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LUFKIN – A 2-year-old is dead after he was found unresponsive in a pond at a family gathering on Sunday in Lufkin according to our news partners at KETK. According to the Lufkin Police Department, officials responded to a family gathering at around 7 p.m. on Sunday after a 2-year-old of the family was found unresponsive in a pond. According to a statement from police, the family immediately began life-saving measures, which were continued by officials upon their arrival. According to the Lufkin PD, paramedics took the child to a local hospital where he later died. Continue reading Toddler dead after falling into pond

CARTHAGE – A Carthage High School teacher has been named as one of 50 finalists statewide for the H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards. According to our news partner, Carthage High School teacher Catherine Jackson is a finalist for a Lifetime Achievement Award. H-E-B said in a release, that 50 finalists were named statewide. Teacher finalists received a $1,000 check for themselves while their schools received a $1,500 check. Officials at Carthage ISD said that as a finalist, Jackson is eligible to win a $25,000 prize for herself and a $25,000 grant for Carthage ISD. Those will be announced on May 5.

LONGVIEW – The Longview Police Department said a student was apprehended after they allegedly made a terroristic threat to Pine Tree ISD on Sunday. According to our news partner KETK, officials said were made aware of the threat on a social media platform Sunday around around 11 p.m. After an investigation by Longview Police, the student was taken into custody, charged with make a terroristic and is currently in the Gregg County Juvenile Detention Center.

TYLER — Tyler Police are investigating after a man was shot in the ankle Sunday. According to our news partner KETK, officers said they received conflicting stories about where the shooting took place, but said a property on Lenox Avenue is of interest to the investigation. The victim was taken to the hospital for treatment of the not life-threatening injury. Tyler Police Department Public Information officer Andy Erbaugh said investigation is ongoing.

TYLER — The University of Texas at Tyler School of Medicine received a $400,000 gift from an anonymous donor to support the hospice and palliative medicine fellowship. According to a press release from the school, the purpose of the gift is to retain physicians in the East Texas region. After a doctor graduates from medical school and residency, completing a fellowship can offer them additional specialization and differentiate them from other candidates. As the last piece of a physician’s medical education, a fellowship often determines where they stay for the rest of their practice.

“This generous donation to our hospice and palliative medicine fellowship program signifies a significant step forward in our mission to provide exceptional health care services to the East Texas community,” said Dr. Brigham C. Willis, School of Medicine founding dean. Continue reading UT Tyler School of Medicine receives $400k from anonymous donor

LINDALE – The Tyler district of the Texas Department of Transportation said that Interstate 20 westbound at US Highway 69 will be closed until noon on Monday. The closure is needed as crews will be setting up large cranes in the westbound lanes to haul away a heavy load stuck in the median since last month, according to TxDOT. I-20 westbound will exit the interstate at exit 557 and will go north through Lindale on US 69 to FM 16 and back to I-20 by taking FM 849 south through Hideaway.

The northbound outside lane of US 69 will also be temporarily closed off to help I-20 traffic get redirected onto US 69. TxDOT asked motorists to plan ahead, follow posted signs and prepare for delays.

EMORY – The Texas Department of Public Safety said that Rains County Justice of the Peace Robert Jenkins Franklin was arrested last Thursday for driving while intoxicated. According to our news partner KETK, on Wednesday night March 20, a Rains County Sheriff’s deputy was asked to check a suspicious vehicle that had its brake lights on and the driver sitting in it for an hour. The officer found the driver was the 44-year-old Franklin of Alba. The deputies report said that several open alcoholic beverage containers were in the truck. And, that Franklin had a strong smell of alcohol on his breath.
Continue reading Rains County JP arrested for drunk driving

HAWKINS — Thursday during Hawkins’ city council meeting, the chief of police resigned. According to our news partner KETK, he is the second chief to resign in the span of two years. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the resignation of the municipal court judge and the two-week notices of the police chief and two officers. The city council approved the resignation of the Municipal Court Judge Kyle Waggner before going into executive session for 45 minutes.
Continue reading East Texas town loses another police chief

ANGELINA COUNTY — The Angelina County Commissioners Court approved a $1 million grant that will add five new beds to the juvenile detention center according to our news partners at KETK. Mark Gorman, the Chief Juvenile Probation Officer of Angelina County, met with the court during their regular session on Tuesday asking the court to approve a $1 million Texas Juvenile Justice Department Detention Expansion grant. The Angelina County Juvenile Detention Center Services is a hybrid department ran by the county and state. Gorman said by statute, the center is a county department, with the county providing equipment buildings and office space. The center also entered into a contract with the Texas Juvenile Justice Department primarily for services including counseling, salary and fringe operating. Continue reading One million dollar grant in Angelina County for detention center

HENDERSON COUNTY — It took years, but an intellectually disabled Texas inmate has been re-sentenced from death to life without the possibility of parole by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Randall Mays was condemned in 2008 for gunning down two Henderson County Sheriff’s Deputies. Six years before that, in 2002, the US Supreme Court decided that people with an IQ below 70 cannot be executed. Mays has an IQ of 63. Benjamin Wollf with the Texas Office of Capital and Forensic Writs helped represent Hayes and says the death penalty should only be used on those who qualify. Mays has had three execution dates come and go.

EAST TEXAS — Texas Department of Motor Vehicles issued a bulletin Wednesday regarding the April 8th Eclipse and big-trucks. Due to the Solar Eclipse on Monday, April 8, 2024, that is expected to cause severe traffic delays, no size/weight permitted travel will be allowed on that day from midnight to midnight in the following counties:

Anderson, Atascosa, Bandera, Bell, Bexar, Blanco, Bosque, Bowie, Brown, Burnet, Camp, Cass, Cherokee, Coleman, Collin, Comal, Comanche, Coryell, Dallas, Delta, Denton, Dimmit, Edwards, Ellis, Erath, Falls, Fannin, Franklin, Freestone, Frio, Gillespie, Grayson, Gregg, Hamilton, Harrison, Hays, Henderson, Hill, Hood, Hopkins, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Kinney, Lamar, Lampasas, Leon, Limestone, Llano, Marion, Mason, Maverick, McLennan, McCulloch, Medina, Menard, Milam, Mills, Morris, Navarro, Parker, Rains, Real, Red River, Robertson, Rockwall, San Saba, Smith, Somervell, Sutton, Tarrant, Titus, Travis, Upshur, Uvalde, Val Verde, Van Zandt, Williamson, Wood, and Zavala. Continue reading DMV issues special Eclipse restrictions

MARSHALL— Authorities have charged a Wichita man for murder in connection to the 2023 killing of a 16-year-old. According to our news partner KETK, the Marshall Police Department Tuesday arrested 27-year-old Jarvis Gill in the murder that occurred in the early morning of June 7, 2023.

MPD said at the time of the shooting they received a call of a person lying in the roadway on Alexander Street. When officers arrived they found the unnamed teen dead of a single gunshot wound. Further investigation found the body had been in the street about 90 minutes before authorities were called. During this time, officers said people drove around the body and took pictures and video of it.
Continue reading Wichita man arrested in Marshall murder

CHANDLER – A multi-vehicle crash Thursday morning on Lake Palestine has left five persons injured. According to our news partner KETK, the accidents happened around 8 a.m. The Chandler Volunteer Fire Department responded to the incident, finding six vehicles had collided, some with major damage. Five people were sent to local hospitals, one of those had to be flown out. DPS was at the scene controlling traffic until the bridge was reopened to normal traffic flow.

LUFKIN – Four men were charged with aggravated robbery after a Domino’s pizza employee reported being robbed at gunpoint on Tuesday. According to our news partner KETK, Michael Harris, 17, Floyd Hennington, 19, Deanthony Minor, 19, and Amare White, 20, robbed a delivery driver for 2 pizzas and an order of wings. During a search, officials found: “Domino’s pizza boxes, a pistol hidden in a laundry hamper, and uneaten pizza slices in a bathroom toilet as if the suspects were trying to flush the evidence.” Harris and Hennington are being held on a $150,000 bond while Minor and White have bonds of $100,000 at the Angelina County Jail.

TYLER — Local Chick-fil-A restaurants donated thousands of soups and cookies on Wednesday to the Salvation Army in Tyler. According to our news partner KETK, the occasion was made possible through the donation drive that was held in February where for every soup bought, two would be donated.

“The idea is that the community helps out, that every time they buy a soup, we donate the soup. And over the course of time, it’s been like 75,000 bowls of soup over the last 15-20 years that we’ve been able to donate to the community,” Ikey Eason, Troup Highway Chick-fil-A owner, said. Continue reading Chick-fil-A donates soup to Salvation Army

RUSK COUNTY — A collectible pistol that was reported stolen three decades ago and ended up in a pawn shop is back in the hands of its original owner, and now law enforcement depict how they work with shops to identify stolen items. According to our news partner KETK, on Friday, a Camp County lawyer who bought the pistol at a pawn shop returned the firearm to Gordon Allen, World War II veteran and original owner. “Sometime the wheels of justice move slow but they still move,” Allen said.

Rusk County Sheriff Johnwayne Valdez said finding stolen guns at pawn shops is not a common occurrence, but it does happen. Unlike 30 years ago, when technology was limited, law enforcement and pawn shops now work together to check items brought into businesses. Valdez said pawn shops are required to put every item they purchase into a database, especially guns. Continue reading Police work with pawn shops to identify stolen items

POLK COUNTY — The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said a Livingston man was arrested on Tuesday after police served a felony warrant following a fentanyl overdose. According to our news partner KETK, detectives were serving a felony warrant on Brandon Michael Dunaway, 21 of Livingston, in relation to an overdose that occurred at a residence in the county earlier in the week. Dunaway allegedly escaped the residence through the rear window and ran into a wooded area.

Detectives alongside Narcotics and CID Detectives located Dunaway a short distance away, following a a brief chase. The sheriff’s office obtained a search warrant of the RV and reportedly seized a large amount of fentanyl and items used to distribute drugs. Dunaway was charged with manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance, tampering with evidence and evading arrest/detention. Dunaway is held on a $52,500 bond at the Polk County Jail.

TYLER – Tyler city officials announced Wednesday a contract has been approved for an engineering study on water quality from Lake Palestine. According to our news partners KETK, the $120,000 contract with HDR Engineering, Inc. partnering with Tyler Water Utilities is to create a study meant to “identify ways to enhance the treatment process and address the taste and odor issues that TWU customers experience when Lake Palestine experiences seasonal issues.”

The city said in their release that the lake has high levels of Geosmin. Geosmin is a naturally occurring compound, that may raise concerns on water quality. This may be more of an issue due to the age of the lake and the amount of natural organic matter in it.
Continue reading Tyler to conduct water quality study

SMITH COUNTY – All non-emergency Smith County offices will be closed for business on Friday, March 29, 2024, for Good Friday. Offices will reopen for normal business hours on Monday, April 1. To get more information on Smith County events, click here. For the city of Tyler, go here.

KILGORE – Kilgore ISD announced that they received a large donation to implement advanced bus tracking. According to a release, the $25,000 donation from Claycomb Associate Architects will be going towards the implementation of state-of-the-art bus tracking technology. Parents will have access to the real time location of their students and provide accurate arrival and departure times of routes. The school said that they hope the software will reduce wait times, minimize disruption and enhance the bus-riding experience for both students and parents. Kilgore ISD said that they plan on the software being implemented in time for the beginning of the next fall semester.

SMITH COUNTY — Smith County residents will get to take one free trip to the landfill during the annual Smith Countywide Cleanup, which runs for the entire month of April. According to a news release from Smith County, the Smith County Sheriff’s Office Environmental Crimes Unit and Commissioners Court are once again offering the yearly program, which allows residents to take one truck-load of bulky items (3 cubic yards of solid waste) to the Greenwood Farms Landfill for free. During County Government Month, one voucher per resident are available in-person only at the Courthouse Annex, 200 E. Ferguson in Tyler, or any of the Justice of the Peace/Constable Offices throughout the County. The vouchers are available this week and can be used beginning Monday, April 1, through Saturday, May 4. Continue reading Countywide cleanup set for April

SMITH COUNTY — Pam Frederick has officially withdrawn her recount petition for Precinct 1 Commissioner race, after 30% of the ballots were counted, our news partner KETK reports. According to David Stein, the county chair for the Smith County Republican Party, Frederick conceded, stopping the recount after officials recounted 30% of the votes finding zero discrepancies.

Frederick said in a statement, “Fifteen counters spent up to ten hours today recounting the paper ballots for the race. More than 3,000 votes were recounted which comprises approximately one-third of the total vote for the race. There were no discrepancies in the vote count, proving that the electronic voting system used in Smith County is accurate.”

RUSK — An accident Monday afternoon involving an 18-wheeler and a van killed that vehicles lone occupant near Rusk. According to our news partner KETK, the driver was 44-year-old Nicholas Schintgen of Lino Lakes, Minn.

A DPS report said that Schintgen was driving south on US 69 “at an unsafe speed for the road conditions.” The 18-wheeler, also on US 69 south lost control, causing the van to veer off the edge of road and striking a tree. Nicholas Schintgen was pronounced dead at the accident site.