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EAST TEXAS – Another area county and a city have been added to the burn ban list. Anderson County is now under a burn ban for 90 days. To coincide with that ban, the City of Palestine is now under a temporary burn ban. Other area counties under a burn ban are, Van Zandt, Upshur, Rusk, Marion, Harrison, Camp and Franklin.

TYLER – A second bachelor degree has been approved for Tyler Junior College. The approval comes from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. It has approved the college’s proposed Bachelor of Applied Technology in Healthcare Technologies and Medical Systems. The Texas Workforce Commission lists medical and health service managers as the fifth most-needed occupation. The Texas Workforce Commission lists medical and health service managers as the fifth most-needed occupation, with more than 875 job openings in Smith County last year. In the East Texas region, there is a projected 30% increase in medical and health care services management positions over the next 10 years. The approval notification will now be communicated to the Southern Association for Colleges and Schools/Commission on Colleges, to identify a start date for this degree.

TYLER – A Tyler native has been crowned the 2019 Miss America’s Outstanding Teen. She is London Hibbs, 17. Earlier this month she was crowned Miss Texas Outstanding Teen. She won the national title over the weekend during the national scholarship competition, which was held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. For her talent, she sang “Think of Me,’ from The Phantom of the Opera and was the preliminary talent winner. She also won the preliminary evening wear and onstage question award. For winning the crown, Hibbs was awarded a $31,000 college scholarship. Miss Hibbs will now be speaking to audiences around the country about her platform, “Check Yes 4 Life,” which encourages teen organ donation registration. She will also act as the official National Teen Goodwill Ambassador for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals

TYLER – Free dental service is being provided this week at Tyler Junior college. Operation East Texas is a free dental, medical and vision outreach. It will run Monday through Friday at the Rogers Nursing & Health Sciences Center on East 5th Street on the TJC Campus. Services available will include limited dental services, including basic fillings and extractions, cleanings and sealants as well as medical and vision screenings. You need to bring a current list of medications and daily supplement bottles with you. All patients must be screened, and the number of screenings per day is limited. Treatment is prioritized by severity, and all patients will be seen by an on-site medical provider prior to receiving dental treatment. Continue reading Free Dental Services This Week

GREGG COUNTY — Longview police arrested a 29-year-old man Thursday on suspicion of driving over another man following a fight. According to the Longview News=Journal and our news partner KETK, Jeremy Gardner, of Longview, was being held on a $75,000 bond Friday in the Gregg County Jail on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The arrest occurred after police responded at 4:00 p.m. to a report of a fight in the 2300 block of Gilmer Road. The victim and several witnesses told police Gardner got into his truck, turned and accelerated toward the victim and struck him, injuring the man. An off-duty officer who followed the suspect said he saw Gardner run over the victim, the report said.

LONGVIEW — DPS Troopers make two arrests after a high speed chase in Longview Sunday morning. Just after 1:15, a Trooper attempted to stop a vehicle for a speed violation on Judson Road. The vehicle began traveling at a high rate of speed before pulling into a vacant parking lot on Fredonia Street. The three occupants jumped out of the vehicle and ran. A female juvenile was apprehended, and as the trooper was placing her in his vehicle, one of the other subjects return to the abandoned vehicle and fled northbound on Fredonia Street. The vehicle eventually crashed and caught fire. The suspect, identified as Adam Paul Foster Jr., 17, of Marshall, was pulled to safety by a trooper. Continue reading Two Arrests following High Speed Chase

LONGVIEW – A man accused of capital murder in Tyler has died after he was found hanging in his Longview jail cell. Tony Waters, 55, of Kilgore, was arrested in Longview on Tuesday. He is accused of the Monday shooting of three persons at a Tyler home. Two of the persons died. Shortly after 12:15 Wednesday afternoon the jail staff, making a regular welfare check of the inmates, found Waters hanging in his cell. He had used his clothes to fashion a makeshift rope. The jail staff started CPR. Waters died Saturday at a Longview hospital. His body was sent for autopsy. The Texas Rangers are investigating the incident. Continue reading Murder Suspect Found Hanging in Jail Cell has Died

TYLER – Three Cubans, who are living in Austin, have been arrested in Tyler in connection with a gas skimming scheme. They were arrested at the Exxon station at 858 SSE Loop 323. Tyler police were alerted shortly before 4:45 Friday afternoon that the suspect had returned to the station to get their skimmers. One tried to run into the woods, but all three were arrested. Police say the three are involved in an ongoing investigation where they used stolen credit card information to obtain cash from several ATM machines and numerous gift cards purchases at several retail merchants in Tyler. Investigators recovered numerous items of evidence that links them to skimmers and fraud. Continue reading Card Skimming Suspects Arrested in Tyler

LONGVIEW – Longview police are asking for the public’s help in finding a missing teenager. She is Kayla Monk, 18. She stands , 5’-3” tall, and weighs around 173 pounds. If you have any information about the location of this subject please contact Det. Rebecca Reeves 903-237-1137.

KILGORE – The Kilgore College Diesel Technology program held its fourth annual Diesel Technology ASE Awards Ceremony Friday morning. Seventeen students were awarded certificates. 100% of the graduating class passed at least one ASE Student Certification test. ASE Student Certification is the first step in building a career as a service professional in the automotive industry. Continue reading Kilgore College Diesel Technology Program Certificates Awarded

ARP – A young Smith County boy, reported missing, has been found. Now, his grandfather is facing charges. The two year old was reported missing around 12:15 Friday morning. He had last been seen when his grandfather took him to a park in Arp around 7:30 Thursday night. They were found walking down the street, a couple of blocks from the boys home, around 8:15 Friday morning. According to the Smith County Jail log, 54 year old Burt William Hussey Jr. has been charged with endangering a child, tampering with evidence and possession of a controlled substance.

LONGVIEW – The proposed budget for the city of Longview is now available and easily accessible. You can go to https://www.longviewtexas.gov/2301/City-Managers-Budget-Presentation for the city manager’s budget presentation for Fiscal Year 2018-2019. The City Council will discuss the proposed budget during public hearings and will adopt a new budget in late August.

TYLER – Trustees at Tyler Junior College have approved a a tax rate increase for 2018-19. At Thursday’s meeting the trustees approved a half-cent tax hike. It would bring the tax rate to just over 20 cents per $100 valuation. The proposed rate is still contingent upon further information from the Smith County Appraisal District. The tax increase will help offset the 10% decrease in per-student funding from the state over the last five years. If the proposed rate is approved at the trustee’s August meeting, the average homeowner would see an estimated increase of 65 cents per month. Public hearings on the rate hike have been set for August 16 and 23.

TYLER – A Tyler man has been arrested for stealing a cash drawer from a business. Arrested early Friday morning was 60 year old Gary Lorenzo McCain. Police say shortly after 2:15, he entered the Food Fast on West Houston. When the clerk turned to get the customers’ cigarettes, McCain is said to grabbed the crash register and pulled the drawer from it, and fled. He was spotted walking near the intersection of Glenwood and Houston, trying to conceal the cash drawer under a shirt. He took off running when he saw officers, but was quickly caught. McCain was booked into the Smith County Jail. He is being charged with theft, with 2 previous convictions, evading arrest and 4 city warrants.

GREGG COUNTY — A 2-year-old was killed in a wreck that left three others injured. It happened just after 1:00 Thursday morning on I-20 in Gregg County. According to the DPS report, a truck, driven by Michael Paul Templin, 28, of Longview, was headed east on I-20 when when he drifted into a car parked on the side of the interstate. The impact forced the car into the concrete barrier. The driver of the parked car, Willie Mack Cooper, 29, and a passenger Beatrice Avila, 25, both of Ft. Bliss, were treated at a local hospital and released. Two children, ages 1 and 2, were airlifted to a Shreveport medical center, where the 2-year-old later died. The 1-year-old remains in the hospital. Templin was not injured in the crash. They were all wearing seatbelts.

GILMER – There is another burn ban in northeast Texas. The latest was issued Thursday by Upshur County. It is a ten day outdoor burn ban. Other area counties under a burn ban include Henderson, Harrison, Rusk, Camp and Van Zandt.

TYLER — Some major changes could be on the way to downtown Tyler. According to our news partner KETK, the city council has agreed to apply for $5 million in federal funds for the project. Local architect Steve Fitzpatrick came up with the idea, which involves medians, wider sidewalks — and, he hopes, fewer empty buildings. The city will have to kick in $1 million if the grant is approved. Fitzpatrick says the city will find out in December if it gets the grant. He says if everything goes through, the first phase would take about two years, and he has more plans for the future.

LONGVIEW – Longview police say they now have an ID on a body found this week. The body has been identified as that of Felishia Marieann Pearson, 28, of Longview. She had been previously reported as missing. She had last been seen on July 14th. Her body was found Tuesday in the woods off a dirt road off West Birdsong Street. As the investigation continues, the body has been sent for autopsy to determine the cause of death.

TYLER – A power line is down on South Broadway in front of Wagner Cadillac. All traffic lanes are blocked. All north and south bound lanes are shut down to traffic until the line can be removed from the roadway. Because the power line is down, numerous traffic control lights are out in South Tyler, up and down South Broadway south of the loop – around loop 323 – Grande and the Old Jacksonville Highway. Motorists are advised to use caution in these areas.

TYLER – Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith has been elected Sergeant-At-Arms of the Sheriffs’ Association of Texas. It occurred at their 140th Annual Training Conference which ended earlier this week in Grapevine. The Sheriffs’ Association of Texas is one of the oldest law enforcement associations in the nation.

LONGVIEW – It’s time for the annual Great Texas Balloon Race in Longview, which has been proclaimed “The Balloon Race Capital of Texas” by the state legislature. Hot air balloon flights began Friday morning with a flight over Longview and continue each morning through Sunday over the East Texas Regional Airport. Launch and landing sites change each day as they are always determined by wind and the weather. The host of activities include balloon glows followed by live entertainment on Friday and Saturday evening. You can go to http://www.greattexasballoonrace.com for more details.

HENDERSON – Two persons have been arrested in connection with a string of burglaries in Henderson and Rusk County. They are identified as Jeremiah Tremaine Boone, 20, of Henderson and Christian David Cannon, 20, of Yukon, Oklahoma. Both are in the Rusk County jail, where they are facing numerous charges. The two were arrested during a joint operation between Henderson Police and the Rusk County Sheriff’s Department. Authorities believe the men are responsible for 8 church burglaries and two restaurant burglaries. Tyler police are said to have assisted with the investigation and recovery of some of the stolen property. Continue reading Church Burglary Suspects in Jail

SMITH COUNTY — The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals will decide if the Texas “revenge porn” law can be enforced. The court agreed to hear the case of Jordan Bartlett Jones. He was accused of using social media to post a naked photo of an ex-girlfriend. A state appeals court in Tyler struck down the revenge porn law three months ago, saying it violated First Amendment protections. The State of Texas has appealed the 2015 statute which says photos and videos cannot be posted without permission, even if the visuals were recorded consensually.

TYLER – Some Tyler park improvements have been approved. The go ahead for the improvements came at Wednesday’s city council meeting. A $54,000 donation was recently received for improvements at Faulkner Park. These improvements include new picnic tables and shade structures. There will also be more playground equipment, including a “double-winged elephant” swing that’s ADA handicap accessible. There will also be some improvements at Hillside Park. Included will be benches and more playground equipment. Also in the works are proposed improvements for Gassaway Park on Martha Street. Work at Hillside Park could begin early next month. The work at Faulkner Park could start in late next month or early October.

HENDERSON – Arrests have been made in connection with Rusk County church burglaries. The Henderson Police Department reports, not only have arrests been made, but a large amount of property stolen in the burglaries have been recovered. A total of 9 churches were burglarized in Henderson and Rusk County. More information about the case is scheduled to be released Thursday morning.

LONGVIEW – A wanted sex offender in Longview has been arrested. The Gregg County Sheriff’s Department on Tuesday had asked for the public’s help in locating is Joseph Wayne Burnette, 41. He was wanted for failure to register as a sex offender and indecent exposure. Sheriff’s department spokesman Cpl. Josh Tubb said had been caught and booked into the Upshur County Jail. The Longview News Journal reports that Gregg County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Kirk Haddix told them in 2013 that Burnette was a suspect in a 2006 unsolved murder. A woman’s body was found in October, 2006, face down on a burning wood pile. Known only as Jane Doe, the paper reports her body was exhumed in 2013 in hopes of finding hard evidence against Burnette.

NACOGDOCHES – Three Cherokee County residents have been arrested in Nacogdoches County for burglary. A witness called authorities to report a burglary in progress on Highway 21 West. Deputies found, in a metal building, two persons loading items into a car. They found a third person hiding in the building. Charged with burglary of a building were Ronnie Johnson (pictured), 37; Tommy Johnson, 37; and Margaret Kirby, 50, all from Rusk. Tommy Johnson also had additional warrants out of Anderson County for burglary of a building and theft. All three were booked into the Nacogdoches County Jail.

CANTON – Van Zandt County is now on the growing list of East Texas counties that have issued burn bans. According to our news partner KETK, Van Zandt County officials say the order will remain in effect until further notice. The ban prohibits outdoor burning of any kind, including trash in burn barrels, or the use of aerial fireworks. Officials say they enacted the burn ban because of extreme wildfire danger due to hot, dry conditions.