By Brad Kellar

Commerce – The second of two Commerce men, alleged to have burglarized a residence last December, is placed on probation.

Edward Joe Lopez had been scheduled for trial Monday.

Lopez, along with Favian Ontoin Brown were alleged to have used a firearm to threaten and rob two male victims of money in Commerce in June, 2008.

By Scott Harvey

Van Zandt County – Reports have surfaced that a Van Zandt County resident, no older than 50 years of age, has died from swine flu.

This would be the first H1N1 fatality in East Texas. No other information was immediately available.

In a related note, representatives from 35 counties in East Texas attended an all-day flu summit in Tyler this week to stay on top of issue. More than 200 people were on hand for the event, including elected officials, health care workers, and emergency responders.

By Scott Harvey

Sulphur Springs – An early morning fire in Sulphur Springs required the services of city and county firefighters to the El Portrillo restaurant on the north service road.

Smoke was reportedly coming from the building. The fire appears to have been confined to the kitchen and a storage area.

There were no reports of any injuries, nor if anyone was in the building when the blaze started. The amount of damage had not yet been determined.

By Scott Harvey

Hunt County – That thick cloud of black smoke visible from the Hunt County sky Wednesday turned out to be a pile of burning tires north of Greenville.

The blaze was believed to have in turn ignited a grass fire which scorched about 40 acres and required personnel from two fire departments to extinguish.
No injuries were reported.

The smoke was visible from away as far north as Wolfe City and as far south as Cash.

By Mary Lou Hazal

Commerce – The Gee Library at Texas A&M University-Commerce has received a $72,866 grant from the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

The funding enables the Special Collections Department to continue a project with 11 area libraries in the Northeast Texas region. The project allows for the digitization of local history artifacts and African-American history and making them accessible online.

It was among five grants approved for area libraries and regional library systems across the state.

This Day in History: Wednesday, September 9, 2009.

This Day in History

This Day in History: Wednesday, September 9, 2009.

The 2nd Annual HMC takes place Saturday, September 12 at the Cotton Bowl. Listen to this year's press conference, held at Dallas City Hall.

Harvey Martin Classic Press Conference

The 2nd Annual HMC takes place Saturday, September 12 at the Cotton Bowl. Listen to this year's press conference, held at Dallas City Hall.

By Brad Kellar

Greenville – A Greenville man is facing prison time on multiple felony counts from a string of alleged crimes in October, 2008.

19-year-old Darrell Obrien Jackson has been indicted on two counts of aggravated robbery, two counts of engaging in organized crime and one count of aggravated kidnapping.

All are first degree felonies, each punishable by a maximum sentenced upon conviction from five to 99 years to life in prison.

By Scott Harvey

KETR Newscast 9-09-09

Criticism made about new CISD sex offender policy that allows parent offenders to attend child's event; South Texas man going to prison after pleading guilty to Hunt County DWI charge; Greenville man facing prison time on multiple felony counts; Bonham ISD receives grant; Collin County bus driver fired after crashing bus with 16 students on board into house.

By Brad Kellar

Greenville – A South Texas man avoided going to prison Tuesday after pleading guilty to a felony DWI charge in Hunt County. 43-year-old Brian Lee Koenig wasn't so lucky, however, when it came to the fine.