Today is
Saturday July 25, 2026
CHANDLER – 
Our news partners at KETK report that authorities said one person was pronounced dead at the scene of a two-vehicle crash Monday night on State Highway 31 in Chandler. According to the Chandler Volunteer Fire Department, first responders were dispatched to a major crash where one person was trapped on SH 31 shortly after 8 p.m. Firefighters immediately began trying to extricate the person trapped once they arrived to the scene, the fire department said. However, due to the extent of the patients injuries, Chandler VFD said the person did not survive and was pronounced dead at the scene by a Justice of the Peace. The occupants of the other vehicle involved were hospitalized and the fire department said their conditions are unknown.
SMITH COUNTY – 
Smith County Fire Marshal Chad Hogue gave an update about the burn ban and current fire conditions during Commissioners Court on Tuesday, October 29. The Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) for Smith County is at an average of 747. The KBDI ranges from 0 to 800, and is used to determine forest fire potential. Although rain is forecast this week, Hogue said “we need a significant amount of rain to make a difference.†Fire danger is especially high today because of high winds. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – Former President Donald J. Trump has a five-point lead over Vice President Kamala Harris among likely voters in Texas, 51% to 46%, according to a pre-election poll conducted by The University of Texas at Tyler Center for Opinion Research. This finding is similar to results of a June poll that showed Trump with a five-point lead over President Joe Biden among likely Texas voters, 48% to 43%, with fewer undecided voters closer to the November 5, 2024, election, according to Dr. Kenneth A. Wink, UT Tyler professor and poll director.
The 5% lead for Trump is slightly smaller than his 5.6% win over Biden in Texas in 2020, and significantly smaller than his 9% win over Hillary Clinton in Texas in 2016. Fifty percent of all respondents thought the election would be “close,†with 63% of Democrats and 40% of Republicans expecting a close election. Read the rest of this entry »
ATHENS – 
Our news partners at KETK report a Palestine man is behind bars for a Thursday hotel stabbing where one was hospitalized and a bloodied room with signs of a struggle was left behind, a warrant said. According to the Athens Police Department, officers responded to a stabbing at around 2:15 a.m. at the Victorian Inn hotel on 1803 SH 31 East in Athens. The warrant said police found the 37-year-old victim on the sidewalk outside of room 118 with stab wounds to the face, chest and abdomen. The victim told officers he had gotten into an argument inside the room with his acquaintance identified as 50-year-old Kerry Barnett, of Palestine. The documents state the victim told police Barnett had stabbed him with a knife and was still inside room 118. The victim was taken to the hospital for treatment, a probable cause affidavit said. Read the rest of this entry »
TEXARKANA – Our news partners at KETK report the Texarkana Police Department arrested two women on Thursday following accusations that they beat their roommate’s children. According to a release, Texarkana PD was contacted by the mother of three children who reported that she had left her children in the care of her roommates while she went to work. The mother reported that when she returned from work, her children told her that her roommates had beaten them with a belt and a stick, police said. Police said that “all three [children] had bruises and whelps on their buttocks and all down their legs.†Read the rest of this entry »
LIBERTY CITY — 
The Texas Tribune reports Zachary Carnes is a government professor at Kilgore College but these days, he says, he feels more like a “traveling preacher.†When he first started at the community college in East Texas, he stood in front of a wide array of adults, those who just graduated high school and those looking for a new direction in life. Now he finds himself driving in his pickup truck between high school campuses teaching a course on government to teenagers. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – 
Our news partners at KETK report that Senator Ted Cruz (R-Tx) and his challenger Rep. Colin Allred (D-Tx) are making what could be their last East Texas campaign stops of the year on Friday. Allred will be stopping in Crockett at around noon on Friday near an oil well in town. Later that night, he’ll be campaigning with Presidential candidate Kamala Harris and Beyonce down in Houston. Cruz will be stopping at CC’s Smokehouse in Nacogdoches at 3:30 p.m. and then he’ll be in Tyler’s 1836 Restaurant at 6:30 p.m. To learn more, visit Ted Cruz or Collin Allred’s websites online.
WOOD COUNTY – Wood County Sheriff’s Office reports that early Thursday morning, chainsaws and firearms were part of the items stolen from unlocked vehicles. According to our news partner KETK, authorities ask residents to lock their vehicles and limit the amount valuables left inside their vehicles. They also remind everyone that the suspects in this case are armed and are considered dangerous.
WCSO said the burglaries Thursday morning occurred in the 2370 series of County Roads and 1600 series of County Roads near Alba-Golden ISD.
Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – 
Two dozen veterans are back in East Texas on Wednesday night after returning from an all-expense-paid trip to our nation’s capital, according to our news partners at kETK. 24 East Texas veterans landed from their ‘Heroes Flight’ at the Tyler Pounds Regional Airport on Wednesday night. The flight is an all-expense-paid trip by Brookshire’s Grocery Company to Washington, D.C. This is the 20th Heroes Flight and the first since the pandemic, with more than 700 applications submitted. The East Texas community gave loud cheers at the welcome home celebration for the brave veterans who fought for our freedom. Read the rest of this entry »
SMITH COUNTY – 
Our news partners at KETK say two people died in a motorcycle wreck near Whitehouse Wednesday afternoon. According to preliminary information from the Texas Department of Public Safety, a passenger vehicle was going south on FM 756 while a motorcycle was heading north on the same road. DPS said the car tried to make a left turn into a private driveway and failed to yield the right of way to the motorcyclist. Two people on the motorcycle were taken to a hospital where they later died. DPS will not yet release the identities of those involved.
TEXARKANA – 
Our news partners at KETK report a 17-year-old was taken to an out-of-state hospital after being found with several gunshot wounds in Texarkana on Thursday. Officers were on their way to investigate a shooting at 2:15 a.m. in the 1500 block of Milam Street when they got another 911 call saying a victim was found in front of an apartment near the scene. Police reportedly started lifesaving measures on the teen, who they say “had been shot multiple times.†The teen was taken to Wadley Regional Hospital before being transferred to an Arkansas hospital. His condition is unknown as of Thursday at 10 a.m. “Our detectives are investigating and working to find out what happened and identify the person who did this,†Texarkana Police said.
HENDERSON — Henderson Police Department are searching for a suspect involved in a Wednesday morning shooting that left one injured. According to our news partner KETK, officers responded to a shots fired call near 1100 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and West Main Street. When police arrived, they were told the victim had already been taken to a hospital with minor injuries.
HPD and Rusk County Sheriff’s Office are attempting to locate the suspect. While the suspect is still at large, police said, they are “not believed to be an immediate threat to the public.â€
Anyone with information about the case are asked to contact the Henderson Police Department at 903-657-3512.
KILGORE — Kilgore residents may have started to notice a taste or odor change in their tap water. According to our news partner KETK, the reason is The City of Kilgore temporarily converted the disinfectant used in their water distribution center from chloramine to free chlorine.
City officials explained, “public water systems are required to properly disinfect their water and maintain an adequate disinfectant residual in the distribution system. We have chosen to implement a temporary disinfectant conversion to free chlorine based on increasing water quality complaints and decreasing chloramine residuals.â€
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SMITH COUNTY – The first day of early voting in Smith County saw more than 9,000 votes cast at the polls on Monday. According to our news partner KETK, Smith County officials said 10,635 ballots were cast, 9,594 were cast in person. How does this compare to early voting during the 2020 election? In 2020, Smith County only saw about 6,000 people in the first day of early voting.
Read the rest of this entry »
AUSTIN – It was a packed committee room Monday in the Texas House. According to our news partner KETK, legislators met with witnesses to listen to testimony in the case and conviction of Robert Roberson of Palestine. Roberson is on death row for a crime that is now being called into question. He was found guilty in 2003 of killing his 2-year-old daughter, a conviction for which he was set to be executed last Thursday. A ruling from the Texas Supreme Court spared him in the 11th hour, citing concerns about a last-minute subpoena ordering Roberson to be present for House testimony about his case on Monday.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice would only allow Roberson to attend the proceedings virtually, an accommodation which Roberson’s attorneys and the House committee alike argued would not be acceptable. Given that Roberson has been diagnosed with autism, and he has been in custody for more than two decades, his attorneys argue that his ability to effectively communicate would be severely impeded in a virtual setting.
On Monday’s witness list was TV personality Dr. Phillip McGraw, Novelist John Grisham, Former judge on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Elsa Alcala, Terry Compton, a juror from Roberson’s 2003 trial and Gretchen Sween, Roberson’s attorney.
Read the rest of this entry »
UPDATE: ATHENS – Athens Public Safety announced that as of 4 p.m. West Corsicana Street is reopened.
ATHENS – Athens Public Safety announced on their Facebook that parts of West Corsicana Street are closed due to a structure fire. According to our news partner KETK, the City of Athens said the fire department received at call at 11:45 a.m. about a fire at a vacant furniture store, next to Travel Inn on West Corsicana Street. Officials said no one was inside the vacant building and The Travel Inn was evacuated. The Athens Fire Department had the blaze controlled by 1:30 p.m. They were assisted by District 8 Fire Department, Long Cove Fire Department, South Side Fire Department, Henderson County Fire Marshal and the Athens Police Department. According AFD Public Information Officer Michael Hannigan, the empty store had significant damage, while The Travel Inn had damage to several rooms. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
UPDATE: Robert Roberson will not testify before a Texas House committee on Monday, despite a subpoena ordering his presence at the House for testimony.
Rep. Joe Moody from El Paso said they still have “an impressive slate of witnesses†on the list. He maintained that their subpoena is legitimate and was not meant to create separation of powers issues, a point for which Gov. Greg Abbott has argued.
Given that Roberson is a person with autism with communication challenges, and has spent the past 20 years incarcerated, video conference would be poorly suited to Roberson, Moody argued.
Read the rest of this entry »
RUSK COUNTY – The Crims Chapel Volunteer Fire Department said that a motorcycle crash in Rusk County sent one person to the hospital by helicopter on Sunday. The single vehicle crash happened near State Highway 322 and County Road 240 in northern Rusk County at around 11:30 a.m. on Sunday. EMS at the scene asked that a helicopter be brought in and the patient was sent to a hospital in Tyler to be treated. There was no word on the condition of the person injured.
TYLER – The University of Texas at Tyler held their third annual Ratliff Relays engineering competitions on Saturday. The relays consist of cardboard boat races, carbon dioxide rocketry, water rockets, robotic car races and the always popular drone races.
“They will learn the dynamics from the classroom and then they will apply the concepts to a real design and prototype. So from this competition, students will have a lot of fun and they will realize how to apply our knowledge to solve real world problems,†said associate professor of mechanical engineering at UT Tyler, Chung-Hyun Goh.
TYLER – The community gathered together Saturday in Tyler to celebrate the 91st Texas Rose Festival Parade.
This years Texas Rose Festival theme is “Fanfare of Festivals,†celebrating festivals from various cultures. The parade featured Duchesses and Ladies in Waiting in dresses centered around those themes, and the Queen’s float was the grand finale.
Our news partner KETK has provided a link in which you can watch their coverage of the Texas Rose Festival Parade. The link for it is here.
TYLER – The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Tyler State Park announced the opening of a new headquarters for the park on Friday. According to our news partner KETK, the TPDW said in a release, the new headquarters is designed to make visitors check-in much faster and reduce traffic congestion.
Other features include, conference rooms, holding offices, a new radio tower, increased parking and an interpretive gallery that describes the history of Tyler State Park.
“It is exciting to see the hard work and dedication of so many colleagues, partners and supporters result in such a beautiful facility,†said Rodney Franklin, director of Texas State Parks. “I am happy that we are able to design and construct a park headquarters of which all of Texas can be proud. This new facility will help support staff, serve our visitors and tell the story of the park better than ever and is befitting of one our most popular Texas State Parks.â€
TYLER – 
Tyler ISD recognizes National School Bus Safety Week from October 21 to October 25. This annual campaign serves as a powerful reminder of the critical role every driver plays in ensuring the safety of children as they travel to and from school. Each school day, millions of children rely on school buses, and the greatest risk to their safety occurs when children enter or exit the bus. Tyler ISD is using National School Bus Safety Week to raise awareness and encourage the entire community —parents, students, teachers, motorists, and school staff — to commit to these safe reminders. Read the rest of this entry »
SMITH COUNTY – Smith County residents began casting their ballots October 21 during two weeks of early voting for the November 5, 2024, Presidential Election. Now through November 1, registered voters can cast their ballots at any of the eight early voting locations, which include:
First Christian Church – Christian Life Center Room 5: 4202 S. Broadway Ave, Tyler
Heritage Building: 1900 Bellwood Road, Tyler
The Hub: 304 E. Ferguson Street, Tyler
Kinzie Community Center: 912 Mt. Sylvan St., Lindale
Noonday Community Center: 16662 CR 196, Tyler
Starrville Church of the Living God, 18396 Highway 271, Winona
Whitehouse Methodist Church: 405 W. Main Street, Whitehouse
Green Acres Baptist Church – Flint Campus, at 1010 CR 137, Flint
Read the rest of this entry »
HUNTSVILLE (AP) — The Texas Supreme Court halted Thursday night’s scheduled execution of a man who would have become the first person in the U.S. put to death for a murder conviction tied to a diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome.
The late-night ruling to spare for now the life of Robert Roberson, who was convicted of killing his 2-year-old daughter in 2002, capped a flurry of last-ditch legal challenges and weeks of public pressure from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers who say he is innocent and was sent to death row based on flawed science.
In the hours leading up to the ruling, Roberson had been confined to a prison holding cell a few feet from America’s busiest death chamber at the Walls Unit in Hunstville, waiting for certainty over whether he would be taken to die by lethal injection.
Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – 
On Oct. 16, the Tyler City Council approved a 10-year tax abatement agreement with Hiland Dairy to support its upcoming expansion. This project, which is expected to generate up to $98 million in new investment, will create 30 new jobs with an estimated average annual salary of $66,000. The expansion project will add over 90,000 square feet of dry and refrigerated storage, as well as production space, significantly increasing Hiland Dairy’s capacity. The expansion includes eight additional production lines, with space available for two more lines in the future. This move aims to alleviate the current overcapacity of the Tyler facility, which produces one million gallons of milk per week and serves major local customers like Brookshire’s Grocery Company. Read the rest of this entry »
NACOGDOCHES – 
Our news partners at KETK report that two East Texas police officers are being recognized for their bravery after disregarding risk to stop a woman from jumping off a Nacogdoches bridge. According to the Nacogdoches Police Department, officers were called shortly before 12:20 p.m. on Sept. 27 to a bridge on W. Austin Street where a woman was threatening to jump. Nacogdoches Police Officer Seth Stover was the first person to get there and the department said he immediately began talking to the distraught woman. Afterwards, Officer Chris Snider arrived and also attempted to convince the woman to get on their side of the guardrail. Although the officers tried their best to talk the woman off the ledge, it seemed like the woman was ready to jump, the police department said. Stover and Snider then prevented the woman from jumping by pulling her over the guardrail and disregarding the risk to their own safety. “We commend these officers for their selfless actions in saving someone experiencing a mental health crisis,†Nacogdoches PD officials said. “Their exceptional efforts undoubtedly saved the life of the woman that day.â€
LONGVIEW – 
Our news partners at KETK report an optometrist’s arrest documents reveal he sent inappropriate photos to a minor living across the country and was taken into custody while at his Longview office. 51-year-old August Michael Wallace, a licensed Longview optometrist per the Texas Optometry Board, was charged with online solicitation of a minor and is currently behind bars at the Gregg County Jail. According to Wallace’s arrest documents, Homeland Security spoke to the Longview Police Department on Sept. 30 and handed over evidence pertaining to a Texas man who sent a 16-year-old photos of his genitalia and description of sexual acts he wanted to do to the minor. Read the rest of this entry »
PALESTINE – A district court will not throw out the execution warrant for Robert Roberson III, an East Texas man on death row accused of killing his daughter. According to our news partner KETK, Roberson, a Palestine native, was convicted of killing his 2-year-old daughter Nikki in 2002 and sentenced to death. He has maintained his innocence while on death row for the past 20 years, with an execution date scheduled for Oct. 17.
The defense’s motion to vacate Roberson’s execution warrant was denied by Judge Alfonso Charles, who is the Presiding Judge of the Tenth Administrative Judicial Region, on Tuesday. Charles was also asked to decide whether to remove the previous now-retired judge, Deborah Oakes Evans, from the case. He denied both the motion to recuse the execution warrant and the motion to vacate Judge Evans from the case.
Roberson attended court remotely via Zoom from the Polunsky Unit in Livingston where death row inmates are housed. Arguments were heard in front of a full courtroom of reporters of spectators.
Read the rest of this entry »
SMITH COUNTY – Smith County donated surplus computer equipment to Mustard Seed Ministries that will be refurbished and given to local school children. Dr. Karen Jones, founder and president of Mustard Seed Ministries, received the donation from the Smith County Information Technology Department on Monday, October 14. Items included 178 desktops, 110 laptops, 70 monitors, 12 printers, five servers, seven scanners, and three switches. The donation was approved earlier in Commissioners Court.
For years, Smith County has donated outdated and broken computer equipment to Mustard Seed Ministries. The nonprofit organization dismantles and reassembles the equipment and donates them to school children who do not have computers. Mustard Seed supplies schools in Tyler, Whitehouse and Mineola.
Mustard Seed Ministries, is a nonprofit organization of the United Methodist Church. For more information, visit http://www.mustardseedcomputers.com.
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MARSHALL 
Our news partners at KETK report that a 19-year-old accused of committing burglaries across the City of Marshall is now behind bars. According to the Marshall Police Department, Stanislav Nathan Mironyuk, 19 of Marshall, was arrested Friday morning after officers responded to a building on E. Burleson Street for an alarm call. When police arrived to the building at around 4:40 a.m., they reportedly found a man in a mask, identified as Mironyuk. Police also found items linking Mironyuk to a burglary, a bag of tools commonly used in burglaries and mail from different addresses, the police department said. Read the rest of this entry »