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Photo by Chris Edwards/Tyler County Booster

Fiery wreck results in fatality

Photo by Chris Edwards/Tyler County Booster By Chris Edwards JASPER COUNTY – The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Troopers are investigating a fatal crash on U.S. Highway 69 near Rockland, that occurred on the evening of Tuesday, Dec. 5. The…

Inmate receives maximum sentence

From Enterprise Staff Michael Jackson, a Texas Department of Criminal Justice inmate in the Polunsky Unit in Livingston, was recently sentenced to 99 years and a $10,000 fine for the assault of a correctional officer at the Polunsky Unit. A Polk County jury found Jackson guilty of the offense of aggravated assault of a public servant following a…
Assualt STOCK

Suicide on Polk County highway

STOCK PHOTO One man is dead following a suicide on one of Polk County’s busiest roadways. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office received an emergency call last week from an elderly male, 93, stating he was on a golf cart on Highway 146 South with a firearm. The caller said he was going to commit suicide due to medical problems from which he was…
STOCK PHOTO

K9 assists in missing person search

TDCJ Sgt. Lonnie Baxter and officer Heath Fuller with “Toe.” PHOTO COURTESY OF TCSO From Staff Reports Last week, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, one of the Gib Lewis Unit canine officers, “Toe,” helped locate a missing woman. When the Tyler County Sheriff Bryan Weatherford requested assistance in locating a 64-year-old…
TDCJ Sgt. Lonnie Baxter and officer Heath Fuller with “Toe.” PHOTO COURTESY OF TCSO

Groveton splits on the court

Lady Indian Emma Alexander looks for a shot surrounded by Trinity players. Lady Tiger Mariah Lewis puts up a fast-break layout. Chanston Holland (No. 10) looks for room for the shot. Photos by Tony Farkas TCNS staff The Lady Indians traveled to the Wells Tournament this past weekend, losing two and winning one. On Thursday, Groveton played Bullard…
112323 trinity basketball

VFD battles house fire

Trinity VFD firefighters battle a blaze in the Lakewood Subdivision in the early morning hours of Nov. 14. Courtesy photos TCNS staff A home in the Lakewood Subdivision of Trinity was damaged after a fire broke out in the early morning hours of Nov. 14. Trinity Firefighters responded to the fire with four trucks and 14 firefighters, finding the…
112323 house fire

Livingston man arrested on murder charges

A Livingston man has been booked into the Jasper County Jail on a $1 million bond with the charge of murder. Jasper Police responded to a call at the Myrtis Village Apartments just off Highway 190 after 4 a.m. Saturday. Law enforcement found a woman dead, later identified as Rosalin Lewis, 24, of Jasper. Lewis was a cheerleading coach for youth…
112323 man arrested

Three injured in two crashes

A 2022 Dodge Ram pickup overturned after attempting to make a curve on FM 3188. Courtesy photo TCNS staff Texas Department of Public Safety Troopers are investigating a crash on Farm-to-Market Road 3188, near the 680-mile marker, that occurred Wednesday. Reports indicate that at approximately 8:40 p.m., a 2022 Dodge Ram pickup was traveling…
112323 crash 2

Lufkin District set to begin largest project yet

Special to the News-Times A pre-construction meeting was held last week at the Lufkin District Office, signaling the start of an 8-year construction project that will be the largest project to date for the district. Engineers, contractors, utility company representatives, consultants and other interested parties met to discuss the pending…
111223 road work

Warren’s Standley named to sports marketing team

Special to the Booster NACOGDOCHES – A team of three sports business students in Stephen F. Austin State University’s Rusche College of Business earned a spot in the final four of the Sport Marketing Association’s 2023 Case Study Competition in October at the SMA annual conference in Tampa Bay, Florida. Eli Standley of Warren, helped secure SFA a…
SportsMarketing STOCK

One convicted, another enters plea in Polk County District Court

From Enterprise Staff Two different juries handed down large sentences for Michael Bee Hodge who on May 11 was on a stolen motorcycle and failed to pull over, leading police on a chase through Livingston. When Hodge was cornered, he pulled a gun on an officer, compelling that officer to use deadly force. On Oct. 12, a jury convicted Hodge for…
Sentenced

ONE PILL KILLS

Educators, law enforcementspeak to fentanyl problem By Chris Edwardsnews@tylercountybooster.com SPURGER — Last September, Brandy Melo received a call that no parent wants to receive. One of her sons called her to inform her that her 13-year-old son Kaysen Villarreal was dead. Villarreal was the victim of an unintentional fentanyl overdose. The…
Fentanyl STOCK

Wreck kills mother, three children

By Emily Banks Wooteneditor@polkenterprise.com The investigation continues into a head-on collision that occurred Thursday night killing a young mother and three of her children and resulting in life-threatening injuries for a fourth child. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, a 2011 Buick Lucerne driven by Shemikia Brown, 34 of…
BrownFamily

FINAL UPDATE - Explosion at chemical plant wreaks havoc

PHOTO BY PAM NOBLES By Emily Banks Wooteneditor@polkenterprise.com An explosion attributed to a “forklift incident” at Sound Resource Solutions, an industrial chemical manufacturing plant located at 731 FM 1127 in Shepherd, wreaked havoc in East Texas Wednesday. A major highway was closed, a school district was evacuated and multiple other school…
PHOTO BY PAM NOBLES

TWO INJURED IN COLLISION

Two people sustained non-incapacitating injuries following a two-vehicle collision that occurred at 8:50 a.m. Tuesday in the intersection of North Washington Avenue and West Feagin Street in Livingston. A 2017 Dodge Durango driven by Jessica Thompson, 30 of Livingston, was traveling southbound in the 800 block of North Washington. A 2019 Ford…
11 9 car accident

‘Brother 2 Brother’ to play Emporium Stage

“Wild” Bill Spurlock and Randy C. Moore By Chris Edwardsnews@tylercountybooster.com WOODVILLE – Magic is bound to happen when you get two well-travelled, musically adventurous singer-songwriter/musician types together in the same room in a small town, right? Randy C. Moore and “Wild” Bill Spurlock are proof of that hypothetical. The two musicians…
“Wild” Bill Spurlock and Randy C. Moore

Update on injured officer

By Chris Edwardsnews@tylercountybooster.com WOODVILLE – Less than a month after Woodville police officer Troy Costello returned home from the hospital, after being shot during an incident in September, he is reportedly making great progress. According to Woodville Chief of Police Mike McCulley, Costello continues to improve “day to day while at…
Update STOCK

Pi (π) Day Celebration

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031223 food column two

Bite by Bite
Conquering My Culinary Bucket List One Dish at a Time
By Emily Banks Wooten

Sunday was the third anniversary of “Bite by Bite,” which I still find hard to believe. The first one appeared on Sunday, March 15, 2020 and was about pie since it ran the day following Pi Day. As time has gone by, I’ve made a point of earmarking the anniversary each year by going back to the beginning … and talking about pie.

So you’re not familiar with Pi Day? Well let’s bring you up to speed. Pi Day is an annual, international celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi). What is pi, you ask? When a circle’s circumference is divided by its diameter the answer is approximately 3.14 or pi. Always. Pi Day is observed on March 14 (3-14) because three, one and four are the first three significant digits of π. While Pi Day has generally been observed by math afficianadoes since it became a thing, over time it has been co-opted by pie-lovers. Get it? Pi Day … Pie Day. Hmmm. Now we’re talking.

As I wrote in that first “Bite by Bite,” once I discovered the existence of Pi Day I decided it was my responsibility – even perhaps my culinary duty – to observe it gleefully each year with a piece of pie and a cup of coffee. Pi Day usually falls during our daughter’s spring break and we’re often traveling on some getaway so it becomes my quest to find just the right place to have that celebratory, annual piece of pie.

One year it was a piece of pina colada icebox pie in Rosebud. One year it was a piece of Texas trash pie in Round Top. I typically think of sweet when I think of pie, but last year I decided to throw some savory pie into the mix as well. I observed Pi Day with a big piece of homemade classic chicken pot pie followed by a piece of creamy hazelnut pie. I think that made for a nice balance so I endeavored this year to come up with another savory pie, in addition to a sweet pie.

This issue will come out a few days before Pi Day. I planned that purposely to give you a couple days to think about what kind of pie you want to eat on March 14. For the savory version, we recently enjoyed a cheeseburger pie that was super easy and good too. It’s one of those recipes that you can easily tweak and make your own. For the sweet pie, I made a grapefruit lime pie that I saw Iron Chef Alex Guarnaschelli make on an episode of The Kitchen. I’ve always had a soft spot for grapefruit so I knew I must try this. It was light, refreshing and not at all too tangy as some might expect.

As usual, Pi Day falls during Daughter’s spring break, which this year, will be spent going on some college tours. Between you and me, however, I’m already scoping out potential places to enjoy the perfect slice of pie.

Cheeseburger Pie
From thepioneerwoman.com

-1 Tablespoon olive oil
-1 pound lean ground beef
-½ cup chopped yellow onion
-½ teaspoon kosher salt
-1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
-Nonstick cooking spray
-2 large eggs
-1 cup whole buttermilk, room temperature
-1 Tablespoon salted butter, melted
-½ cup all-purpose flour
-1 teaspoon baking powder
-1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
-Pickle slices, for serving
-Ketchup, for serving
-Burger sauce, for serving

•Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
•Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil, ground beef, onion, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until meat is browned and crumbly and onions are softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain any excess fat from the pan. Add the Worcestershire sauce and cook until absorbed, about 2 minutes more.
•Spray a 9-inch pie plate with nonstick cooking spray. Transfer the meat mixture to the pie plate.
•Whisk together the eggs, buttermilk and melted butter in a medium bowl until smooth. Add flour and baking powder; whisk until smooth. Pour over the hamburger mixture in the pie plate.
•Sprinkle all over with cheese. Bake until the top is browned and the center is set, about 25 minutes.
•Serve the pie in slices with pickles, ketchup and/or burger sauce alongside.

My notes:
—I think I’d omit the olive oil next time. As the ground beef cooks, it produces enough fat to cook the onions.
—Before I baked it, I topped it with some pickled jalapeno slices because we love jalapenos.
—We didn’t fool with pickles, ketchup or burger sauce because we just didn’t think it was necessary.

Grapefruit Lime Pie
By Alex Guarnaschelli

Crust:
-6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus additional for greasing
-1 ½ cups finely ground graham crackers (about 12 graham crackers) (see Cook's Note)
-¼ cup sugar
-½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
-½ teaspoon ground ginger
-Pinch of kosher salt

Filling:
-2 cups sweetened condensed milk
-½ cup sour cream
-½ cup fresh grapefruit juice
-2 Tablespoons fresh lime zest
-¼ cup fresh lime juice

To Serve:
-Fresh grapefruit segments from 1 pink grapefruit
-3 cups unsweetened whipped cream, optional

Make the crust:
•Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie dish with some melted butter and set aside.
•In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, a pinch of salt and the rest of the melted butter. The texture should resemble wet sand. Use the bottom of a glass or measuring cup to press the crust into an even layer on the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pie dish. Place the dish on a sheet pan and bake until the crust firms and browns lightly, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Make the filling:
•In a medium bowl, combine the condensed milk, sour cream, grapefruit juice, lime zest and lime juice.

Bake the pie:
•Pour the filling into the crust and jiggle the dish to smooth evenly. Place onto a sheet pan and bake in the center of the oven until firm, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for at least 2 hours. Chill in the fridge.

To serve:
•Cut the pie into wedges and serve with grapefruit segments and whipped cream if desired.

Cook’s Note:
— To make graham cracker crumbs, break the crackers into smaller pieces and place into a food processor. Pulse and then process into crumbs. Alternatively, put the crackers into a resealable plastic bag and use a rolling pin to crush into crumbs.

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