Today is
Monday September 23, 2024
TYLER — With more than two months away from election day, two candidates from different parts of East Texas are vying to replace long-time congressman Louie Gohmert. According to our news partner KETK, both Democratic candidate Jrmar Jefferson and Republican candidate Nathaniel Moran are working hard for their votes. UT Tyler political science professor Mark Owens believes the Texas governor’s race will increase voter turnout, which is good for all other races on the ballot including the race to replace the congressman. “Voters in East Texas should understand that their vote’s going to matter in the governor’s race but it’s also really going to matter in selecting who their new congressman will be,” said Owens. Owens believes the redistricting process will also impact this race since Lufkin and Nacogdoches are no longer in District One, but Texarkana is. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – The University of Texas at Tyler announced Tuesday it will offer a new bachelor of science in computer engineering degree to be launched in the fall 2023 semester. The program is set to be housed within the university’s college of engineering after it was approved by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. “The new computer engineering program will create tremendous opportunities for students to prepare for careers in a rapidly changing, high-tech field and to contribute to an evolving and highly specialized workforce,” Hassan El-Kishky, Ph.D., department of electrical engineering chair said as quoted in a news release. Read the rest of this entry »
EAST TEXAS – The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is now accepting applications for emergency farm loans due to damages and losses caused by drought occurring, June 21, 2022 and after. According to our news partner KETK, farmers who are in need of the emergency loans are encouraged to submit their applications as soon as possible to avoid possible backlogs that may cause delays. Generally, farmers who have lost 30% of their production or any physical loss due to the disaster are eligible for the emergency loans. “This provides farmers a loan to be able to continue operation. It covers the lost they incurred,” said Smith County Farm Loan Manager, Clinton Warrick. Smith County Farms Service Agency located at 4209 Republic Drive, Tyler, 903-405-5676, will be accepting applications for Anderson County, Gregg County, Henderson County and Upshur County. Read the rest of this entry »
KILGORE — Kilgore ISD will join the list of East Texas schools that will implement the state’s guardian program for this new year. The district’s superintendent, Dr. Andy Baker said they are ready to beef up its campus safety measures. According to our news partner KETK, Baker said all school districts are concerned about what happened in Uvalde. He said with the guardian plan, it allows schools to reevaluate how safe their campuses are and how they can be improved. “This community has given us charge of their kiddos for many, many years and they trusted us to educate them and to keep them safe, and this is just one more step that we believe is necessary at this point in time to continue that trust and to keep them all safe,” said Baker. The program’s purpose is to have a limited number of qualified and trained district employees who are armed with concealed guns on campus during school hours. Kilgore ISD is also adding more school security officers. Other schools participating in the guardian program include Pine Tree, Hallsville and Tyler ISD.
TYLER – Over the last few years, the housing inventory hasn’t kept up with demand. According to our news partner KETK, a new house listing would receive multiple offers in just hours, most above asking price, but now the market has flipped. “The housing market definitely is slowing down,” said Luis Torres, Senior Business Economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Economy expert Luis Torres with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas says the housing market during the pandemic was on a roll. “The major driver of seeing such a hot housing market during the pandemic, was historical low mortgage rates that we show during that period,” said Torres. He spoke at UT Tyler recently about why he thinks interest and mortgage rates rising are now causing the market to cool off. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – A new program at the City of Tyler allows families to save money on daycares and keep their baby with them at work until they reach six months of age according to our news partner KETK. Parents set aside office space for items such as a playpen, bassinet and a crib. Each employee is required to have two alternate coworkers as volunteer caregivers as extra help when needed. “So if you have a meeting and you can’t take the baby (while baby is encouraged to go everywhere at work with you) some meetings aren’t doable. Your alternate care provider provides that care. If it is a meeting or a restroom break, there’s someone designated officially who agreed to help with that care,” said Director of Organization Development, Regina Moss. The city said it is about supporting their employees and honoring them as parents. Read the rest of this entry »
WHITEHOUSE – Additional law enforcement was assigned to the Whitehouse High School campus Thursday after an alleged verbal threat was made, according to the school. The school proceeded with its regular Thursday schedule, and officials with the district said “parents should rest easy knowing students are safe.” The district said it was notified by an anonymous source of an alleged verbal threat against the high school, and they immediately contacted law enforcement and worked with them to investigate. “A student was detained by Whitehouse PD and an investigation is ongoing,” the district said. “The safety of our students and staff is our highest priority.”
CANTON – After praying for rain for so long, some East Texans received more than they bargained for with this week’s heavy rains and flooding, and the city of Canton was hit hard by the storm. As a result of this week’s heavy rainfall, parts of Van Zandt County flooded, including the county courthouse. According to our news partner KETK, the water damage caused ceiling tiles to fall in a courtroom, almost hitting a court reporter in the middle of a trial. Trash cans and buckets were placed throughout the courthouse because of several leaks. The staff has also put fans to help dry out the building. Across the county, a few homes flooded, trees and power lines were downed, and streets were impacted even narrowing bridges down to a single lane. The First Monday Trade Days parking lot also flooded. On First Monday, the Canton Mayor Lou Ann Everett says they expect the grounds to be open next weekend just in time for trade days.
TYLER – The Tyler City Council approved a $195,900 engineering contract on Wednesday to work on a downtown Tyler traffic study. According to our news partner KETK, the city is working with Kimley-Horn engineers. The city will pay for the study, but they will be reimbursed through a Tyler Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) grant. Toole Design will give recommendations on how officials can improve the downtown area. This has been Toole Design’s focus since the start of 2022. Engineers will survey the area then make recommendations for changes based on their findings, which they will show to the council. Between 2010 and 2020, the City of Tyler grew at an average rate of 1% per year. Some recent developments in downtown include the Fair Plaza Parking Garage, Smith County Jail, People’s Petroleum Building and Plaza Tower. Officials have also proposed building a new Smith County courthouse. The traffic study will last nine months and should be done by late spring 2023.
The Tyler City Council voted on Wednesday to authorize the City Manager to execute a contract with Lone Star Land Enhancement in the amount of $3,678,365.44 for the Sanitary Sewer Right of Way Clearing. The Right of Way clearing project is prioritized by the current condition of the easements and by determining how urgent the need to access the sanitary sewer assets associated with the easement. In all, the project identifies 394,486 linear feet of easements needing to be cleared. This project is funded with water utility bond. The City Council also voted on Wednesday to authorize the City Manager to execute a design contract with KSA Engineers, Inc. in the amount of $467,000 for the design, bidding, construction administration and inspection of a new administration building at the Westside Wastewater Treatment Plant. Read the rest of this entry »
UPSHUR COUNTY – An Upshur County man was sentenced to 125 years for eight counts of indecency with a child under the age of 14. According to our news partner KETK, 48-year-old Matthew Callie McCoy was found guilty of all eight counts in Upshur County court. The child victim told a family member on Sept. 12, 2018 about ongoing abuse at the hands of McCoy. According to District Attorney Billy Byrd, the child had just turned 10 years old and said they were afraid of McCoy because he was abusing them by touching them inappropriately. The child’s mother went to the Gilmer Police Department who investigated the case. At trial, the child testified and said they had been “physically abused and threatened to be killed if they told,” Byrd said. The child took the witness stand as did the child’s mother, a counselor and other witnesses that backed up the child’s statement. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – The Tyler Independent School District Board of Trustees gave the go-ahead for the Guardian Plan on Monday during a workshop, according to our news partner KETK. This will allow some employees to carry certain firearms. They will be selected by the board of trustees and the superintendent to have firearms at schools, board meetings and other school events on district property. “The district sees this as an extra line of defense to ensure the safety of our students and staff and will always first rely on our Tyler ISD police force and partnerships with local law enforcement agencies,” said Tyler ISD Superintendent Dr. Marty L. Crawford. Apart from the Guardian Plan, Tyler ISD is going to hire more Tyler ISD police officers. There will now be 34 officers in total, so there will be an armed officer at every elementary school campus and more than one armed officer at the secondary schools. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – The city announced Tyler Water Utilities (TWU) plans to change how customers are charged, no longer subsidizing the first 2,000 gallons in favor of charging for total water use. If approved, TWU customers will see an increase of about $20 to their monthly bill. City Manager Edward Broussard said. “These rates are needed to maintain the quality of these services and sustain the system in the long term.” The new billing structure is set to be phased in over the next five years as a part of the fiscal year 2023 budget process. Customers will be charged the same rate regardless of utilization. The city said it plans to spend $24.4 million in cash and bond funds on water and sewer improvement projects in the coming year. Residential solid waste fees will also increase by $1.28 for twice-weekly collection. The budget’s final adoption is scheduled for 9 a.m. at the Sept. 14 meeting at Tyler City Hall, and the public is available to give their input on the budget at the Aug. 24 and Sept. 14 meetings.
LONGVIEW – A Longview teenager died after a shooting at an apartment complex on Monday according to the Longview Police Department. Longview police made it to the Preserve Apartments at 600 West Avalon Avenue around 9:25 p.m. A teenage male was shot and taken to a local hospital in a private vehicle before the officers arrived. The teen later died due to his injuries, said officials. Detectives are still investigating the shooting. Anyone with any information is encouraged to contact the Longview Police Department at 903-237-1110, or send a tip anonymously to Gregg County Crime Stoppers at 903-236-STOP(7867) or online at greggcountycrimestoppers.org.
TYLER – The Smith County Commissioners court voted Tuesday to approve putting the county courthouse bond proposal on the Nov. 8 ballot. Smith County voters will now be tasked with voting on the proposal which, if voted into effect, would begin construction on a new county courthouse and parking structure. Members of the community spoke on the proposal before the vote, largely in favor of building a new courthouse. While no one said they were in favor of a rise in taxes, one woman said it was a necessary evil. Commissioner 3 Terry Lee Phillips who has the only opposing vote on the commission, said that in his opinion, now was not the time for the bond proposal due to growing inflation across the country. The proposed courthouse focuses on adding safety precautions the current structure cannot support, and the addition of a 300-car parking garage. The plan comes to the ballot after over 20 years of continuous assessment and planning.