$3.4M in Public Safety Grants for East Texas Region

EAST TEXAS – .4M in Public Safety Grants for East Texas RegionThe East Texas Council of Governments (ETCOG) announces $3.4 million in grants from the Governor’s Public Safety Office awarded to East Texas jurisdictions and nonprofits. The Governor’s Public Safety Office administers federal and state grant funding to promote strategies that improve public safety, support victims of crime, prevent terrorism and prepare communities for the threats and hazards that pose the greatest risk to Texans.

ETCOG’s Public Safety Division assists jurisdictions in applying for these funds annually. Applications to be submitted for funding are ranked and scored by the ETCOG Criminal Justice Advisory Committee and Homeland Security Advisory Committee, which includes local subject matter experts from across the region.

The Governor’s Office has approved a total of $3,435,484.11 for funding the Victims of Crime Act, Justice Assistance, Violence Against Women Act, Juvenile Justice / Truancy Prevention, and Homeland Security grants in East Texas.
Continue reading $3.4M in Public Safety Grants for East Texas Region

Tyler Transit launching MicroTransit service for all routes

Tyler Transit launching MicroTransit service for all routesTYLER — Tyler Transit is transforming its existing fixed route service into a MicroTransit service starting Monday, Jan. 13. New payment methods are being rolled out as well. Riders will be able to book a ride by calling (903) 533-8057 from the bus stop or through the Tyler Transit app. Public comment period will remain open until Monday, Jan. 6 at 1 p.m. Click here to submit questions and comments.

All Tyler Transit bus stops will be used as pick-up locations for riders. The ride will take them directly to the doorstep of a destination within sight of the closest bus stop on any existing route. The MicroTransit service will be split into three zones, with two drivers per zone. If a passenger’s destination is in a different zone from where they are picked up, they will be taken to Stop 400 near the Bergfeld Center and Fire Station 7, where a driver will be waiting or arriving shortly to complete the trip. Continue reading Tyler Transit launching MicroTransit service for all routes

Electrical issues caused fire at historic Marshall church

Electrical issues caused fire at historic Marshall churchMARSHALL — The Marshall Fire Department said the investigation into the fire that damaged the historic First Methodist Church earlier this month has been completed. According to our news partner KETK, investigators determined that the fire originated in the lower level of the church where administrative officers were located. The fire was identified “as electrical in nature and was found to be unintentional.”

The fire was first reported at 1:15 a.m. on Dec. 9 and quickly spread requiring multiple agencies to respond. After 15 hours of intensive firefighting operations, the fire was brought under control at 4 p.m., however officials remained at the scene for several days to ensure the fire was completely extinguished. Continue reading Electrical issues caused fire at historic Marshall church

Border facilities for migrant children are improving but still need work

McALLEN, Texas (AP) — The U.S. still separates some migrant children from parents while holding them after they cross the border despite broad improvements at detention centers in Texas, according to a court-ordered monitor’s final report.

The heightened scrutiny of the Border Patrol’s Texas holding facilities is part of broader court-appointed oversight, which President-elect Donald Trump and his allies have criticized.

The report, issued Friday under a monitoring agreement that began in 2022, offers a final glimpse into conditions inside the facilities ahead of Trump’s return to office. The report noted improvements to hygiene, food and medical care but found that U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents routinely separated children from adult relatives during their time in custody.

Unlike separations that happened under Trump’s zero tolerance border policy during his first term, those noted in the report were temporary and did not involve sending adults to Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention while they were criminally prosecuted and children to shelters for minors.

At a facility in Donna, Texas, in September, agents “continued to routinely hold children separately from parents or trusted adults,” the report said. By November, the monitor called regular visits among family at the same facility “encouraging.” Workers at the facility said they could arrange visits because it was no longer overcrowded.

CBP said they issued new guidance on family unity and increased training on detention policies, guidelines and regulations.

“Over the past two years, CBP has undertaken extensive measures to significantly expand and enhance its support efforts in both scope and scale for persons in custody, especially vulnerable populations such as children,” the agency said in a statement.

Advocates sued the Trump administration in 2019, citing reports of children in federal custody who described overcrowding at CBP facilities in Texas, as well as unsafe and unsanitary conditions. That year, nearly 70,000 migrant children entered federal custody, enough to exceed the of capacity a typical NFL stadium.

A 2022 court agreement created a temporary monitoring system that required CBP to provide adequate medical care and supervision. It also required keeping families together or allowing contact for those held separately in custody.

Last week’s report noted medical care improved in 2024 but also found hesitancy in sending sick children to a medical facility. In 2023, when CBP was struggling with overcrowding, an 8-year-old girl with heart problems died while in custody in the Rio Grande Valley.

The monitoring agreement ends Jan. 29, 2025, more than a week into Trump’s second administration. Leecia Welch, the deputy litigation director at Children’s Rights who represents children in CBP custody under the Flores settlement, expressed concern about what will happen to children without the agreement’s oversight.

“The report highlights the crucial role the independent monitors are playing to keep children safe and shows that CBP is very far from meeting its obligations — let alone ready for self-monitoring,” Welch said in a written statement.

Broader court oversight of facilities began in 1997 under what is called the Flores settlement, after Jenny Flores, a girl from El Salvador who sued the U.S. government in the 1980s. It was partially lifted in June when the Justice Department argued that new safeguards would in some ways exceed the Flores settlement’s standards.

Texas lawmakers issue new subpoena for Roberson’s testimony

Texas lawmakers issue new subpoena for Roberson’s testimonyHOUSTON (AP) — A bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers announced Tuesday they had issued a new subpoena that would require the state’s prison system to allow death row inmate Robert Roberson to testify in person this week about the state’s junk science law. An earlier subpoena ended up delaying Roberson’s Oct. 17 execution, which had been set to be the first in the U.S. tied to a diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome.

The House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence announced it had issued last week and served on Monday a subpoena compelling Roberson to appear before it at a meeting in Austin on Friday. Continue reading Texas lawmakers issue new subpoena for Roberson’s testimony

Identities released following fatal wreck in Tyler

Identities released following fatal wreck in TylerTYLER — Two people have died following a Tuesday afternoon multi-vehicle wreck involving an 18-wheeler on Loop 323, the Tyler Police Department said. Tyler PD’s Public Information Officer Andy Erbaugh said at around 1 p.m., the police department was dispatched to a multi-vehicle wreck at West Elm Street and SSW Loop 323. According to our news partner KETK, a A preliminary investigation shows that a GMC SUV was on Elm Street on the west side of the Loop and was attempting to turn north on the Loop but pulled in front of a southbound 18-wheeler that struck the GMC.

The crash pushed both vehicles into the northbound lanes and caused three vehicles that were in the northbound turn lane to be hit. Officer Erbaugh said both occupants of the GMC died at the scene and have since been identified as William Connerly, 82, and Shirley Connerly, 79, both of Kerens. Their next of kin have been notified. Continue reading Identities released following fatal wreck in Tyler

Americans’ trust in nation’s court system hits record low

WASHINGTON (AP) — At a time of heightened political division, Americans’ confidence in their country’s judicial system and courts dropped to a record low of 35% this year, according to a new Gallup poll.

The United States saw a sharp drop of 24 percentage points over the last four years, setting the country apart from other wealthy nations where most people on average still express trust in their systems.

The results come after a tumultuous period that included the overturning of the nationwide right to abortion, the indictment of former President Donald Trump and the subsequent withdrawal of federal charges, and his attacks on the integrity of the judicial system.

The drop wasn’t limited to one end of the political spectrum. Confidence dropped among people who disapproved of the country’s leadership during Joe Biden’s presidency and among those who approved, according to Gallup. The respondents weren’t asked about their party affiliations.

It’s become normal for people who disapprove of the country’s leadership to also lose at least some confidence in the court system. Still, the 17-point drop recorded among that group under Biden was precipitous, and the cases filed against Trump were likely factors, Gallup said.

Among those who did approve of the country’s leadership, there was an 18-point decline between 2023 and 2024, possibly reflecting dissatisfaction with court rulings favoring Trump, Gallup found. Confidence in the judicial system had been above 60% among that group during the first three years of Biden’s presidency but nosedived this year.

Trump had faced four criminal indictments this year, but only a hush-money case in New York ended with a trial and conviction before he won the presidential race.

Since then, special counsel Jack Smith has ended his two federal cases, which pertained to Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss and allegations that he hoarded classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. A separate state election interference case in Fulton County, Georgia, is largely on hold. Trump denies wrongdoing in all.

Other Gallup findings have shown that Democrats’ confidence in the Supreme Court dropped by 25 points between 2021 and 2022, the year the justices overturned constitutional protections for abortion. Their trust climbed a bit, to 34%, in 2023, but dropped again to 24% in 2024. The change comes after a Supreme Court opinion that Trump and other former presidents have broad immunity from criminal prosecution.

Trust in the court among Republicans, by contrast, reached 71% in 2024.

The judicial system more broadly also lost public confidence more quickly than many other U.S. institutions over the last four years. Confidence in the federal government, for example, also declined to 26%. That was a 20-point drop — not as steep as the decline in confidence in the courts.

The trust drop is also steep compared with other countries around the world. Only a handful of other countries have seen larger drops during a four-year period. They include a 46-point drop in Myanmar during the period that overlapped the return of military rule in 2021, a 35-point drop in Venezuela amid deep economic and political turmoil from 2012 to 2016 and a 28-point drop in Syria in the runup and early years of its civil war.

The survey was based on telephone interviews with a random sample of 1,000 U.S. adults between June 28 and August 1.

ETX representative will support speaker candidate despite threats

ETX representative will support speaker candidate despite threatsTYLER — According to our news partner KETK, the Texas House will vote on a speaker in less than a month when the 2025 legislative session is set to begin, however Republicans are split on who to support in the race. Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock. and Rep. David Cook, R-Mansfield, are running for House Speaker after Dade Phelan removed himself from contention. Since then, Rep. Cody Harris, R-Palestine, said he received threatening messages Sunday night from the Chairman of the Texas Republican Party, Abraham George.

Harris said the message was clear, to unite behind the caucus and rules established by the party. If Harris does not comply, the chairman threatened Harris with a campaign mailer to his district encompassing all of Anderson, Cherokee, and Navarro Counties, and the majority of Henderson County. However, Cook and Burrows declared that they have enough votes needed to win the race in January. Continue reading ETX representative will support speaker candidate despite threats

Tyler doctor admits role in $5.5 million COVID-19 scheme

Tyler doctor admits role in .5 million COVID-19 schemeSMITH COUNTY — A Tyler physician pled guilty on Monday in connection to his role in a $5.5 million over-the-counter COVID-19 test fraud scheme according to our news partner KETK.

According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), Mark Mazzare, 57 of Tyler, purchased Medicare beneficiary identifiers (BINs) used to bill Medicare millions of dollars for test kits that had not been requested by the beneficiaries. Texas Medical Board’s records indicate that Mazzare is an internal medicine/pediatric specialist and worked at a clinic on Old Bullard Road in Tyler.

“Mazzare entered into a sham agreement with a purported marketer to conceal the purchase of BINs as ‘lead packages,’ which in reality consisted of BINs and fraudulently generated audio recordings purporting to be the voices of the beneficiaries requesting the OTC COVID-19 tests,” DOJ said. “Mazzare caused OTC COVID-19 tests to be shipped to Medicare beneficiaries whose BINs had been purchased, regardless of whether the Medicare beneficiaries had requested or needed the tests.” Continue reading Tyler doctor admits role in $5.5 million COVID-19 scheme

Smith County firefighter loses home in fire

Smith County firefighter loses home in fireWINONA – Our news partner, KETK, reports that a Smith County firefighter with Sabine Fire & Rescue responded to a fire at his own home in Winona on Sunday. Nicholas Loftin and Sabine Fire & Rescue in Gregg County Emergency Service District 2 responded to the mobile home fire in the 22900 block of Interstate 20 East.Several other fire stations from Smith County ESD 2 and Smith County Fire Marshal Chad Hogue also responded to the house, which was unoccupied when the fire started. Crews were able to put out the fire but the structure was unable to be saved.

No injuries were reported in the fire and foul play is not suspected. The Smith County Fire Marshall’s Office is investigating the cause, which they said started near the middle of the house.

Biden commutes sentence of former DETCOG director

Biden commutes sentence of former DETCOG directorTYLER – President Joe Biden has commuted the 9-year federal prison sentence of a former Deep East Texas Council of Governments executive director after he was found guilty of wire fraud back in 2017.

According to our news partner KETK, the White House released on Thursday, Walter Diggles, 72 of Jasper, was one of nearly 1500 people who were put on home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those 1499 people are already back home with their families but the Biden administration has decided to commute their sentences meaning they’ll officially be out of custody much sooner. Diggles was convicted of 11 counts of wire fraud, three counts of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds and three counts of money laundering on Aug. 3 of 2017, according to a 2018 press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas.

Information presented in court reportedly showed that Diggles, along with his wife and daughter, conspired to personally use money from federal block grants that Congress appropriated to help Texas recover from Hurricanes Rita, Katrina, Ike and Dolly, the press release said. Continue reading Biden commutes sentence of former DETCOG director

Popular fishing YouTuber Ben Milliken arrested for fraud

Popular fishing YouTuber Ben Milliken arrested for fraudNACOGDOCHES – According to our news partner KETK, a professional angler and fishing YouTuber was arrested in Nacogdoches on Thursday for fraud in a freshwater fishing tournament.

Benjamin Milliken, 35 of New Caney, turned himself in to Nacogdoches County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday for the charge of fraud at freshwater fishing tournament, according to a statement from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department(TPWD). TPWD said that Milliken turned in a Legacy Class ShareLunker bass caught at Lake Naconiche in February as an entry into the Toyota ShareLunker Program. The program rewards prizes over $10,000.

According to TPWD, their due diligence process discovered that Milliken allegedly didn’t have a valid fishing license when he caught the fish and filled out the program’s contest/tournament entry form. Continue reading Popular fishing YouTuber Ben Milliken arrested for fraud