TYLER – In recognition of members of the community above and beyond for survivors of sexual violence, the East Texas Crisis Center handed Hope Award to those being recongized. Those from Smith County receiving the Hope Award were Angela Faulkner with the Smith County District Attorney’s Office. Sgt Joseph Durr with the Office of the Attorney General and Bethany Morgan with the Counseling Nook for Trauma and Disassociation. East Texas Crisis Center Volunteer. Tyler Mayor Don Warren noted that the Center provided services in 2022 to 327 survivors of sexual violence. April is sexual assault awareness month and East Texas Crisis Center will be hosting survivor support events during the month.
CARTHAGE –An employee in the Panola County Sheriff’s Department was arrested for theft and abuse of official capacity. According to our news partner KETK, Sheriff Cutter Clinton said that county employee Torey McLemore of Carthage resigned his position just prior to being booked. Clinton also said that his office became aware of possible violations in March and launched an internal investigation with the Texas Rangers assisting. The charges against McLemore are Class C misdemeanors.
SMITH COUNTY — The deadline to register to vote or make a change of address to be able to vote in the upcoming election is Thursday, April 6. If you are not sure if you are registered, you can find out here. You can also find an application at this website to fill out, print and return to the Smith County Elections Office. You can also visit the Smith County Elections Office, at 302 E. Ferguson Street in Tyler, to fill it out in person. Read the rest of this entry »
MINEOLA — Police are investigating two separate threats allegedly made by students toward Mineola ISD on Thursday and Friday, the district said. One student was searched and no harmful objects were found, another student was detained, the district said. Our news partner KETK reports, on Thursday a report was made to the middle school administration office about a broad threat made on a church van the evening before concerning possible harm to the middle school campus. “As required by law, a Behavioral Threat Assessment was conducted to investigate the student and these comments,” the district said. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — A canine virus is making its way through Pets Fur People in Tyler. According to our news partner KETK, Gayle Helms with Pets Fur People says the rescue had 27 dogs dumped at the facility at the end of February and that’s where the sickness began.“We have had the worst outbreak of parvo that we have ever had in the history of pets fur people,” said Gayle Helms, executive director, Pets Fur People. “We’ve had 15 cases of parvo and we have lost 8 puppies,” said Helms. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — Former Rose Heights Church pastor Doug Anderson passed away on Saturday afternoon, according to a post from the church. Anderson had recently retired from the church in January of 2023. Anderson spent 37 years of his life preaching and leading at Rose Heights Church. Congressman Nathaniel Moran honored Anderson at his retirement ceremony in January. “In recognition of their persevering efforts to follow the teachings and admonitions of Jesus Christ, I present to you this flag and certificate. Congratulations Doug and Gina,” Moran said. Read the rest of this entry »
LONGVIEW — A Longview man was arrested on Wednesday, March 29 after a search conducted at his home found a variety of drugs, money and guns, according to officials. According to our news partner KETK, Devarious Ramone Craig, 39 of Longview, was arrested for 11 different possession charges, a money laundering charge and a theft of a firearm charge. The Joint Harrison County Violent Crime and Narcotics Task Force searched his residence after starting an investigation into drugs allegedly being shipped there. Officials obtained a search warrant and HCSO Patrol, MPD Crime Scene and Texas DPS CID officers assisted in the search. Read the rest of this entry »
RUSK COUNTY — The Rusk County Sheriff’s Office is searching for two individuals that they believe were involved in the abuse of a corpse. According to our news partner KETK, on Thursday, Rusk County investigators responded to a death investigation on County Road 169D. During the investigation, officials said they were led to believe that the body in the case had died at an alternate location and had been transported to Rusk County Road 169D in an attempt to “conceal the cause and location of the death.” A follow up investigation resulted in a evidentiary search warrant on Layton Street in Kilgore. The during the search, officials said they seized suspected methamphetamine, suspected fentanyl and other items believed to be of evidentiary value in the death investigation. Read the rest of this entry »
SMITH COUNTY — Smith County Road 329 was washed out during severe weather Friday afternoon. Officials are urging drivers to use an alternate route. The road will remain closed until it can be repaired. CR 329 runs from Farm-to-Market Road 14 to CR 334 near Owentown.
TYLER — John Smiley, principal of Rice Elementary School, has been named the new principal at Hubbard Middle School. He replaces Todd Dreifort, who was recently named the Director of the Career and Technology Center. “Coming in with experiences at the elementary and high school level, along with having a middle school child of my own, I am extremely excited to join the Hubbard Huskies team as principal,” Smiley said. “With Rice feeding into Hubbard, I’m excited that I’ll see some familiar faces this fall with this year’s 5th-grade class moving with me and last year’s class already there.” Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – TxDOT is planning to conduct the following construction and maintenance work in the district during the week of April 3, 2023. Work schedules are subject to change due to weather conditions, equipment failure, or other unforeseen issues. Please slow down and pay attention in work zones. Tyler Maintenance will have a crew on FM 2868 for base repairs. Expect lane closures with flaggers controlling traffic. A second crew will be conducting bridge work on FM 14, north of Red Springs. Expect lane closures with flaggers controlling traffic. To see the full schedule, click here.
TYLER — Veteran broadcaster and longtime on-air personality John Sims died early Friday morning after suffering a serious head injury. He was out for a walk near his home in Tyler Tuesday morning when he was struck by a car. UT Health East Texas medical staff performed surgery, but he died of his injuries.
Hailing from the Philadelphia area, where his father called play-by-play for the Phillies baseball team, John likewise took up a career in radio, one that spanned more than 45 years, many of them here in East Texas. Since 1998, John served as news anchor and editor at KTBB, where his distinctive calm and raspy voice was a staple of the airwaves. He was involved in many local community organizations and was respected and admired by those with whom he interacted. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — Two people were fatally shot in a car on March 23 after they were sent to do a gun trade and transaction at the Royal Crest Apartments in Tyler, according to court documents. According to our news partner KETK, warrants for Aaron Johnson, 20 of Tyler, and Nicholas Hudson, 18 of Malakoff, state that the two were in contact with each other to discuss Johnson trading an AR-15 assault rifle to Hudson in exchange for a Springfield XD 9mm pistol and $400 cash. Hudson coordinated for the transaction to happen in the parking lot of Royal Crest Apartments, according to the warrants. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — A Canton man has been sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas. Ashton Norris, 30, pleaded guilty on August 22, 2022, to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He was sentenced Thursday to 97 months in federal prison. According to information presented in court, on Oct. 4, 2021, Norris was stopped on I-20 in Van Zandt County for a defective license plate lamp. During the stop, it was discovered that Norris had an active warrant for his arrest out of Wood County and was placed under arrest. A search of his vehicle revealed a backpack with approximately 103 grams of methamphetamine. Norris was indicted by a federal grand jury on Dec. 5, 2021 on federal drug trafficking violations.
LONGVIEW — One person was injured in a shooting Wednesday morning near a Pine Tree ISD campus. According to the Longview Police Department and our news partner KETK , officers were called to the 1800 block of Pine Tree Road in response to a shooting. Officers spoke with the victim, who reportedly told them that the shooting happened near Pirate Avenue. “As an initial precaution, the Pine Tree campus close to the location went on lockdown,” Longview Police said. “This has already been lifted due to authorities finding no ties to this incident to the school campus.” The victim was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Police are on the scene and continuing the investigation.