Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Titus, Camp, and Morris Counties has two new members of the organization, which advocates for the best interests of children who find themselves in the court system through no fault of their own. Jenni Harwood will serve as a Coach Advisor, and Sharon …

Justin Wayne Craig Gregg County Jail Officials set bond in Gregg County at $59,000 for 26-year-old Justin Wayne Craig of Gladewater. He’s charged with property theft between $2,500 and $30,000 and possession of between one and four grams of a controlled substance. They also held him on affidavits of incarceration …

John Sparks Smith County Jail A court sentenced an East Texas man to 37 years in prison for murdering a Tyler-Chapel Hill High School Senior last April. It came after 18-year-old John Sparks of Tyler pleaded guilty to killing 17-year-old Zane Collier. As part of the plea agreement, Sparks gave …

COVID-19 RESPONSE The number of active cases in Hopkins County maintains a range of 30 to 70, and we currently have 47 actives in Hopkins County. The state recently tested 483 people at the civic center, and I expect an increase in active cases over the next few days. We …

Diboll Lumberjacks Diboll ISD announced that several student-athletes and other members of the student body had attended a party over the weekend and are now exhibiting symptoms related to COVID-19. The district notified those student’s parents and sent the students home. The district canceled this week’s JV football Thursday, Varsity …

  The Hopkins County COVID-19 Update for September 2 shows three new positive cases and 0 recoveries. There have now been 249 cumulative cases, 202 total recoveries, and currently 47 active cases and four patients in the COVID Unit at Christus Mother Frances Hospital – Sulphur Springs. Positive antigen tests …

On August 24, 2020, Paris Police, along with the Paris Fire Department, responded to a possible Haz-Mat incident in the 3500-block of Lamar Ave. The report reflects that the business personnel had received a return box of merchandise from an individual. The package of the merchandise contained a letter addressed …

 In the Eastern District of Texas, U.S. Attorney Stephen J. Cox charged two North Texas men with child exploitation crimes. The court charged David Pettigrew, 48, of Denison, and Chad Michael Rider, 46, of Anna, in an indictment returned by a grand jury to sexually exploit children (also referred to …

  The state is extending SNAP food benefits for September. It means more than 972,000 households eligible for food benefits will see the additional amount on their Lone Star card by September 15th. SNAP is a federal program that provides food assistance to around 1.4 million eligible low-income families in …

  Brookings Institute economists predict that the pandemic could result in 300 thousand to half-a-million fewer births next year. A decline in birthrate could hurt the economy in the long term, as smaller workforces must takeover the cost to care for aging populations.