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TYLER — After explosions and a fire in two shipping buildings this will be the first year since the company’s founding 81 years ago that Greenberg Smoked Turkeys will not have their famous turkeys ready for thousands of customers at Thanksgiving. KETK spoke exclusively with company president Sam Greenberg about the fire, damage and his determination to reopen the Tyler facility. Security camera footage revealed that three explosions happened within seconds. “It happened at two of our freezer facilities. We store our smoked product in this freezer and another one just adjacent to it. Continue reading Greenberg Smoked Turkeys’ shipping units destroyed by fire

KILGORE — The East Texas Oil Museum at Kilgore College will be featured on an upcoming episode of The Texas Bucket List, an Emmy award-winning television series. According to the show’s billing information, “There’s no doubt that this town is proud of their oil history and heritage making a visit to Kilgore and the world’s richest acre well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List!” The first airings of the show will run this weekend. For a listing of television stations and airing times, visit https://thetexasbucketlist.com/where-to-watch/. The ETOM will be featured on the show with two other stops – Dirty Al’s in South Padre Island and Camp Brisket in College Station.

TYLER — TxDOT is planning to conduct more construction and maintenance work in the Tyler District during the week of Nov. 9. Tyler crews plan to continue the road widening project on FM 2089 from SH 64 to the Smith County line. A second crew will perform sidewalk work at various locations across Smith County. Longview crews on Monday plan to begin to perform pavement repairs on FM 2011. Click the link for a full rundown of the coming week’s work around the district. https://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/media-center/local-news/tyler/043-2020.html.

LONGVIEW — Over 2 million lights are part of Carmela’s Magical Santa Land, but this year the venue’s founder has not been able to be on-site. According to a facebook post Carmela Davis, “Carmela was not in an auto accident. She had a heavy object fall on her. Pushed her backwards and pinned her to ground with several hundred pounds on her pelvis causing injury.Your thoughts and prayers are appreciated.” The light display opens at 5:30 p.m. “https://www.facebook.com/Carmelas-Magical-Santa-Land-567473350130564/about/?ref=page_internal.

PHILADELPHIA — East Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert reported from his hotel in Philadelphia on Saturday night on national media and later in a video posted to his site regarding displeasure with the process of the ballot counting. “…We [Democrats] are going to steal this election, that is the only reason you would keep the counting hidden. Otherwise, if you were confident in what you were doing was legal, and was fair, you would be video-taping the whole thing. You would show the world. This is how fairly we counted the votes. That didn’t happen here. Didn’t happen at all. They defied the courts. They defied legality. They defied the constitution, which says the legislature only can change things about the voting.” You can see Gohmert’s minute video segment by clicking the link. https://gohmert.house.gov/.

TYLER — The Tyler Fire Department was on the scene of an explosion Friday night at Greenberg Smoked Turkeys Inc. According to our news partner KETK, 5 people were reported in the building, but no one was injured. As of right now, officials do not believe it was arson, but they do not know the cause as of yet. The call him in around 8:30 p.m. and dispatch were alerted of a fire at a commercial building. Units arrived to flames inside the building and large plumes of smoke. Reports of one of the the roll-up doors on one end of the building had been blown off its hinges. The investigation into what caused the blaze is on-going.

CHAPEL HILL — Chapel Hill ISD will hold open Interviews next Thursday from 9 a.m. to Noon. The interviews will take place at the Administration office located on CR 2249. Interviews will be conducted for Grounds, Transportation, Custodial, Maintenance, and Child Nutrition.

TYLER — Wednesday’s meeting of the Tyler City Council will include the installation of District 2, 4, and 6 Council members as well as the Mayor-at-Large following last weeks elections. Council meetings are now open to the public. Members of the public who wish to participate by making a public comment on any agenda item may do so either electronically, in-person or over the phone by calling (903) 363-0651. Electronic forms must be submitted by 7 a.m. on the date of the Council Meeting. A maximum capacity of 36 people will be allowed in the City Council Chamber, 22 of those will be reserved for general members of the public not including the media.

TYLER — The numbers are still coming in, but as of Friday, the Alzheimer’s Association is thanking 45 Tylerite teams for their part to end Alzheimer’s. Those teams were made up 136 participants. Funds raised by the Walk go toward research as well as local care-giving support groups and other educational opportunities, that are offered free of charge by the Alzheimer’s Association. Over $18,000 has currently been raised, but people can still donate to the initiative through the end of the year, by clicking the link. https://act.alz.org/Tyler.

TYLER — Smith County Precinct 2 Constable Josh Black has been indicted on charges of official oppression and prostitution. Court records indicate that Black, 38, of Flint, was arrested on Friday regarding both charges. He was later released from jail on bonds totaling $2,000. Records show both offenses occurred on July 31. Black was indicted Thursday on the two charges, just days after being re-elected. Both charges are classified as Class A misdemeanors, but official oppression can be upgraded to a third-class felony in special circumstances. It appears in judicial records that a felony indictment was handed down for the oppression charge. It is unclear what alleged incident led to the charges being filed.

TYLER — In honor of Veterans Day next Wednesday, fees at all Texas state parks will be waived this Sunday. Daily entrance fees will be waived for all day use on Sunday leading up to the actual mid-week holiday. Some parks are expected to reach their capacity limit. Reservations can be done online by clicking the link. https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/park-reservation-information.

TYLER — A Tyler woman who pleaded guilty to embezzling more than a half million dollars last July, now knows her fate. According to our news partner KETK, Jessica Rottab, 33, will serve seven years in federal prison, as well as paying restitution in the amount of $672,000. Rottab, is the former head of the East Texas Council for Independent Living. Rottab admitted stealing $526,000 in federal funds that were meant for clients. Prosecutors at the hearing recommended that Rottab be sentenced to seven years in prison as part of the plea deal.

TYLER — Tyler Police are investigating a shooting that took place Wednesday afternoon. One person, was shot multiple times and was transported by private vehicle to Christus Trinity Mother Frances ER. According to the news brief, the victim is identified as Brandon Dixon, a 33 year old male from Tyler. Dixon is listed as in critical condition. Another person was also shot multiple times in the incident. Steven Forman, a 32 year old male from Gladewater, was transported by EMS to UT Health on Beckham. He is also in critical condition. Lanard Askew, 3, Mt. Pleasant, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and taken to Smith County Jail.

TYLER — Matt Schaefer was on-hand Thursday for the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Luncheon. The Texas House District 6 Representative told KTBB what his recent win means. “It shows that you can vote like a Republican and still get support from many, many, Texans.” Schaeffer continued, “You can not only vote like a Republican, but you can vote like a conservative and still get elected in East Texas and that is very encouraging.” Schaefer knows there will be lots of work to accomplish in Austin, “The budget is gonna be tight. But, I think that Republicans have a mandate to pass conservative policies.” Continue reading Schaefer: ‘We need to protect 2nd Amendment and even expand freedoms’

TYLER — The Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce hosted their annual meeting on Thursday. Part of the festivities included Co-Recipients Dr. Jeanette and Dr. Kirk Calhoun who were announced winners of 2020 T.B. Butler Award. Dr. Kirk Calhoun, “I have spent a significant portion of my career in Tyler. It is a blessing. My focus is to advance education, research and health in East Texas. You are very, very lucky when you can get an award for doing something you love.” Continue reading TACC holds annual meeting

EAST TEXAS — Compared to 2016, Election Day seemed to go by without any major technical problems. Former attorney in the Elections Division with the state of Texas told our news partner KETK, because of an expected high turnout, they were prepared for the most part. “I think people knew this year was going to be a close contested election, and you have to give credit to all the county election officials and election officials across the country,” Roberts, an attorney in Tyler, continued. “They probably knew that they needed to have everything tight, ready to go and many back-up plans in place.” Roberts said small technology glitches are to be expected. Continue reading Tech issues cause delays, but should not cause concern

UPSHUR COUNTY – Two people who were in an Upshur County church when it caught on fire Wednesday afternoon are being treated for burns in Shreveport. According to our news partner KETK, the men were working near the pulpit area of the Church of Power when the fire broke out around 12:30 p.m. They both suffered burns and were flown by a medical helicopter to LSU Health in Shreveport. The fire heavily damaged the one-story church building. Firefighters from Gilmer, Big Sandy and Pritchett fought the blaze. Gilmer Fire Chief Jerry Taylor said the cause of the fire appears to be related to work the two men were doing in the church but remains under investigation.

KILGORE — Kilgore College is launching its “Spring Six” registration campaign, which will give students who register for classes a chance to win one-of-six $500 scholarships. Over the next three weeks the college will have random drawings to award two $500 scholarships each week. Students who enroll in classes at KC through Nov. 20 for the spring semester are eligible to be entered into the drawings to win the scholarships. Current students can register for KC classes in-person or online through AccessKC. Beginning Nov. 9, students new to KC can make an appointment with an advisor on the Kilgore campus by calling (903) 983-8206. For classes in Longview, visit http://www.kilgore.edu/kc-longview-appointment to set up an appointment online with a KC-Longview advisor.

ATHENS — An Athens police officer arrested and charged a felon with illegally carrying a gun and possession of methamphetamine. According to our news partner KETK, 74-year-old Acie Frederick Haley, Jr. was driving through Athens just after 3 a.m. Wednesday, when he was stopped for a traffic violation. After Haley left his vehicle, authorities say they spotted a glass pipe with a plastic bottle filled with meth. During a records search they found Haley to be a convicted felon. Haley told officers he had a firearm in his vehicle. The weapon had been reported stolen in Cherokee County. Haley was taken to the Henderson County jail.

LONGVIEW — The results for the District 3 General Election are in. Unofficial results are as follows:
Darrin Rudy Rudolph: 823 votes with 32%
Hank Guichelaar: 346 votes with 13%
Wray Wade: 1,402 votes with 55%
Additional mail-in ballots may affect the final tally. The outcome of this General Election will become official after City Council canvasses the results. Gregg County Election Results are available by clicking the link. https://www.greggcountyvotes.com/.

TYLER — State Senator Bryan Hughes clinched a second term Tuesday night. According to our news partner KETK, Hughes defeated fellow Mineola native Audrey Spanko. It was the first time a Democrat was on the ballot since 2012. Hughes ran unopposed in 2016 after winning in a four-way race for the Republican nomination in 2016. The seat was available following the retirement of Kevin Eltife. Gov. Abbott released the following statement following his win:

“Senator Hughes is a conservative leader in the Senate, and I congratulate him on his re-election victory. During his time in the legislature, Senator Hughes has been a tremendous leader and a voice for the people of Northeast Texas, and I know he will continue to work tirelessly on their behalf.”

Gov. Abbott Continue reading Hughes wins second term in Austin

EAST TEXAS — Republican Lance Gooden has won reelection to U.S. House in Texas’ 5th Congressional District. According to our news partner KETK, Gooden defeated Democrat Carolyn Salter. The AP made the call just after 9:15 p.m. on Tuesday night. First elected in 2018, Gooden represents Texas’ 5th District in the U.S. House of Representatives that stretches from Dallas County and includes Cherokee, Henderson, Kaufman, Anderson, Van Zandt, and Wood counties. Prior to joining the U.S. House of Representatives, he served three terms in the Texas House of Representatives and spent 10 years working as an insurance broker and risk management consultant.