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SMITH COUNTY – The Smith County Commissioners Court voted on Tuesday, October 8, to issue a burn ban for the county. As of Tuesday morning, the Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) for Smith County was at 709. The KBDI ranges from 0 to 800 and is used to determine forest fire potential. Smith County saw about 50 grass fires from September 23 through October 6, Smith County Fire Marshal Chad Hogue reported.

On Monday, October 7, a controlled burn that was left unattended damaged two buildings and burned more than 2 acres, he said. Hogue said the humidity is expected to drop this week. That, and with no rain in sight, the fire danger is increasing.  He recommended that the Commissioners Court issue the “Order Prohibiting Outdoor Burning.”

The burn ban order is in effect for 90 days, unless conditions improve, and the Commissioners Court approve terminating the order early. Continue reading Smith County issues a burn ban

LUFKIN — The Ellen Trout Zoo has announced that their director, Gordon Henley, is retiring after 48 years of service to the Lufkin-based zoo, according to our news partner KETK. “Serving as the director of Ellen Trout Zoo has been a true honor,” Henley said. “I have cherished every moment spent creating a magical experience for our visitors, and I am profoundly grateful for the support of our community.”

Henley’s journey with the zoo started back in 1976 after moving to Lufkin with his wife Charlotte from Oklahoma where he worked at the Tulsa Zoo.

“After an amazing 48-year journey, Gordon will be seeking new adventures. We want to take a moment to reflect on the cherished memories created at Ellen Trout Zoo,” the zoo said. “Join us in celebrating his remarkable legacy and the magic he’s helped cultivate for generations. Here’s to new adventures, Gordon!” Continue reading Ellen Trout Zoo director retiring after 48 years of service

NACOGDOCHES – The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has awarded Stephen F. Austin University a $250,000 grant to enhance its nursing program. According to our news partner KETK, SFA was selected out of 26 other institutions to receive the Student Success Acceleration Program 2.0 grant in order to help address the shortfall of nurses nationwide.

Dr. Marc Guidry, associate provost for the Division of Academic Affairs said in a release, “This grant supports two of SFA’s marquee programs at once, nursing and social work. I am especially pleased that all the money goes to students in the form of scholarships, stipends and supplies. The resources provided by this grant will enable more of our nursing students to persist and graduate with their registered nurse license while providing hands-on training for our graduate social work majors. It is a double-win for SFA and the state of Texas.”

MARSHALL – The Marshall Police Department (MPD) issued a statement Monday afternoon warning residents of a recent spike of a popular scam. These scams involve individuals “pretending to be law enforcement officers from the Marshall Police Department or the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office,” according to a statement. On their Facebook page, Marshall PD said that these individuals can reach out via call, text or email, “[…] claiming you owe fines or have legal issues that can only be resolved by making payments through gift cards, cryptocurrency, wire transfers, or other unusual methods.” MPD urges those who have their suspicions to call them at 903-935-4575.

RUSK – Rusk ISD schools briefly were on lockdown status Monday morning after an accused murderer reportedly escaped from Rusk State Hospital. According to our news partner KETK, Juan Carlos Vasquez Rojas has been at the hospital since September after he was arrested for felony murder in Harris County. Rojas reportedly escaped while being taken from one part of the hospital to another.

Schools in the area went on lockdown while the Rusk and Cherokee County law enforcement searched the area. Rojas was captured not long after and the lockdown was lifted. Liberty County district court sent Rojas to Rusk State Hospital for a competency assessment before he can stand trial for the murder charge.

LINDALE – Our news partners at KETK report a road extension project that has been in the works for almost seven years has broken ground in Lindale. According to City of Lindale officials, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the extension of East Centennial Boulevard on Saturday. East Centennial Boulevard, that intersects Highway 69 and runs between Lowe’s and Walmart, will extend to meet Jim Hogg Road. Lindale Mayor Gavin Rasco took part in the groundbreaking and said construction is set to begin. Continue reading Extension of Lindale’s East Centennial Boulevard begins

AUSTIN - A Longview resident claimed a top prize winning ticket worth $1 million in the Texas Lottery. The ticket was purchased at a Food Fast convenience store, located at 3305 South Eastman Road, in Longview. A release from lottery officials said, the prize winner has elected to remain anonymous.
 

NACOGDOCHES – The Nacogdoches Police Department said that one person was critically injured after a reported shooting at a private club on Sunday morning. According to our news partner KETK, Nacogdoches PD Sgt. Brent Handy said that 911 calls came from the private club at 1600 E. Main St. at around 12:46 a.m. on Sunday. When officers arrived, Handy said, they could tell there had been a disturbance at the scene and then they were called to a local hospital where a shooting victim had been privately taken.

According to Handy, the victim was in critical but stable condition as of 2:40 p.m. on Sunday. Nacogdoches PD is investigating the shooting.

AUSTIN (AP) — A Texas man set to die this month is at the center of another push for clemency in the U.S., this time backed by several GOP lawmakers and bestselling author John Grisham, who say a father’s 2002 conviction for killing his infant daughter deserves a second look. Their pleas to spare Robert Roberson, of Palestine, who is set to die by lethal injection on Oct. 17, comes after Missouri and Oklahoma carried out executions last month over calls to grant two condemned men lesser punishments, underlining how rare clemency remains for death row prisoners.

The cases highlight one of a governor’s most extraordinary powers — whether to allow an execution to proceed. In Texas, the state’s parole board and Republican Gov. Greg Abbott have yet to weigh in on Roberson, whose defenders say was convicted based on faulty scientific evidence. Continue reading A Texas execution is renewing calls for clemency. It’s rarely granted

SULPHUR SPRINGS – Our news partners at KETK report the Sulphur Springs Police Department is asking the public to help identify a man who was seen in security footage during a robbery on Saturday. Sulphur Springs PD said that the aggravated robbery happened at the Eagle Food Mart at 500 Main Street at around 11:04 p.m. on Saturday. They described a man seen on video from the store as a 6-foot-tall man who was wearing all black. Anyone with information is asked to call the Sulphur Springs Police Department detective Brian Shurtleff at 903-885-7602 or Crime Stoppers at 903-885-2020.

PALESTINE – Our news partners at KETK report the City of Palestine has announced that there will be a planned water outage from 6 p.m. on Monday to 4 a.m. on Tuesday. The residents in the following areas will be under the temporary outage:
N. Sycamore St. from Spring St. to Erwin St.
Crawford St. from Houston St. to John St.
W. Oak St. from N. Sycamore St. to Queen St.
Magnolia St. from W. Crawford St. to Main St.
Any questions can be directed to the City of Palestine Public Works Department by calling 903-731-8423.

EAST TEXAS — The Atlanta District of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) announced repairs for 15 bridges in East Texas will get underway in the coming months, according to our news partners at KETK. “We will be making repairs to the concrete decking, replacing bearing pads, and cleaning joints,” said TxDOT Mount Pleasant Area Engineer Wendy Starkes. The work is expected to start in December and will take about 22 months. Titus, Morris and Bowie Counties are all slated for repair projects.“Bridges scheduled for this work are on Interstate 30 in Titus, Morris, and Bowie counties and on State Loop 151 in Texarkana.” Continue reading TxDOT: 15 bridges in East Texas slated for repairs

LONGVIEW – The Longview Police Department said that a 19-year-old was arrested on Saturday after a fatal shooting on Baylor Drive, according to our news partners at KETK. Longview PD said that officers responded to reports of a shooting in the 1300 block of Baylor Drive at around 12:40 a.m. on Saturday. When they arrived at the scene they reportedly found the body of Robert Rayson, 25 of Longview, who had died from the shooting. A statement from Longview PD reported that the shooting occurred after an altercation started inside a home on Baylor Drive. Everyone at the scene of the shooting was interviewed and Longview PD said those interviews led to the arrest of Deleontre Mitchell, 19 of Longview. Mitchelll has been arrested for murder and was taken to the Gregg County Jail, according to Longview PD.

POLK COUNTY – Our news partners at KETK report that a wanted East Texas woman and her passenger were arrested after deputies discovered methamphetamine during a traffic stop, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said. According to the sheriff’s office, deputies saw a vehicle travelling in the Blanchard area commit a traffic violation on Sept. 26 and decided to conduct a traffic stop. “During the stop, officers discovered probable cause to search the vehicle, leading to the seizure of methamphetamine,” PCSO said. The sheriff’s office said the driver, identified as 37-year-old Marlena Anne Toomey, of Livingston, gave deputies a “government document” with false information. Continue reading Wanted East Texas woman, passenger arrested

TYLER – Our news partners at KETK report the Tyler Regional Airport is filled with Camp V and airshow planes for the Rose City Airfest. “I’ve got over 40 vendors and we’ve got static displays, we’ve got the pilots out signing posters, it’s just going to be a tremendous full day of family fun,” said Bob Westbrook, Rose City Airfest chairman. Activities started Friday with an all-new STEM day for local high school students. Continue reading Rose City Airfest Underway

Bullard – Bullard High School is now a member of the College Board Advanced Placement (AP) School Honor Roll. The school received bronze-level honor roll recognition for the success of its 2023-2024 AP programs. Schools earn this recognition by meeting criteria that reflect a commitment to increasing college-going culture, providing opportunities for students to earn college credit, and maximizing college readiness. Continue reading Bullard High School earns AP School Honor Roll recognition

RUSK – Officials from Rusk ISD Friday addressed on a social media post, what they call an “incident” at Rusk ISD, that happened on October 2. Parents say the incident was caught on video, reportedly showing a student being assaulted in an administrative office. The video has been shared extensively on social media. Rusk ISD did not explain the nature of the “incident” in their statement. District officials also said that guardians of all students involved were informed immediately after the incident and they plan to work with the guardians to seek a resolution.

The Facebook post went onto to say, “Rusk ISD will have zero tolerance for this type of behavior from our students and while we cannot discuss individual disciplinary actions, please know that we will follow state education codes and local policies to ensure the disciplinary consequences align with the seriousness of the offense,” according to the district. “The safety of our students remains our top priority, and we will continue to review our policies and procedures to maintain a safe and secure environment for everyone on campus.”

HENDERSON — Over the past decade, public school enrollment has been declining across the nation. Now, that trend is starting to impact at least two school districts in East Texas, according to our news partners at KETK. At Palestine ISD, Director of Public Relations Larissa Loveless said she has worked for their district for 24 years. When she first started, she was an elementary school principal, and their campus had about 740 students. This year, that number is about 670 students. This trend is one her district has seen over the past 3 to 5 years, lower enrollment in lower grade levels and higher enrollment in middle school and high school. This year, their kindergarten class has 188 students, but in previous years, Loveless said they’ve had 225-240 students in that class. Continue reading How low enrollment could affect East Texas schools

WHITEHOUSE – A property owner and Atmos Energy have been at odds over the installation of a natural gas pipeline according to our news partner KETK. With a civil jury trial set, construction continues.

Anthony and his wife Pamela moved to Whitehouse three years ago in search of a dome-shaped home with lots of shade for his medical conditions. “They’ve made my sanctuary into a prison,” Anthony Voss, property owner, said. “I have light sensitivity, being a disabled vet, and eye issues,” Anthony said.

Soon after, they received a letter from Atmos Energy informing the Voss’ they were planning to place a natural gas pipeline through their property. Leading to a long legal battle.

“They just wouldn’t work with us, even though they bored, they’re planning on boring, they could leave the trees, but they decided not to,” Anthony said. Continue reading Energy company and property owner at odds over pipeline

SMITH COUNTY — According to our news partner KETK, the Troup Volunteer Fire Department declined to renew their contract with Smith County Emergency Service District 2 (ESD2) after claiming expectations are too high. The ESD provides volunteer stations with necessities otherwise hard to obtain without funding.

Though Troup is situated between Smith and Cherokee county, Troup VFD’s decline to recontract with the ESD will allow them to only serve Cherokee county. Now, ESD2’s Troup station off Wilkinson Street will be handling all calls in the community and claim response time will not be a problem.

ESD2 was created by 11 volunteer fire stations in Smith County back in 2007 to help cover Smith county volunteer stations that were not fully staffed. Now, Chief Dustin Rust of the Troup Volunteer Fire Department said the expectation by the ESD are dwindling their man power from 30 to 5 volunteers.

“We’re a volunteer department, anything we can do to help the citizens is great, but when my numbers start falling and I can’t do my job and I can’t guarantee our level of service to people, it’s time to make a change somewhere,” Troup Volunteer Fire Department Chief Dustin Rust said. Continue reading Troup VFD declines contract with Smith County

LINDALE — The Lindale Fire Department responded to a crash of an 18-wheeler on Thursday after the tanker rolled over and spilled about 5,000 gallons of hot asphalt. According to our news partner KETK, the tanker rolled over and crashed at I-20 and mile marker 548, westbound near Lindale. The driver of the 18-wheeler was taken to a hospital, their condition is unknown.

Initially, Smith County ESD2 used their plow to help contain the spill. As of 5:30 p.m. Thursday, a hazmat crew was at the scene working to clean up the spill.

The Lindale Fire Department said on their Facebook page the cause of the accident is still under investigation.

TYLER – Even with it being October, hot and dry weather is persisting. This can create a fire hazard. Some counties in East Texas have issued burn bans. You can see the list provided from our news partner KETK with this link.

PALESTINE – A Palestine High School student was removed from campus after weapons were found in a vehicle on Thursday morning. According to our news partner KETK, a routine check from a drug dog alerted school officials of a rifle and a “small machete” that were discovered in the vehicle.

Palestine ISD said in a release that, “Parents were notified, and the student removed from the campus pending further investigation.”

SMITH COUNTY – The Lindale Fire Department reports a traffic wreck involving a rolled over 18-wheeler. The wreck is stalling westbound traffic on I-20, west of Lindale at mile marker 548. The Lindale FD Facebook page said “This is currently a hazmat incident and Lonestar Hazmat is responding.” Officials added that traffic is down to one lane in the crash area and as of 2 p.m. clean-up will take several hours.

Also on Thursday, Lindale Fire units responded to the scene of a three vehicle accident that happened around 3 p.m. at I-20 and mile marker 552 westbound. In both cases traffic is being diverted. Lindale Fire Department asks drivers to continue to use caution and avoid the accident areas.

VAN ZANDT COUNTY – Our news partners at KETK report that two people died in a crash on Highway 19, roughly one mile south of U.S. 80 last Saturday around 7:54 p.m. A crash report from DPS states 63-year-old Karen Carlisle of Wills Point was driving a 2014 Ford Focus north on Highway 19 while 24-year-old Sara Stoehr of Larue was traveling south in a 2019 Dodge Journey. Both Carlisle and Stoehr died. Three minors in the car with Stoehr were taken to a children’s hospital in Dallas. DPS’s investigation into the crash is ongoing.

WINNSBORO — The Winnsboro Police Department announced the passing of one of their own Thursday morning.According to our news partner KETK, the police department said Assistant Chief David Scott Sewell passed away early Thursday and shared that he was a beloved member of the community. Sewell who joined Winnsboro PD in 2016 also served the Northeast Texas region for 39 years.

“Please keep his family, friends and the department in your prayers as we navigate this difficult time,” the police department said.

ANGELINA COUNTY — A 21-year-old man caught on surveillance camera robbing a convenience store on Wednesday in Angelina County has been arrested. According to Sheriff Tom Selman and our news partner KETK, a convenience store in the Pollok area on U.S. Highway 69 between Lufkin and Wells was robbed at around 9:00 a.m. when a man entered the store and approached the cashier with a handgun. The sheriff’s office said the man took the money and left toward Wells in a green Ford Expedition. The cashier was able to take a picture of the vehicle and partial license plate number which was then shared to local law enforcement.

The Lufkin Police Department was then able to get the full license plate and alerted the sheriff’s deputies that the vehicle was registered off Quarles Road in the county. Continue reading East Texas armed robbery suspect arrested

LONGVIEW – According to our news partner KETK, Longview ISD hosted a town hall meeting for educational leaders and Texas lawmakers to make sure their voices are heard, and needs like funding are understood. Basic allotment, which determines how much money public schools get for each student, hasn’t been updated in half a decade.

The meeting comes ahead of the next legislative session, after the previous session didn’t pass house bill one which would have provided more money to schools. Major topics of the discussion that created the most buzz were school choice, basic allotment funding and the mental health of students and faculty. Local representatives heard from districts firsthand, and hopefully can apply what they learned in January at the next legislative session.

For Longview superintendent Dr. Marla Sheppard, funding is something she says her schools and others need in order to continue providing a quality education.

“Money, we all need money,” Sheppard said. “Right now, we are in a crisis as far as funding is concerned, we’ve not had an increase in five or six years and so for us with inflation, teachers needing raises, children becoming more costly to educate, then we all need more money.” Continue reading Texas lawmakers hear from educators in Longview