Today is
Wednesday June 03, 2026
TYLER– The Texas Department of Transportation, alongside community leaders, held a demonstration Saturday at The Village at Cumberland Park to emphasize the life-changing importance of seat belts in the event of an accident. The event marks the beginning of an enforcement campaign by Texas law enforcement, focusing on seat belt and car seat violations.
Seat belt use is a requirement under Texas state law; however, officials report that approximately 10% of Texans still don’t buckle up. The enforcement initiative aims to increase compliance among drivers and passengers who fail to secure themselves or properly restrain children.
The demonstration at The Village at Cumberland Park featured a powerful display, showcasing a car suspended mid-air by only its seat belts, according to our news partner KETK. This visual aimed to illustrate the protective strength of these restraints.
The increased enforcement will focus on ticketing individuals who do not comply with seat belt laws or fail to properly secure children in car seats. Texas law enforcement will continue this increased enforcement campaign until May 31.
UPSHUR COUNTY – The Upshur County Sheriff’s Office announced the death of Upshur County Precinct 4 Constable David Thompson on Saturday. According to the sheriff’s office and our news partner KETK, Thompson died on Saturday morning. Thompson was first elected as Precinct 4 Constable in 2020 and was re-elected to his second 4-year-term in 2024.
“David’s dedication, service and commitment to our community will not be forgotten,” the sheriff’s office said. “Please keep his family and friends in your prayers during this incredibly difficult time. He will be greatly missed.”
Thompson had previously worked with the Upshur County Sheriff’s Office as a deputy before he was elected as constable. Details about who will take over the Constable’s office for the remainder of Thompson’s term have not been shared.
JEFF DAVIS COUNTY, Texas – Since news first surfaced late last year that border walls could be built for the first time in the Big Bend region of West Texas, the story has been marked by shifting, unannounced changes to the plan and few clearly communicated details from the Trump administration.
Marfa Public Radio has been closely following developments in the story over the past few months.
Here’s where things stand.
Will there be a border wall anywhere in the Big Bend region?
Yes, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s latest plans.
Physical barriers, in the form of 30-foot-high steel bollard walls, are planned for a 175-mile stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border in Hudspeth, Jeff Davis and Presidio counties.
This plan is broken up into three border wall projects:
1. Big Bend 1 — From Sierra Blanca, TX to near the Hudspeth-Jeff Davis County line
2. Big Bend 2 — From Ruidosa, TX to near the Madera Canyon Campgrounds in Big Bend Ranch State Park
3. Big Bend 3 — From the Hudspeth-Jeff Davis County line to Ruidosa, TX
Federal contracts were awarded in March for each of the three projects.
A $1 billion contract for Big Bend 1 was awarded to Barnard Construction. A $1.2 billion contract for Big Bend 2 was awarded to Fisher Sand and Gravel, and a $960.4 million for Big Bend 3 was also awarded to Barnard Construction.
In late April, a $4.4 million federal contract was awarded to Tierra Right of Way Services for “BB-3 Border Barrier Project Construction Monitoring Services.” CBP told Marfa Public Radio this week that the award is for “environmental and cultural monitors” for that stretch of wall project.
CBP also said that the timeline for completion for these three projects is sometime in 2027.
Landowners along this stretch first began receiving letters from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers the agency handling real estate acquisition for CBP, in February. The public comment period for this section, which was extended several times, was set to close Friday, May 22.
Will there be a border wall in Big Bend National Park?
No, according to CBP’s latest plans.
CBP told Marfa Public Radio this week that it is not planning a 30-foot-high border wall in the national park.
Still, the park is set to receive a combination of border vehicle barriers, surveillance technology and patrol roads, according to CBP.
This plan is outlined under one project:
4. Big Bend 4 — From near the Madera Canyon Campgrounds in Big Bend Ranch State Park, along the Rio Grande across much of the national park, to the “Lower Canyons” of the Rio Grande east of the national park
Last week, DHS awarded a $1.7 billion contract for the national park project to an Albuquerque construction firm.
Though a federal government spending website shows the Big Bend 4 contract award as being for “a border wall in Big Bend, Texas,” CBP has denied that the contract is for a physical wall.
Anti-wall advocates have expressed skepticism that a border wall in the national park, which was previously on the table, is truly not happening.
What are the latest details on the work in the national park?
Brewster County Judge Greg Henington, whose county contains the national park, and other local officials met with CBP representatives last week for a status update on all the Big Bend area border wall projects.
Henington said he learned in that meeting that CBP plans to improve, but not pave, dirt roads in the national park, including River Road and Black Gap Road.
Some existing paved roads in the national park will both be improved, he said, and vehicle barriers in the form of concrete bollards will be installed at spots along the river like Lajitas, Rio Grande Village and La Linda, Henington said.
According to Henington, CBP representatives told local officials that they plan to utilize cameras and sensors with infrared technology to respect the area’s dark sky designation. Still, Henington said they were ultimately “vague on what electronic surveillance really entails.”
Could the border wall plans for the Big Bend region still change?
Yes, absolutely.
Throughout recent months, CBP’s plans have changed multiple times without any formal announcements, press releases or social media posts from the agency.
The changes have often only been noticed thanks to local residents, advocates and news outlets who have been paying close attention to the agency’s “Smart Wall” map — which even disappeared for several weeks from CBP’s website.
When could actual construction on border walls or other infrastructure begin?
It’s hard to say.
Local officials were previously told by CBP in March that construction could begin as soon as June 1, but the agency has not since provided an updated timeline.
Still, contractors are already mobilizing in the region.
One federal contractor began moving heavy equipment to the Rio Grande earlier this month for the Hudspeth-Jeff Davis-Presidio County wall project. This came after a dustup among contractor crews and local county officials about “unauthorized” road work that began on a rural dirt road to the border in April.
Meanwhile, plans are underway for a 500-person “man camp” housing facility for border wall workers south of Van Horn in Lobo. Construction activity on the land has started in recent weeks, though the local groundwater district is still considering whether or not to allow a designated agricultural water well to be used as a commercial well for the project.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is meanwhile in active negotiations with local landowners about acquiring property for the project. Is it unclear how many landowners have authorized border wall construction at this point, or how many will be facing eminent domain proceedings and when those will be initiated.
How are people reacting to all this?
CBP’s plans for border wall building in the remote Big Bend region have sparked widespread bipartisan opposition in recent months.
Five border county sheriffs spoke out against the plans and more than 2,000 people showed up at the Texas Capitol to protest the Big Bend border wall in April.
This week, seven former superintendents of Big Bend National Park sent Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin a letter urging him not to waive federal environmental laws for border barriers in the park, arguing that even new vehicle barriers and roads would be “highly destructive.”
How the wall will impact wildlife, the region’s dark skies, the tourism-based economy and flooding along the river corridor are among the many concerns raised by residents.
Local officials were largely in the dark about the wall plans for many months, prompting a coalition of border county judges to send a letter to Mullin requesting more collaboration with local communities impacted by the project. Now, they are set to meet with CBP officials once every couple of weeks, according to Brewster County Judge Greg Henington.
“ None of this makes any of us happy, but I think it’s a positive that at least they seem to be moving away from this secret squirrel stuff and being more open about it,” he said.
The state’s top elected officials — namely, Republican Gov. Abbott — have remained mostly quiet on the issue, while area lawmakers Sen. Cesar Blanco and Rep. Eddie Morales – both Democrats – have come out in opposition to the wall plan.
The Center for Biological Diversity, a church preservation group and a local river guide have also sued DHS for bypassing federal environmental laws to speed up border wall plans in the region, arguing the move is unconstitutional and would lead to the destruction of “iconic sections” of the Rio Grande corridor.
Does the Big Bend region need a border wall?
This is, of course, at the heart of the debate over the administration’s plans.
The Border Patrol’s “Big Bend Sector” – which stretches across 510 miles of the border – has historically been one of the least-trafficked areas of the southwestern border.
Apprehensions of people crossing the border illegally in the sector fell 74% from 2023 to 2025, according to CBP data. Autonomous surveillance towers have also cut down on traffic significantly, according to the agency. Local sheriffs have said they believe technology can be used to patrol the region’s border “without the need for extensive permanent infrastructure.”
Still, President Trump has long sought to build a physical wall across the entire U.S.-Mexico border since his first term in office. On the first day of his second term in January 2025, he signed an executive order directing the Defense and Homeland Security secretaries to “take all appropriate action to deploy and construct temporary and permanent physical barriers to ensure complete operational control of the southern border.” The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, approved by Congress in July 2025, included $46.5 billion for border wall construction.
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This story was originally published by Marfa Public Radio and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
STARBASE – SpaceX launched its biggest, most powerful Starship yet on a test flight Friday, an upgraded version that NASA is counting on to land astronauts on the moon.
The redesigned mega rocket made its debut two days after SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced he’s taking the company public. It blasted off from the southern tip of Texas, carrying 20 mock Starlink satellites that were released midway through the hourlong spaceflight that stretched halfway around the world.
The spacecraft reached its final destination — the Indian Ocean — despite some engine trouble, before erupting in flames upon impact. That last part was not unexpected, according to SpaceX.
Musk called it “an epic” launch and landing.
“You scored a goal for humanity,” he told his team via X.
It’s the 12th test flight of the rocket that Musk is building to get people to Mars one day. But first comes the moon and NASA’s Artemis program.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman flew in for the launch, saying Starship is now one step closer to the moon.
The last of the old space-skimming Starships lifted off in October. SpaceX’s third-generation Starship — a souped-up version dubbed V3 — soared from a brand-new launch pad at Starbase, near the Mexican border. Last-minute pad issues thwarted Thursday evening’s launch attempt.
SpaceX was hoping to avoid the fireworks it experienced during back-to-back launches last year when midair explosions rained wreckage down on the Atlantic. Earlier flights also ended in flames.
There was no fireball this time until the very end. The spacecraft plummeted upright into the Indian Ocean under seemingly full control, then toppled over and ignited.
While the liftoff itself went well, not all of the engines fired as the booster attempted a controlled return. The spacecraft also had to make do with fewer engines, but kept heading eastward 120 miles (194 kilometers) up. A pair of modified, camera-equipped Starlinks ejected from Starship provided brief views of the spacecraft in flight — a remarkable first.
At 407 feet (124 meters), the latest model eclipses the older Starship lines by several feet (more than 1 meter) and packs more engine thrust.
The revamped booster sports fewer but bigger and stronger grid fins for steering it back to Earth following liftoff, and a larger and more robust fuel transfer line to feed the 33 main engines. This fuel line is the size of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 first-stage booster. The retro-looking, stainless steel spacecraft also has more of everything — more cameras and more navigation and computer power — as well as docking cones for future rendezvous and moon missions.
Starship is meant to be fully reusable, with giant mechanical arms at the launch pads to catch the returning rocket stages. But on this latest trial run, nothing was being recovered. The Gulf of Mexico marked the end of the road for the redesigned first-stage booster, and the Indian Ocean for the spacecraft and its satellite demos.
NASA is paying SpaceX billions of dollars — and also Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin — to provide the lunar landers that will be used to land Artemis astronauts on the moon.
The two companies are scrambling to be first.
While Starship has reached the fringes of space on multiple flights lasting an hour at most, Bezos’ Blue Moon has yet to lift off, although a prototype is being readied for a moonshot later this year.
NASA is following April’s successful lunar flyaround by four astronauts with a docking trial run in orbit around Earth planned for next year. For that Artemis III mission, astronauts will practice docking their Orion capsule with Starship, Blue Moon or both.
A moon landing by two astronauts — Artemis IV — could follow as soon as 2028 using either Starship or Blue Moon, whichever lander is safer and ready first. It will be NASA’s first lunar landing with a crew since 1972’s Apollo 17. The goal this time is a moon base near the lunar south pole, staffed by astronauts as well as robots.
SpaceX is already taking reservations for private flights to the moon and Mars on Starship.
The world’s first space tourist, California businessman Dennis Tito, and his wife signed up 3 1/2 years ago for a flight around the moon. The timing is uncertain.
This week, another wealthy space tourist — Chinese-born bitcoin investor Chun Wang — announced he will fly to Mars on Starship’s first interplanetary mission. Wang previously chartered a SpaceX polar flight in a Dragon capsule last year and, along with his hand-picked crew, became the first to orbit above the north and south poles.
No price tag or date was revealed for his Mars cruise.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
ZAVALLA (KETK) – The City of Zavalla has voted to dissolve its police department and is currently considering an agreement with the Angelina County Sheriff’s Office to patrol the area.
Thousands of dollars missing from vacant East Texas evidence room, Texas Rangers investigating
According to the Zavalla City Secretary, the Zavalla City Council voted to deactivate its police department on May 1. The Zavalla Police Department had five members in 2025 and was budgeted $180,397 in the 2023-2024 year, a drop of more than $50,000 from their $234,832 2022-2023 budget.
That drop in the department’s budget came as the city reported a drop in revenue from $1,011,372 in 2022-2023 to $988,928 in 2023-2024.
Zavalla City Council met with Angelina County Sheriff Tom Selman on May 11. During the meeting, they discussed a proposed agreement that would supply the city with regular deputy patrols in the city and 911 dispatch services.
Selman stressed that the deal would ultimately save the city money while still providing it with law enforcement coverage, including crime scene investigation and detective work.
“What were you paying before? The reason that this is structured this way is designed to save the city money. Your gonna get patrol services, you’re gonna get your calls answered, you’re gonna get all the things we do at a much lessened cost,” Selman said.
Selman did explain that their patrolling deputies won’t enforce the city’s ordinances for loose animals and that the city will have to put in a request to pay extra for them to enforce the ordinances. The sheriff’s office also offered to help with the defunct police department’s evidence locker.
The city requested several changes to the agreement, so a revised draft is now being reviewed by the city attorney. The City Council is expected to consider the updated agreement at its next regular meeting on June 8 at 6 p.m.
FRANKLIN COUNTY (KETK)– A man who was discovered living in Iowa was arrested after being accused of sexually assaulting a child while living in Franklin County in 2000.
According to Franklin County officials, the sheriff’s office received a report in February 2025 from a woman who claimed she was sexually assaulted as a child. The victim identified the suspect as 60-year-old Adrian Hernandez, who was found to be using a different name on social media and was believed to be living out of Texas.
During the investigation, law enforcement learned that Hernandez had obtained a Minnesota driver’s license and was living in Kanawha, Iowa. Deputies from the Wright County Sheriff’s Office successfully assisted officials from Franklin County in identifying Hernandez as the suspect.
Hernandez was arrested on three counts of indecency with a child on Wednesday after a Franklin County investigator and a member of the Texas Rangers traveled to Iowa and identified him. Hernandez is currently being held in the Wright County Jail while he awaits extradition to Texas.
According to Franklin County, since Hernandez’s arrest, several additional victims have come forward with information.
“The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office remains fully committed to protecting our residents, standing with survivors and pursuing justice no matter how much time has passed,” the county said. “If you are a victim of abuse, we encourage you to come forward. You will be heard, and we will take action.”
SULPHUR SPRINGS (CBS19) — A retired high-ranking U.S. military official was sentenced on Thursday to serve 40 years in prison for child sex crimes in East Texas.
Ret. Brig. Gen. Mike Houston McClendon, of Sulphur Springs, was found guilty of continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14 following a trial before a judge in a Hopkins County courtroom. He was then sentenced to 40 years in prison, according to the Hopkins County District Clerk’s Office.
McClendon was arrested back in May 2024 over a sexual assault investigation. Arrest documents say the offense happened in January 2014.
The district clerk’s office said McClendon will have to serve each day of the 40-year sentence with no potential for early release. He also ordered to pay a $10,000 fine and court fees.
According to McClendon’s biography on the U.S. Air Force website, McClendon is a 1975 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy. The biography says he was a senior pilot with over 10,000 hours in more than 35 types of aircraft ranging from helicopters to fighters to transports. As a civilian, he was a captain for a major airline, flying internationally.”
The Military Times said McClendon retired in 2009.
Courtesy of CBS 19
NEW YORK (AP) — Federal prosecutors have charged two men with using artificial intelligence to create nude videos and photos of female celebrities under a newly enacted law meant to halt the spread of deepfake pornography.
Cornelius Shannon, 51, and Arturo Hernandez, 20, were both arrested Tuesday for generating sexually explicit AI content that drew millions of views online, according to criminal complaints.
The men — who do not appear to be connected — are among the earliest defendants to face charges under the Take It Down Act, a law signed last year by President Donald Trump that adds stricter penalties for publishing AI-created deepfakes and “revenge porn.” The bill drew bipartisan support, as well as the public backing of first lady Melania Trump.
Under the new law, the men now face up to two years in prison.
Attorneys for Shannon and Hernandez did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a statement, Joseph Nocella, the U.S. attorney in Brooklyn, said the men had ”used cutting-edge digital technology to create images that degraded and violated” dozens of women. “This case makes clear that posting deepfake pornography is not a victimless crime,” he added.
Shannon, a resident of New Jersey, published at least 240 albums of AI-generated pornography featuring female politicians, musicians and singers, according to the complaint.
The deepfakes published by Hernandez, of Texas, included both celebrities as well as private women, including recent high school graduates, prosecutors said.
The arrests come as increasingly sophisticated generative AI tools have raised alarm about the online spread of sexually explicit fakes, often depicting minors.
Last month, an Ohio man became the first person convicted under the Take It Down Act after pleading guilty to using AI to generate child sexual abuse material.
In March, two teenage boys received probation for creating explicit AI images of their classmates at an exclusive private school in Pennsylvania.
And in a separate case filed earlier this year, three teenagers in Tennessee sued Elon Musk’s xAI, claiming the company’s Grok tools morphed their real photos into explicitly sexual images.
The high school students are seeking class-action status to represent what the lawsuit says are thousands of people who were similarly victimized as minors.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas board has suspended the nursing license of Camp Mystic’s co-director in a scathing order that accused her of not helping children evacuate during last year’s catastrophic floods that killed 25 girls and two teenage counselors.
It’s one of the state’s first actions against a member of the family that owns and operates the all-girls Christian camp since the July 4 flood. Last month, Camp Mystic canceled plans to reopen this summer in the face of outrage from victims’ parents.
Mary Liz Eastland, a registered nurse, served as the camp’s medical officer. She has previously acknowledged in court that she never tried to reach children and staff in the low-lying area of the camp as the predawn flooding along the Guadalupe River worsened. Her father-in-law, Camp Mystic owner Richard Eastland, also died in the flood.
Allowing Mary Liz Eastland to keep practicing nursing would constitute a “continuing and imminent threat to public welfare,” according to an order signed Tuesday by Kristin Benton, executive director of the Texas Board of Nursing.
Eastland “abandoned the campers and staff when the camp site began to flood … by evacuating herself and her children to higher ground without providing any assistance or direction to all of the other campers and staff,” the order reads.
Eastland rejects the findings and will fight the suspension, said Camp Mystic attorney Joshua Fiveson. He said the board suspended her license with less than a day’s notice of a hearing and without taking testimony or conducting a full investigation.
“This is a sad day for Mrs. Eastland as well as every licensed nurse in Texas,” Fiveson said. “This was an exercise in premature punishment.”
According to the order, the board will issue a final decision on her license within two months.
Since the flood, the Eastland family has come under intensifying criticism from families of the victims and Texas lawmakers. Several families have filed lawsuits against the Eastlands, who for months forged ahead with plans to reopen before ultimately backing down.
In April, legislative hearings laid bare the camp’s lack of detailed planning for a flood emergency, reliance on poorly trained staff and missed chances to evacuate children from the cabins near the river.
Mary Liz Eastland recounted during the hearings her steps that night when she and her children left their house to join her mother-in-law. She described water pouring into the house and breaking a window to escape. The family was able to get to higher ground.
She and other staff gathered survivors for a head count, checking names against cabin rosters. She said she could not pass through the rising floodwaters to get to the campers closest to the Guadalupe River.
Eastland was also pressed as to why, as the camp’s chief medical officer, she did not try to call or alert other medical staff to get to the campers before disaster struck. When asked if the other staff could have helped with the camp evacuation, she said, “Maybe so.”
SULPHUR SPRINGS, Texas (KETK) – The Sulphur Springs Police Department is currently searching for a man who forced a minor out of a residence on Whitworth Street on Thursday.
Sulphur Springs PD said officers responded to the 400 block of Whitworth Street at around 10:23 a.m. on Thursday and met a male juvenile who told them that a man entered his residence and forced him out of the home towards Lamar Street.
The juvenile was able to get away from the man and went back to the residence.
The man is currently wanted by the Sulphur Springs PD in connection with this incident. He’s described as a Black man in his 20’s who was wearing red pants, a white shirt and a black backpack.
Sulphur Springs PD also said the man had gold teeth and a tattoo on one of his forearms. Officers reportedly checked cameras in the area but the man was never recorded.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Sulphur Springs PD Detective Joe Scott at 903-885-7602.
NACOGDOCHES, Texas (KETK) – The University of Texas Board of Regents approved $70 million in funds for Stephen F. Austin State University to construct their new 100,000-square-foot Lumberjack Crossing residence hall on Thursday.
The board’s also approved the design for new $70 million dorm which will be a four-story structure capable of housing 335 students in double-occupancy rooms, lounge and study spaces, offices and more.
Rendering courtesy of SFA.
The new hall will be located directly to the east of the current Lumberjack Landing residence hall and to the south of the new Pineywoods Dining Hall. The $70 million will also fund new campus cooling capacity by installing a new chiller.
Construction is expected to be substantially completed in 2028.
SMITH COUNTY — Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith announced Thursday evening that he will seek another term, according to our news partner KETK. He shared the news during his 70th birthday celebration surrounded by family, friends, law enforcement officials and community members. Larry Smith is a veteran of more than three decades in law enforcement, beginning his career with the Gregg County Sheriff’s Office in 1976. During his eleven years there, he advanced from Criminal Investigator to Lieutenant and ultimately Captain of the Criminal Investigation Division.
He continued his service at the federal level as a Special Agent with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Drug Enforcement Administration before joining the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in 1989. Over the next 22 years, he served as a Criminal Investigator specializing in fire, explosives and forensic mapping, and worked as a Task Force Team Leader on national and international response operations. Throughout his career, Smith completed more than 8,200 hours of advanced investigative training in areas such as fire, homicide, explosives, sex crimes and management. He also provided over 1,200 hours of instruction to state, local, and federal agencies, teaching explosives post?blast procedures, fire investigation, interview techniques and clandestine drug investigation.
GRAND SALINE — Following citizen concern about water issues, the City of Grand Saline announced they are aware of much-needed improvements for water system infrastructure and is seeking a grant.
Working with engineers, the city if pursuing a new Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) grant opportunity that could provide up to $5 million for critical water infrastructure improvements, the city said.
According to our news partner KETK, if obtained, the grant would fund a new water well, additional water storage and the replacement of aging water lines.
The grant would be obtained through a new program created by House Bill 500, which is expected to be fast-moving. Applications for the program are due by July 30 and funding decisions are expected to be made in September. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – A man was arrested in Tyler early Wednesday morning after driving his car through a building on the Grace Community High School campus while he was allegedly intoxicated. According to the Tyler Police Department and our news partner KETK, Jaydien Williams struck the front of the administrative building on campus at around 4 a.m. No injuries were reported following the incident.
Williams was arrested following the crash and was charged with driving while intoxicated and possession of marijuana. The portion of the building hit by Williams’ car has been boarded, and repairs are expected to begin this week.
WINNSBORO — As storms rolled through East Texas on Tuesday night, a tragic strike of lightning left five horses at a Winnsboro equine refuge dead. The Hooker Ranch Equine Refuge is home to a herd of up to 100 horses, rescuing and rehabilitating the equines with veterinary care and a place to stay. On Tuesday night, the non-profit lost five horses after a lightning strike hit the property.
Our news partner KETK is reporting that among the five horses were two draft mares, two Standardbreds and a quarter horse. The Standardbreds — Lucy and “Look Don’t Talk” — were just put up for adoption while Freya, the quarter horse, was pending adoption.
To avoid any issues arising from burying the large animals on the property, community members lent the refuge a tractor to move the horses. Each horse was respectfully tarped and prepared for a proper burial, the refuge said.
The refuge, which operates as a shelter for surrendered horses across the state, focuses on keeping the animals out of the slaughter pipeline.