East Texans donate Christmas decorations to Gilmer family who lost theirs in tornado

“It needs to be a voice that is from this community and has experienced the things we have experienced in this community. And so I want to be an advocate for the people who often feel like they’re not heard,” one candidate said.

“Normally a quiet event, a personal event where you are making a contribution to support an organization, on East Texas Giving Day we want that to be a little more boisterous,” said Kyle Penney, the President of ETCF.

“We went back to the community and you know we obviously, we still have needs that we need to address and we want to listen to the community,” said Superintendent Terry Waldrep about calling for another bond.

The legal team for convicted serial killer William Davis had a motion filed against them by Smith County District Court Judge Austin Reeve Jackson Thursday. Davis was convicted in 2021 of murdering multiple patients while he worked as a nurse at a Tyler hospital.

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month and nonprofits across East Texas are hosting events throughout the month to raise money and awareness. “It’s not that abuse is increasing, it’s that more of it’s coming to light, more kids are being educated, more adults are being equipped to report or to prevent abuse,” said Children’s Advocacy Center of Smith County Communications Manager Emily Taylor.

“We make it affordable for a family to come out on a Friday or Saturday night. Normally we’re full both nights. We’re sold out. Going to have two sections of mutton busting, stick horse race, boot scramble, a lot of stuff for kids,” says rodeo wrangler Julio Arriola.