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TYLER – Tyler’s Luby’s Restaurant on Roseland Boulevard is closed. There appears to be some question if the closing is temporary or permanent. The sign on the door says they are closed for construction. The construction is said to concern structural problems with the building. The company says they haven’t even started looking at designs, but they want to remain in Tyler. However some Luby’s employees have told our news partner KETK that they were told the cafeteria is closed permanently and they no longer had jobs. The general manager for Luby’s in Longview told KETK the store had foundation issues and, as of today, the business is closed permanently. Luby’s has been in Tyler for 55 years. It remains to be seen if it will reopen.

SMITH COUNTY – An elderly man, missing in Upshur County, has been found safe in Smith County. Moody Pool, 91, was last seen by his family around 11:00 Wednesday morning. He said he was going to town to get his pickup inspected. He was later seen near Shreveport, heading toward Gilmer. A motorist found Pool late Friday morning on U.S. Highway 271 near Interstate Highway 20, northeast of Tyler. He appeared to be dehydrated and disoriented and was taken to a hospital to be checked out.

TYLER – According to the national Weather Service, Tyler’s weather for the month of February 2019 was slightly warmer and slightly wetter than normal. Compared with February 2018, the month was 0.3 degrees cooler, and 4.25 inches drier. February 2018 was the second wettest February on record. The Year-to-date rainfall is 2.39 inches less in 2019 than through the end of February 2018. The winter of 2018-2019 was slightly warmer, 1.8 degrees, and wetter, 4.55 inches, than normal. It was 1.7 degrees warmer than the previous winter, and was 2.40 inches drier. A trace of snowfall occurred in the 2018-2019 winter.

TYLER – A Smith County man has been arrested for aggravated assault. Arrested late Thursday morning was Kevin Michael Smith, 40. He is in the Smith County Jail under a bond of $1.5 million for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon-family violence. His arrest is the result of a domestic disturbance that occurred the night before. Smith is a documented gang member with a lengthy, violent criminal history. Because of his history and the potential for violence, Smith County SWAT team assisted in serving the arrest warrant. He was taken into custody without incident.

TYLER – The Tyler Police Department has four new officers. The four received the oath of office and their policeman’s badge from Chief Jimmy Toler during a ceremony Thursday afternoon. The officers are, from left to right, Caleb Westbrook, Joshua Allen, David Alexander, Josiah Baxter.

AUSTIN – A state legislator from East Texas has filed two bills focusing on the opioid crisis in the state. State representative Jay Dean of Longview has filed the bills which focus on increasing the availability and the visibility of drug take back locations, targeting criminals and empowering people. Dean admits that not every opioid user is an abuser. There are people with a serious illness that need opioids to give them any type of quality of life. His legislation targets the abuser. The National Institute on Drug Abuse says over 130 people die from an opioid overdose every day in this country. And Dean’s news releases says Longview ranks 17th nationally in opioid abuse.

AUSTIN – State Senator Bryan Hughes of Mineola has filed legislation to establish a program that brings Texans’ own federal tax dollars back home to improve the quality of nursing home care in the state. Hughes says the proposed legislation could provide much needed relief to Smith County’s 15 long term care facilities that have experienced years of under funding from the state. Under the bill, nursing homes will receive additional funding for meeting nationally recognized performance standards and for making investments in staff wages and benefits. Funding will also be directed towards modernizing buildings. This would create comfortable homelike settings. The funding would also be used for investing in new technology. All of this, Senator Hughes says, would help to improve overall resident quality of life. And Hughes said his legislation will not add to the state budget.

TYLER – In the near future, Tyler may have more paths for walking and biking. The city and the Tyler Area Metropolitan Planning Organization want to create a safer, more connected biking and walking infrastructure. This would be a combination of bike lanes on roads, bike paths and sidewalks for walking. Two major roads have been named as the most important part of the long-range improvement plan. They are South Broadway and Fleishel Avenue. The final plan, called Active Tyler, will be presented to city leaders next month. If approved, TxDOT will be approached for grants to fund the project.

MARSHALL – The Marshall School District’s Assistant Superintendent for Business and Financial Services, Kristin Byrd, has submitted her resignation. The Longview News Journal reports Byrd submitted her resignation, which is effective immediately, after she reached a separation agreement with the district. She had been on paid administrative leave since late last week. School trustees had voted unanimously on Monday to begin termination proceedings against Byrd. That process is no longer necessary since she has submitted her resignation. There is no word on the allegations against Byrd. School Superintendent Jerry Gibson did say it had nothing to do with any criminal or moral actions on her part.

EAST TEXAS — A Collin County jury is hearing testimony in the murder-for-hire trial of a Longview man. Police connected the dots in a love triangle to bring the case before a jury. Ronald Rosser is accused of taking more than $5,000 to kill McKinney businessman Richard Moore. The 66-year old was shot five times in the head with a handgun four years ago. Court records say McKinney Police believe Rosser was hired by Moore’s estranged wife, Chansamorn Pokai, and her lover Stephen Brockway. They say they found text messages and documents that led them to Rosser, a convicted felon. He is the first of the three to stand trial with Brockway and Pokai still in jail.

TYLER – A Tyler man has been convicted of assault family violence. The county court at law jury convicted Richard Tyler Bostick of the misdemeanor charge on Wednesday morning. He had been accused of hitting his girlfriend in the face with his hand. Judge Taylor Heaton will sentence Bostick after a pre-sentence investigation has been completed. He faces up to one year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

TYLER – The East Texas Chapter of SCORE has received 3 national awards for it Tyler chapter. SCORE is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to educating entrepreneurs and helping small businesses start, grow, and succeed nationwide. The East Texas Chapter was recognized as the Outstanding Turnaround Chapter for 2018 for its growth. Henry Burch, past chair of the local chapter, was recognized for his contributions to the growth of the chapter. Leland Ferguson received a certificate for 20 years of volunteer service to SCORE.

TYLER – The issue of a possible name change for Tyler Junior College comes before school trustees on March 7th. The college is up for re-accreditation in 2021. The accrediting body wants to know beforehand if TJC is going to change its name. Because TJC offers four-year degrees and workforce programs, school leaders want to know if the word “junior” is sending the wrong message to future students, teachers, even job recruiters. A study found recommended new names were “Texas Eastern College,” “East Texas College,” and simply removing the “Junior,” making it “Tyler College.” At next week’s school trustees’ meeting, they want public comment regarding a potential name change for the school.

TYLER – The Tyler Police Department will be getting some new officers Thursday afternoon. Police Chief Jimmy Toler will swear in the four new police recruits, and give them their badge, during the ceremony. The Recruits are:
*David Alexander
*Joshua Allen (Valedictorian & Top Gun)
*Josiah Baxter
*Caleb Westbrook

EAST TEXAS – (AP & STAFF) A former East Texan has been freed after being abducted 18 months ago in Yemen. President Donald Trump announced that Danny Burch, had been freed. It’s unclear who kidnapped him in September 2017. Birch, who was working in the oil field as a mechanic, was abducted in a busy street in the middle of the day. He grew up in White Oak and lived in Kilgore for years. Army Sgt. Maj. Cale Burch is one of Danny Burch’s three children from an earlier marriage. He told The Associated Press that his father is “safe, and that’s all that really matters to me.” Burch says he got a phone call Sunday from the FBI letting him know his father’s release had been brokered.

HOUSTON (AP) – A public defender who hails from East Texas has been chosen to fill the vacancy created when one of 17 black women recently elected as Houston-area judges in a “Black Girl Magic” campaign died. The Houston Chronicle reports Harris County commissioners on Tuesday appointed Genesis Draper to the bench to replace Criminal Court Judge Cassandra Hollemon. Hollemon was elected in November, then died Feb. 11, about a week after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Draper, who’s also black, is a Longview native. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Spelman College and a law degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Draper served as a public defender in Nashville, Tennessee, and in the federal court system in Houston before joining the Harris County public defender’s office in 2017.

TYLER — The Smith County Clerk’s Office was recognized during Commissioners Court on Tuesday for receiving the 5-Star Exemplary Award for its Vital Statistics Department. County Clerk Karen Phillips said since she took office in 2011, her office has “obtained the outstanding distinction of receiving the 5-Star Exemplary Award” from the State of Texas for eight consecutive years. Smith County was one of only 19 registrars out of more than 300 in the state to receive the award, she said, adding that she is proud of the work her staff does. The award to the Smith County Vital Statistics Department was received during the Vital Statistics Annual Conference in Austin.

LINDALE – A portion of County Road 484, north of Lindale, will be closed for several weeks while Smith County Road and Bridge crews repair a bridge. County Engineer Frank Davis said crews will be replacing a wooden deck on the bridge with a concrete deck, and work is expected to take four to six weeks, depending on the weather. County Road 484 runs just south of the Sabine River, from County Road 431, west to County Road 452.

AUSTIN – The Texas Workforce Commission has awarded Trinity Valley Community College in Athens a $279,139 Jobs and Education for Texans grant. The grant will help the school purchase and install equipment to provide students with training for careers in the healthcare profession. The program provides funding for equipment to eligible educational institutions for the purpose of developing career and technical education courses. This may include courses offering dual-credit and technical education programs. Workforce Commissioner Robert Thomas will present a check to representatives from Trinity Valley Community College during a ceremony Friday morning.

AUSTIN – The Texas Railroad Commissioners has awarded the Sabine Mining Company the commission’s 2019 Reclamation Award. The company was recognized for restoring more than 3,400 contiguous acres in Harrison County. The operator replanted native grasses. The mined land has become a native grass habitat for quail, grassland songbirds, Monarch butterflies, pollinating insects and grazing livestock. The restored acreage south of Hallsville is part of the South Hallsville No. 1 Mine. It is a lignite surface mine which has been in continuous operation since 1984. The mine and the adjacent Rusk Mine produce around 4 million tons of lignite annually.

JACKSONVILLE – UT Health – Jacksonville is seeking longest-living person born at that hospital. The hospital has special events planned to mark its 100th anniversary later this year. As part of the year long celebration, the health system would like to tell the stories of those who were part of the hospital’s history, including patients and caregivers. The longest-living person who was born at the hospital will be recognized at a community reception later this year and will be given a gift from UT Health East Texas. if you think you are the longest-living person born at the Jacksonville hospital, contact Becky Shields at rsshields@uthet.com or by calling 903-594-2431.

AUSTIN – Two legislators, one from Tyler, have filed a late-term abortion bill in the state legislature. It was filed by representative Matt Schaefer of Tyler and Senator Kelly Hancock of North Richland Hills. Schaefer says the Preborn NonDiscrimination Act prohibits the remaining late-term abortions in Texas, in contrast with recent actions taken by New York and Virginia. The legislation also bans discriminatory abortions, like anti-woman sex-selective abortions. Several other legislators, including Senator Bryan Hughes of Mineola, have already signed on to the bill as joint authors. Continue reading Anti Late-Term Abortion Bill Filed in Austin

TYLER — A Tyler murder trial has been postponed until May. According to our news partner KETK, Christopher Hardy, 24, Tyler, is accused of killing Darryl Washington during a 2017 shooting at Chelsea Creek Apartments in Tyler. Two other men were also injured during that shooting. Investigators determined the incident was drug related.

LONGVIEW – A Longview arson suspect has been arrested. The Longview Fire Department says the police served an arrest warrant on John Brian Kelly, 48, of Longview. He was arrested last Friday and was freed on a $50,000 bond the same day. According to the fire department’s Facebook page, and investigation indicated Kelly was responsible for a fire on Stonewall Drive. It occurred in August, 2016.

TYLER – The Smith County Sheriff’s Department reports a jury scam is back in the county. It works like this, someone calls posing as a law enforcement official. They demand immediate payment for nonexistent fines or warrants for missed jury service. One of the recent scammers requested the victim go to a local pharmacy and purchase a MoneyPak for the payment and stayed on the line with them until this done. Smith County Jury Coordinator Lisa Bennett says no officer or court clerk will ever make such calls demanding immediate payment for missed jury service. Never provide anyone with debit or credit card numbers or personal information such as Social Security numbers, birth dates or driver’s license numbers. If you receive one of these scam calls, just hang up.

TYLER – A Tyler robbery suspect has agreed to a prison term. The trial of Lance Cody Scott, 22, of Tyler had been scheduled to begin on Monday. But Scott pleaded guilty and agreed to a 30 year prison term. In 2017, he held up the AZ Food Mart on Highway 69 North. Two days later he held up the AB Country Store on Farm Road 14. In both cases, a white male entered the business, armed with a handgun, and demanded money. Scott later turned himself in at the Smith County Jail. When Scott surrendered, detectives had already obtained two arrest warrants charging him with two counts of aggravated robbery.

SMITH COUNTY – Work is starting on the Toll 49 bridge over Interstate Highway 20. Drivers who use Interstate Highway 20, at Toll Road 49, need to watch out for shoulder closures now through the last week in March. The work is being done on the Toll 49 bridge due to a realignment issue caused by a July accident. The location of activities will be on the shoulders from 7:00am till 7:00pm. there will night closures of one lane of the interstate in several weeks. More information will be released when the plans are finalized. Drivers are encourage to watch for message boards as they drive through the area.

BEN WHEELER – The Department of Public Safety continues its investigation into a fatal Van Zandt County accident. The victims, two 15 year old boys, were tossed from the vehicle that overturned Saturday night near Ben Wheeler. They were passengers in a SUV that went off the road and then back on the road. The driver overcorrected and ended up in a ditch where the vehicle rolled over. The driver, Martha Vela, 17, of Ben Wheeler, and a 16 year old girl, were taken to a Tyler hospital for treatment.