, an East Texas packing plant reaps the benefits. BRK Meats in Carthage was given over $500,000 as the Biden Administration makes the effort to ramp up meat and poultry processing. BRK Meats partners with over 200 independent cattle producers. With the money, they’ll add an in-house slaughter facility and a distribution center to their current location — and will be able to look at expanding their area too. The improvements ought to let BRK Meats more than double their employee base.

SMITH COUNTY — The Smith County Commissioners Court passed a resolution unanimously to designate the Smith County Emergency Operations Center after Judge Jack Skeen Jr. on Tuesday. According to our news partner KETK, the building will now be known as the Jack M. Skeen Jr. Emergency Operations Center of Smith County. Smith County Judge-Elect Debbie Gunter and Judge Diane DeVasto came up with the idea to honor Skeen, who has served the county and city of Tyler for 50 years. Skeen graduated from Baylor Law School and was the Assistant District Attorney for Smith County, then he became the city attorney and a municipal court judge. In 1982, he was named as the Smith County District Attorney and served for six terms. Continue reading Commissioners approve naming Emergency Operations Center after Judge

TYLER — The Smith County Commissioners Court Tuesday approved an agreement with the City of Winona and the East Texas Municipal Utility District to pay for a nearly $3.7 million water/sewer project with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding. The project will help fix a “significant” water/sewer issue for Northeast Smith County residents, according to a county news release. Smith County was allocated more than $45 million in ARPA funds by the federal government, intended as relief funding from the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic downturn. The Commissioners Court has held workshops to discuss water/sewer projects in rural areas, as well as other needed projects. Officials say they have considered benefit-to-cost ratio and their long-term impact to the community. Click here for more details.

SMITH COUNTY — On Monday, 4,028 Smith County residents early voted and 10 mail-in absentee ballots were received – for a total of 33,546 ballots. Smith County has 153,855 registered voters. Early voting continues this week. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. today through Friday, November 4. Election Day is 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, November 8. Continue reading Over 33,000 early votes counted so far in Smith County

TYLER — The race to be the next governor of Texas appears to be tightening up, at least according to the latest poll out of the University of Texas at Tyler. Just a month ago, Governor Abbott held a 9-point lead, according to the UT Tyler September poll of registered voters. Now when polling likely voters, O’Rourke gains ground. Gov. Abbott now holds a 6-point lead 50-percent to 44. UT Tyler Political Science Professor Mark Owens says the top two issues for Texans are the border and the economy, which does favor Gov. Abbott. Lt. Governor Dan Patrick has a 9-point lead over Democrat Mike Collier. Democrat Rochelle Garza is just 4 points back of Attorney General Ken Paxton.

TYLER — A pedestrian was killed Saturday morning after he was struck twice by two separate vehicles on State Highway 31, six miles east of Tyler, according to DPS and our news partner KETK. Officials said Haley C. O’Brien, 23, of Bullard, was driving her 2021 Toyota Prius west on State Highway 31 when she struck a pedestrian who DPS identified as James E. Young, 58, of Longview, who was walking in the westbound lane. After being hit by the Prius, the pedestrian was hit by a 2016 Chevrolet Cruze who officials said was driven by Justin M. Tracey, 28, of Flint. Young was declared dead at 7:50 a.m. by Dr. Louis Fernandez of UT Health Hospital in Tyler. The other two drivers were treated at the scene.

LONGVIEW — Longview police arrested a student accused of making a terroristic threat toward a junior high school on Monday. According to Longview police and our news partner KETK, officers were advised on Oct. 30 that a possible threatening text and picture message about a school campus was shared on social media. Authorities said they investigated the situation, interviewed witnesses and looked at several social media accounts. On Monday, police verified that a student made threats toward the Pine Tree Junior High School campus. The student was later detained on a charge of terroristic threat, said law enforcement. They were not on school property at the time. Continue reading Longview student arrested for allegedly making threat to junior high

TYLER – 37-year-old Sharena Seay of Jacksonville, Florida, has been indicted in a purported cryptocurrency money laundering scheme in the Eastern District of Texas. She appeared in Tyler federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge John D. Love. According to the indictment, Seay is alleged to have laundered the proceeds of her drug trafficking operations through cryptocurrency. Authorities claim she supplied alpha-Pyrrolidinopentiophenone (alpha-PVP), which is often called “flakka,” and similar synthetic cathinones, such as Eutylone or alpha-PiHP. Seay allegedly distributed alpha-PVP and other controlled substances to various customers across the United States. Continue reading Officials: Florida woman indicted in cryptocurrency money laundering scheme

TYLER — Tyler Recycles Day is back in 2022 on Saturday, Nov. 19, from 8 a.m. to noon. Officials say the event is Keep Tyler Beautiful’s most popular community collection event, joining thousands of local organizers holding recycling events across the country to celebrate America Recycles Day. During Tyler Recycles Day, community members may bring acceptable recyclables to the Downtown Recycling Center on N. Bois D’Arc Ave. Ark-La-Tex Shredding Company and Interstate Batteries will be providing special services for the duration of the event. Ark-La-Tex Shredding will offer free personal document shredding for individuals and businesses. There will be a collection station for all types of batteries hosted by Interstate Batteries. Continue reading Tyler Recycles Day 2022

LONGVIEW — Curbside recycling in Longview will not be available Oct. 31 – Nov. 2. Officials say the change to regular service is due to necessary maintenance at Rivers Recycling, the materials recovery facility that processes the recyclables collected by the city. During this time, contents placed in curbside recycling carts will be taken to the landfill with regular trash. If customers prefer, they may choose to hold their recycling until the week of Nov. 7. Trash collection, yard waste collection, bulky item pickup, and the compost site will continue to operate as normal during this time. For more information, contact the City of Longview Sanitation Division at 903-237-1250.

CANTON — Funeral services are set for former state Representative Dan Flynn of Van, who died this past Friday at 79. Flynn was part of the Texas Legislature from 2003 through 2021. During his time there, he chaired the Defense and Veterans’ Affairs Committee and the Pensions Committee. Governor Greg Abbott says Flynn leaves behind a legacy of leadership and service to the people of Texas. the funeral for Flynn will be this coming Friday in Canton.

TYLER — The followup continues after a Saturday evening fire caused what officials term “significant damage” at a historic structure at Broadway and Houston in Tyler. Our news partner KETK went inside the Ramey House and saw just how extensive the damage was. Jacob Law is co-owner of Stonewater Roofing, the business operating out of the Ramey House. He says, “Tyler Fire Department was able to minimize damage past the third floor with regards to fire. But with tens of thousands of gallons of water going through the building, there’s a big mess in there we’ve got to get started cleaning up, and being a historic building, it’s going to take some challenges.” Continue reading Work continues after fire at historic structure

TYLER — TxDOT schedules another week’s worth of roadwork in the Tyler District. In Smith County, Tyler maintenance will have a base failure crew on SH 31 West near Loop 323, towards Greenbriar Rd. Expect lane closures with flaggers controlling traffic. A second crew will be performing bridge maintenance on FM 1804 near the county line. Flaggers will be controlling traffic there as well. In Gregg County, Longview maintenance is scheduled to begin bridge repair work on South Loop 281 at Birdsong St. Motorists should expect lane closures eastbound and westbound. Crews will also continue herbicide operations throughout the county. Click here for a complete look at roadwork around the district.

TYLER — The Tyler Parks and Recreation Department is beginning renovations to P.T. Cole Park on S. Vine Ave. The park will be closed starting Monday, Oct. 31, and will remain closed until construction is completed, according to a news release. Officials say the park will be receiving renovated restrooms, a new pavilion, playground equipment, basketball courts, and a splash pad. These renovations will be paid for by the Community Development Block Grant and should be completed by February, according to the release. For more information about this and other Tyler Parks and Rec improvement projects, visit this link or call (903) 531-1370.