Rep. Moran calls Biden immigration policy a distraction

Rep. Moran calls Biden immigration policy a distractionTYLER — President Joe Biden issued new protections for undocumented spouses and children of U.S. citizens on Tuesday that protects them from deportation. The new policy would be eligible for people who have been in the country for at least 10 years. Biden’s policy would allow nearly 500,000 spouses to stay in the country allowing non-citizens to stay in the U.S. while filing for permanent residency instead of returning to their home country.

According to our news partner KETK, Republican U.S. Rep. Nathaniel Moran said this action taken by Biden is “unfortunate” and that the president is trying to act on border policy five months away from the election. Biden’s executive action is expected to be challenged in court, however if Biden’s policy does go into effect, it would be the most significant action on immigration, since former president Obama’s DACA policy. Continue reading Rep. Moran calls Biden immigration policy a distraction

Animal control officer arrested for animal cruelty

Animal control officer arrested for animal crueltyWILLS POINT – A Wills Point animal control officer was arrested on Thursday after admitting to a Van Zandt County deputy of shooting his own dog, the SPCA of Texas said. According to our news partner KETK, Michael Goggans, with Wills Point Animal Control, was taken into custody and charged with cruelty and torture to a non-livestock animal.

Van Zandt County deputies reportedly told Goggans that he needed to keep his dog confined after separate calls of his dog running at large were reported on June 12 and June 13. A deputy warned Goggans that if the dog was not properly confined, a citation would be issued. “Goggans responded to the deputy’s warning by informing him of his intent to kill the dog. He contacted the deputy again to inform him that he had killed it and that the dog was in the front yard of his residence,” the release said. Continue reading Animal control officer arrested for animal cruelty

Gov. Abbott appoints UT Tyler student to state education board

Gov. Abbott Appoints UT Tyler Student to state education boardTYLER – Texas Governor Greg Abbott has appointed Lucas Schwartz, a student at The University of Texas at Tyler School of Medicine, to serve as the student representative on the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Schwartz’s one-year term began on June 1. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board is a state agency that oversees higher education institutions and policies. The board works to ensure Texas higher education goals are aligned with economic and talent needs.

Dr. Brigham C. Willis, UT Tyler School of Medicine dean said this of Schwartz in a release, “Lucas Schwartz embodies the spirit of leadership and dedication that we strive to cultivate in our students. His commitment to serving both the state and East Texas is commendable. We are confident that he will represent the interests of Texas students with great passion and integrity on the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.”

Schwartz graduated with an associate degree in biology from Tyler Junior College before completing his Bachelor of Science in Nutrition at Texas A&M University. He served as a medic in the Air Force and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Medicine from the UT Tyler School of Medicine and an Executive Master of Business Administration in Healthcare Management from UT Tyler.

ETBU merger announced

MARSHALL – ETBU merger announcedEast Texas Baptist University and B. H. Carroll Theological Seminary are pleased to announce their official merger, following approval from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). The SACSCOC Board of Trustees approved ETBU’s Substantive Merger/Level Change prospectus, endorsing the integration of B. H. Carroll Theological Seminary into ETBU. With this approval, ETBU expands its status as a Level VI institution of higher learning with no further reporting required. Continue reading ETBU merger announced

He just keeps getting worse.

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Every time I think to myself that Joe Biden and his administration cannot get worse – that he has hit rock bottom, the very basement of terribleness – he proves me wrong.

Now he wants to grant, via executive order, what amounts to amnesty to more than 500,000 illegal immigrants. The proposition is that an illegal immigrant who has been in the country for 10 years or more and is married to an American citizen will be granted “parole in place” status.

What this means in plain English is that these people who are in the country illegally need not fear deportation. What’s more, they will move ahead in the line for receipt of a green card, which will grant them permanent legal residence in the United States.

Administration rationale for this move is, of course, cloaked in humanitarian language. “We’ll be keeping families together,” they’re saying. “It’s a recognition of the basic humanity of people who have lived and worked in this country,” they tell us.

Don’t be fooled.

And forget for the moment that this move constitutes a material change to U.S. immigration policy and should thus be debated and voted on by our representatives in Congress, rather than being put in place by the stroke of the executive pen. The simple fact is that Biden and his fellow travelers talk a lot about democracy, but they have very limited patience for it. That is particularly true when the democratic process as exercised by We the People doesn’t favor their far-left policies.

Poll after poll tells us that a decisive majority of Americans oppose Biden’s immigration policies. Most Americans are hardworking and clear thinking. They know that the country cannot withstand the social, fiscal and national security impact attendant to millions and millions of poor, social services consuming, largely unskilled, largely uneducated and – to an unknown but inevitable degree – criminally inclined migrants pouring across our wide-open southern border.

I have asked myself many times why, when the polls clearly reveal that Biden’s immigration policy is wildly unpopular, he pursues it anyway.

My tinfoil hat inner voice whispers to me that Joe Biden has been bought and paid for by Chinese leader Xi Jingping and that XI wants to knock the United States off its perch as the big dog on the world stage. One way to do that is to destabilize the U.S. socially and politically by flooding the country will illegal immigrants. In other words, Xi knows what he wants and Biden is doing as he’s told.

But Occam’s razor tells us that the simplest explanation is the most likely explanation, and the simple explanation is this.

This latest immigration policy move is nothing more and nothing less than a vote grab by an increasingly desperate incumbent president and his increasingly far-left political party.

For the Dems, it’s a short putt from “parole in place” to “eligible to vote.”

Half a million new voters. Let that sink in while you remember that the 2020 election was decided by fewer than 40,000 votes.

SFA art professor named Fulbright Scholar

NACOGDOCHES – SFA art professor named Fulbright ScholarOur news partners at KETK report that an associate art professor from the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Art has been selected to be a Fulbright Scholar and will be conducting research in France. According to a release, Candace Hicks has been selected for fellowship as a part of the Fulbright program in which “scholars play a critical role in U.S. public diplomacy, establishing long-term relationships between people and nations” by conducting research and engaging the communities of different countries, regions and cultures. Continue reading SFA art professor named Fulbright Scholar

Convicted Longview murderer gets new hearing

Convicted Longview murdererAUSTIN – An East Texas man who is currently serving 99 years in prison for the 2013 shooting death of a teenager was granted a new sentencing hearing on Wednesday by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, according to our news partner KETK. In 2015, Coby Hudgins, now 33, was sentenced to 99 years in prison in 2015 in a Gregg County court after being found guilty by a jury of shooting and killing his girlfriend’s bestfriend while drinking with her, his cousin and his girlfriend’s sister. The concurring opinion issued by the court of appeals states that because now Hudgins brings expert evidence showing that he suffered from PTSD at the time of the offense, a new punishment hearing has been granted. Continue reading Convicted Longview murderer gets new hearing

Brownsboro man charged with child sex crimes

Brownsboro man charged with child sex crimesHENDERSON COUNTY — A 79-year-old man was arrested in Henderson County on Wednesday for continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14-years-old. According to our news partner KETK, Billy Lide, of Brownsboro, was arrested after officials said the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office Crimes Against Children Task Force, Narcotics Investigators and Special Assignment deputies executed a search warrant at a home on CR 3410 in Brownsboro.

According to the sheriff’s office, during the execution of the search warrant, probable cause was found to issue an arrest warrant for Lide “with additional charges to come for delivery of a controlled substance or marijuana to a minor, a second-degree felony.”

Lide remains in the Henderson County Jail, as of Thursday morning, and is awaiting arraignment. Officials said the arrest was a joint investigation with the Cherokee County Children’s Advocacy Center and Cherokee County Child Protective Services.

Tyler ISD denounces Biden’s new Title IX regulations

Tyler ISD denounces Biden’s new Title IX regulationsTYLER — Tyler ISD denounced the new Title IX regulations imposed by President Joe Biden that expands protections for LGBTQ+ students during Tuesday’s school board meeting according to our news partner KETK. During the meeting, the school board said they aim at protecting the rights of female students and rejected Biden’s new regulations that “attack the fundamental fabric of Title IX protections for daughters, wives and mothers by transforming traditionally private or single-sex settings into unsafe spaces for biological women.”

Title IX, a regulation imposed by the U.S. Department of Education, aims to protect people from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance. The new regulation to be enacted on Aug. 1, would mandate that schools cannot discriminate against students based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Continue reading Tyler ISD denounces Biden’s new Title IX regulations

TxDOT Tyler district: 600+ DUI related crashes in 2023

TxDOT: Tyler district: 600+ DUI related crashes in 2023TYLER – According to our news partner KETK, TxDOT reports that 10 out of 657 DUI-alcohol related crashes last year in the Tyler District happened during the July 4 holiday. TxDOT said last year’s crashes in the Tyler district resulted in 46 fatalities and 106 serious injuries. The release said that from June 21 to July 7 patrols are increased to reduce the amount of DWI-related crashes and injuries. Currently, a DWI can result in fines and fees of up to $16,000 in Texas.

“Drunk driving can change lives forever,” TxDOT Executive Director Marc Williams said. “In the worst case, families lose loved ones or face devastating injuries. But even when there isn’t a crash, the decision to drink and drive can ruin careers and relationships. That’s why we want everyone to know how important and easy it is to always plan ahead for a sober ride.”

“Even though the number of drunk driving deaths on Texas roadways in 2023 is down 15% from 2022, we must strive to continue that trend,” TxDOT said.

State court finds Kerry Max Cook innocent of 1977 Tyler murder

State court finds Kerry Max Cook innocent of 1977 Tyler murderAUSTIN – Kerry Max Cook is innocent of the 1977 murder of Linda Jo Edwards, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals found, citing stunning allegations of prosecutorial misconduct that led to Cook spending 20 years on death row for a crime he did not commit, that according to an article in the Texas Tribune. Cook was released from prison in 1997 and Smith County prosecutors set aside his conviction in 2016. The ruling Wednesday, by the state’s highest criminal court, formally exonerates him.

“This case is riddled with allegations of State misconduct that warrant setting aside Applicant’s conviction,” Judge Bert Richardson wrote in the majority opinion. “And when it comes to solid support for actual innocence, this case contains it all — uncontroverted Brady violations, proof of false testimony, admissions of perjury and new scientific evidence.”

Cook, now 68, became an advocate against the death penalty after his release. The ruling ends, as Richardson wrote, a “winding legal odyssey” stretching 40 years that was “marked by bookends of deception.”
Continue reading State court finds Kerry Max Cook innocent of 1977 Tyler murder

Concerns over restricted access at First Monday Trade Days

CANTON – Concerns over restricted access at First Monday Trade DaysFirst Monday Trade Days vendors and visitors voiced their opinions at Tuesday’s Canton city council meeting. The city owns part of the grounds and the Lewis family has owned the other side since 1979. Vendors and citizens are against a change concerning the vendor entrances and exits on the Lewis side. “It would prevent older vendors from getting to the basics of pavilion one to be able to set their booth and have their restock trailer on Lewis property because you have to cross about a 25 to 30 feet section of city property,” Vendor for 30 years Robert Shumate said. Under this change, the city will put bollards along their property line, not allowing Lewis vendors in through city entrances. Continue reading Concerns over restricted access at First Monday Trade Days

Henderson school board accepts resignation of superintendent

Henderson school board accepts resignation of superintendentHENDERSON – The Henderson ISD school board accepted the resignation of Superintendent Dr. Thurston Lamb on Tuesday night at a special called meeting. Lamb joined the district as superintendent in 2019, and in 2022, was named the Region 7 Superintendent of the Year. In a statement, the school district said Lamb submitted his resignation effective July 8, and said he was leaving to be closer to his family. Continue reading Henderson school board accepts resignation of superintendent