Today is
Wednesday June 10, 2026
CANTON – A traffic stop just before noon Tuesday on Interstate Highway 20 in the Canton area has resulted in a drug bust. During the stop, the deputy’s K-9 alerted him to drugs, and the officer found 220 pounds of marijuana in the vehicle. The suspect is being held in the Van Zandt County Jail pending arraignment for possession of marijuana. His name has not been released at this time.
TYLER – A new county agent for Smith County has been announced. The new county agent, announced at Tuesday’s commissioner’s court session, is Clint Perkins. He earned a Bachelor of Science Degree from Texas A&M and a Master of Science Degree at Texas Tech. Perkins was recently employed with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension in Wood County. Perkins said he was proud to be joining an excellent team of extension agents and staff in Smith County, and he looks forward to serving the residents of Smith County.
TYLER – Thanks to the Rotary Clubs in Tyler, some youngsters will be getting a bike for Christmas. The South Tyler Rotary, Sunrise Rotary, and the Rotary Club of Tyler have held their annual joint Bike Build. For the past several years they have joined together for the project. Joined by their children, grandchildren, spouses, and friends, 75 bikes were assembled in 35 minutes. These 75 bikes are part of the over 550 bikes being collected in Smith County by the Salvation Army for children for Christmas. Nancy Crawford, President of South Tyler Rotary, says this is a great example of a service organization giving back to the community.
RUSK – An autopsy has been ordered to determine the cause of death on an inmate in the Cherokee County Jail. The inmate was found in his cell Sunday night. He was rushed to East Texas Medical Center in Jacksonville, where he was pronounced dead. Indications are the inmate died from natural causes, but they are awaiting the findings of the autopsy for conformation. Since they are still contacting family members, the inmate’s name has not been released. As is standard procedure in such cases, the Texas Rangers are investigating the death.
LINDALE – Someone has stolen a package off a porch in Lindale. A photo shows what appears to be an older white female coming up to a house on Abbey Road and stealing a package. It happened on Saturday, November 25th. If you recognize the person you are asked to email Sgt. Mike Lazarine at [email protected] or call him at 903-882-3313.
HIDEAWAY – Work on the Farm Road 849 bridge over Interstate Highway 20 is moving faster than expected. The bridge over the interstate highway has been completely removed and all lanes of the interstate are open to normal traffic flow. They had expected the normal flow of traffic to return on Wednesday, but the west bound lanes were opened Monday and the east bound lanes were opened today. According to TxDOT Public Information Officer Kathi White, no additional lane closures are planned for this week as work continues on the bridge replacement project.
TYLER – Tyler’s Northside Park will be closed to the public on Thursday and Friday for a vegetation management project. This project will increase the navigable air space within the model airplane fields and will also allow easier access to the model airplane runway.
TYLER – It will be a contested race for Smith County District Attorney in the Republican primary in March. Tyler attorney Alicia Cashell Barkley announced her candidacy in a Monday afternoon news conference. She will be going up against Assistant District Attorney Jacob Putman. With over 20 years of experience as an attorney, Barkley is a family law attorney. She practices in Smith, Henderson and Cherokee Counties. In announcing her candidacy, Barkley said she believed that the people of Smith County “deserve to have a choice in the leadership of an office that, literally, makes life and death decisions.” Monday was the final day to file for the March 6th primary.
MARSHALL – Some gas skimmers have turned up in Marshall. Three devices were found at a gas station. Detectives are currently checking other gas stations in the city for more of the devices. Unlike previous advisories, these recent skimming devices are placed inside the pump itself instead of on the outside of the machine and are completely undetectable by consumers. Police public information officer Kelly Colvin said the name of the business and it’s location are not being released. She said the business was not involved in the crime and has taken all of the necessary precautions to prevent it from happening again. Read the rest of this entry »
GLADEWATER – A one vehicle accident in Upshur County has killed James Norstrom, 31, of Gilmer. The accident occurred about three miles north of Gladewater on Farm Road 2685 around 9:15 Sunday morning. The Department of Public Safety reports says Norstrom was heading south when his car left the road, went into a sideways skid and hit a tree. The car then rolled onto its side and hit another tree. Norstrom was pronounced dead at the scene.
LONGVIEW – A reception is scheduled Tuesday afternoon for retiring Longview City Manager David Willard. The public is invited to the reception, which will run from 4:00 to 6:00pm at the Maude Cobb Convention Center. He will be retiring at the end of the year from the post he has held since 2007. Willard came to Longview from Odessa, where he had been serving as assistant city manager. Prior to that, Willard had been city manager in Borger and County Judge in Hutchinson County. When Willard retires, the Longview City Council has named Keith Bonds as Acting City Manager. He will serve in that post for a period of six months. Mayor Andy Mack says, after that, Bonds will be evaluated to see if the word “acting†will be removed from his title.
AUSTIN – Governor Greg Abbott has posthumously awarded the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor to Master Sergeant Travis Earl Watkins of the United States Army. Watkins grew up in Troup. He served in the army during World War II and the Korean conflict. He died from his wounds in Korea in May, 1950 as he stayed behind and ordered his men to safety. For his actions he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor six months later, on February 16th, 1951. He is buried in East Texas at the Gladewater Memorial Cemetery. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – Three men have been indicted in a credit card skimming case that cost East Texans millions of dollars. The Smith County grand jury returned the indictments November 30th. The men are Nolberto Rivera (pictured), 29, Eligio Diegez-Arias, 29, and Emilio Francisco Guitierrez-Alvarez, 42. All are from the Houston area.They were among five people arrested in May in the card skimming case. They remain in the Smith County jail. Each is under bonds totaling $2,200,000.
LONGVIEW – A Kilgore woman pleaded guilty Monday to killing her mother last year. In state district court in Longview, Kayla Ann Wheeler pleaded guilty to the November 2106 death of Elizabeth Jane Wheeler, 52. She was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Police found the body of her mother at the Hidden Hills Apartments on Gilmer Road in Longview. The autopsy report showed the woman had stab wounds to the neck with cut her jugular vein and carotid artery, muscles and larynx. Kayla arrived at the scene as officers were investigating the death. She later told investigators during an interview that she had killed her mother.
TYLER – The Smith County Sheriff’s Department is looking for a man wanted for the unlawful disclosure or promotion of intimate visual material. He is John Kahen Battle, 18. He is 6’6,” weighs around 155 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes. He is know to drive a 2005 tan 4-door GMC truck a Texas license plane number BA2-8888. The truck has a flag attached to the tailgate. Battle has made threats to harm specific family members of this case. He has access to a handgun, but it is not known if he has it with him. Battle has two open assault cases, one out of the Tyler Police Department and one out of the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department. If you know where he can be found, you are ask to contact your law enforcement agency.