Lance Phillips, son of Smith County Precinct 3 Commissioner Terry Phillips was arrested this past week after an outburst during the public comment portion of the commissioner’s meeting. Phillips’ arrest on Tuesday (April 2) was the fourth time he had been taken to jail for disrupting a meeting or court proceeding. He was arrested this

With the assistance from the Arlington and Fort Worth police departments, the Smith County Sheriff’s Office was able to end a kidnapping involving county residents which occurred on Sunday, March 17, said spokesman Larry Christian. At approximately 4 p.m. on March 17, deputies responded to a report of a kidnapping in the 11700 block of

Smith County voters went to the polls on Tuesday, March 5 in the joint primary election and according to unofficial results the County Commissioner’s Court will see one change and possibly two concerning the body’s makeup. Precinct 3 incumbent Terry Phillips and challenger J. Scott Herod are headed for a runoff for the Republican nomination

The Center for Opinion Research at The University of Texas at Tyler conducted their latest public opinion poll of registered Texas voters Feb. 18–26, officials announced. Among findings were those related to candidate favorability, candidate preference in the Texas primaries and the general election, and voter perceptions of the most important issues in the campaign.

Largest wildfire in state history still raging A wildfire in the Texas Panhandle has consumed more than 1 million acres and as of Sunday was just 15% contained, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. It is the largest wildfire in Texas history. The Smokehouse Creek Fire is by far the most extensive of several

Early voting ends Friday Early voting in the March 5 primary election ends Friday with a host of candidates on the ballot in both parties, including president, U.S. Senate, all 38 Texas U.S. representatives, all 150 Texas House representatives, and down to local races for district attorney, sheriff and other positions. Check with your local

Federal judge appears skeptical of new border law A federal judge is expected to rule quickly on the constitutionality of a Texas law about to go into effect that institutes new state penalties for illegal border crossings. During a hearing last week, U.S. District Judge David Ezra said he had concerns that other states would

Early voting is under way in Smith County for the March 5 Joint Primary Elections at several areas in the county. The early voting period will continue through March 1. Local candidates that are on the ballot for the May 4 General Election include: • Gavin Rascoe, Place 5 Lindale City Council for Mayor; •

As the migrant crisis engulfs the border and the politics become increasingly complex and counterproductive, it is useful to remember the economic significance of our relationship with our southern neighbor. Let’s briefly explore. Trade between the United States and Mexico is crucial to both nations, and Texas has been the leading state for exports and

Pitch made for new power plants Lt. Gov Dan Patrick joined with the world’s largest investment firm to pitch investors on building natural gas power plants in Texas at a summit held last week in Houston. Patrick and BlackRock CEO Larry Fink shared the stage as they attempted to persuade investors to take advantage of