Today is
Wednesday June 10, 2026
GLADEWATER – A Kilgore man arrested by Gladewater police remains in the Gregg County Jail today. Bryan Scott Cefalu, 50, is being held on bonds totaling $42,500. Gladewater Police conducted a traffic stop on his vehicle around 5:30 Sunday morning. The officers found a quantity of suspected methamphetamine, a firearm and a large quantity of cash. Cefalu was also discovered to have outstanding warrants out of Gladewater. He was booked into the jail on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of a controlled substance and display of a fictitious license plate.
MARSHALL – A man being chased by Marshall police has been killed in a two vehicle accident. It was reported around 9:45 Monday morning at the intersection of Loop 390 and West Houston. Killed was Shane Hudson, 43, of Marshall. The Department of Public Safety reports Hudson was traveling at a high speed when he ran a stop sign and hit a van driven by Mauro Beltran, 36, of Marshall. Hudson, who was not wearing a seat belt, was thrown from his vehicle. He later died at a Marshall Hospital. Beltran was treated and released from a Marshall hospital. While it occurred within the Marshall city limits, the police chief requested that the Department of Public Safety handle the investigation because prior to crash Marshall officers were chasing Hudson who had a warrant out for his arrest.
TYLER – A man accused of sexually abusing a child has pleaded guilty in a Tyler courtroom. Ryan Alan Stuenkel, 23, of Lindale was arrested by Lindale police in March of last year. He was charged with the continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14. The incident is said to have occurred over a month’s time in early 2017. After pleading guilty on Monday, he accepted a 25 year prison sentence.
LONGVIEW – A Longview man has received a life prison sentence for the shooting deaths of his child’s grandparents. Christopher Marvin Bell II pleaded guilty to the murders. He was sentenced Friday in 124th State District Court. Investigators say Bell went to the couple’s apartment in November, 2016, to see his daughter. He said he was not allowed inside, so he went to the back of the apartment. He jumped over the balcony, broke the glass patio door and began to fight with the victim’s. He then took out a handgun and shot the couple. After fleeing, he called police to turn himself in. He was arrested in a parking lot of a store on Estes Parkway.
MARSHALL – Marshall police continue their efforts to track down the suspects involved in a shooting this week at Wiley College. It happened around 12:15 Monday morning. A black sedan, believed to be a Chevrolet Impala, possibly a year model between 2006 – 2013, drove onto the Strickland Hall parking lot and possibly exchanged gunfire with someone in the parking lot. One bullet went through a dorm window. No injuries were reported. The car, with possibly two persons inside, crashed into a retaining wall, damaging the wall and the vehicle. The vehicle then left the campus. The car should have extensive front-end damage.
HALLSVILLE – Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of Wednesday’s fire at Trinity Industries at Hallsville. The fire was reported late that afternoon in the paint shop building at the plant. The fire, just east of Longview, was reported contained about an hour and a half later. The building was a total loss. The Harrison County Fire Marshal’s office told the Longview News Journal they still are investigating the cause, but they haven’t found anything suspicious. Assistant Fire Chief Kevin Temple said the blaze is likely linked to faulty equipment. No injuries were reported.
HENDERSON – A traffic problem in Rusk county has been cleared up. It was created when a log truck had an accident, spilling longs along the highway. The accident was on U.S. Highway 79 East, just west of County Road 304, and just east of Henderson. There were no report of injuries.
SMITH COUNTY – A lone gunman has robbed a Smith County convenience store. It was reported shortly after 9:00 Thursday night on Highway 110 North near Interstate Highway 20. The man is said to have robbed the employee of an undetermined amount of money and then left in a dark colored pickup. No injuries were reported. The suspect is described as a white male between 40 and 50 years of age.
AUSTIN – The Texas unemployment rate rose slightly in December to reach 3.9%. It is up slightly from the 3.8% figure in November. The Nation’s unemployment was 4.1% last month. The Tyler Numbers are even better. Tyler’s unemployment rate fell from 3.7% in November to 3.4% last month. It was 4.3% a year ago. Longview’s number went down slightly. It was 4.2% in November, and fell to 4.1% in December. That is far better that the 5.9% unemployment rate in December 2016. The Texas workforce Commission reports the state’s economy added 306,900 seasonally adjusted nonfarm jobs last year. The state’s annual employment growth was 2.5% in December, marking 92 consecutive months of annual growth.
KILGORE – The Kilgore College student newspaper, The Flare, has been named a Crown Finalist from Columbia Scholastic Press Association in New York. Crown Awards honor top student publications chosen from organization’s members. Crowns are selected for overall excellence in a head-to-head comparison. Also, Kilgore College students received 11 Gold Circle Awards from the institution, highlighting publications produced during the 2016-17 academic year. A total of 1,100 publications were eligible for judging. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – The Salvation Army in Tyler has been kept busy this week because of the cold and the snow. The decrease of temperature brought an increase in those looking for shelter. The Center of Hope housed nearly 300 people the last few days. The soup kitchen’s community dinner served around 115 people a night. Anyone interested in helping The Salvation Army continue to provide a safe place for families during difficult times can go to http://www.salvationarmytyler.org and donate online. The shelter is also in need of bath towels, wash clothes, chapstick, scarfs and winter gloves and hats for children and adults.
WASHINGTON – The Association of the United States Navy has awarded Tyler Congressman Louie Gohmert the “National Legislative Advocacy Award.†Each year the group presents the award to a member of the U.S. house and senate. According to a news release from the congressman’s office, the decision to give him the award was a unanimous decision among the group’s 20,000 members, an exceedingly rare occurrence. Besides an award for the congressman, his staff members who assist him in legislative issues over our military, Caralee Conklin and Sean Griffin, were awarded the “National Legislative Proponent Award†for the work they do daily with Veterans and the Armed Forces.
TYLER – Police officers are trained to to safeguard lives and property and to protect individuals in the communities they serve. Now, Tyler officers will get additional training in emergency medical care. The Tyler police Department is partnering with East Texas Medical Center and the Emergency Medical Responder certification program. This prepares officers to provide the initial lifesaving care for patients experiencing cardiac arrest, overdose and traumatic injury. These certified EMR officers can initiate such action as, using Automatic External Defibrillators, administering oxygen, utilizing blood glucometers, applying tourniquets and administering Narcan, which can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. The training kicks off next Tuesday.
TYLER – The University of Texas at Tyler’s online graduate nursing program is one of the best country. In rankings released by U.S. News and World Report, the U-T Tyler program is tied for 5th place, out of 159 programs nationally. They tied with John Hopkins University, George Washington University and University of South Carolina. It was also the number 1 ranked Texas university as well, out of 13 appearing on the list. And, according to U.S. News data, UT Tyler is the No. 1 lowest cost program among the top 10 online nursing graduate programs. The magazine’s ranking methodology considers quality of student engagement, faculty credentials and training, student services and technology, peer reputation and admissions selectivity.
HALLSVILLE — A Trinity Industries plant was evacuated Wednesday evening after a fire and explosion. According to the Longview News-Journal, all employees were were accounted for, said Jay Webb, spokesman with the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office, and it appeared there were no injuries. The fire at the plant, one of three in the area associated with Trinity’s TrinityRail subsidiary, produced smoke that was visible from Longview. Webb said the incident occurred near the paint shop area in the plant. The fire was reported about 5:30 p.m. and was contained by about 7:00 p.m., but crews from multiple agencies remained on the scene just off U.S. 80 east of Longview into the evening. Read the rest of this entry »