Today is
Thursday June 11, 2026
Tyler – 
The Empowerment North Tyler Rails to Trails Exploratory Committee invites the community to an informative meeting regarding the inactive rail corridor that runs through the heart of North Tyler. This meeting is open to the public and will take place on Monday, April 21, at 6:00 PM at the Empowerment CDC Complex, located at 309 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Tyler, TX 75702. Read the rest of this entry »
NACOGDOCHES –
Two Nacogdoches residents were arrested for possession of cocaine, ecstasy, marijuana and firearms by the Nacogdoches County Sheriff’s Office early Thursday morning. According to the sheriff’s office, deputies pulled over Luther Levann Jackson, 38, around 11 a.m. for a traffic violation. They discovered an active warrant for his arrest and took Jackson into custody. Later they also obtained a search warrant for Jackson’s residence in the 1700 block of Castleberry Street after an ongoing investigation revealed narcotics were present in the home, the sheriff’s office said. Read the rest of this entry »
DALLAS – KERA reports that North Texas transportation leaders want to restructure transit in the region to solve a dispute with some cities dissatisfied with the system. The Regional Transportation Council voted last week to push for legislation that would see the organization spending the next two years working on a “new transit vision,” said transit director Michael Morris. “I think we need a whole different transportation authority way to deliver transit in the region,” he said. “I think the DART cities are paying more than their fair share for transit. I think there’s lots of communities that aren’t paying any share to transit.”
This comes as a handful of member cities are pushing for state legislation that would cut funding for Dallas Area Rapid Transit by 25%. Two bills would direct a portion of tax contributions to the agency into a general mobility program cities could use for other transit projects. “I think there needs to be legislative change,” Morris said. “I happen to think it’s not the legislation that was introduced.” He suggested gathering the three regional transportation authorities – DART, Trinity Metro and Denton County Transportation Authority – as well as cities, the RTC and the state to file legislation directing the RTC to come up with a new approach to regional transportation ahead of the next legislative session. “The legislature would be instructing the Regional Transportation Council to pull together over the next two years a new vision to deliver transit,” he said. The council also voted to continue mediation between DART and some of its member cities, despite some leaders saying the talks had reached an impasse.
NACOGDOCHES –
A Nacogdoches man was arrested on Tuesday after three different types of illegal narcotics were discovered inside of his vehicle and home. According to the Nacogdoches County Sheriff’s Office, and our news partners at KETK, around 2 p.m. deputies conducted a traffic stop on the 600 block of W Main Street where they asked Michael Anthony Green, 56, of Nacogdoches, if they could search his vehicle and they were denied. Deputies then requested a K9 unit and the dog alerted to the presence of drugs, and a search was conducted. Officials said deputies found a large amount of cash and three different types of of illegal narcotics inside Green’s vehicle including: Read the rest of this entry »
CARTHAGE –
Our news partners at KETK report that a juvenile has been arrested after allegedly making a threat to a local Carthage daycare. The FBI contacted the Carthage police department after a threat was made on social media “showing daycare with alarming text overlay”. An immediate investigation began where officials learned that the suspect was a juvenile and has since been taken into custody. The case will be referred to District Attorney and Juvenile Probation for prosecution, the Carthage police department said.
Tyler – City of Tyler reports that downtown traffic signals are without power, and Oncor estimates power will be restored around 3:30 p.m. on Friday. However, if damage or additional repairs are identified during restoration, the estimated time could be extended. Street crews have placed stop signs and generators at main intersections. City officials remind drivers they should treat a “dark” traffic signal as an all-way stop. Meaning, each vehicle comes to a complete stop and takes its turn to proceed through the intersection.
TYLER — According to our news partner KETK, a Houston man was sentenced to 14 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiring with others to burglarize ATMs in Tyler.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office Eastern District of Texas, Julius Lawan Lockett, Jr., 30 of Houston, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank theft and was ordered to pay restitution of $243,540.85 and forfeiture of $79,850 on Thursday. Officials said on March 28, 2021, Lockett and Jerome Christopher Mayes, Jr. drove from Houston to Tyler to steal money from ATMs in the area. They used a stolen Ford F-250 truck from Smith County, attached chains to the truck and to an ATM at Chase Bank at Southwest Loop 323 in Tyler to pull the ATM open and steal around $159,700.
On Jan. 29, Mayes was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison for his role in the ATM conspiracy.
TYLER – School leaders in East Texas share their opinions following the Texas House’s passage of the private school voucher program early Thursday morning.
The Texas House and Senate have each passed different versions of the bill and will now need to negotiate a compromise. Once an agreement is reached, the final version will be sent to Gov. Abbott’s desk.
Joel Enge, Director of Kingdom Life Academy, is a vocal advocate for the proposed bill, which he believes empowers families with greater educational choice .“Parents now have the opportunity to choose,” Enge said. “They have educational freedom.”
Kingdom Life Academy, a project-based micro-Christian school in Tyler, sees education savings accounts as a game-changer—one that could open doors for more students to access schools like theirs. Read the rest of this entry »
HENDERSON COUNTY – A Mabank man was arrested Wednesday night after officials located a sock with suspected meth.
According to the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office, around 10:52 p.m., narcotics investigators stopped a 2010 Harley-Davidson motorcycle at the 8200 block of US Highway 175 West in Kemp and watched the driver, Joseph Duane Whitworth, 52 of Mabank, throw a sock into the grass ditch.
Officials said after locating the sock, they found a gallon-sized plastic bag with a large amount of suspected meth inside alongside clear plastic baggies known for packaging narcotic sales.
Whitworth was arrested for the manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence with intent to impair. He is currently being held at the Henderson County Jail.
CHEROKEE COUNTY — An East Texas man has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for running a nationwide counterfeit meth-laced pill operation from his rural property in Cherokee County.
According to our news partner KETK, Robert Jessie Martin, 47 of Alto, was sentenced to 18 years and four mounts in prison on Thursday. Martin reportedly distributed five kilograms or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine and 500 grams or more of actual methamphetamine, according to the evidence presented in court.
As part of the operation, Martin allegedly set up multiple rotary tablet presses on his 75-acre property near Alto, where he produced hundreds of thousands of fake pills lace with meth. These pills were then trafficked across the United States for profit. Read the rest of this entry »
SMITH COUNTY — Two men have been sentenced to prison after investigators found communication between the two, where one sent child pornography files in exchange for nude pictures of the other.
According to our news partner KETK, Antonio Guevara-Valderrama and Nathaniel Connor Mitchell pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography and received combined sentences of 50 years. An affidavit obtained from the Smith County Sheriff’s Office revealed that during a search of Mitchell’s phone in November 2023, officials found “several files containing apparent child pornography.” During the investigation, officers learned that these files had been shared by Guevara-Valderrama in what appeared to be in exchange for shirtless pictures of Mitchell.
“I located about 29 files containing obvious child pornography,” the affidavit said. “The videos depicted children from infancy to pre-teen years in various sex acts with adults, including full penetration of the sex organs.” Read the rest of this entry »
UPSHUR COUNTY – The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) has confirmed 19 cases of measles at an isolated location in Upshur County. According to our news partner KETK, all of the cases have been linked to two people who visited the county from out of the state and at the moment officials state that no known cases emerged from Upshur county residents.
DSHS Officials said in a release, “All affected persons are isolated from the public and are in quarantine at this same location, and are in daily contact with DSHS and are following all the appropriate guidelines.”
Upshur County has advised residents on what to do if they start feeling any symptoms related to measles. They said, “Seek emergency care if the patient has a hard time breathing or breathing faster than normal, signs of severe dehydration, confusion, decreased alertness, or severe weakness, young children having a blue mouth or crying without making tears, or unusually low energy of loss of appetite.”
DSHS reps also said that none of the cases are critical and everyone currently affected are over the age of 17. They added there are no reports of measles cases at any of Upshur County’s public schools, public buildings, county operations or medical facilities.
BEAUMONT – A multi-agency drug task force has arrested 16 people in drug trafficking ring. According our news partner KETK, Operation Take Back America, has teamed up with the U.S. Marshalls Service and the Department of Justice.
A press release from the U.S. Attorney’s office said, “This investigation is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.”
Read the rest of this entry »
SMITH COUNTY — According to our news partner KETK, an East Texas man is being held on a $1 million bond after a Wednesday police chase where he allegedly shot at officers, buildings and pointed guns at citizens.
According to an arrest affidavit obtained from the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, on Wednesday, around 10:55 a.m., the sheriff’s office began receiving reports of a person, later identified as Mason Lowell Ahrens of Hideaway, shooting his gun out of an older model of a black Chevrolet Z71. Officials said Ahrens was shooting at buildings and pointing guns at citizens, and then left out the back gate of Hideaway. At this time, the last known location of Ahrens was on FM 16 heading towards Lindale. A detective located Ahrens and watched him pull into a gas station.
The detective pulls up behind Ahrens with his lights and sirens activated and identifies himself when he sees Ahrens look at him in his rearview mirror and flee from him, heading westbound on FM 16. Read the rest of this entry »
LONGVIEW — 
Our news partners at KETK report a Longview man was sentenced to 80 years in prison on Wednesday after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a six-year-old girl for four months in 2023. According to the Gregg County Criminal District Attorney’s Office, Justin Taylor Argo, 27 of Longview, was convicted after the ongoing sexual abuse of a six-year-old girl. The testimony at trial revealed that Argo assaulted the child multiple times a week over four months in 2023. Read the rest of this entry »