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June 26, 2024 - (Update - 3:18pm): Severe Thunderstorm Watch 465 remains valid until 7pm CDT this evening for the following areas: in Arkansas this watch includes one county, in south central Arkansas - Union; in Louisiana this watch includes 13 parishes, in north central Louisiana - Caldwell, Grant, Jackson, La Salle, Lincoln, Ouachita, Union, and Winn. In northwest Louisiana - Bienville, De Soto, Natchitoches, Red River, and Sabine.
In Texas this watch includes six counties, in northeast Texas - Angelina, Cherokee, Nacogdoches, Sabine, San Augustine, and Shelby.
This includes the cities of Arcadia, Bernice, Center, Clarks, Colfax, Columbia, Coushatta, Dry Prong, El Dorado, Farmerville, Gibsland, Grayson, Hemphill, Jacksonville, Jena, Jonesboro, Logansport, Lufkin, Mansfield, Many, Martin, Midway, Monroe, Montgomery, Nacogdoches, Natchitoches, Olla, Pineland, Pleasant Hill, Ringgold, Rusk, Ruston, San Augustine, Stonewall, Winnfield, and Zwolle.
Severe Thunderstorm Watch 465 is in effect until 7pm CDT for the following locations:
Texas counties included are: Angelina, Cherokee, Gregg, Harrison, Marion, Nacogdoches, Panola, Rusk, Sabine, San Augustine, Shelby, Smith, Upshur, and Wood.
June 26, 2024 - Governor Greg Abbott Tuesday, June 25, 2024, announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved seven additional Texas counties for the Federal Disaster Declaration for severe weather and flooding that began on April 26. With this FEMA approval of 7 new counties for Public Assistance programs, qualifying entities in 48 total counties are now eligible to apply.
"The approval of seven additional counties to the Federal Disaster Declaration will help ensure communities impacted by severe weather have the financial assistance they need to rebuild and recover,” said Governor Abbott. "I thank the Texas Division of Emergency Management for working tirelessly with our federal partners to provide all necessary resources and support their fellow Texans. Together, we will ensure Texans and impacted communities are able to move forward from recent severe weather."
FEMA approved its Public Assistance program for public infrastructure repairs and emergency work for 7 additional counties, including: Coke, Fannin, Lynn, Panola, San Augustine, Shelby, and Sterling. FEMA’s Public Assistance program may cover jurisdictional expenses for debris removal, emergency protective measures, roads and bridges, water control facilities, public buildings and contents, public utilities, parks, recreational, and other facilities.
Qualifying entities in the following counties are now eligible for FEMA’s Public Assistance program: Austin, Bell, Bosque, Brown, Caldwell, Calhoun, Clay, Coleman, Concho, Coke, Cooke, Coryell, Eastland, Falls, Fannin, Freestone, Grimes, Hamilton, Hardin, Harris, Hockley, Houston, Jasper, Lamar, Lampasas, Lee, Leon, Liberty, Limestone, Lynn, Madison, Mills, Montgomery, Newton, Panola, Polk, Roberston, San Augustine, San Jacinto, San Saba, Shelby, Sterling, Terrell, Trinity, Tyler, Walker, Waller, and Washington counties. The Governor’s request for Public Assistance for 35 additional Texas counties is still pending review by FEMA.
To date, FEMA has approved its Individual Assistance program for 35 counties. Qualifying Texans in the following counties are eligible to apply: Austin, Bell, Calhoun, Collin, Cooke, Coryell, Dallas, Denton, Eastland, Ellis, Falls, Guadalupe, Hardin, Harris, Henderson, Hockley, Jasper, Jones, Kaufman, Lamar, Leon, Liberty, Montague, Montgomery, Navarro, Newton, Polk, San Jacinto, Smith, Terrell, Trinity, Tyler, Van Zandt, Walker, and Waller counties. Texans can apply for FEMA disaster assistance online at disasterassistance.gov or by calling 800-621-3362.
FEMA’s Individual Assistance program provides funding for expenses such as temporary housing, emergency home repairs, uninsured and underinsured personal property losses, disaster legal services, disaster unemployment assistance, and medical, dental, and funeral expenses caused by the disaster. The Governor’s request for Individual Assistance for Anderson, Bosque, Nacogdoches, Panola, Rusk and Sabine counties remains under review by FEMA.
Governor Abbott continues to take action to provide all available resources to help support local communities from the impacts of severe weather, including:
• Readying state emergency response resources on April 25 ahead of wildfire and severe weather threats.
• Issuing a disaster declaration on April 30 for counties affected by recent storms and deploying additional state emergency response resources in anticipation of severe weather and flooding. The Governor first
amended his disaster declaration on May 2, updated it further on May 7, amended it again on May 15, added additional counties on May 20, made additional updates on May 26,
added five counties on May 30, amended the declaration on June 5, and made an update on June 13.
• Increasing the readiness level of the State Emergency Operations Center to help support local officials with requests for state assistance.
• Holding a briefing on May 6 with local and state officials from impacted areas and providing an update on the state’s robust response efforts in support of local communities.
• Requesting a Federal Disaster Declaration on May 15 for Texas communities impacted by severe storms.
• Securing partial approval of a Federal Disaster Declaration on May 17 for areas of the state affected by severe weather.
• Requesting additional counties be added to the Federal Disaster Declaration on May 19 for Texas communities impacted by severe storms.
• Providing an update on the state’s response and recovery efforts in impacted communities.
• Securing additional approvals for Texas counties in the Federal Disaster Declaration.
• Ensuring additional impacted Texas counties were included in the Federal Disaster Declaration.
• Securing additional approvals in the Federal Disaster Declaration for Texas communities impacted by severe weather and flooding.
• Obtaining approvals for more counties on the Federal Disaster Declaration for impacted communities.
• Ensuring additional communities impacted by severe weather were added to the Federal Disaster Declaration.
June 25, 2024 - 'Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot' will be playing at the Rio Theatre Friday, July 5, 2024 through Tuesday, July 9, 2024.
Showtimes each night is 7:30pm and the feature is rated PG-13. Our very own Donna and Rev. Martin of Possum Trot are being highlighted for the work they started on helping children in need in the foster care system. The premiere will be hosted by Angel Studios at the RIO Theatre on July 2, 2024 by INVITATION ONLY.
'Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot' is to launch In Theaters everywhere starting July 4th.
The film shares a powerful true story of a community that committed to fight for vulnerable kids in their Region.
(Provo, UT - May 21, 2024) Angel Studios is honored to announce that SOUND OF HOPE: THE STORY OF POSSUM TROT will launch in wide theatrical release starting July 4, 2024. The film is directed by Joshua Weigel and stars Nika King (Euphoria), Demetrius Grosse (Justified, The Rookie), and Elizabeth Mitchell (Outer Banks, Lost). The film was executive produced by Letitia Wright (Marvel’s Black Panther, The Silent Twins, Surrounded) for 3.16 Productions, and written and produced by Joshua and Rebekah Weigel for Peacetree Productions.
“I was told about the Martin family in Possum Trot, Texas a few years ago. Immediately I was moved by their compassion and love towards helping children within the foster care system,” said Wright. “I found a similar feeling of purpose and desire for change alongside the director and writer who have known the Martins for many years. This film will connect to hearts all over the world and will bring real impact and change for children not only in America but across the world.”
Inspired by the powerful true story, SOUND OF HOPE: THE STORY OF POSSUM TROT follows Donna and Reverend Martin as they ignite a fire in the hearts of their rural church to embrace kids in the foster system that nobody else would take. By doing the impossible –adopting 77 children– this East Texas community called “Possum Trot” proved that, with real, determined love, the battle for America’s most vulnerable can be won.
“SOUND OF HOPE: THE STORY OF POSSUM TROT is the sound of a courageous little church standing up and fighting for children who are being exploited and abused,” said writer/producer Rebekah Weigel. “There are more than 100,000 kids languishing in the foster system in America that need a family, and their deep cry for healing will be heard through this film. It’s time to follow this community’s lead, across this nation and around the world. We are so excited to partner with Angel Studios to ignite the movement to end the foster crisis.”
“Last year, Angel Studios started on a mission to help kids by shining a light on child trafficking. This year, SOUND OF HOPE shines a light on a solution,” shares Jared Geesey, Chief Distribution Officer of Angel Studios, “An issue this big deserves a big release date. With hundreds of thousands of local churches and civic organizations in America, there are more than enough resources to ensure every child has a safe and loving home.”
June 24, 2024 - Updated: Calzada was located safe in Juarez, Mexico. She has been transported to an El Paso, TX law enforcement facility where she is waiting to be reunited with her family.
June 24, 2024 - The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the whereabouts of Alexis Calzada, 23, of Center.
Calzada is described as a white female, 5’6”, weighing 220 pounds with brown hair, blue eyes and short hair. She has a tattoo on her left forearm with the name Dub Coyle surrounded in angel wings.
She was last seen in Sweetwater, TX on June 22, 2024 at 8:41 a.m., wearing pink fuzzy slippers and carrying a mint green backpack. Calzada’s belongings arrived on a Greyhound bus in Dallas over the weekend; however, she was not on the bus.
Anyone with information on her whereabouts is urged to contact the Nolan County Sheriff’s Office at 325-235-5471 or SCSO Chief Deputy Chad Hooper at 936-572-5045.
June 20, 2024 - The water on Denning Rural WSC no longer requires boiling.
On June 16, 2024, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality required the Denning Rural Water Supply, #2030004, to issue a Boil Water Notice to inform customers, individuals or employees that due to conditions which occurred recently in the public water system, the water from this public water system was required to be boiled prior to use for drinking water or human consumption purposes.
Denning Rural Water Supply has taken the necessary corrective actions to restore the quality of the water distributed by this public water system used for drinking water or human consumption purposes and has provided TCEQ with laboratory test results that indicate that the water no longer requires boiling prior to use as of June 20, 2024.
If you have questions concerning this matter, you may contact the office:
220 West Columbia Street
San Augustine, Texas.
936-288-0489 or Charles Sharp 936-201-5001.
Thank you for your patience and cooperation.
If a customer, individual or employee wishes to contact the executive director, please call (512)239-4691.
June 17, 2024 - Until Further Notice - Due to a electrical issues at the Plant [on June 16], the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has required the Denning RuralWater System PWS #2030004 to notify ALL customers to boil their water prior to consumption (eg., washing hands/ face, brushing teeth, drinking, etc). Children, seniors and persons with weakened immune systems are particularly vulnerable to harmful bacteria, and all customers should follow these directions.
To ensure destruction of all harmful bacteria and other microbes, water for drinking, cooking and ice making should be boiled and cooled prior to use for drinking water or human consumption purposes. The water should be brought to a vigorous rolling boil and then boiled for two minutes.
In lieu of boiling, individuals may purchase bottled water or obtain water from some other suitable source for drinking water or human consumption purposes.
When it is no longer necessary to boil the water, the public water system officials will notify customers that the water is safe for drinking water or human consumption purposes.
Once the boil water notice is no longer in effect, the public water system will issue a notice to customer that rescinds the boil water notice in a manner similar to this notice.
Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received the notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.
If you have questions concerning this matter, you may contact Denning Rural Water System at 220 W. Columbia Street, San Augustine, Texas, 75972, or call 936-288-0489
or Charles Sharp at 936-201-5001.
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) can also be reached at 512-239-4691.
June 19, 2024 - (Update - 1:20pm): The tree has been removed and the street is open to traffic again as of 1:20pm.
A portion of Tenaha Street in Center is shutdown as of 11:50am as workers clear a tree from the side of the roadway which appears to be a threat of falling.
The project is expected to take approximately 20 minutes before the roadway will be open to traffic again as Hamm’s construction Company takes down the tree.
Expect delays as traffic is diverted at Fannin and Kennedy.
June 18, 2024 - The Shelby County Commissioners moved forward with the Texas Association of Counties (TAC) Blue Cross Blue Shield group health insurance plan for 2025 for the county during their June 12, 2024 meeting.
County Judge Allison Harbison commented their is an 8.9% increase in the expense of the plan; however, Judge Harbison said this is an increase other counties have already had to contend with for a longer period of time.
Clint Porterfield, County Auditor, referenced some detailed information provided for the commissioners to consider.
“You can see that in some of your data that for last year, or the year that was focused on, the TAC paid out one million more dollars in claims than money we paid in to the program. So we can see rather that our formula is going to be skewed from the full average because of that. And that's also what happened with the previous year. So we've had some high cost claims here in the last couple of years,” said Porterfield.
Porterfield commented that Shelby County has a good plan for medical an prescription coverage, and that the increase will be a $95,000 increase to the county’s budget with an average of 100 to 110 employees on health insurance.
Commissioner McSwain moved to approve the insurance plan, keep the same co-pay and keep the plan as-is. His motion was seconded by Commissioner Jimmy Lout and the motion carried.
“The sad part about this, we know we're restricted by the state on how much we revenue we can raise each year and this will take about a fourth of our new revenue that we can raise,” said Commissioner McSwain. “But it's a good investment”
The commissioners heard report from Eric Carver with Axley & Rode, LLP. on the Fiscal Year 2023 Financial Report for Shelby County. (Click here to review the report)
Carver provided a favorable report with one concern annually brought to the commissioners’ attention.
“We do have a deficiency would bring your attention, we've talked about it for years, it's really your JPs, there's a vulnerability on this there just because you don't have two or three people in the office. I'm not saying do anything different. It's just be aware there's a financial risk because you have one person sort of controlling the entire financial process related to this,” said Carver. “And y'all monitor and we detect something after the fact but you don't have the preventative in place with multiple people. Again, I'm just making y'all aware of it. I've heard that before nothing new. I'm not recommending really changing things, just be aware of that at least.”
Commissioner Roscoe McSwain moved to accept the report, and the motion was seconded by Commissioner Tom Bellmyer. The motion carried.
The commissioners approved giving permission for Pct 2 and Pct 3 Commissioner to access private property on CR 2335 to relocate debris.
Commissioner Lout moved to approve an agreement discussed by County Attorney John Price, and Commissioner Stevie Smith seconded the motion. The motion carried.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:24am.
Agenda items approved during the meeting include: 1. Minutes of May 1, 2024 Special meeting, May 8, 2024 Regular meeting, May 15, 2024 Special meeting, May 22, 2024 Special meeting, and May 29, 2024 Special meeting of the Shelby County Commissioner’s Court. 2. Pay weekly expenses. 3. Officers Report. 4. Shelby County Fiscal Year 2023 Annual Financial Report by Eric Carver, C.P.A. with Axley & Rode, LLP. 5. Texas Association of Counties Blue Cross Blue Shield Group Health Insurance plan for FY2025. 6. Permission for Pct 2 and Pct 3 Commissioner to access private property on CR 2335 to relocate debris. 7. Adjourn. Agenda items tabled during the meeting include: 1. Review and possibly award bid for four (4) day cab haul trucks for the Road and Bridge Department.
June 18, 2024 - (Update): Center Police Department booking information indicates Tameka Landon, 51, was arrested and charged with manslaughter, felony 3, on June 16, 2024 and was transferred to the Shelby County Jail on June 17, 2024.
According to information from the Center Police Department responded to a 911 call at 910 Twilight Lane in reference to a disturbance on June 15, 2024, at approximately 10:23pm
While officers were en-route, 911 communications remained on the line with the caller, and instructed the caller on life-saving measures.
Center PD Officers arrived to find a male subject, later identified as Darrion Landon, 42, of Center, laying on the floor with blood around him, and a female subject, later identified as Tameka Landon, 51, of Center administering life-saving measures.
Officers took over life-saving measures, by applying pressure to a stab wound to slow the bleeding. Allegiance EMS arrived and took over from the officers.
Darrion Landon was transported to the Center ER in critical condition, where he was later pronounced deceased.
During the preliminary investigation this was found to be an isolated incident between two people, and there is no fear of further violence to the public.
Tameka Landon was placed in custody and transported to the Center PD Holding facility for questioning.
This is an ongoing, active investigation, and further details will be released when available.
June 18, 2024 - The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the whereabouts of Willie Woods, Jr., 28, of Timpson. Woods is described as a 6’0” black male and weighs approximately 200 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes.
Woods has active warrants for Theft by Deception.
The SCSO is seeking assistance from the public in locating Woods. If you have any information regarding his whereabouts, please contact the SCSO (936) 598-5601, or Captain DJ Dickerson (936) 572-0255.
If anyone is found to be hindering the apprehension, harboring or concealing, providing or aiding with any means of avoiding arrest or effecting escape, or warns Woods of impending discovery or apprehension, will be arrested and charged in accordance with Penal Code 38.05, Hindering Apprehension or Prosecution, a Felony 3 offense.
June 17, 2024 - State Highway 7 East (SH7E) and SL 500 was the scene of a two-vehicle crash on June 6, 2024, involving a passenger car and an 18-wheeler.
According to the Center Police Department, at 1:45pm a white 2020 International truck tractor owned by American Leasing and driven by John Beverly, 64, of Dallas was westbound on SH7E The 18-wheeler ran a stop sign when he failed to observe the sign due to an alarm on his dashboard at SL 500 and collided with a silver 2014 Chevrolet passenger car driven by Yolanda Bledsoe, 41, of Center.
Neither driver was reported to have been injured involving the crash; however a passenger, Jacorey Atkins, 24, was transported by EMS to Nacogdoches Medical Center - Shelby Emergency Department for medical evaluation.
No citations were issued.
The crash was investigated by Officer Conner Gilpatrick, assisted by Officers Billy Lusk and Bobby Hudnall.
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