KTBB News, Weather, Talk

ANGELINA COUNTY (KETK) — The City of Lufkin Animal Services was recently awarded a $150,000 grant to expand its spay-and-neuter services across Angelina County.

According to the City of Lufkin, the grant was provided by the Texas Health and Human Services’ Public Health Region and will allow the shelter to provide low-cost sterilization services. The service will help reduce overpopulation and decrease shelter intake.

Through the grant, residents will only pay $25 to have their pets spayed or neutered, with the remainder of the treatment covered by the shelter, the city said. Along with making sterilization services more affordable for pet owners, the grant will also help in reducing the stray and unwanted animal population in Angelina County.

“This funding is a tremendous opportunity to make a lasting impact on animal welfare in our community and across the region,” Lufkin Animal Services Manager Morgan Williams said. “By increasing access to spay and neuter services, we are taking proactive steps to reduce homelessness among pets, improve public safety, and support healthier communities.”

Residents can schedule the first round of sterilization services by contacting the Lufkin Animal Shelter at 936-633-0218. A $25 deposit fee will be required for each appointment.

LIVINGSTON (KETK) — Two students and a school bus driver were taken to the hospital after a Thursday morning crash in Livingston involving a school bus and a pole.

According to the Livingston Independent School District, the crash happened early Thursday on Highway 59 in front of the hospital when one of their buses struck a road post. EMS evaluated all students at the scene, and parents were notified.

Two students and the driver were transported to the hospital for further evaluation. The remaining students were taken to their campus on another bus.

“We appreciate the quick response of emergency personnel and school staff in ensuring the safety and care of our students,” the school district said.

DALLAS (AP) – Small cities in big Texas metro areas were the fastest growing municipalities in the United States last year, as smaller communities in the South outpaced the rest of the nation, which has experienced a population slowdown since the start of the immigration crackdown last year, according to figures released Thursday.

Celina, Princeton, Melissa and Anna — all part of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex — were the Nos. 1, 3, 4 and 5 fastest-growing U.S. cities with populations of 20,000 residents or more from mid-2024 to mid-2025, according to population estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Fulshear, in metro Houston, was the second-fastest growing U.S. city. The five Texas cities’ year-over-year growth rates ranged from almost 15% to almost 25%.

In pure numbers, Celina, with only 64,000 people, grew by more residents — 12,700 — than Seattle and Houston, cities that are 12 times and 37 times larger respectively.

Small- to medium-sized cities hit a sweet spot between the largest U.S. cities, which were most impacted by the loss of immigrants from the crackdown started last year during the second Trump administration, and anemic growth in small towns, according to Matt Erickson, a Census Bureau statistician.

Texas cities dominate

Nine out of 10 of the largest population gainers in pure numbers were cities in the South because of a healthy job market and its comparative affordability. The biggest numeric gainers were Charlotte, North Carolina; Fort Worth, Texas; San Antonio, Texas; and Celina.

Fort Worth leaped over Jacksonville last year as the 10th most populous U.S. city, putting four Texas cities in the nation’s top 10 most populous, with the other cities being Houston, Dallas and San Antonio.

Austin skipped over San Jose for the 12th most populous spot, as Texas’ capital city surpassed 1 million residents for the first time. It is now one of a dozen U.S. cities with 1 million residents or more.

Seattle makes a comeback

Seattle was the only non-Southern city to crack the top 10 in numeric population gains last year, at the No. 5 spot.

Like many large cities, particularly on the coasts, Seattle lost population during the height of the pandemic a half-decade ago. But recent construction of new housing has helped ease the city’s affordability, making it more attractive for residents to stay in the core city rather than move to farther out suburbs in the metro area, according to the Washington State Office of Financial Management.

The growth was driven by immigrants, particularly from China and India. International migration accounted for almost three-quarters of the area’s population gains, according to county-level population estimates released in March.

Tight housing market and natural disasters drive population losses

The two cities with the greatest rates of population loss last year — Twentynine Palms, California, by Joshua Tree National Park and Key West at the southern tip of Florida — were in places with tight housing markets. Their losses ranged from -2.4% to -2.9%.

In Twentynine Palms, a large chunk of the housing stock has been converted into short-term rentals for tourists heading to the national park. Just under 40% of its housing is occupied by its owners, compared with the national average of 65%, according to Census Bureau figures.

Hemmed in on all sides by water, the limited housing stock in Key West, as well as some of the highest home insurance rates in the U.S., have driven up housing costs for the Conch Republic. The median price for a home in Key West was $1.3 million at the start of this year, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

Other cities that had some of the biggest rates of population loss last year were hit by natural disasters.

Hurricanes Helene and Milton struck Florida’s Gulf Coast within weeks of each other in late 2024. Remnants of Helene blew through western North Carolina, leaving behind damaging tornadoes and flooding. Among the cities with the greatest rates of loss were Asheville, North Carolina, and several cities on Florida’s Gulf Coast, including Pinellas Park, Dunedin, Largo and Clearwater.

POLK COUNTY, Texas (KETK)– A Polk County resident was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Tuesday after failing to comply with his sex offender registration requirements.

According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, a detective who was assigned to monitor registered sex offenders discovered in November 2025 that a 55-year-old Rayford Ellis had failed to comply with sex offender registration requirements, prompting an investigation to be opened.

The detective later became aware that Ellis had not completed his required annual 2024 registration verification through the sheriff’s office. As the investigation continued, detectives issued a compliance check at his residence, but no contact was made.

An arrest warrant was eventually obtained for Ellis, and he was taken into custody in Cleveland, Texas and charged with failure to comply with his sex offender registration requirements.

Following a sentencing hearing on Tuesday, Ellis was sentenced to 25 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

“The goal of the sex offender registry is to protect the community and its members from sexual predators,” the Polk County District Attorney’s Office said. “For the registry to work and help protect those it’s intended to protect, offenders must comply with the law. When they fail to comply, our office will hold them accountable. Our office will continue working with law enforcement and the community to ensure their safety.”

TYLER, Texas (KETK) — As early voting begins Monday for Texas’ primary runoff elections, county election offices across the state are preparing for yet another round of voting in what has become an increasingly relentless election calendar.

For some Texas counties, the May 27 primary runoff marks the third election since March, with additional runoff elections and potential constitutional amendment elections still ahead later this year.

The High Price of Low Turnout: Why low voter turnout can affect your wallet

Election administrators say the nonstop cycle is pushing both full-time staff and volunteer poll workers to their limits.
A nearly year-round election schedule

Texas voters have already participated in several elections in 2026, beginning with the March primary elections, followed by city, school and special elections in May. In many communities, races that failed to produce a majority winner have triggered runoff elections, requiring county offices to quickly reset and prepare all over again.

In East Texas, that means election departments are moving almost seamlessly from one contest to the next. “We’re having them all back-to-back, and it is exhausting,” Michelle Allcon, the elections administrator for the Smith County Elections Office, said.

Smith County is preparing for the Texas primary runoff while simultaneously organizing the June 7 runoff election for the City of Tyler mayoral race between John Nix and Stuart Hene.

“We’re easily getting confused on who’s signing up to work, on what days, and who’s not available,” Allcon said.
Volunteers are the backbone of elections

In Gregg County, Jennifer Briggs said the county’s four full-time employees rely heavily on dozens of temporary workers and volunteers to operate polling places and process ballots. Right now, Briggs said her office is managing eight different races throughout the county while also working overnight shifts to prepare voting equipment and finalize ballots.

“Vacations for everyone, doctor’s visits — unless they’re emergencies — all that stuff has to kind of be put on hold,” Briggs said.

After months of continuous elections, some poll workers have begun stepping away.

“We have had some that have had to drop out just because there are so many elections happening back to back to back,” Briggs said.

Election fatigue extends beyond East Texas

The challenge is not unique to Smith and Gregg counties.

Across Texas, election departments, particularly in rural counties with small staffs, are tasked with administering primaries, local elections, runoffs, special elections and statewide propositions, often within weeks of one another.

Most county election offices employ only a handful of full-time workers and depend on retired residents and community volunteers to serve as poll workers.

Election experts say the repeated election schedule can lead to burnout, increased administrative pressure and difficulty recruiting enough trained workers to staff polling sites.
Why so many elections?

County officials say much of the schedule is dictated by state law.

Texas statutes set strict timelines requiring runoff elections to occur within a certain period after the original vote. At the same time, new election laws have added additional procedures, reporting requirements and security measures that increase the workload for local offices.
Republicans have gained an edge in a US House redistricting battle. What states are taking action?

“It’s the scheduling. These runoffs have to happen within a certain timeframe after the original election,” Allcon said.

Briggs added that updated legislation has required election offices to do “more and more.”
Preparing for the polls

Despite the long hours and mounting fatigue, election administrators say they are committed to ensuring every election runs smoothly. As voters head to the polls this month and again in June, officials are asking residents to remember the people behind the scenes who make the process possible.

“Be patient and kind,” Allcon said. “We’ve had a long day.”

Early voting for the Texas primary runoff begins Monday, with Election Day set for May 27. In communities such as Tyler, additional runoff elections will keep election workers busy well into the summer.