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SMITH COUNTY — Municipal elections took place around the area on Saturday. Tyler will soon have a new city council member — and will keep its mayor for another three years. Saturday’s election results show Mayor Martin Heines defeating challenger Joel Rando by winning about 89 per cent of the vote. In City Council District 2, Broderick McGee defeated Beverly Beavers-Brooks with some 54 per cent of the ballots cast. The current District 2 council member, Darryl Bowdre, will be stepping down due to term limits. Council Districts 4 and 6 were also up for election, but the races were uncontested. Here are the unofficial results: Registered Voters: 66602. Ballots Cast: 3547. Voter Turnout: 5.33%. Continue reading Smith County Election Results

WINONA – An electrocution east of Winona has killed a Smith County man. He is Jerry Wayne Wallace, 58. It happened around 10:30 Thursday morning off County Road 366. Officials said by the time they had arrived, the victim was already dead. Investigators say Wallace used bolt-cutters to cut a power line that was sagging over his camper. Officials said Wallace thought the lines were old and no longer active. The Smith County Sheriff’s Office reminds everyone to stay away from all power lines.

TYLER – A festival is causing some bus detours in downtown Tyler. It is the Red Dirt BBQ festival. Temporary bus line detours are in effect through the weekend. The detours will impact Route 1 Red Line, Route 4 Blue Line and Route 5 Purple Line. The bus detours began at 5:00 Friday afternoon and will run through the weekend. Everything gets back to normal on Monday. Continue reading Bus Detours in Downtown Tyler

LONGVIEW – A student shows up with a gun on a Longview campus. It happened around 8:00 Friday morning at Forest Park Middle School. The student was arrested and the unloaded gun was seized. No threat was made According to a statement from the school district, the “Longview Police Department immediately took the student into custody and secured the campus.” They added they will be following the district procedure with regard to the student.

TYLER – One person was slightly injured when a car was shot at a Tyler intersection. It happened just before 10:00 Friday morning at the intersection of Shelly Drive and Old Bullard Road. The suspect’s car, a silver Toyota Camry had been following the victim’s car when the Camry’s driver shot through the passenger window of the other vehicle. The passenger suffered cuts to his leg from flying glass fragments. The suspect is described as white male in his early 30’s, short brown hair with goatee. The suspect’s car had paper plates.

LONGVIEW – An arrest has been made in a Longview homicide. Arrested in Gladewater was Rodrick Deshun Arkeith Elliott, 20, of DeSoto. With the help of the victim’s neighbors, he was arrested around 11:00 Thursday night in the death of Sandy Smith, 51, of Longview. She was found bleeding shortly after 4:00 Thursday afternoon on East Grand Street. She later died at a Longview hospital from her stab wound. Elliott is charged with murder and is being held on a $500,000 bond.

TYLER – Municipal elections are scheduled around the area on Saturday. Tyler voters will select either Mayor Martin Heines or his challenger Joel Rando. This is the third time the two have faced off, with Heines winning each time with at least 90% of the vote. Seeking the open District 2 city council seat is Beverly Beavers-Brooks and Broderick McGee. Council Districts 4 and 6 also are up for election, but the races are uncontested. The Longview city elections were cancelled when the candidates for mayor and council districts 1 and two were uncontested. Those candidates have been declared the winners for a term expiring in May, 2021. Continue reading The Polls Open Saturday at 7:00am

LONGVIEW – A traffic stop has led to a suspected Longview bank robber. Patrick Anthony Brandon, Jr., 31, of Houston, was stopped early Thursday morning for running a stop sign. It went down hill for Brandon from there. The officer smelled marijuana. A search of the vehicle turned up illegal drugs, a gun and a large amount of money. Then they found the demand letter presented to a teller at the Regions’s Bank on May 1st. Besides the gun and drug violations, Brandon is also charged with aggravated robbery. He’s in the Gregg County Jail under bonds totaling over $500,000.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP/Staff) – A sprawling 44-bedroom house surrounded by towering brick walls that was once the home of polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs has been converted into a sober living center by evangelical missionaries. It is the latest sign of the group’s dwindling control of the small community on the Utah-Arizona border. Jeffs hasn’t lived in the three-story home known as the “Big House” for years. That’s because he’s serving a life sentence in the Lewis C. Powledge Unit near Palestine for sexually assaulting underage girls he considered brides. His 65th wife, Briell Decker, was granted the right to buy the home for a discounted price of $600,000 by a community board overseeing the redistribution of houses. She connected with the faith-based Dream Center network, which is now leasing the home for a year with an option to buy.

LONGVIEW – A woman’s death is under investigation. Shortly after 4:00 Thursday afternoon, officers were sent to East Grand Street on a report of a woman who had been found bleeding. She later died at a Longview hospital. We will have more details for you when they become available.

TYLER — A Tyler woman is indicted, accused of exposing her six-year-old child to cocaine. Officers say Julie Foley admitted she recently used cocaine, methamphetamine, prescription drugs, and marijuana. An arrest affidavit indicates her six-year-old son tested positive for cocaine and marijuana. The woman is accused of endangering a child. She’s being held on a $250,000 bond.

AUSTIN – The Texas Water Development Board will provide $990,000 from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund to the City of Alba. The money will be used to finance planning, design, and construction costs of wastewater system improvements. According to a state news release, Alba will replace 4,000 linear feet of pipeline. It will also include concrete manholes, service reconnections, and pavement repairs. This could save the city around $156,000.

TYLER — Hundreds turned out Thursday at Harvey Convention Center for Tyler’s 27th annual Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast, marking the National Day of Prayer. Addressing representatives of various faiths, Mayor Martin Heines remarked that city government’s “model is based on your help and your commitment to the community. We do infrastructure,” said the mayor; “you change hearts.” Heines added, “All of us, in our own way, express our faith openly — and it has a profound impact on this community.” On another note, attendees were notified of a return visit from internationally known evangelist Luis Palau on October 5 and 6, 2019. Palau last came to Tyler in 1995. After breakfast, all were invited to Come and Go Prayer on the downtown square from 9 a.m. till 5 p.m.

LONGVIEW — An undercover police operation has led to the arrest of two women for prostitution in Longview. According to our news partner KETK, undercover officers coordinated a prostitution sting along East Marshall Avenue. During the Wednesday sting, officers came in contact with two females who agreed to perform sexual favors in return for money. Sandra Lee Berg, 49, of Oakdale, Louisiana, and Heather Christine McWilliams (pictured) 31, of Longview, have been charged with prostitution and were booked into the Gregg County Jail.

LONGVIEW – A Longview middle school student, who has been walking to school, can now ride. Forest Park School Resource Officer Jose Montalvo and Gregg County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Sgt. Tracey Freeman found out that Joseph Alvarado was walking an hour one-way to school every day. Impressed that the student was so dedicated to getting his education they contacted the Longview PD Blue Santa program. According to the police department’s Facebook page, the program was able to get a bike, complete with lights, and the officers donated it to him Wednesday. Now Joseph’s trip to school will go much faster.

KILGORE – A student with a gun turned up at a Kilgore school on Wednesday. Middle school officials were alerted late Wednesday morning to the student, who had an unloaded gun. Kilgore police were notified and the student was removed from the campus. School superintendent Cara Cooke said the matter was handled in 10 minutes, there was no lockdown and there was never any disruption to the classes. She said no student was ever in any danger.

MARSHALL – The Marshall Animal Shelter is closed until the first of next week. They are not able to take in dogs because of an outbreak of parvovirus. According to the police department’s Facebook page, parvovirus is a contagious and deadly disease that is most commonly found in puppies. But it can also affect adult dogs that have not been vaccinated. The shelter is currently undergoing deep cleaning and will not be able to house any dogs until Monday.

TYLER – Tyler fireman have raised a record amount of money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. The Fill-the-Boot campaign, which ran April 24 through Sunday, April 29, brought in $64,023.68. This tops the $54,000 raised last year.

TYLER — As part of the National Day of Prayer, the 27th Annual Tyler Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast will be held Thursday at Harvey Convention Center. Doors open at 6:30 a.m., and the program will run from 7:00 to 8:00 a.m. Admission is free, and a free will offering will be accepted. According to information from organizers, prayer warriors will offer specific prayers for the community, and a corporate prayer time will include praying for the family unit along with the local, county, state, and federal governments; U.S. military personnel and their families; and other needs that concern the community. Special music and corporate worship time will be provided. Friendly Baptist Church, West Erwin Church of Christ, Chick-Fil-A, and other volunteers will be providing a hot breakfast for all attendees.

HENDERSON COUNTY — A raid at a Henderson County game room lands seven people in jail on various charges. According to the Henderson County Sheriff, the Double Down Game Room on County Road 2803, near Eustace, was raided around 7:00 Tuesday night. The Sheriff said 44 gambling machines and more than $9,000 in cash were seized. A total of 11 patrons were also cited for gambling. Two stolen vehicles were also found on the property. Continue reading Numerous Arrests following Game Room Raid

FORT WORTH — Testimony is underway in the trial of one of two men accused of capital murder. Fort Worth police say the two men behind the January 2017 murder of a teenager were both students at Tyler Junior College. In fact, the man standing trial, Keoddrick Polk, 21, was literally on his way to class when he was arrested. Police say Polk was looking for the right room on the Tyler campus a week after the shooting when he asked two college officers for directions. They had been alerted and busted Polk on a capital murder charge. Breon Robinson, 17, and another man were shot on the southeast side of Fort Worth by two men who jumped in their car. The capital murder charge carries a prison term of life without parole.

LONGVIEW – Longview police are investigating a bank robbery. It was reported shortly before 1:15 Tuesday afternoon at the Regions Bank on North Fredonia Street. Officers were told that a black male came into the bank, robbed it, and left in a silver 4-door passenger car. If you recognize his picture, you are asked to contact Greggcountycrimestoppers.org or Longview Police. The investigation is still ongoing and investigators say they will release more information as it becomes available.

TYLER – Tyler’s Planning and Zoning Commission has approved some big changes for the Broadway Square Mall. The changes would add 117,615 square feet of new retail space to the property. The plan calls for adding restaurants on outlying sections of the property, along South Broadway, and adding three retail stores on the south side of the mall. Also included in the changes is the demolition of the building where Sears is located and rebuilding it smaller for a new tenant. No word from Sears on its future plans. The changes now go before the city council.

LINDALE – Lindale police are trying to identify a theft suspect. The man has been to Walmart at least twice, and each time left with items without paying. Notice the partial sleeve tattoo on his right arm. He was seen driving a White 4-door passenger car, possibly a Nissan Altima. If you can identify him, contact Lindale police.

TYLER – Following the resignations and retirements of Tyler school principals, their successors have been named. School trustees announced Tuesday they are promoting from within the district. Brett Shelby, an assistant principal at Three Lakes Middle School, is the new principal at Jack Elementary. Susana Royo, an assistant principal at Robert E. Lee High School is the new principal at Peete Elementary. An assistant principal at Bonner, Julie Schumake, is the new principal at Bonner. Stephen Ladd, an assistant principal at Boulter Middle School, is the new principal at Griffin Elementary. And the principal at Bonner Elementary School, Zack Cazares, will be the new principal at Hogg Middle school.

MARSHALL – Arbor day was recently celebrated at East Texas Baptist University in Marshall with a living memorial for a former student. Three Live Oak trees were planted in memory of the late ETBU graduate, and Tiger baseball player James Morgan. The 2005 graduate was 29 when killed in a plane crash in 2012. The trees will serve as a backdrop to the ETBU baseball field. Each year, Tiger Athletics honors Morgan’s legacy by selecting a current student-athlete to wear number 16, Morgan’s Tiger jersey number.

LONGVIEW – Longview police are seeking help in identifying a theft suspect. The theft occurred at the Target Store on North Eastman Road. If you can identify this woman, you are asked to contact the Longview Police Department.

TYLER – A new web site is being launched to get public input on Tyler’s transportation plan. The Tyler Area Metropolitan Planning Organization is launching the new site. The input will help provide guidance for the region’s local municipalities when developing their bicycle and pedestrian improvements. The Active Tyler Plan is intended to help establish a vision for short- and long-term projects that are needed to build a safer and more connected transportation system for the Tyler area. You can go to http://www.ActiveTyler.org for a survey on Tyler’s transportation needs.

TYLER – Early voting in the city and school elections in Smith County continues through today. Saturday, May 5th, is the election day. There are two contested races in Tyler. Mayor Martin Heines is being challenged by Joel Rando. The open District 2 city council seat is being sought by Beverly Beavers-Brooks and Broderick McGee. Council Districts 4 and 6 also are up for election, but the races are uncontested. There are also elections for the city of Winona and East Texas Municipal Utility District and school district elections in Bullard and Troup. Continue reading Early Voting in May Elections Continues through Today

AUSTIN – Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush has announced a Tyler student was one of the winners of the 2018 Texas General Land Office Adopt-A-Beach Treasures of the Texas Coast Children’s Art Contest. They were selected from the 2,480 entries submitted statewide. Molly Madsen of the Tyler Art School was a runner up in the contest. She was entered in the third and fourth grade category. Her art, along with the winner’s at and the 38 other runnersup, will appear on the cover of the 2019 Adopt-A-Beach calendar, which will be distributed statewide. The artwork of all winners will be on public display in the South-Central Gallery of the Texas Capitol May 22nd – 29th