Today is
Thursday June 04, 2026
JACKSONVILLE – Recognized for her interactive lessons and creative classroom transformation, a Jacksonville teacher got to step into the magical world of Disney as a part of a nationwide educator celebration for National Teacher Appreciation Week. Sandra Rojas, who teaches at Jacksonville Middle School, was chosen alongside 14 other educators as part of the Disney Imagination Campus and the television show “Abbott Elementary’s” Teachers Celebrations.
“[Rojas] gives students choice in how they show understanding through writing, art, and collaboration, and meets with students one-on-one to set goals, review progress, and support growth in reading and communication skills,” Walt Disney World Resort said.
The teachers served as honorary grand marshals in a parade through Magic Kingdom Park in Florida ahead of beloved Disney character and colorful floats.
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WILLS POINT – The Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office is currently searching for 76-year-old Alfredo Chavez, who was last seen in Wills Point on April 23. Chavez is described as 5’7? Hispanic man, who weighs around 120 pounds and has brown eyes and brown hair. According to a Silver Alert, he was last seen in the 14300 block of Clark Lane in Wills Point on April 23 at 2 p.m., while wearing a dark long-sleeve shirt, green sweatpants and flip-flops.
The sheriff’s office said Chavez may be with a small Chihuahua dog. They also said he suffers from dementia, may be disoriented, may knock on the door of nearby homes and only speaks Spanish.
On April 25, the sheriff’s office said Chavez was still missing after an extensive search of the area. Anyone with information about his disappearance is asked to contact the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office at 469-376-4500.
TYLER — The WAGES Act, introduced by Representative Nathaniel Moran (R), Texas, looks to give manual labor companies more support in apprenticeship programs through a tax credit. According to our news partner KETK, Moran is making waves in East Texas blue-collar industries through his new Workforce, Apprenticeship Growth and Education Support (WAGES) Act. He’s making the pitch this week to companies in the Pineywoods and if passed, the new law would allow companies with a registered apprenticeship program to pay apprentices and mentors while covering program expenses.
WAGES would help the next generation of workers at Trane Technologies get adapted to their work environment before taking on the job.
“It says we want to give you an employment tax credit up to $5,000 per apprentice per quarter against those taxes you’re paying every quarter,” Moran said. Read the rest of this entry »
EAST TEXAS — Nearly one-third of students who applied for Texas’ new school choice program have been approved so far, according to updated data from the Texas Comptroller’s Office and our news partner KETK.
Of the 8,855 East Texas students who submitted applications, 2,744 have been accepted to receive a Texas Education Freedom Account (TEFA). The update comes after Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock announced Monday that more than 53,000 additional students statewide are expected to be awarded TEFA funding for the 2026–27 school year in Tier 2. Those awards follow the 42,600 students approved late last month in Tier 1.
“Texas families have waited a long time for school choice, and the response to TEFA shows just how much this opportunity means to parents across our state,” Hancock said. “This first year is groundbreaking for Texas. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — Hundreds of miles off the East Coast and unconnected from the internet, Tylerite Sorayda Rivera was enjoying what was supposed to be a relaxing cruise, but quickly became a search for a way back home after Spirit Airlines canceled her flight in its spontaneous shut down.
On Saturday, Spirit Airlines said that it has officially gone out of business after 34 years. According to our news partner KETK, Rivera, who had flown to Miami from the DFW Airport, found out this morning immediately after reaching cell service at the end of her cruise.
“As soon as we got to Florida this morning,” Rivera said, “I turned on my phone, got my airplane mode off and I went to my Spirit app. It turned out that Spirit canceled all their flights because they’re no longer in business.”
As she opened the Spirit Airlines app, she received a pop-up saying all flights were canceled, effective immediately. Read the rest of this entry »
LINDALE – Residents of Lindale gathered together on Saturday to remember Adrian Sue Thompson, an 8-year-old girl who died on April 16. Saturday’s public memorial service for Adrian was held at the Bethel Bible South Campus in Lindale. The service included congregational hymns, remarks from Adrian’s parents and friends, a presentation on Adrian’s life and a message from Rev. Eric Barton.
Adrian was a Christian and a member of Bethel Bible Church. Outside of school, she was involved in jazz and ballet dancing and enjoyed playing the video game Minecraft and visiting her grandparents in the summer.
The Texas Rangers are investigating Adrian’s death from choking, which has prompted calls for mandatory Heimlich Maneuver training for teachers in Texas.
TYLER – The 2026 BMW of Tyler Patriot Golf Classic raised $123,350 to benefit The University of Texas at Tyler scholarship program.
“Every scholarship created through this tournament represents a student who can focus on learning rather than worrying about financial barriers,” said UT Tyler President Julie V. Philley, MD. “We are grateful to our volunteers, participants and community for their commitment and belief in our students.”
Since 1986, the Patriot Golf Classic has been one of the university’s largest annual fundraisers benefiting UT Tyler student scholarships at its four campuses. Proceeds fund an endowment that totals nearly $3 million.
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UPSHUR COUNTY — The Upshur County Sheriff’s Office said that local residents have been scammed out of over $1 million dollars by fake Apple Pay representatives.
“Over the past several months, our county has experienced a significant increase in fraud cases. One scam in particular involves individuals posing as Apple Pay representatives, and it has already resulted in over ONE MILLION dollars stolen from victims in our county alone,” the sheriff’s office said on Sunday.
According to the sheriff’s office and our news partner KETK, the scammers contact the victims, claiming that a bank employee is stealing money from their accounts. They then insist that the victim should transfer their money into different accounts in order to help with the scammers fake non-existent investigation. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – Voters from across East Texas passed 9 out of 11 proposed school bonds on Saturday, investing over $309 million in total to help expand facilities for students, repair campuses and more.
Our news partner KETK has put together a list of school bond proposals that were voted on from areas across East Texas on May 2. You may view that list here.
TYLER — A runoff has been called for the Tyler mayoral race after neither of the four candidates running received enough votes on Saturday to fill the position. According to our news partner KETK, John Nix leads with 32% of the votes, while Stuart Hene trails with 26%. Candidates James Wynee and Shirley McKellar will not appear on the runoff ballot after not receiving enough votes on Saturday to qualify.
The runoff for the mayoral race has been scheduled for Saturday, June 13.
As Nix and Hene look to keep voters engaged leading up to the runoff, Nix said he will continue campaigning and interacting with voters over the next few weeks.
“We’re super excited that our vote total is coming out on top tonight,” Nix said. “We knocked on over 10,000 doors and we’re going to continue to go strong. We’re just excited to be able to continue the conversation with the voters into the runoff.”
Meanwhile, Hene said he will work to sustain the support he received from voters on Saturday while continuing to preach his campaign message of positivity.
“It’s the same positive message that we’ve been running, and I hope to continue to reach out across the city to gain the support that we have with the voters who turned out today,” Hene said. “While hopefully attracting new voters with the same positive message of continuing that momentum that we have going in our city, we have been the second-best place to live in the state of Texas.”
EAST TEXAS – The City of Tyler will need a June 13th runoff to decide a new mayor, as John Nix led with 32% of the votes, while Stuart Hene trails with 26% as of Saturday evening’s count. Candidates James Wynee and Shirley McKellar will not appear on the runoff ballot.
In notable called races, Tyler Junior College’s $167.3M bond fails to secure approval, earning 54.8% of the votes.
Former NBA player Greg Ostertag has won the mayoral election in the city of Mount Vernon with 53.8% of the vote. And Kendra Bircher has won the Tyler ISD District 4 race with 53.4% of the vote.
Our news partner KETK has posted the updated election results here.
MARSHALL – A disturbance on the campus of Wiley University led to the arrest of two women. The Marshall Police Department said it was called to the university campus on April 26 regarding a reported disturbance. Working in coordination with Wiley University Security, MPD learned that Marietta Denise Taylor, 50, allegedly made threatening statements in the presence of university security personnel that were directed toward the university.
According to our news partner KETK, it was through their investigation that it was determined there was probable cause to arrest Taylor for making the terroristic threat, a third-degree felony. She was arrested without incident and booked into the Harrison County Jail. On Friday, May 1, Jayla Unique Jackson, 24, was arrested for criminal trespass in connection with the same incident.
“The Marshall Police Department takes all threats of violence seriously and will continue working closely with its law enforcement and community partners to ensure the safety and security of
the public,” MPD said in a statement.
The department asks that anyone with information about this incident to call 903-935-4575.
TYLER – As the May 2 elections approach, several East Texas School districts are asking their residents to pass school bond proposals to help expand facilities for students, repair campuses and more. Our news partner KETK has put together the following list of school bond proposals that will appear on May ballots across East Texas:
ALBA-GOLDEN
Alba-Golden ISD is calling for a $20.6 million bond proposal to fund the following:
Career & Technology Education (CTE) Facility
Agricultural Mechanics & Metal Tech workshop (3,500 SF)
Construction Tech workshop (3,500 SF) Read the rest of this entry »
LINDALE – The City of Lindale honored retiring police chief Dan Somes on Friday after he spent more than 20 years serving with the Lindale Police Department. According to our news partner KETK, Somes was part of Lindale PD for 27 years and lead the department as Chief of Police for the past 20 years. He started his career with the city of Seven Points Police Department before joining Lindale’s police force. He was able to radio out his last call at an retirement celebration held at Picker’s Pavilion on Friday. During the event Somes was presented with a shadow box containing a Lindale PD badge and patches.
Part of the new blood Somes referred to is Brent Chambers, who started his tenure as Lindale PD’s new chief of police in March.
TYLER – Smith County Animal Control and Shelter has announced it’s looking to coordinate with local animal shelters to better help local animals following a recent controversy. Pawsitive Place Rescue and Nicholas Pet Haven took to social media recently to criticize how the Smith County shelter reportedly euthanized a dozen dogs without notifying any of the nearby shelters so they could take the animals and spare them from death. Following these posts, the Smith County Animal Shelter detailed several recent policy changes they’ve made to their euthanasia protocols at a meeting of the Smith County Commissioners Court on Tuesday.
Pawsitive Place Rescue and Nicholas Pet Haven said they spoke with Smith County Judge Neal Franklin on Wednesday and that he heard their complaints. They explained that even after these recent policy changes, they’d like to see the county, community and state support efforts to foster, spay and neuter pets to prevent shelters from filling up in the first place.
“The real solution is mandatory spay and neuter,” Nicholas Pet Haven said. “The county and city both have the ability to put this into action yet they refuse to do so. Hopefully, this can be done at the state level. If not, the problem remains. If you are a dog owner and let your dog have one liter after another, then you are the problem.” Read the rest of this entry »