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The student accused of threatening to shoot his classmates and teachers at Port Neches-Groves High School in April will go to trial in February.

While Beaumont ISD has said it is under pressure to make a decision about the future of Central High School, an exception to the state's extracurricular governing board's policies could give the district another year to make up its mind. Officials said at a meeting last month that they needed to decide the number of high schools and what their enrollment numbers would be for the next two years by the end of January to meet the deadline for placement in UIL classes, which are set to be announced in February for 2018-19 and 2019-20.

A Kountze man charged with capital murder in a 4-year-old girl's 2011 killing will go to trial early next year and could face the death penalty if convicted, Hardin County's District Attorney said.
David Sheffield said jury selection in 40-year-old Jason Wade Delacerda's capital murder trial is scheduled to begin on Jan. 9.
Sheffield is seeking the death penalty for Delacerda, who was indicted in 2011 along with his then-girlfriend Amanda Nichole Guidry, 36, in connection with her daughter's death.
Breonna Nichole Loftin, 4, died at a Beaumont hospital on Aug. 17, 2011.

A contract worker killed on Friday at the Beaumont Exxon Mobil refinery died after she was struck by a piece of piping, according to a lawsuit filed by her parents this week.
Yesenia Espinoza, 31, was working for Echo Maintenance on a construction project at the refinery when she was killed.
In the suit, filed in Jefferson County on Monday, Houston attorney Mynor "Eddie" Rodriguez alleges that Exxon Mobil, Bechtel and Echo Maintenance were negligent and caused Espinoza's wrongful death.
The petition alleges that the piping that hit Espinoza was "improperly rigged and handled" by the companies

The annual Tree of Angels ceremony was held at the Jefferson County Courthouse Tuesday. Families gathered around the Christmas tree, hanging ornaments to honor and remember loved ones lost to violent crime.
Sponsored by the Jefferson County Victims Assistance Center, the tradition was started by People Against Violent Crime Executive Advisor Verna Lee in 1991.
The event not only memorializes those lost, but serves as grief support for families coping with their losses during the holiday season.

Eight Southeast Texas organizations received a total of $1.1 million Tuesday for Harvey-related projects from the Golden Pass Hurricane Harvey Recovery Fund on Tuesday.