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EAST TEXAS — As Texas’ labor force reached record high numbers of over 15.9 million people in 2025, three East Texan cities saw changes in employment and unemployment rates.

On Friday, the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) announced that the Texas civilian labor force has grown to a total of 15,938,000 people registered after adding 59,900 people since September 2025. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Texas is registered at 4.2%. In East Texas, the Longview metropolitan statistical area (MSA) saw an increase in employment while Texarkana MSA and Tyler MSA saw increases in both employment and unemployment since 2024.

Tyler’s unemployment rate currently sits at 4%, the lowest of the three East Texas cities. Longview and Texarkana rates compare at 4.6% and 4.4%, respectively.

“Texas’ increasing job numbers are encouraging, and it’s vital that these are good jobs that provide family-sustaining wages and benefits for Texas workers,” Alberto Treviño III, the TWC Commissioner Representing Labor said. “We must continue to prioritize investments in skills training and development to ensure that all Texans can access these opportunities and share in the state’s prosperity.” Continue reading Unemployment rates reported for East Texas

OVERTON — Overton is appealling the Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT) order to remove horseshoe-shaped road markings from Warren Street.

According to our news partner KETK, the appeal process officially began Thursday after TxDOT directed the city to remove the markings, saying they do not comply with a new order from Gov. Greg Abbott requiring the removal of nonstandard surface markings from Texas roadways. TxDOT notified the city by email on Dec. 8 that the horseshoe markings needed to be removed as soon as possible, citing letters sent in October to all affected cities and counties. The City of Overton said they never received the October letter.

On Dec. 18, the Overton City Council voted to formally appeal the decision, arguing that the horseshoes represent the city’s school mascot, the Mustang, and have been painted on Warren Street since the early 1990s. Continue reading Horseshoe markings ordered removed

LONGVIEW – Longview City Council officially approved a contract to repair the public pool at the Paula Martin Jones recreation center on Thursday. The pool first closed in March of 2025 but was closed again after leaking issues continued in the pool’s gutter system. At their meeting on Thursday, city council approved a $417,000 contract with Sunbelt Pools, Inc. of Dallas to repair the pool.

“Our aquatics consultant worked with us on the Stanford pool. They actually have walked through the facility,” Longview Parks and Recreation Department director John Albertson said. “They’ve looked at everything that we’ve recommended, and they agreed that those were necessary repairs to make in order to get it back operational.”

The repairs are expected to start in the next few weeks and could take up to six months before they’re finished, according to our news partner KETK.

SMITH COUNTY – A man wanted on a drug-related warrant was apprehended during a routine speeding stop in Smith County. Authorities also found evidence of a money laundering scheme, a firearm, and almost $30,000 in cash. On December 28, Smith County deputies pulled over a car on Highway 31 East and identified Tyler James Starling, the driver. Starling was wanted on an active warrant for possessing about ten pounds of marijuana that had allegedly been smuggled and left at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. After Starling was placed under arrest, deputies searched his car and found a handgun, a cellphone, and $29,528 in cash.
Continue reading Traffic stop uncovers laundering scheme

TYLER — Thursday night officially marked the start of preparations for the upcoming 93rd annual Texas Rose Festival during the annual Winter Gala, where this year’s theme and the Rose Queen were announced.

During the gala at the Willow Brook Country Club, it was announced that the theme of the 93rd festival will be ‘Celebrations through the Seasons,’ on which the floats, decorations and dresses for the festival will be based. According to our news partner KETK, during the gala, Miss Claire Ann Malone, who has a generational family connection to the parade, was named the queen of the 93rd Rose Parade.

“I’m the seventh in our family and my mom was queen, so it’s really special to kind of do what she did at her age when she did it in 1996,” Malone said. “It’s just really special to me, and it means a lot, and I’m excited to be a representative of the city that I grew up in.”

The gala was just the start of Rose Parade preparations, with more events leading up to the 93rd Texas Rose Festival Parade on Oct. 17.

 

GREGG COUNTY — A suspect in connection with the 2012 fatal shooting in Longview has been extradited from Mexico to face trial. Longview Police Department Public Information Officer LaDarian Brown confirmed Jose Amaro Olivarez has been extradited to face trial after being charged with murder due to allegedly killing Francisco Roque in 2012.

According to our news partner KETK, Roque was allegedly shot by Olivarez several times in the 800 Block of Dalston Avenue following an argument between the two. Roque, who was 38 at the time, was later taken to a local hospital, where he died due to his wounds.

Olivarez, who was 26 years old at the time, fled the scene before officers arrived and was last seen in a 1998 Ford Van prior to his arrest. Olivarez was booked into the Smith County Jail on Tuesday before being taken to the Gregg County Jail on Wednesday.

TYLER — Arrest documents detail the moment a 23-year-old man was shot five times outside a Tyler nightclub on Dec. 28 in what the Smith County Sheriff’s Office claims involved the West Side Rolling 60’s Crips gang. According to our news partner KETK, Aaron Gordon Johnson Jr. arrived at The Valley Blues Club on Dec. 28, 2025, with his two half-brothers. Smith County records indicate he had a 9mm Glock 19, but had left the firearm in his vehicle.

Johnson told investigators that while inside the club Westside gang members attempted to start problems with him and his half-brothers. At that point, he decided to return to his car so he could drive to the club entrance and pick them up but said he was being followed by gang members.

When the car failed to start, he retrieved the gun from the vehicle, placed it in his waistband and began walking back toward the club. Continue reading Nightclub victim shot 5 times

WOOD COUNTY — A man was arrested for theft as deputies investigate multiple burglaries in the Alba area. According to our news partner KETK, Wood County Sheriff’s Office deputies were sent to a suspicious persons call in rural Alba on Dec. 31 of last year. Deputies found Dillon Bell walking down the middle of the road, in an area that had several burglaries recently.Investigators found a stolen firearm on Bell’s person which he admitted to stealing from a nearby vehicle several days prior. Bell was booked into Wood County Jail for unlawful carrying of a weapon, theft of a firearm, debit/credit card abuse and burglary of a vehicle, with a total bond of $30,000

CHEROKEE COUNTY — According to our news partner KETK, a court is requiring the Cherokee County Republican Party to put a candidate on the primary ballot after she was denied due to errors found in her application to run. Karen Morris applied to run on the general primary ballot on Dec. 8 for the Cherokee County Republican Chair position, currently held by Janet Stanovich.

Morris’ application was denied on Dec. 12 as the party claimed the application was incomplete because she had not listed the office she is seeking and left two sections of the petition incomplete. After learning that her application was denied, she texted a respondent asking whether she could submit a new petition to have it accepted, but the respondent did not answer.

On Dec. 15, Morris provided the party with a declaration to be a write-in candidate for the primary ballot and a completed petition to run for the position. Morris also sent a formal written demand that the respondent accept her application. Continue reading Court mandates GOP to place candidate

TYLER — A Tyler homeowner is stuck with a $5,000 repair bill after a viral TikTok “Door?Kick Challenge” left her garage door damaged by a stranger caught on camera.

Mishae Boren, a resident of Tyler, recounts a frightening experience when her daughter heard a loud bang as individuals struck the garage doors. The noise resembled thunder and caused the part of the house where her room is located to shake. When she and her husband ventured outside, the culprits had already left. In the darkness, they were unable to assess the damage, and it wasn’t until the following morning that they discovered the garage doors weren’t functioning properly. It was then that they reviewed their security footage to see what had happened.

Reports of this challenge have been circulating since 2021; the trend encourages individuals to kick and pound on doors, imitating a home invasion. Law enforcement agencies nationwide are advising against participation, highlighting the risks of injury as homeowners may defend themselves. Continue reading TikTok’s challenge leaves residents with repair bills

TYLER – A second person has been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting at Valley Blues Club in Tyler last month. According to the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, Jaqwaylon Ogechi Pettigrew, 20, Tyler, was charged as the result of an arrest warrant affidavit. The warrants were issued for the following offenses: Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity, a 2nd degree felony – $400,000 Bond, Evading Arrest or Detention, a Class A Misdemeanor – $200,000 Bond and Tamper/Fabricate Physical Evidence with Intent to Impair, a 3rd degree felony – $300,000 Bond. Pettigrew remains in the Smith County Jail at this time. Continue reading Second arrest in nightclub shooting

GRAND SALINE — A man was arrested Monday after officials found two dead dogs and several others emaciated on his Grand Saline property. According to our news partner KETK, Kenneth Wayne Adams was arrested and charged with cruelty to non-livestock animals on Monday following an investigation in December by Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).

On Dec. 13, 2025, Van Zandt County deputies responded to a report of deceased animals on a property, where they found two dead pit bull-mixed dogs chained to trees that were severely emaciated. The deputies made contact with Adams, the property owner, and requested the SPCA of Texas Animal Cruelty Investigators (ACI) Unit to assist the investigation. Adams told investigators that the deceased dogs belonged to previous owners who had moved out two weeks prior. Continue reading Man arrested for animal cruelty

GILMER — Our news partners at KETK report that two juveniles were arrested after gunfire struck a Gilmer home late Monday night, sending bullets through a bedroom window, authorities said. The shooting was reported about 11:44 p.m. at a residence on Circle Drive, according to the Gilmer Police Department. Investigators said several bullets hit the home, with about three passing through a bedroom window. No injuries were reported. Police identified two juvenile suspects and a vehicle believed to be connected to the shooting. Around 1:54 a.m. Wednesday, officers located the vehicle in Gilmer. The suspects attempted to drive away, but the vehicle was later stopped and the occupants ran from the scene on foot, police said. Both juveniles were arrested shortly after. Investigators determined the vehicle had been reported stolen from Longview, and a handgun was recovered.