Today is
Saturday November 23, 2024
LONGVIEW – The Texas Department of Public Safety is asking for assistance from the public on a hit and run accident. It happened Sunday night just after 8:20 on Farm Road 2767 near State Highway 31 in Gregg County. Injured was a pedestrian, Bridget Lee Scott, 38, of Longview. She is in critical condition at CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Francis Hospital in Tyler. She was hit by a northbound white pickup, possibly a Chevrolet. Video obtained from a nearby business shows a white pickup truck traveling north about the same time as the accident. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – An investigator with the Tyler Police Department submitted her resignation following her arrest Saturday morning. Melinda Weaver, 32, was charged with public intoxication. She is currently free on a $260 surety bond. Police public information officer Don Martin said Weaver had been with the department just over 6½ years.
HALLSVILLE – A manager of a Brookshire’s store in east Texas is in the running for a national award. Ray Jackson, who is store director at the Brookshire’s store in Hallsville, is in the running for the Food Marketing Institute’s 2019 Store Manager Award. Jackson has been with Brookshire’s for 38 years. He took over his current duties in 2012. Even though there was no growth in the community or reduction in competitors, his store saw a sales increase of 2.26% last year. The winners will be announced on May 14th in St. Louis, Missouri.
KILGORE – Some students have won scholarship money at Kilgore College just by playing a game. The “Clash for College†video game tournament, hosted by the KC Gamers Guild, awarded $4,000 in KC scholarships as prizes for the top five winners of the tournament. It was open to KC students and high school juniors and seniors, it featured Overwatch for Xbox in a one-versus-one double-elimination format. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – Three Tyler Junior College professors have distinguished themselves as endowed teaching chairs for 2019. The program enables professors to nominate and reward their peers who demonstrate excellence as educators. This year’s recipients are:
• Jae Jerkins, professor, humanities and philosophy – The Thomas Shelby, Jr. Endowed Chair for Teaching Excellence
• James Ledet, coordinator/professor, public administration and criminal justice – The George W. Pirtle and El Freda Taylor Pirtle Endowed Chair for Teaching Excellence
• Regan Minkel, English professor – The Dorothy Fay and Jack White Endowed Chair for Teaching Excellence
TYLER – Some Tyler students got a first had look at the effects of drunk driving with a mock accident. Juniors and seniors at Lee High School were dismissed from class for the Shattered Dreams alcohol awareness event. Tyler fire, police and EMS units, as well as the Air One helicopter, all respond to the scene. There was also a hearse from a local funeral home on hand. The students got to see how the jaws of life were used to removed the injured, who were treated on the scene. Police officers were also on hand to investigate, arrest, and book the mock student “drunk driver.â€
LONGVIEW – A woman has pleaded guilty to the kidnapping of a Kilgore College Rangerette. Nancy Alice Motes, 59, pleaded guilty Monday morning to 2 counts of aggravated kidnapping. She was sentenced to five years in prison on each count. The sentences will run concurrently. In December, 2016, Motes kidnapped Alexa Blair, 19, at gunpoint from Blair’s home on Airline Drive in Longview. She was reportedly choked until she passed out and later was tied up in a storage building in Rusk County. Blair was able to escape and call police. Blair’s mother, Rangerettes Director Dana Blair, was at home at the time of the kidnapping and was tied up by Motes.
FLINT – A Smith County man has died in a motorcycle accident. Pronounced dead at the scene was Shane Curtis Chaffee, 53, of Flint, who was not wearing a helmet. The Department of Public Safety says, for some unknown reason, his motorcycle left them road. He was thrown from the vehicle. The accident happened around 7:45 Sunday night on County Road 168, just over 4 miles northwest of Flint.
TYLER – The TSA pre-check mobile enrollment, which was so successful in Tyler in late late January, has returned to the airport. The mobile RV will be at Tyler Pounds Regional Airport through Friday, May 10. It will be located in the back corner of the airport’s long term parking lot. The pre-check is an expedited screening program that enables identified low-risk air travelers to enjoy a quick and efficient screening experience. For travelers who have been pre-checked, there is no need to remove shoes, 3-1-1 liquids, laptops, light outerwear or belts. Currently, the pre-check has more than 450 lanes at over 200 U.S. airports, including the Tyler airport. Read the rest of this entry »
LONGVIEW – A Gregg County County Assistant District Attorney has resigned following his arrest. Assistant DA David Hagan, 29, submitted his resignation Monday morning. This follows his arrest early Saturday morning for DWI. He is currently free on a $1,500 bond. Hagan was a felony prosecutor in the 124th state district court. He had been an assistant with the DA’s office since April of 2017. District Attorney Tom Watson accepted has the resignation. He says he intends to have a special prosecutor appointed to handle the case. Watson emphasized that no one is above the law and Hagan’s case will be filed and prosecuted regardless of who has been accused.
TYLER – We should know this week who will be the next president at Tyler Junior College. The four finalist for the post were hosted last week. Each candidate spent a day participating in a variety of visits, interviews, and forums attended by the TJC Board, community members, faculty and staff. School trustees will meet in a closed session Monday afternoon to deliberate on the new president. The board will meet Wednesday for their regular meeting at which time they are scheduled to announce the sole finalist. A 21-day waiting period will then begin. On May 23, the TJC Board will announce the seventh president of Tyler Junior College, who will take office on July 1. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER (AP) – Southside Bancshares Inc. on Friday reported first-quarter earnings of $18.8 million. The Tyler based bank said it had earnings of 56 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for amortization costs, came to 59 cents per share. The holding company for Southside Bank posted revenue of $68.6 million in the period. Its revenue net of interest expense was $52.9 million, falling short of Street forecasts. Southside Bancshares shares have increased 8 percent since the beginning of the year. The stock has fallen almost 4 percent in the last 12 months.
SMITH COUNTY – The county commissioners have voted to approve an order authorizing fireworks sales over the Memorial Day holiday period. The sales will run from May 22nd through the 27th. The state legislature previously approved three additional holidays for fireworks sales, as long as county commissioners authorize it. The extra holidays are Texas Independence Day, San Jacinto Day and Memorial Day. County Fire Marshal Connie McCoy-Wasson said Smith County residents are allowed to pop fireworks throughout the year, and are only restricted on when they can buy them.
ELYSIAN FIELDS – One person is in custody in connection with a Harrison County shooting caused by an apparent domestic dispute. It happened shortly before 7:15 Friday morning at a store in Elysian Fields. Arrested in Panola County in the shooting was Cortney Tramane Manning, 33, of Marshall. He was arrested on drug and weapons charges out of Harrison County. Injured was Koteshia Endsley, who was taken to a Shreveport hospital for treatment. She had earlier called 911 to report that Manning was following her. Harrison County authorities say the two had had previously dated.
LONGVIEW – A man has been arrested after a child showed up at school with a variety of injuries. The staff at Ware Elementary found visible injuries on the child’s back and lower and upper legs from a cord. The injuries are said to have occurred on Tuesday at the Boys and Girls Club in Longview. Arrested Thursday in the case was Ladarrian Demarcus McGee, 31, of Longview. He is being held in the Gregg County Jail under a $50,000 bond. The Longview Police Department along with Gregg County District Attorney’s office and Child Protective Services is continuing to investigate the incident.