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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

TYLER — UT Health East Texas confirmed that they are off divert status as of Tuesday morning and are treating patients in emergency rooms, hospitals and clinics.  The initial divert status was issued following a ransomware attack on the computer system of their parent company, Ardent Health Services. That’s according to our news partner KETK. Ransomware is designed to encrypt files and make them unusable before a hacker demands ransom in exchange for decryption. As of Monday, Ardent said it “cannot confirm the extent of any patient health or financial data that has been compromised,” but said they reported the event to law enforcement and hired third-party forensic and threat intelligence advisors. Ardent took its network offline after the attack, but that is no longer the case. Continue reading UT Health East Texas drops divert status

JEFFERSON– The Marion County Sheriff’s Office is asking for help in finding a 60-year-old cyclist last seen Friday in Jefferson. According to our news partner KETK, missing is Clyde Finely. Finley is a Black man . He’s 6-foot-tall, 180-pounds with black hair and blue eyes. Finely is known to be a long distance cyclist. The Marion County Sheriff’s ask if you have information to please call them at 903-665-3961.

TYLER – Even though the Christmas tree lighting in downtown Tyler was postponed due to weather, city employees put up Tyler’s new Christmas tree Monday night. According to our news partner KETK, the 30-foot artificial tree is topped off with an extra 5-foot star and has more than 1,800 ornaments. The Christmas tree lighting, which was originally set for Thursday, now is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. next Thursday. At that time, Tyler Mayor Don Warren and this year’s Miracle Child will be introduced and they will light up the tree.

TYLER – Our news colleagues at KETK report that former Bishop of the Diocese of Tyler Joseph E. Strickland released an open letter to the community on Monday after his forcible removal by the Pope earlier this month. In the letter, Strickland said he was asked to meet with the Apostolic Nuncio of the United States where he was read a list of reasons why he was being removed. He said he would like to make these reasons available but was not given a copy of the list. Strickland wrote that the reasons read to him “seemed to be related, for the most part, to my speaking the Truth of our Catholic faith, and to my warnings against anything that threatened that Truth” and mentioned him “not walking alongside my brother bishops as I defended the Church and her unchangeable teachings.” Continue reading Former Bishop pens open letter to community

TYLER — A local food pantry received a donation to feed and clothe people in need. According to our news partner KETK, on Monday, St. Vincent De Paul received a $30,000 check from the Tyler Friends of the Poor at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception Center. According to the organization, the money will be used to help feed and clothe those in need. “We have to supply the food for our food pantry, this is a tremendous support in that aspect for our ministry,” said Grace Vierling, the executive director at St. Vincent De Paul.

TYLER — The Rose City Christmas Parade, scheduled for Thursday, November 30, has been canceled due to potential severe weather. The announcement was issued by the parade committee on Monday. Continue reading Rose City Christmas Parade canceled

HARRISON COUNTY — The Harrison County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death of a 28-year-old Tyler man shot at the home of his ex-girlfriend. According to our news partner KETK, the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office received a call on the morning of Nov. 23 from a women about shots fired  in Longview. The woman explained her ex-boyfriend had shown up at her residence and that another man had shot him. When investigators arrived they found Diante Hampton unconscious. Hampton was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. The Sheriff’s Office said the case is still open and they will release further details when they are available

TYLER — In a press released received from UT Health Communications Director Allison Pollan, “In light of recent events, it will be necessary to reschedule the UT Health Tyler tree-lighting ceremony originally planned for Tuesday, Nov. 28. As work continues to fully restore access to our systems, we are committed to remaining focused on hospital operations and providing quality care for our patients and their families. Thank you for your understanding, and we will let you know as soon as we have a rescheduled date to announce.”
Continue reading UT Health Tyler tree lighting to be rescheduled.

ANGELINA COUNTY – A Diboll man was sentenced to 55 years in prison earlier this month after pleading guilty to the murder of his father according to our news colleagues at KETK. Cody Cosby, 47 of Diboll, was initially arrested in June 2020 after being accused of fatally shooting his 77-year-old father James Cosby. Officials at the time said James was shot while sitting in his recliner watching TV, and Cody fled the scene but was arrested hours later by Angelina County authorities. Cosby pleaded guilty to murder on Nov. 13, and was sentenced later that day.

VAN ZANDT COUNTY – A 22-year-old man is dead after officials said his vehicle left the road and hit a tree on Saturday, according to our news partners at KETK. According to the Department of Public Safety, Kody Pounds, 22 of Emory, was driving his 2001 Chevrolet Suburban west on State Highway 64 when the Chevrolet left the road, went into a ditch, crossed a private driveway and struck a tree. Justice of the Peace Don Ashlock pronounced Pounds dead at the scene. DPS is continuing to investigate the crash.

MOUNT PLEASANT – A man was arrested on Friday in Mount Pleasant for possession of child pornography. According to Mount Pleasant PD, and out colleagues at KETK, an investigation found that Jerry Henderson, 53, used social media to obtain illegal material. The investigation began after police said they gained information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about Henderson regarding online child pornography. A search warrant was executed at Henderson’s home where officials said he was found to be in possession of child pornography, and booked into the Franklin County Jail that same day.

TYLER — The annual UT Health Tyler Tree-Lighting Ceremony will take place Tuesday, Nov. 28, from 5-6 p.m. at 1000 S. Beckham on the hospital’s front lawn. Santa arrives on the front lawn of the hospital at 5 p.m. Bring your own cameras for photos. Refreshments will be served at the event. Gates open at 4:30 p.m. and free parking is available in both parking garages. The event is open to the public. At 5:20 p.m. our tree-lighting ceremony will begin. The tree will be lit by Rob Taylor, who underwent open-heart surgery this year at UT Health Tyler, where his wife and daughter work as nurses, and completed Pritikin Intensive Cardiac Rehab at the UT Health East Texas Rehabilitation Center in Tyler.

EAST TEXAS — The United Way of Smith County will host the fourth annual “Tyler Gives” on Giving Tuesday, November 28th. Supplemented by a $75,000 matching grant, the online fundraiser addresses local needs by providing dozens of local nonprofits with essential year-end funding. Since its inception on Giving Tuesday in 2020, more than $600,000 has been raised online through tylergives.org. The United Way of Smith County and event sponsor Express Employment Professionals provide the $75,000 matching grant and cover all credit card fees from donations during the fundraiser. Beginning at 8 a.m. CST on November 28th, the first $75,000 in donations through tylergives.org will be matched. Donors can select a specific agency to support or choose to support all equally with one gift. Continue reading United Way to host 4th annual Tyler Gives with 75K

NACOGDOCHES – The Nacogdoches Police Department said that one man was found dead in an early Sunday morning shooting in Nacogdoches. Authorities identified the man found at the Fredonia Apartments on East Seale Street as 27-year-old Ladarius Hogan. Nacogdoches PD and SWAT team members arrested the suspected shooter, 19-year-old Daquarius Hunt of Nacogdoches around mid-morning Sunday. Hunt is currently in the Nacogdoches County Jail. The Nacogdoches Police Department is still has the case open.

TYLER — Tyler’s Green Acres Baptist Church on Wednesday hosted “Pure Religion,” where a team of around 300 volunteers built close to 50 beds for foster children in East Texas. Pure Religion President Tony Black said, “One in three does not have a bed to be able to be placed in a next of kin home and so this was a huge need that we found here in Smith County alone.” Black said gifting the brand new twin beds to kids in need and seeing their reaction on the children’s face is an amazing experience. “They’ve never had anything to call their own and they get to lay in the bed for the first time and literally expressions of joy and sometimes we get tears.”
Continue reading Volunteers build beds for children in foster care

TYLER – Emergency rooms in the UT Health East Texas network are in “divert status” after a network outage caused by a possible security incident. According to our news partner KETK, The outage was first reported by UT Health on Thursday afternoon. In a statement provided by UT Health East Texas Director of Communications Allison Pollan, “Earlier today, we became aware of a network outage due to a potential security incident that is affecting UT Health East Texas. As we work to assess the impact of this outage and restore access, we are following established downtime protocols. As a precaution, our emergency rooms are currently on divert status as we work to bring our systems back online. We anticipate that network access will be restored in the next 24-36 hours,”
Continue reading UT Health network outages continue

TYLER — Tyler Mayor Don Warren proclaimed the month of November as “Thank a Business Month, in partnership with the Better Business Bureau (BBB). “Thank a Business Month,” is a month-long celebration dedicated to expressing appreciation for the businesses that contribute to the vitality of our community, providing a platform to acknowledge their hard work and commitment and valuable contributions to the local economy. Every November, BBB will celebrate local businesses and will encourage the community to participate in various activities designed to show gratitude to local businesses. Continue reading Tyler joins BBB celebrating “Thank a Business Month”

TYLER — The Tyler Salvation Army, with the help of volunteers, serve a big Thanksgiving dinner every year, helping to feed anywhere from 500 to 1,000 people, our news partner KETK reports. “We can’t manage all that, so we have these great volunteers, and some of these volunteers have been doing it for years,” said Jeremy Walker, captain and commanding officer of the Tyler Salvation Army. Walker said it’s a blessing to see how this community rallies around each other. Whether it is giving your time or making a donation just for the holidays. The Tyler Salvation Army will be serving meals for their residents inside and will have to-go meals outside for the community on Thanksgiving day from 11 am to 1 pm. Continue reading Salvation Army and volunteers hand out Thanksgiving meals

TEXARKANA – Authorities in Texarkana said they are investigating a Tuesday night shooting that left two people injured according to our news partners at KETK. Officials with Texarkana PD said they were dispatched to the scene at a McDonald’s on New Boston Road around 10:30 p.m. “When we arrived, we found a 17-year-old man in the parking lot there who had been shot in the leg,” officials said in a release. “A 21-year-old man who had been shot twice in the torso showed up at the hospital about 10 minutes later.” Continue reading 2 injured after McDonald’s parking lot shooting