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TYLER – UT Health Tyler and CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital have confirmed that parts of their facilities are running on generator power. According to our news partner KETK, the power outages happened on Wednesday after a power line was cut when a gas company doing maintenance work.

UT Health East Texas said in a release, “Our emergency generators are fully operational for affected areas, and all critical systems, including life-support equipment and patient monitoring systems, are functioning without interruption. Patient care and safety remain our highest priority. At this time, essential services are continuing, and our clinical teams are closely monitoring all areas of the hospital.” Continue reading Parts of Tyler hospitals on generator after power line cut

RUSK COUNTY — A pipeline explosion has been reported near a church camp in Rusk County. According to our news partner KETK, Rusk County Sheriff Johnwayne Valdez said the explosion was beside the Whispering Pines Church Camp. Valdez said the camp was not operating at the time of the incident. Henderson Fire Department and three volunteer fire departments were at scene early Wednesday evening. Rusk County ESD#1 Spokesperson Patrick Dolley said a person was working in the area of the pipeline. They hit it, causing a fire. The fire was contained and no injuries were reported.

TYLER – BlueCross BlueShield of Texas announced on Wednesday that they have reached an agreement with CHRISTUS Health, ensuring patients can continue to receive in-network care. The insurance company said all CHRISTUS Health doctors, hospitals and other facilities will remain in their network.

CHRISTUS released the following statement Wednesday on the agreement:

“CHRISTUS Health is pleased to announce that we have reached a new contract agreement with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, ensuring that patients can continue to receive in-network care at our hospitals, clinics and health facilities.  Our priority has always been to provide compassionate and high-quality care to all who may need us. We’re proud to offer that care without disruption to our patients covered by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas.”

LONGVIEW – Two Mexican nationals illegally living in Longview, have been sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking violations in the East Texas, according to a press release from the Acting U.S. Attorney’s office.

On May 2, 2024, two men were detained by law enforcement as passengers in a vehicle for a traffic violation. During the stop, officers deployed a K9 to conduct an open-air sniff of the vehicle, resulting in a positive alert for the presence of a controlled substance. A search of the vehicle led to the discovery of 2,972 grams of methamphetamine hidden in an interior void in the vehicle.

Immigration records revealed that both men were unlawfully present in the United States and that one of them, Julio Cesar Tello-Olmos, 49, was previously deported twice, onece following convictions for two separate felony DWIs. Continue reading Mexican nationals sentenced to prison for drug trafficking

GREGG COUNTY – A Longview man who sold fake prescription drugs has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for trafficking fentanyl in the Eastern District of Texas, according to a press release from the office of Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.

Kym Andrew Wallace, also known as “Trigga”, 28, admitted to selling what were supposed to be prescription pills, which a 17-year-old juvenile consumed them and died from a an overdose on May 29, 2024. The pills purchased from Wallace were round and light blue, bearing the markings “M” and “30,” which are the same manufacturer’s markings for 30 milligram tablets of generic oxycodone. Following the overdose of the juvenile victim, investigators analyzed the pills,and determined they contained fentanyl. Continue reading Man sentenced to 30 years for fentanyl trafficking

TYLER – A Tyler man has been sentenced to federal prison for child exploitation violations in the Eastern District of Texas, according to a press release from the desk of Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.

Enrique Adrian Gomez, 29, met two minor victims online in September 2021 and continued communicating with them through November 2021. Both minors were less than 13 years old at the time. Gomez communicated with the victims through text messaging and social media applications. During these real-time online conversations, the victims were persuaded to engage in prohibited, sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual depictions of such conduct. Continue reading Smith County man sentenced to 30 years for child exploitation

HENDERSON COUNTY – An East Texas man was sentenced to 15 years in prison after officers found multiple files of child pornography inside his home in January, according to a report from our news partner KETK.

Arrest documents show that a criminal investigator with the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office was notified by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children on Dec. 18, 2024, about a tip they received from Snapchat. The app had reported an incident listed as online enticement of a child for sexual purposes that took place on Sept. 22, 2024. The child victim involved in this incident reported to Snapchat that someone was trying to exploit them with child pornography of them. Continue reading Snapchat tip leads to conviction of a child predator

SMITH COUNTY– An investigation is underway following a fatal house fire southwest of Tyler Tuesday night. According to a news release from Smith County, numerous departments responded to the blaze on Pecanridge Drive around 10:30. The victim, who has not been identified pending notification of next of kin, was said to be a 70-year-old man. He was the sole occupant of the home. An autopsy has been ordered. Officials said the house was a total loss. Foul play was not suspected.

UPDATE: According to the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, Abby Grace Morales has been found safe and is in the process of being returned to her family

TYLER – The Smith County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a runaway from the Bullard area. She is 15-year-old Abby Grace Morales. Abby was last seen around 11:00 p.m. last night, July 26, leaving her residence on County Road 173. She is described as a Hispanic female, 5’7, 170, with brown hair, and brown eyes. Abby was last seen wearing a gray shirt and shorts. There is a possibility she left using an Uber. Abby does not have any physical or mental issues.

If you have any information on the whereabouts of Abby , please call the Smith County Sheriff’s Office at (903) 566-6600. 

HENDERSON – According to a press release from CHRISTUS Health, the opening of CHRISTUS Emergency Center Henderson is celebrated with a ribbon-cutting and blessing event.

“When we stood here back in 2024, I made a promise to the community that we would be open by summer 2025, and here we are celebrating this amazing facility,” said Todd Hancock, president of CHRISTUS Good Shepherd Health System.

More than 300 guests, including representatives from CHRISTUS, the city of Henderson, Rusk County and elected officials, got a sneak peek of the 12,500 square-foot facility, which will open to the public at 7 a.m. on Thursday, July 31.

Located south of Wylie Elementary on U.S. Highway 259, the emergency center features 24-hour emergency services with 13 exam rooms, four triage room, advanced imaging and onsite laboratory services for easy access to care. The emergency center is the second CHRISTUS facility in Henderson, joining the CHRISTUS Trinity Clinic family medicine clinic on Zeid Boulevard. Continue reading Henderson celebrates brand new CHRISTUS Emergency Center

TYLER – Two parents were arrested Monday after four children were left alone in a vehicle for at least an hour at a Tyler Walmart parking lot, according to our news partner KETK. The parents have been identified as Emily Bearden, 27, and David Bearden, 28, both of Arp.  Tyler Police responded to the Walmart on south Broadway, where four young children, ages ten, five, two and five weeks were left in a vehicle for at least an hour while the parents shopped. Officials said the five-year-old accidentally turned off the vehicle and the interior quickly became “dangerously hot.” That’s when the 10-year-old eventually got out of the car to find help. The 10-year-old’s phone call came in at around 5 p.m.

The parents then got back in the car and left the parking lot. Police began to follow the parents on Broadway Avenue, where they pulled them over for a traffic stop. Continue reading Parents accused of leaving four kids in overheated car identified

MARSHALL – According to a press release from the Marshall Police Department, Marshall Police arrested a Linden man following a serious traffic accident that sent two people to the hospital and spilled diesel fuel across the road.

The crash occurred just after 9:30 p.m. on July 25, 2025, at the intersection of Highway 59 and Loop 390. Witnesses report that a tractor trailer ran a red light and struck a pickup truck that was pulling an empty horse trailer. The collision caused a diesel fuel spill on the roadway and into a nearby drainage ditch, requiring a hazardous materials cleanup by Lone Star Hazmat.

Two individuals in the pickup were transported to a local hospital. Their conditions have not been released.

Upon investigation, the driver of the tractor-trailer, identified as 59-year-old Kenneth Janowski of Linden, was arrested and charged with two counts of Intoxication Assault with Vehicle, a third-degree felony, and booked into the Harrison County Jail.

The investigation is ongoing.

LONGVIEW — Eastman Chemical in Longview was one of 49 chemical manufacturing facilities in the United States granted a two-year exemption from environmental regulations by President Donald Trump’s proclamation, according to our news partner KETK.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enacted what is known as the ‘HON Rule’ on May 16, 2024. The HON Rule consists of four rules that chemical manufacturing plants must follow during the process of making synthetic organic chemicals.

The Federal Register stated that the EPA was seeking to finalize standards for the production of ethylene oxide (EtO) and chloroprene emissions through the HON Rule. Continue reading Eastman Chemical in Longview is exempt from new EPA rules for two years