Club Exotic killing linked to retaliation

Club Exotic killing linked to retaliationSMITH COUNTY — Arrest documents related to the deadly Smith County shooting in March indicate that the man charged with murder acted in retaliation for a gang shooting that occurred in December. On March 22, Smith County deputies responded to a shooting at Club Exotic on State Highway 64 West in Tyler. Witnesses reported that a man wearing a ski mask jumped onto the hood of a car and yelled, “Y’all going to die for 38!” and “If y’all ain’t gang, move.” The Smith County Sheriff’s Office believes that “38” likely refers to Aaron Jackson, who was killed at the Valley Blues Club.

The suspect, identified as Andru Davis, then began firing into the crowd, injuring four people. Among those injured were Keundas Sandford and Keoin Dewayne Redd, both of whom died from gunshot wounds at the scene.

Following an investigation, they found that Davis and the second suspect, Brandon Young, were a part of the Shoot First Nation West Side Rollin’ 60’s Crips and had gone to Houston following the shooting. Continue reading Club Exotic killing linked to retaliation

39 years for sexually assaulting child

39 years for sexually assaulting childTYLER – A Tyler man was sentenced to 39 years in prison on Monday after he was found guilty of aggravated sexual assault of a child. Christopher Lynn Bowles, who was previously wanted by the Smith County Sheriff’s Office on charges of sexually assaulting a child and the continuous sexual assault of a child under the age of 14, Bowles was located in DeFuniak Springs, Florida, in November 2025 and was taken into custody, according to our news partner KETK.

During his trial, Bowles was found guilty of two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14. Bowles was sentenced to 39 years in prison on Monday.

Former teacher gets 180-days in jail

Former teacher gets 180-days in jailHENDERSON – A former Henderson ISD teacher was sentenced to six months in state jail and 10 years in probation after she pleaded guilty to an improper relationship with a student. According to our news partner KETK, Kathryn Prior, of Henderson, was arrested in December 2024 for having an inappropriate relationship with a student. The former vocational agriculture education teacher was also charged with possession of child pornography and indecency with a child.

According to the Rusk County District Attorney’s Office, Prior’s guilty plea allowed her not to be convicted of the indecency charge, but it was taken into consideration for her sentencing. Prior’s child pornography charge was dropped and First Assistant Prosecutor Allen Ross said they “couldn’t move forward with that case.” As a part of the plea deal, Prior had to surrender her teaching license.

Prior’s 180 days in jail begin on March 30 with 10 years in probation to follow. If Prior violates her probation, she will serve the 10 years in state jail, Ross said.

Industrial burn accident kills one

Industrial burn accident kills oneLONGVIEW – A worker at Trinity Industries in Longview has tragically died after suffering severe burns in an industrial incident that happened Monday. According to our news partner KETK, Longview Fire Marshal Marcus Delaney said they received 911 a report of a patient who had been burned in an industrial incident at around 10:27 a.m.

The Longview Fire Department responded to the scene on Jordan Valley Road with a fire engine, along with EMS, who transported a man to a local hospital to be treated for life-threatening burns. Delaney said the man later died at the hospital. The fire marshal’s office is currently investigating the cause of the man’s fatal burns. Delaney was unaware of any similar incidents ever happening at the Trinity Industries facility in Longview. Continue reading Industrial burn accident kills one

Residents asked to follow watering schedule

Residents asked to follow watering scheduleTYLER — The City of Tyler is asking residents to consider following a watering schedule and to practice water-saving habits as warm temperatures and the lack of rain are increasing demand. According to our news partner KETK, the voluntary schedule suggests that residents limit outdoor watering to two days per week and only before 10 a.m. or after 6 p.m. Officials add, that following the schedule helps keep water pressure up across the community and reduces evaporation.

Residents whose house address ends with an even number should water on Sundays and Thursdays, while odd-numbered addresses should water on Saturdays and Wednesdays.
Continue reading Residents asked to follow watering schedule

EPA watchdog finds nation’s most contaminated sites are vulnerable to flooding, wildfires

WASHINGTON (AP) — About 100 of the nation’s most contaminated toxic waste sites are in areas prone to flooding and wildfires, a potential public health threat to millions of Americans in surrounding communities, the internal watchdog at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has found.

The EPA’s Office of Inspector General issued a trio of reports last week assessing the weather-related vulnerabilities of the 157 federal Superfund sites prioritized for cleanup due to the serious risk they pose to public health and the environment. About 3 million Americans live within a mile of a Superfund site, while 13 million people live within 3 miles (4.8 kilometers).

Some of the Superfund sites were found to be at risk from multiple natural-disaster threats. The studies found 49 in coastal areas are at risk from sea-level rise or storm surge from hurricanes, with many located near highly populated areas and important ecological locales like Chesapeake Bay. Another 47 are in low-lying sites prone specifically to inland flooding from heavy rain. The review also found 31 sites in areas at high risk for wildfires.

Despite these risks, the five-year plans governing the expensive and time-consuming cleanups at the sites often failed to account for damage posed by flooding from sea-level rise and more frequent storms and wildfire, the IG’s review found.

“That is a big problem because it means the site managers are not planning mitigation measures,” said Betsy Southerland, a former director of the agency’s water protection division who spent over 30 years at the EPA.

“The communities living near those sites should be made aware of this planning failure and should insist on robust plans,” she said.

At locations with little or no planning for floods, contaminants could be released into surrounding communities and taxpayer dollars already invested in remediation could be wasted, the review found.

The EPA said it is reviewing the IG’s findings and that the Superfund program does factor “the impacts of extreme weather events and other hazards as a standard operating practice in the development and implementation of cleanup projects.”

Last year, President Donald Trump fired EPA Inspector General Sean O’Donnell at the beginning of Trump’s second term, and the office’s new review makes no mention of climate change, a term the Republican administration has scrubbed from federal websites. But the new reports issued by the IG’s remaining staff still lay out the risks posed by a warming planet to the nation’s most dangerous toxic waste sites.

Lara J. Cushing, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles who has studied the effects of a changing climate on the nation’s toxic waste sites, petrochemical plants and other hazardous areas, called the new reports “noteworthy and important.”

“Although President Trump may wish to ignore it, the fact is the climate is changing and we need to be proactive in responding to rising seas and more extreme weather or face the consequences of increasingly frequent cascading natural-technological disasters that poison communities and local?ecosystems,” said Cushing.

The inspector general’s findings echo a 2017 investigation by The Associated Press that found 327 Superfund sites vulnerable to flooding driven by climate change. The AP’s review was launched following Hurricane Harvey, which caused extensive flooding in parts of Houston that included seven Superfund sites and triggered spills from tanks holding cancer-causing toxic waste.

The EPA’s new report said that during Harvey, dioxin chemicals were carried by flooding into neighboring streets, yards and homes close to the San Jacinto River, an area highlighted by AP’s reporting.

At the time, the EPA under the first Trump administration criticized AP’s reporting as fear-mongering “yellow journalism.” Trump has called climate change a hoax, blocked renewable energy projects and sought to boost the burning of planet-warming fossil fuels.

“This series shines a light on potential threats to federal facility Superfund sites and the critical role of five-year reviews in addressing them,” said Kim Wheeler, the spokesperson for the Inspector General’s office. “By identifying sites at risk from these weather-related events, we aimed to raise awareness and encourage forward looking planning.”

Remains found identified as missing woman

TEXARKANA – Authorities have discovered a DNA match for a person who has been missing since January of last year, nearly eight months after human remains were discovered in a Texarkana creek bed.

Amber French, 43, is the identified victim discovered near Waggoner Creek in August 2025, according to a statement released by the Texarkana Police Department on Monday. Our news partners at KETK report that the remains, which were thought to be bones, were initially discovered on August 1, 2025, by someone strolling along a creek bed. The police department verified that they were human and that began an investigation.

More bones were discovered when Texarkana detectives, Texas Game and Fish officers, and a K-9 unit were dispatched to the scene. Officials could only conclude at the time that the body had decayed because the bones were old enough. After that, a medical examiner in Dallas received the bones. According to the police department, DNA revealed that they belonged to French, who was reported missing in May 2025 after her family had not heard from her since January. PIO Shawn Vaughn of the Texarkana Police Department told KETK News on Monday that while foul play is “not necessarily suspected,” it is also not ruled out. The investigation is still ongoing.

‘Swatting’ aimed at Chapel Hill high schools

‘Swatting’ aimed at Chapel Hill high schoolsSMITH COUNTY — A threat directed at a Chapel Hill school in Texas has been deemed a “swatting” incident and is under investigation as officials take extra precautions on Monday. According to our news partner KETK, a shooting threat directed at “Chapel Hill High” in Texas made through a dormant TikTok account on Sunday has been found to be a swatting incident by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). A swatting incident is a hoax threat or call made to incite a large emergency response.

There are two Chapel Hill schools in East Texas — one in Smith County and one in Titus County. The TikTok did not specify which one it was addressing, but both schools took extra precautions on Monday morning. According to Chapel Hill ISD’s (Titus County) Superintendent Daniel Pritchett, the school received information on Sunday night of a TikTok livestream that threatened to carry out an active shooting at a “Chapel Hill High” in Texas. Continue reading ‘Swatting’ aimed at Chapel Hill high schools

Voters urged to pass bond

Voters urged to pass bondCHANDLER – Residents and city administrators met in Chandler on Saturday to discuss a $5.8 million bond proposal to fund a new city hall and storm shelter complex. During a bond open house on Saturday, residents got to hear from Chandler City officials, the project architect and city bond financial advisors about what the bond will fund. For $5,864,000, the bond would fund a new police station, a new fire station, a new city hall and a new city storm shelter that would all be housed within the same complex, according to our news partner KETK.

According to tax information provided by the City of Chandler, if the bond passes, it will be implemented in one of two scenarios that would offset the I&S tax rate increase needed to fund the bond. In scenario one, the I&S tax rate increase will be offset by profits from the lease of the ESD 12 building and in scenario two, the increase will be offset by the ESD 12 lease and funds made from the sale of the current city hall building. The first scenario would lead to a $0.0762 property tax increase while the second scenario would lead to $0.0126 property tax increase. Continue reading Voters urged to pass bond

One dead, one injured in wreck

One dead, one injured in wreckSMITH COUNTY – One person has died and another person was injured after two vehicles collided into each other in Smith County on Saturday night. According to our news partner KETK, officials with the Smith County Emergency Services District 2 say the crash happened on FM 14 at around 8:30 p.m.

Smith County Justice of the Peace Curtis Wulf told KETK News that he was called out to the accident at around 9:20 p.m. Once there, Wulf found a 54-year-old man who was killed in the crash. After pronouncing him dead, Wulf ordered an autopsy on the deceased. One other person injured was sent to a hospital for treatment.