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SMITH COUNTY — Early voting continues this week at five polling locations throughout Smith County. Current totals as of Tuesday are, 5,381 in-person and mail-in ballots have been cast.

There are 17 Texas Constitutional Amendment Propositions on the ballot for the November 4 Election, as well as several city and school elections throughout Smith County. Smith County Elections Administrator Michelle Allcon is urging voters to do their research on the propositions before coming to the polls. Click here for that information.

CITY/SCHOOL ELECTIONS:

The City of Whitehouse and the East Texas Municipal Utility District, as well as the Arp, Troup and Whitehouse Independent School Districts will all be holding special elections on November 4.

Early voting is being held October 20-31, at five polling locations in Tyler, Lindale, Noonday and Whitehouse. Continue reading Early voting runs through Friday

UPDATE: The Nacogdoches Police Department has arrested Hector Cuarenta, 17 of Nacogdoches, in connection with the shooting deaths of three people on Friday.

Cuarenta was wanted in connection to the deaths of three people on Hackberry Street on Friday but turned himself into Nacogdoches PD on Sunday night. Cuarenta was arrested for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and has been booked into the Nacogdoches County Jail.

NACOGDOCHES COUNTY — As of 11:58 a.m., Fredonia Elementary has been placed on secure status, due to a shooting in the area confirmed to be a triple homicide. No one is allowed to enter or exit the campus until the secure status is lifted. Continue reading UPDATE: Teen arrested for killing three in Nacodoches

WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture has posted a notice on its website saying federal food aid will not go out Nov. 1, raising the stakes for families nationwide as the government shutdown drags on.

The new notice comes after the Trump administration said it would not tap roughly $5 billion in contingency funds to keep benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly referred to as SNAP, flowing into November. That program helps about 1 in 8 Americans buy groceries.

“Bottom line, the well has run dry,” the USDA notice says. “At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats.” Continue reading No federal food aid will go out Nov. 1

TYLER – According to our news partner KETK, the Tyler Police Department had officers out in the community to take unwanted medications from East Texans as a part of National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. National Prescription Drug Take Back Day events have recovered more than 20 million pounds of unused medications since 2010 as a way to help prevent drug misuse.

“Events like this help because it is pretty dangerous to flush any medication, flushing it down the toilet or even leaving it in the counter for your children or some other relative to find expired medication,” said Tyler PD community response officer Bianca Smedely.

Anyone who needs to dispose of unwanted pills or expired education medications but couldn’t make it out to Tyler PD’s event on Friday can find a list of more than 30 drop box locations online.

TYLER – As the United States government shut down threatens SNAP food benefits, the East Texas Food Bank is preparing to step up for East Texans who rely on the program’s assistance.

According to our news partner KETK and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, November’s SNAP benefits won’t be sent out if the government shut down continues on Monday. East Texas Food Bank CEO, David Emerson, explained that they’re already preparing to meet a greater demand for food.

“So we’re already buying more food in anticipation of this,” Emerson said. “So we always have truckloads coming in on a regular basis and just this week alone, just yesterday I ordered $200,000 more food, that we’re going to have to go out and purchase, that we weren’t planning on purchasing.”

Medicaid, WIC, TANF and CHIP benefits will reportedly be unaffected if the shutdown continues on Monday but the more than 41 million Americans who use SNAP will lose access to the program unless the government acts by Monday. East Texans can visit the East Texas Food Bank online to learn more about their services.

HENDERSON – The Henderson Police Department is currently investigating a shooting that injured a child on South Main Street on Friday.

According to our news partner KETK and the Henderson PD, officers responded to a reported shooting in the 800 block of South Main Street at around 12:26 p.m. on Friday. Once Henderson PD officers arrived on scene, they found a child who who had been shot.

EMS responded to the scene and transported the child to a local hospital for treatment. A Henderson PD official told KETK News that the child is currently in stable condition.

The shooting is currently being investigated as an accident and Henderson PD said there’s no threat to the public at this time.

LUFKIN – Our news partner KETK is reporting that the Lufkin Police Department is currently searching for a missing 12-year-old girl who was last seen on Mitchell Street on Thursday. 12-year-old Zahariah Freeman was last seen at her grandmother’s Mitchell Steet home between 8:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. in Lufkin on Thursday.

Zahariah is described as a 5-foot-tall Black girl with brown eyes and black hair who weighs around 100 pounds. Lufkin PD said she often will wear blue sunglasses.

Anyone with information about her disappearance is asked to call Lufkin PD at 936-633-0356.

PANOLA COUNTY — A one-vehicle crash that happened on Friday in Panola County led to the discovery of a kidnapping victim. The case remains under investigation.

Panola County Dispatch received a 911 call on Friday at 5:03 a.m. from a female yelling for help, then the call disconnected according to our news partner KETK. Dispatch tried to call the number back and a male answered, who said that he was taking the victim to Louisiana where he would drop her off. The female victim could be heard calling for help in the background.

At 6:33 a.m. Dispatch was notified of a one-vehicle crash on CR 3031 off the loop. Deputies, investigators, a trooper and EMS responded and found that the driver was the suspect from the original 911 call. Deputies were informed by the suspect that he dropped the victim off outside of a business in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Just after 10:00 a.m. the victim was located at a residence in Shreveport and is seeking medical treatment. Investigators determined that the initial disturbance took place at a Carthage apartment complex.

The suspect is currently hospitalized with injuries from the crash and the case remains under investigation. Panola County Sheriff’s Office has stated that no names will be released while the investigation remains ongoing.

TYLER – A new mini golf course will begin construction soon in Tyler; however, people who live in the area are concerned about the noise and lights this development may bring. Due to the concerns, the City of Tyler granted the ‘Special Use Permit’ at a council meeting on Wednesday.

According to our news partner KETK, the new mini golf course would be located near the intersection of South Broadway and Donnybrook Avenue, behind ‘Andy’s Custard.’ Kyle Kingma, Genecov Planning Director, said this is all to meet an entertainment need in the growing city of Tyler.

“We have gotten feedback that there is a desire to have more outside entertainment within the city,” Kingma said. So, we think that this would probably check that box for people.” Continue reading Tyler locals express concerns over mini golf course

TYLER – Two brothers arrested on dogfighting charges in 2024 had those charges dropped after they both pleaded guilty to other charges recently.

Kerry Jones, 36 of Tyler, and Michael Jones, 32 of Tyler, were both arrested after nearly 60 dogs were found near a residence on County Road 4136 in Tyler on Sept. 9, 2024.

Our news partner KETK spoke with Michael’s lawyer Matt Bingham after a pre-trial hearing on Thursday. Bingham said that Jones wasn’t connected by evidence to any of the dogfighting that allegedly took place at his brother Kerry’s property. Given the lack of evidence against him, Michael was able to take a plea deal that allowed him to only plead guilty to a charge of possession of marijuana between 5 and 50 pounds. According to Bingham, the dogfighting charges and a cruelty to non-livestock animals charge have been dropped as part of his plea deal.

Michael has been sentenced to 11 months in jail and given credit for time served since he’s been in Smith County Jail for the past 13 months, according to Bingham. Continue reading Dogfighting ring charges dropped against brothers

HENDERSON COUNTY – According to our news partner KETK, a man was arrested in Henderson County on Thursday after over 455 files containing images of child pornography were found on his computer.

According to an arrest affidavit, a peace officer who had been assigned to investigate sex crimes and crimes against children in Henderson County received a Cybertip on June. 9, which is used to inform officials about suspected potential online sexual exploitation of children. The cybertip provided an IP address, along with a subpoena obtained from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, for T-Mobile regarding the IP Address. After officials received the subpoena, they discovered that the IP Address belonged to Nicholas Kent of Gun Barrel City. Continue reading Man arrested for possessing over 455 child porn files

NACOGDOCHES – A Nacogdoches man was arrested Friday Oct. 17 with 2.4 pounds of crystal meth in his vehicle. According to our news partner KETK, 50-year-old John Darren Taylor of Nacogdoches, was stopped by Nacogdoches County Sheriff’s deputies for speeding in a construction zone. Deputies found the crystal meth, along with 123 grams of Alprazolam pills and an unspecified amount of marijuana in the toolbox of Taylor’s pickup.

Investigators allege that Crawford had gotten the drugs from the Houston area with the intent of selling them in Nacogdoches County. He was charged with two counts of delivery of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana. Crawford is being held at the Nacogdoches County Jail.

TYLER — Karen Phillips, the current Smith County Clerk, announced she will seek re-election in the Republican Primary on March 3, 2026. According to our news partner KETK, Phillips announced during a gathering with family and friends that she intends to run for another term and continue to serve the citizens with accountability and conservative leadership. A county clerk is responsible for maintaining public records, administering elections, issuing licenses and certificates, and serving as the primary contact point between the county and its citizens.

Phillips has served as the Smith County Clerk for the past 15 years and claims to consistently deliver on her promises while operating with fiscal responsibility. She also said that during her first two years in office, she helped reduce the department’s budget by $150,000.

“I have worked hard to ensure efficiency, transparency, and accountability in the County Clerk’s Office,” Phillips said. “It has been an honor to serve the citizens of Smith County, and I look forward to building on these successes in the years ahead.” Continue reading Smith County Clerk Karen Phillips seeks re-election

ANGELINA COUNTY — A Huntington man has been sentenced to life in prison for the 2022 murder of his wife on Monday. According to our news partner KETK, Christopher Marriott, 54, of Huntington, was first arrested for murder on May 24, 2022, after officials said he called 911 on May 19 and told law enforcement that he and his wife, Sandra Marriott, had both tried to commit suicide, but only she died.

Angelina County Sheriff’s Office deputies and investigators later found that he caused Sandra’s death. Christopher pleaded guilty to murder before 217th Judicial District Court judge Bob Inselmann on Monday and was sentenced to serve life in state prison.

His life sentence in state prison started on Monday.