LUFKIN – A 27-year-old man was arrested late Thursday night after officials said he led officers on a high speed chase. According to our news partners at KETK and the Lufkin Police Department, officers attempted to pull over a Dodge pickup for an expired registration in the 800 block of North Medford Drive around 11:55 p.m. when the truck refused to stop. Officials said the 13-minute pursuit reached speeds more than 100 mph with the truck at times driving on the wrong side of the road. The pursuit ended on Highway 69 South after officers performed a precision immobilization technique (PIT) maneuver on the truck. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – After trying to catch up from 2022’s summer drought, East Texas farmers are praying for a better crop season this year, according to our news partners at KETK. “It all depends on the weather, whether you have a good season or a bad season but it’s been good so far, now how long it’s going to last, I don’t know,†said farmer Dennis Floyd. “The okra seems to be doing really good right now, the tomatoes seem to be doing really well, we’re getting very good corn,†said Allison Lott, owner of HWY 80 Produce. Read the rest of this entry »
NACOGDOCHES – The Nacogdoches Police Department is investigating the case of a 2-year-old child that reportedly shot themself in the head around 11:37 a.m. on Saturday, according to a press release. Our news partners at KETK report that Nacogdoches police and fire departments responded to a report of an accidental shooting at a residence in the 800 block of Texas Oak Street. According to Nacogdoches PD, when first responders arrived they discovered that a 2-year-old child had found a handgun inside the residence and accidentally fired the gun which critically injured them. Read the rest of this entry »
PITTSBURG — Two minors were detained after an investigation into suspicious credit card charges in Pittsburg. According to the Pittsburg Police Department and our news partners at KETK, on Monday a citizen notified the Pittsburg Police Department that their credit card appeared to have a suspicious charge after a recent purchase at McDonald’s in Pittsburg. This happened at the McDonald’s at 101 S. Greer Blvd. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – The Smith County Fire Marshal’s Office is encouraging citizens to postpone any outdoor burning as drought conditions worsen. Our news partners at KETK report that Officials said the county isn’t under a burn ban yet but the Keetch-Byram Drought Index is expected to rise daily. “While the Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) remains in the low 500 range for Smith County, it is expected to rise daily if the area doesn’t receive significant rainfall. Historically, the County has implemented a burn ban when the KBDI reaches the mid-600 to 700 range. However, officials also monitor weather conditions and forecasts, along with the daily incident responses from fire departments throughout the county. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — As East Texas experiences extreme heat, our news partners at KETK spoke with CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler where it’s critical to monitor its facilities’ temperatures around the clock. KETK asked: It’s easy to manage your AC at home, but what does it take to cool down more than one million square feet? Read the rest of this entry »
LONGVIEW – Our news partners at KETK report that the Longview Fire Department responded to a structure fire at R&K Distributers on Wednesday. The first unit on the scene said they saw smoke coming from the west side of the building. According to authorities, an investigation showed that the fire was in a part of the building where several pallet jacks had been charging their batteries. Officials said that the building’s internal sprinklers were able to put out the fire and the firefighters helped clear out the smoke from the building. Read the rest of this entry »
LUFKIN – The U.S. Marshals Service on Monday arrested a fourth suspect wanted in relation to the April 3 fatal shooting of Richard Coutee, of Lufkin. Our news partners at KETK report that Jardon Castle, 18, of Jasper was arrested by Marshals around midnight in Lake Charles, La. Castle is expected to be taken back to Angelina County in the next few weeks, officials said. “We would like to thank the U.S. Marshals Service for all of their hard work in getting the last of these suspects into custody,†Lufkin Police Department spokeswoman Jessica Pebsworth said. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital and Louis and Peaches Owen Heart
Hospital have earned the American College of Cardiology’s National Cardiovascular Data
Registry Chest Pain MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award for 2023.
CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital is one of just 262 hospitals nationwide to receive the award
and one of just 32 in Texas. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – The Tyler Transit bus stop at 106 Broadway Ave. and Elm St. near Downtown will be closed from Monday, July 24, through Friday, July 28, due to road construction. The northbound right lane of Broadway Avenue will be partially closed for construction to the Wilcox Lofts located at 230 S Broadway Ave. Temporary changes for July 24 through July 28 are below: Read the rest of this entry »
LONGVIEW – A fire at a mobile home in Longview left a person dead and injured a firefighter around 3:50 a.m. on Thursday near 4000 Burks Road.
Our news partners at KETK report that when firefighters arrived the mobile home was reportedly fully involved in the fire and flames were coming from the front of the residence, according to the Longview Fire Department. Officials said the first crew on the scene attempted to rescue the victim but were unsuccessful because of the “intense fire conditions†inside the home. Read the rest of this entry »
Hawkins — Jarvis Christian University biology professor Dr. Shakhawat Bhuiyan is the principal investigator on a new $2.25 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant titled “Interdisciplinary Research Infusion into STEM Education Undergraduate Program.†The new NSF grant continues over the next five years, with a start date of August 1, 2023, and running through July 31, 2028. Each year, Jarvis will submit an annual project report in accordance with the award terms and conditions.
“This continuing grant gives students the opportunity to research plant-based bioactive compounds and nanoparticles to potentially develop new treatments for cancer,†Bhuiyan said. Read the rest of this entry »
ANGELINA COUNTY – Our news partners at KETK report that several East Texas counties have enacted burn bans due to dry conditions and fire risk. When a county issues a burn ban, all outdoor burning is prohibited in that county. Below is a list of burn bans across East Texas: Read the rest of this entry »
FLINT – Our news partners at KETK report that authorities revealed details about the arrest of an East Texas elementary school teacher who is accused of promoting child pornography. Officials said that Fabrizio Olague was found to be responsible for “the transmission of explicit material involving minors.†The investigation found that Olague was employed as a teacher at Chapel Hill ISD in Flint where he worked as a dyslexia interventionist, working with children from kindergarten to third grade. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – An Amber Alert issued Tuesday for an 11-month-old child from Tyler has been canceled. According to Tyler police, on Wednesday, around 8:20am, the Tyler Police Department was notified that Tarhondia Jackson, 26, had shown up at the Department of Family and Protective Services office in Tyler and turned over Jamar Ross. He is now in the custody of CPS. Tarhondia Jackson was arrested on a charge from another offense and booked into the Smith County Jail. The alert was issued after Child Protective Services reported to police on July 14th that they were to take the 11-month-old into their custody from a residence on W. Mims Street. The child was not at the residence and was thought to be in the custody of his mother, Tarhondia Jackson.