Bullard ISD calls school board election for May Third

Bullard – Bullard ISD calls school board election for May ThirdThe Bullard Independent School District (BISD) Board of Trustees has officially called for a
school board election to be held on Saturday, May 3, 2025. This election will determine the representatives for
Place 6 and Place 7 on the Board, as the current terms for these positions are set to expire. The election was
called at the regular monthly board meeting on February 10, 2025. Continue reading Bullard ISD calls school board election for May Third

TxDOT reports a drop in fatal accidents

TxDOT reports a drop in fatal accidentsTYLER — The Texas Department of Public Safety Tyler District reported a 22% decrease in fatal accidents in 2024. According to TxDOT and our news partner KETK, since Nov. 7, 2000, 87,000 people have died on state roadways and there hasn’t been a single day without a fatal accident since. TxDOT is working to end that streak and said the results are paying off. The report focused on five of the top factors found to contribute to accidents. The top two factors include drivers who fail to drive in a single lane and speeding.

“There were 164 total fatalities. Although that number went down from 209 in 2023, it’s still too many fatalities,” TxDOT Tyler District Public Information Officer Jeff Williford said.

TxDOT hopes to see fewer fatalities but said 2025 is already off to a bad start.

“Unfortunately, 2025 is starting off worse than 2024 did so far. Through the first 50 days, we’ve seen a handful of more fatalities so far and more crashes than we did in 2024 at this time of year,” Williford said.

Scoreboard roundup — 2/26/25

(NEW YORK) -- Here are the scores from Wednesday's sports events:

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Celtics 97, Pistons 117
Raptors 91, Pacers 111
76ers 105, Knicks 110
Trail Blazers 129, Wizards 121
Thunder 129, Nets 121
Hawks 109, Heat 131
Clippers 122, Bulls 117
Kings 118, Jazz 101
Spurs 106, Rockets 118

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Jets 4, Senators 1
Devils 1, Avalanche 5
Canucks 3, Kings 2

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Stolen checks found during Marshall traffic stop

Stolen checks found during Marshall traffic stopMARSHALL, Texas (KETK) – A traffic stop in Marshall led to the arrest of two residents on Tuesday where police recovered drugs and stolen checks.
According to our news partner KETK, the traffic stop occurred in the area of East Grand Avenue and Bolivar Street. The individuals in the vehicle were identified as Amber Nicole Wage, 36, and LaMarcus Bernard Clayborn, 43.

While officers were searching the vehicle, they reportedly found a debit card and several checks in Wage’s possession that were not under her name. One of the fraudulent checks was made out to Clayborn. Authorities also found a white substance that was later identified as methamphetamine.

Following the investigation, Wage and Clayborn were arrested and transported to the Harrison County Jail. Continue reading Stolen checks found during Marshall traffic stop

Cherokee County jail found in noncompliance

Cherokee County jail found in noncomplianceCHEROKEE COUNTY — According to our news partner KETK, Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office jail was found in noncompliance with Texas jail standards.

According to Cherokee County Sheriff Brent Dickson, medication distribution, restraint, recreational procedures and failing to do a proper face-to-face observation at the time of an inmate’s death were reasons for the failure. The sheriff’s office identified the inmate as Mason Tanner Johnston of Jacksonville, who was arrested for serious crimes against a child in 2021.

The sheriff said that these infractions are from a lack of documentation by the jailers when they perform their duties. “As a result of this inspection, I have taken the proper and necessary disciplinary actions against several jailers who failed to document their actions correctly during their shifts,” Dickson said. Continue reading Cherokee County jail found in noncompliance

City of Tyler appoints two new municipal judges

City of Tyler appoints two new municipal judgesTYLER – Tyler City Council approved Municipal Court Presiding Judge Amy McCullough’s appointment of Attorneys Kristina Ross and Tab Beall as alternate judges. Following their approval Wednesday, both were officially sworn in. According to a release from the city, Kristina Ross is an attorney at Beard & Harris, PLLC in Tyler. Her practice focuses on estate planning, probate, and sports agency and management. She has been licensed by the State Bar of Texas since 2011 and is a member of the Smith County Bar Association. Tab Beall is a lifelong Tyler resident and attorney with over 40 years of legal experience, including serving as a partner at Perdue, Brandon, Fielder, Collins & Mott, LLP. He has been a member of the Smith County Bar Association since 1981 and served as president from 2002-2003.

Dog saved from well underneath house in Longview

Dog saved from well underneath house in LongviewLONGVIEW — According to our news partner KETK, the Longview Fire Department was sent to a house after a dog fell down a well under a house on Monday . However, with the help of Longview fire and animal control, the dog was quickly brought to the surface. The dog was a little shaken but officials said it was was unharmed. One of the rescuers has since chosen to adopt him, since the owner can not be located.

“Thank you to everyone who played a part in this miraculous rescue. It’s a true reminder of the incredible bond between humans and animals, and how a community comes together in times of need,” a spokesperson from Longview animal control center said.

New fraud attacks Texas consumers

TYLER – New fraud attacks Texas consumersInvestigators with the Texas Financial Crimes Intelligence Center (FCIC) have identified a sophisticated new criminal method that uses multiple steps to defraud consumers by impersonating law enforcement.  The criminals send a fraudulent text alert to a victim, saying there have been suspicious transactions on their financial accounts and asking the victim to confirm that the transaction is indeed suspicious.

The criminal then contacts the victim while impersonating a bank representative and tells the victim that the suspicious activity is part of an FBI investigation. The criminal persuades the victim to withdraw and deposit funds into a “new account” via an ATM that is controlled by the criminal. Sometimes, these are video calls where the victim is on the phone with the criminal, who has their video turned off.

The criminals give the victim a debit card number linked to the criminals’ accounts to add to Apple pay or other third-party apps. Once the transactions are completed, the criminals instruct the victim to delete the debit card number and throw out receipts – which prevents law enforcement from tracing the fraudulent transaction. Continue reading New fraud attacks Texas consumers

TWU to replace old equipment at Lake Palestine

TWU to replace old equipment at Lake PalestineTYLER – To improve efficiency, Tyler Water Utilities (TWU) will replace aging variable-frequency drives (VFDs) at the Lake Palestine Water Treatment Plant and the Lake Palestine Raw Water Pump Station. VFDs are crucial as they control the volume of water pumped from Lake Palestine for treatment at the water treatment plant and subsequently distributed through the system. Without functional VFDs, the plant would not be operable.

“The replacement of these VFDs is essential for maintaining the reliable operation of our water treatment and distribution system,” said Utilities Director Kate Dietz, P.E. “By upgrading this infrastructure, we are reinforcing our commitment to investing in modern solutions that meet the community’s water needs now and in the future.”

The design process is anticipated to be completed by May, and construction is scheduled to begin in July. The expected completion date is August 2026. 

Child who was not vaccinated died of measles

LUBBOCK (AP) — A child who wasn’t vaccinated died in a measles outbreak in rural West Texas, state officials said Wednesday, the first U.S. death from the highly contagious — but preventable — respiratory disease since 2015.

The school-aged child had been hospitalized and died Tuesday night amid the widespread outbreak, Texas’ largest in nearly 30 years. Since it began last month, a rash of 124 cases has erupted across nine counties.

The Texas Department of State Health Services and Lubbock health officials confirmed the death to The Associated Press. The child wasn’t identified but was treated at Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock, though the facility noted the patient didn’t live in Lubbock County.

“This is a big deal,” Dr. Amy Thompson, a pediatrician and chief executive officer of Covenant Health, said Wednesday at a news conference. “We have known that we have measles in our community, and we are now seeing a very serious consequence.”
In federal response, RFK Jr. appears to misstate several facts

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s top health official and a vaccine critic, said Wednesday that the U.S. Department of the Health and Human Services is watching cases and dismissed the Texas outbreak as “not unusual.”

He appeared to misstate a number of facts, including a claim that most who had been hospitalized were there only for “quarantine.” Dr. Lara Johnson at Covenant contested that characterization.

“We don’t hospitalize patients for quarantine purposes,” said Johnson, the chief medical officer.

Kennedy also seemed to misspeak in saying two people had died of measles. A spokesman — Andrew Nixon, for the Department of Health and Human Services — later clarified that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified only one death.

The federal government is providing vaccines as well as technical and laboratory support in West Texas, but the state health department is leading the response, Nixon said.

The CDC has said it will provide only weekly updates on the measles outbreak, and had not yet updated its public webpage to reflect the child’s death. Texas health department data shows that a majority of the reported measles cases are in children.
In rural Texas, some patients have needed oxygen or intubation

The virus has largely spread among rural, oil rig-dotted towns in West Texas, with cases concentrated in a “close-knit, undervaccinated” Mennonite community, state health department spokesperson Lara Anton said.

Gaines County, which has reported 80 cases so far, has a strong homeschooling and private school community. It is also home to one of the highest rates of school-aged children in Texas who have opted out of at least one required vaccine, with nearly 14% skipping a required dose last school year.

More than 20 measles patients have been hospitalized at Covenant, including the outbreak’s first identified case, hospital officials said.

Some patients’ respiratory issues progressed to bacterial pneumonia, and they needed an oxygen tube to breathe, Johnson told The Associated Press. Others had to be intubated, though Johnson declined to say how many due to privacy concerns.

“Unfortunately, like so many viruses, there aren’t any specific treatments for measles,” she said. “What we’re doing is providing supportive care, helping support the patients as they hopefully recover.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said through a spokesman that his office is in regular communication with the state health department and epidemiologists, and that vaccination teams are in the “affected area.”

“The state will deploy all necessary resources to ensure the safety and health of Texans,” said spokesman Andrew Mahaleris, calling the child’s death a tragedy.

Later Wednesday, the state health department confirmed a new measles case in Rockwall County, east of Dallas. The person had traveled internationally and is not related to the West Texas outbreak.
Vaccines are safe and effective, and measles was once considered eliminated

The measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is safe and highly effective at preventing infection and severe cases. The first shot is recommended for children ages 12 to 15 months, and the second for ages 4 to 6 years.

The vaccine series is required for kids before entering kindergarten in public schools nationwide. Most kids will recover from measles, but infection can lead to dangerous complications such as pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death.

Vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the COVID-19 pandemic, and most states are below the 95% vaccination threshold for kindergartners — the level needed to protect communities against measles outbreaks.

Last week, Kennedy vowed to investigate the childhood vaccine schedule that prevents measles, polio and other dangerous diseases, despite promises not to change it during his confirmation hearings.

The U.S. had considered measles — a respiratory virus that can survive in the air for up to two hours — eliminated in 2000, which meant there had been a halt in continuous spread of the disease for at least a year. Measles cases rose in 2024, including a Chicago outbreak that sickened more than 60.

In the current outbreak, Lubbock’s first case was in an unvaccinated child who sat in an emergency room with a kid who had measles, said Katherine Wells, director of the local health department, calling it a testament to how quickly the virus spreads.

“When you see it in real life, you really realize how contagious it is,” said Wells, noting she expects more local cases, with a couple under investigation as of Wednesday. “An entire household gets sick so quickly. Whole families are getting sick with measles.”

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AP writers Jim Vertuno and JoNel Aleccia contributed to this report. Seitz reported from Washington.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Man dies after being struck by vehicle in Trinity

Man dies after being struck by vehicle in TrinityTRINITY — Our news partner, KETK, reports that a man has died after being struck by a vehicle on Tuesday night in Trinity.

According to Trinity Police Department, around 9:14 p.m. officers responded to a vehicle and pedestrian fatality crash on the 1866 block of Robb Street at the south end of Trinity city limits. Officials said that the male pedestrian died on scene after being hit by the vehicle, but the crash is still under investigation.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to all involved,” Trinity PD said.

Marshall dad, son arrested after illegal narcotics recovered

Marshall dad, son arrested after illegal narcotics recoveredMARSHALL — According to our news partner KETK, a dad and son were arrested after illegal narcotics and items connected to an aggravated robbery were recovered inside a Marshall home on Tuesday.

Marshall Police officers searched a home in the 1600 block of N Fulton Street where they found illegal narcotics, cash, multiple firearms including a stolen handgun and items connected to a previous aggravated robbery. Officials said that evidence at the scene was consistent with the sale and distribution of illegal drugs. Cruz Alonso Rodriguez Sr., 45 and Cruz Angel Rodriguez Jr., 18 both of Marshall were arrested and booked into the Harrison County Jail.

Cruz Jr. was arrested on 10 counts of possession of a controlled substance, possession of a dangerous drug and theft of a firearm. Cruz Sr. was arrested on one count of possession of a controlled substance.

Anyone with information related to the ongoing investigation can contact Marshall PD at 903-935-4575.

Task force recovers stolen firearm and illegal narcotics

MARSHALL – Task force recovers stolen firearm and illegal narcoticsOn February 25, 2025, the Joint Harrison County Violent Crime and Narcotics Task Force executed a search warrant in the 1600 block of N. Fulton Street. The operation, conducted with assistance from the Marshall Police Department Special Response Team (MPD SRT), the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Response Team (HCSO ERT), and the Marshall PD Crime Scene Unit led to significant findings. During the search, investigators recovered illegal narcotics, a substantial amount of cash, multiple firearms, including a stolen handgun, and items connected to a previous aggravated robbery. Evidence at the scene was consistent with the sale and distribution of illegal drugs. As a result of the investigation, Cruz Rodriguez, Sr., 45, and Cruz Rodriguez, Jr., 18, were taken into custody and booked into the Harrison County Jail. The investigation is ongoing.