By Scott Harvey

Commerce – The Commerce Brookshire's, just one day after suffering major damage from a botched burglary attempt, is back open for business.

Burglars on Monday were unsuccessful in opening the store's safe after gaining entry through the roof.

The facility has been under construction since early this year for renovations to the outside and entrance design, plus new floor and new appliance installation.

By Brad Kellar

Greenville – A court hearing is scheduled today for a Caddo Mills man charged with murder. Randall Douglas Smith has pleaded not guilty in the killing of Gregory Poteet, also of Caddo Mills.

Trial is set for next Monday. A final pretrial hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.

Smith is currently free on $150,000 bond.

An autopsy report indicates Poteet died as the result of multiple gunshot wounds last September. Poteet was found dead in his pickup truck in the 4000 block of CR 2632.

By Scott Harvey

Hunt County – Hunt County officials are investigating a structure fire that originally occurred and was put out Sunday afternoon, then destroyed early Monday morning.

"The Fire that Commerce FD called me out on is currently being investigation. [Then] approximately 3 o'clock this morning I was called back out to the same house, the same scene, and the house is totally destroyed now," said Hunt County Fire Marshall Richard Hill.

The fire could have rekindled, or a second fire was started, according to Hill.

By Scott Harvey

Greenville (12:20 p.m.) – Upon further review, officials have declared Sue Davis the winner of the Commerce City Council Place 4 seat, winning by two votes.

Davis had requested a recount last week after the initial figures indicated she was defeated by Incumbent Bob Monday by one vote, 236-235.

But Monday morning's recount at the Hunt County Voter Administration Office indicated three ballots were counted incorrectly, giving Davis the victory 238-236.

By Brent Lyday

Commerce – Northeast Texas writers will gather in Commerce on Saturday, June 12 for the free "Show, Don't Tell" workshop that marks the first anniversary of the Silver Leos Writing Club. Participants will be showing, instead of telling the readers what transpires in creative fiction and nonfiction.

By Scott Harvey

Austin – Jack Colley, head of the DPS Texas Division of Emergency Management, died Sunday at the age of 62.

A DPS statement Monday announced Colley had been in the hospital after suffering a heart attack earlier this month.

During his 12-plus years with the DPS, Colley was involved in the response and recovery to many of Texas' largest incidents, disasters and emergencies, including the Space Shuttle Columbia crash (2003), Hurricane Rita (2005) and Hurricane Ike (2008).

By Scott Harvey

– More than $365,000 in federal grant funding has been awarded to two area volunteer fire departments.

In a release by U.S. Senator John Cornyn, The Josephine and Union Valley VFD's will receive a grant of $190,000 and $175,750, respectively.

According to Cornyn, the funding can be used for training and support operations, and to purchase firefighter safety and rescue equipment.

By Scott Harvey

Commerce (4:23 p.m.) – A Commerce business, in the midst of a major remodeling effort, suffers both exterior and interior damage after burglars broke into the facility early Monday morning.

By Brad Kellar

Greenville – The search is underway for a new Greenville Police Chief. The search is going to be done in-house, with the process of determining a finalist beginning this week.

Greenville City Manager Steven Alexander had intended to begin the formal panel presentations and interviews of the four candidates Monday. If they are not done Monday, the four applicants will at least be undergoing a test as part of the process.

By Scott Harvey

Greenville – As the warm weather season continues to encroach upon the region, residents are looking to make the most of the situation by vacationing.

Area cities are hard at work to showcase their attractions, hoping to increase visitor numbers and boost revenue. And in Greenville and Commerce, talks are underway to leverage the attractions of both cities to bring in more visitors.