News

By Kevin Jefferies

Northeast Texas – Area police have been busy recently making several drug busts. The DPS found nearly $8,500 in suspected drug money this week after making a stop along Highway 19 near Sulphur Springs. Two Hugo men were stopped for speeding and had extensive criminal histories including drug convictions. The two were released without being charged.

In Franklin County, a State Trooper busted a pair of Arkansas men with 10 pounds of marijuana after a traffic stop Tuesday.

By Kevin Jefferies

Commerce – An inspector that will determine the Insurance Services Office, or ISO, rating for Commerce completed his inspection by early afternoon. The City of Commerce has been actively improving areas of its capability to protect citizens from fire for more than a year in hopes to improve the city's ISO rating. Currently Commerce sits at a rating of 6 on a 10 point scale, with 10 being the worst. City officials hope to improve that rating by at least two points, giving the city a 4 rating.

By Kevin Jefferies

Commerce – The City of Commerce remains in the Stage 1 of its drought contingency plan. The first of three stages asks for a voluntary cutback of water usage by all residents. Lake Tawakoni is the main source of water for Commerce and surrounding areas, and is now sitting over seven feet below normal levels.

Tips on conserving water can be found at the City of Commerce website at www.commerce-tx.com or by calling City Hall at 903.886.1100.

By Kevin Jefferies

Quinlan – A Quinlan man who tried, and failed, to rob a Wills Point bank in December is behind bars. 18-year-old Aaron Wade Doss is in custody facing eight robbery charges stemming from bank robberies beginning in October. Doss penned a five page confession for the FBI after finger prints left at one of the robberies led to his arrest. In total, Doss lifted about $50,000 from banks in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Garland, Mesquite, and Dallas. His attempted robbery of a bank in Wills Point didn't go so smooth, however.

By Kevin Jefferies

Northeast Texas – A brief storm blew through the area last night, but didn't do much to alleviate dry conditions in Northeast Texas. Pea to marble sized hail accompanied the storm as well as wind gusts up to 50mph. Smoke was reported in downtown Greenville and may have been blown in from huge grass fires in Oklahoma. About two-tenths of rain was reported to have fallen in the area.

By Kevin Jefferies

Canton – Canton High School Coach Gary Kinne has accepted a job as linebackers coach for Baylor University. Kinne recovered from a near-fatal shooting by a disgruntled parent last may and has lost 90% of his liver. He came back to lead the Eagles to a District 15-3A title and four rounds deep into the playoffs. Kinne was recently named Adams National Coach of the Year.

By Kevin Jefferies

Texas – Nine Texas counties where wildfires destroyed homes and blackened thousands of acres are included in a disaster declaration issued by President Bush.

The disaster declaration covers Callahan, Cooke, Eastland, Erath, Hood, Montague, Palo Pinto, Tarrant and Wise counties in North and West Texas.

A Red Flag warning has gone up for most of the area until Friday evening, as dry conditions, low humidity, and high winds continue. Outdoor burning bans persist all through north and east Texas.

By Kevin Jefferies

Terrell – Terrell City Council members will be reviewing charges of driving while intoxicated against the Terrell City Manager, according to the Terrell Tribune. Gordon Pierce was pulled over along U.S. Highway 80 last Saturday by a DPS trooper. He was later released on $1,500 bond.

By Kevin Jefferies

Hopkins County – Zero Tolerance. That's the policy adopted by the Hopkins County Commissioner's Court concerning burn ban violations. Hopkins County Judge Cletis Millsap said citations will be written for violations of the burn ban and the public is being asked to work with law enforcement and fire departments to not burn anything until the area sees relief from severe drought.

By Kevin Jefferies

Wills Point – An ex-Wills Point ISD employee has been indicted by the Van Zandt County Jury for theft of more than $225,000 from the school district. 64-year-old Shirley Oldacre had worked with the Wills Point ISD for more than 15 years before being charged with theft in December. Discrepancies were found after the Wills Point ISD switched to a new administrative computer system. An investigation revealed Oldacre had been issuing checks to herself from the school's general fund for nearly five years.