Today is
Saturday June 13, 2026
LONGVIEW – The Longview City Council has named Keith Bonds as Acting City Manager. The action becomes effective following the retirement of City Manager David Willard at the end of the year. Mayor Andy Mack said Bonds will serve as Acting City Manager for a period of six months. After that time he will be evaluated to see if the word “acting†will be removed from his title. Bonds has served as Assistant City Manager since 2014. He has worked for the city since 1999. Bonds is a Texas Licensed Professional Engineer with a B.S. degree in civil engineering from Texas A&M University. Prior to becoming Assistant City Manager, he served in a variety of roles including Director of Public Works, Director of Water Utilities, and Utility Engineer.
TYLER – The Tyler school district is coming to the aid of families impacted by the closing of the YMCA. They are offering after school care. It was announced Thursday Tyler ISD will offer affected families after school enrichment opportunities. The plans were developed and tailored to meet the current enrollment and participation needs of each affected campus. Jones and Peete elementary schools will have a temporary after school enrichment program for kindergarten through 5th grade students available every day until 6:00pm. This will be offered through November 16th. After school care at Andy Woods Elementary School will continue through the remainder of the school year. Read the rest of this entry »
LUFKIN (AP) – A 39-year-old East Texas kindergarten teacher has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to seven counts of sexual assault with a child and improper relationship with a student for having sex with high school students. A judge in Angelina County also has ordered Heather Robertson, of Lufkin, to surrender her teaching certification and register for life as a sex offender. Robertson was a teacher in the Hudson school district, just outside Lufkin, for 13 years. Prosecutors said an investigation showed she had sex at her Lufkin apartment with at least six Hudson students between last November and February this year. She resigned as a Hudson teacher April 20 and was arrested the next day. She could have received up to 20 years on each count.
DALLAS – The State Fair of Texas opens a 24 day run on Friday, and volunteers from Tyler will be there to welcome the crowds. Volunteers from Visit Tyler will be there from 10:00am till 6:00pm, highlighting Tyler’s many events and attractions. They will help staff the Texas Heritage Travel booth in the historic GoTexan Pavilion, next to the State Fair Wine Garden and close to the Cotton Bowl. Tyler’s community banner and promotional literature will also be on hand.
WASHINGTON – Two area schools are among the 342 schools around the country named by the Department of Education as National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2017. Among the nearly two dozen Texas schools to receive the honor are Tyler’s Grace Community Elementary School and, in Whitehouse, Stanton-Smith Elementary. According to a news release from U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, “National Blue Ribbon Schools are active demonstrations of preparing every child for a bright future.” The program honors public and private elementary, middle and high schools where students achieve very high learning standards or are making notable improvements in closing the achievement gap. The schools will be honored at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. November 6th and 7th.
LONGVIEW – With one arrest, Longview police have recovered a car stolen in Mississippi and a dog stolen in Texas. Cam Albert Robbins, 33, of Union, Mississippi, was said to have been unsteady as he walked to his car in a restaurant parking lot late Sunday night. He was arrested for public intoxication. Then it was learned the car had been stolen the day before in Philadelphia, Mississippi. Robbins was then charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. The English Bulldog found in the front seat was turned over to the Longview Animal Care and Adoption Center. A microchip in the dog showed the owner lived in Lone Star. The dog and owner were reunited on Thursday.
DALLAS – A former Henderson County police officer has been ordered by a federal judge to pay $6.3 million to the family of an Iowa man who died in the officer’s custody in 2013. Judge Roy Payne ruled that Ernesto Fierro used excessive force when he arrested William Livezey Jr., 70, while off-duty. The judge said in his final judgment that Livezey suffered a heart attack induced by the arrest. Livezey was transporting lumber from his business in Iowa, to a client in Houston, when the encounter occurred. Fierro claimed Livezey was driving aggressively but witnesses said it was Fierro who was operating his motorcycle erratically. Fierro later was convicted of aggravated assault and fired from the Malakoff police force.
WINONA – The second person killed in a Winona crash and fire has been identified. Justice of the Peace Mitch Shamburger says the passenger in the car has been identified as 34 year old Subhrajit Paul. He has family in both Bangladesh and India. The driver had previously been identified as 34 year old Dhaval Ajay Bhatt, of Frisco.The preliminary autopsy shows both died from blunt force trauma. Around 4:30am on September 21st, their car slammed into Mike’s Pizza and Pasta, starting a fire that destroyed the business, which had only been open for six days.
AUSTIN – An East Texan has been appointed to the Board Of Pardons and Paroles. Governor Greg Abbott has named Brian Long Of Kilgore to the board. His term will expire on February 1st, 2023. Long is currently a hearing officer for the Texas Board of Pardons & Paroles. The Board makes parole decisions for Texas prison inmates, determines conditions for parole and mandatory supervision, and makes recommendations on clemency matters to the governor.
TYLER – In federal Court in Tyler, a Van Zandt man has been sentenced to prison for drug trafficking and firearms violations. Corey Lance Parish, 28, of Ben Wheeler, pleaded guilty in May to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime. He was sentenced Thursday to ten years in prison. According to federal prosecutors, last December, Parish was pulled over for a traffic violation in Canton. A search of his vehicle produced a pistol, over 77 grams of marijuana and 329 grams of methamphetamine.
TYLER – Seal coat operations have moved to Farm Road 850 in Smith County. It is being conducted along about an 8½ mile stretch from State Highway 31 to Farm Road 2607. This work is expected to be finished Thursday evening and then move to Farm Road 2767 from Farm Road 757 eastward through the Gregg County line and back to State Highway 31. TxDOT reports that the work is anticipated to be completed Sunday. Motorists should expect lane closures and delays during these operations. This is a fast-moving construction project with work scheduled generally between 7:00am and 7:00pm.
NACOGDOCHES – A Nacogdoches County mother is arrested and her children, who were said to be living in horrible conditions, have been removed from the house. Authorities were called to the Garrison home Wednesday morning after two of the five children swallowed paint. Sheriff Jason Bridges says conditions in the home were were horrendous and unsafe for the children. He said there were there were feces all over the residence, on beds, walls and floors. Sinks were clogged there was no way of bathing the children inside the house. The mother, Meggan Barstow, 28, was arrested for child endangerment. The children, from infant to six, were removed from the home by Child Protective Services.
RUSK – Cherokee County authorities have arrested two person in connection with a stolen pickup and a chase last week. Now in the Cherokee County jail in the case are Zachary Banks, 18, (pictured) and Carlos Dominguez, 17, both of Rusk. The stolen pickup was reported near Rusk. It was spotted several hours later at the Whataburger in Bullard. The chase that followed came through Tyler where police used spike strips on Grande Boulevard. When the truck didn’t stop, they laid down another spike strip. The two suspects bailed out of the vehicle and ran into the woods Near Sam’s Club on the Tyler Loop. They were arrested earlier this week.
ATHENS – A Henderson County man is facing a variety of charges after trying to run away from law officers. Clifton Denean Dora, 58, of Moore Station had been linked Dora to six ranch burglaries from Eustace to Larue. When officers found him in the Sand Flat area, he fled. He was later found and arrested at a Leagueville gas station. He has been charged with burglary. He was also charged with evading arrest. When illegal drug were found on him at the jail, he was also charged with possession of a controlled substance. And, to add to all of that, at the time of his arrest, Dora was violating terms of his parole for previous burglaries.
WINONA – One victim has been identified in last week’s double-fatal crash and fire in Winona. According to Pct. 4 Justice of the Peace Mitch Shamburger, Frisco resident Dhaval Ajay Bhatt, 34, was killed; he was driving the car that crashed. KETK reports the passenger’s identification is being withheld pending positive dental identification. The two died when the car slammed into Mike’s Pizza and Pasta around 4:30 last Thursday morning. The following fire destroyed the business, which had only been open six days. The restaurant owners and their son, who had been living upstairs, were able to escape. A preliminary autopsy report shows the two died from blunt force trauma.