Officials search for missing Longview woman

Officials search for missing Longview womanLONGVIEW– The Longview Police Department is asking for the public’s help as they search for a missing 21-year-old woman. Officials said Nyah Newton was last seen on Tanglewood Road. She is described as being around 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighs around 90 pounds. She has black hair and brown eyes.

According to our news partner KETK, officials said Newton was last seen wearing a brown shirt and checkered black and white pajama pants. Anyone with information about Newton’s whereabouts is asked to call the Longview Police Department at 903-237-1199.

Jacksonville Police Chief relieved from duty

Jacksonville Police Chief relieved from dutyJACKSONVILLE — Jacksonville Police Chief Joe Williams was “relieved” from his duties on Thursday afternoon. The City of Jacksonville said the action was made by City Manager James Hubbard after Williams held the position for nearly five years.

“A pattern of poor judgement, disengagement and disrespect culminated in my decision,” Hubbard said. “I wish Mr. Williams well and look forward to naming a new chief that will provide the service and professionalism deserved by the department, organization, and community.”

According to our news partner, KETK, Assistant Chief of Police Steven Markasky has been named as Acting Chief of Police, that will ensure a smooth transition.Plans regarding the process to install a new police chief will be released soon, the city said.

Abuse allegations land dad, grandma behind bars

Abuse allegations land dad, grandma behind bars SMITH COUNTY — A Smith County father and grandmother are behind bars after the alleged abuse of a three-month old baby. The Smith County Sheriff’s Office said that at around 6 p.m. Wednesday night, a deputy responded to a hospital in Tyler regarding a possible child abuse. Once the deputy was on scene, he was informed by hospital personnel that a three-month old baby had received significant injuries that looked like child abuse.

According to our news partner KETK, at the time, the infant was undergoing CT scans and X-rays. The attending nurse informed the deputy that the baby was lethargic, weak and had bruises on their face and neck. An investigator then spoke with the baby’s mother, who reportedly told officials that her baby had just returned home after spending several days with his father, Zachray McGinn, at a home on County Road 2192 near Whitehouse. Continue reading Abuse allegations land dad, grandma behind bars

Troup man arrested following shooting

Troup man arrested following shootingSMITH COUNTY — A Troup man is in custody after running from the scene of a shooting that left one wounded. According to our news partner KETK, Troup Police said that they responded to a call about a victim suffering from a gunshot wound Tuesday. While EMS personnel were treating the victim, officers proceeded to the scene of the shooting, where they were informed that the suspect might still be inside the home.

With assistance from the Arp Police Department, White House Police Department and the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, officers quickly set up a perimeter around the home. After multiple attempts to contact the suspect by phone and using loud speakers were unsuccessful, officers decided to enter the home, but they discovered that the suspect had fled. Continue reading Troup man arrested following shooting

Will Californians at last ask themselves the hard question?

A structure is burned by the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Coastal California is one of the nicest places on Earth. It has a 1,000-mile coastline, magnificent natural geography and a Mediterranean climate, all set against the vista of the beautiful Pacific Ocean.

But no place is perfect, and nothing is free and the price attendant to enjoying the picturesque natural landscape, and the year-round moderate climate of Coastal California, is to live with the risk of natural disasters, one of which is wildfires – such as those now devastating Los Angeles.

If you choose to live in an area prone to natural disaster, you have an affirmative duty to fully acknowledge that risk, which includes holding your government to account for being properly prepared.

The residents, homeowners and business owners of Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Altadena and other Greater Los Angeles communities are finding out the hard way that their government is woefully unprepared.

As the tragedy of the Los Angeles wildfires unfolds, it is becoming clear in an acutely painful way that government in California – at both the state and local levels – is breathtakingly incompetent.

Protecting the lives and property of citizens is the first job of government. It is why governments were ever formed in the first place. If the job of protecting lives and property isn’t done, nothing else that government does matters.

Yet even though an astonishing percentage of California citizens have seemed blissfully unaware of it – up until now at least – government in California hasn’t operated in their interest in quite some time.

Government in California has greatly curtailed – sometimes to the point of outright abandonment – the performance of its core functions in favor of far-left initiatives that include DEI-dominated hiring practices, extreme environmental policy, race-fixated law enforcement and a near theological (fetishistic?) belief in man-made climate change. Taken together, radical leftism has crowded out governmental attendance to the day-to-day interests of the California citizens that government is nominally there to serve.

You and I take for granted that water will come out of the fire hydrant at the end of our block. We simply assume that our local government would take steps to mitigate an obvious extreme fire risk.

The citizens of LA have learned the hard way that they can’t make such assumptions.

From allowing environmental extremism to stand in the way of clearing dry, fire-prone underbrush (as happens in other places with similar geography), to allowing concern for an obscure fish species to stand in the way of providing adequate water supplies, to prioritizing race-based hiring in the fire department, to cutting fire department budgets, leaving them undermanned and underequipped so as to fund the costs of homelessness (driven in large measure by illegal immigration), California – a one-party Democratic state – has abjectly failed in its basic duty to protect its citizens.

Tens of thousands of Angelenos have lost literally everything. It seems cruel to ask this question now.

But it will have to be asked sometime.

As they begin the long, hard slog of rebuilding their lives, will these beleaguered, over-taxed citizens at last reexamine how they vote?

Family seeks justice after Mineola Pastor Arrest

Family seeks justice after Mineola Pastor ArrestMINEOLA — A victim’s family continues to speak out, after the justice system has seemingly done nothing, following allegations of a pastor committing child sex crimes and subsequent arrest.

Timothy Nall, a former pastor at Mt. Pisgah Missionary Baptist Church in Mineola, was arrested for indecency with a child by sexual contact in 2023 after having worked at the church for three years. The allegations stem after a woman saw Nall touch another church member’s daughter inappropriately, an affidavit said, and it was later determined, that he had placed his hand right above the child’s pubic area. The woman, concerned about her own children, asked them if they had been inappropriately touched by the pastor. One of her children said they had while at church, an affidavit stated. Continue reading Family seeks justice after Mineola Pastor Arrest

City donates properties to nonprofit to address homelessness

City donates properties to nonprofit to address homelessnessTYLER — The Tyler City Council Wednesday approved the transfer of properties from the City of Tyler to the East Texas Cares Resources Center, which will carry out the day-to-day operations of the houses as a temporary shelter for families or individuals to help address the increasing homeless population.

The houses located at 512 W. 32nd St. and 516 W. 32nd St. will be used by East Texas Cares Resources Center as non-congregate shelters (NCS), which provide units and/or rooms as temporary shelter to families or individuals.

Those eligible to use the shelter must meet the “qualifying population” criteria as set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development through the American Rescue Plan, known as the HOME-ARP program. Continue reading City donates properties to nonprofit to address homelessness

Kilgore man captured after chase with pregnant fiancé, baby in car

Kilgore man captured after chase with pregnant fiancĂ©, baby in carKILGORE — Our news partner KETK reports that an East Texas man with outstanding warrants was arrested on Tuesday after speeding away from Kilgore police with his pregnant fiancĂ© and baby in the backseat. Kilgore officers conducted a traffic stop on Dakota J. Anderson, 20 of Kilgore, near the downtown Methodist church for an alleged minor traffic violation. While officers spoke with Anderson, he noticed how nervous he was and learned that Anderson had several outstanding warrants.

Officials said while backup was on its way, Anderson sped away. Officers chased Anderson through downtown until he pulled onto a dead-end roadway, bailed out of his car and ran. A sergeant then intercepted him and Anderson was taken into custody.

Anderson was arrested for evading arrest with a vehicle, resisting arrest and abandonment/endangerment of a child and two previous warrants. He is being held at the Gregg County Jail on a $46,000 bond.

How Tyler is preparing roads for wintry weather

How Tyler is preparing roads for wintry weatherTYLER — As freezing temperatures and wintry precipitation moves in, Tyler is hoping to keep the roads safe as possible for East Texans. According to our news partner KETK, the Tyler Street Department has been preparing roadways for several days with a saltwater brine solution that will stay dormant on the street until the wintry mix is finished.

When the freezing moisture hits the roads it creates a chemical reaction with the brine and lowers the freezing point of the moisture, allowing it to run off the roadway,” the Texas Department of Transportation Public information officer, Jeff Williford explains. “But when there are extended periods of lower than freezing temperatures, that’s when it does get more challenging.”

Preparations will continue overnight as street department crews will monitor the streets as weather worsens and temperatures fall. Continue reading How Tyler is preparing roads for wintry weather

Tyler woman arrested following shootout with deputies

Tyler woman arrested following shootout with deputiesSMITH COUNTY— A Tyler woman was arrested Wednesday morning arrested after allegedly shooting at deputies and setting a trailer on fire while she was in it.

The Smith County Sheriff’s Office said at around 3:15 a.m., deputies responded to a call at on Horseshoe Ln due to a disturbance. The caller told officials a woman was causing damage to his property. Once deputies arrived to the scene, they could hear a woman, later identified as Rachel Marie Shell, 35 of Tyler, inside the trailer as well as crashing noises.

Deputies were told Shell had access to a rifle and a .22 caliber firearm inside the trailer. While attempting to contact her, she reportedly began firing a weapon at deputies. Continue reading Tyler woman arrested following shootout with deputies

Winter Storm Watch issued for portion of East Texas

Winter Storm Watch issued for portion of East TexasEAST TEXAS — According to our news partner KETK’s Chief Meteorologist Carson Vickroy, “We’ve got one more day before our first, and hopefully only wintry event of the year. We’ll observe our third consecutive hard freeze tomorrow morning followed by temperatures being well below average tomorrow afternoon. (Highs in the low to middle 40s). The storm system is over the Rockies right now and will be making it in to Texas tomorrow night with the first bouts of precipitation arriving Thursday morning.

Precipitation will gradually increase throughout the day Thursday. I expect we’ll mostly snow/sleet north of highway 80 (1?-2?), with the highest amounts along and north of Interstate 30 (2?-4?+). Further south it gets more interesting. I’ve said over the last couple of days that places like Tyler, Longview, Jacksonville, & Henderson are in the wintry “Battlezone.” This means that precipitation type is unclear and could change several times during this event. Continue reading Winter Storm Watch issued for portion of East Texas