Today is
Sunday June 14, 2026
TYLER – Tyler has recorded a record low temperature for September 7th. The National Weather Service recorded a low of 54 degrees shortly before 7:00am. The previous record low for the date was 55 degrees recorded in 2011.
PALESTINE – Palestine’s new municipal court judge is Alex Nemer. He was named to the post by the city council at a called meeting this week. Nemer, an attorney, is a long-time resident and served as municipal court judge from January 1974 to December 1976. He has also served as the Assistant County Attorney and later the County Attorney for Anderson County. He succeeds the current judge William Curley starting next month.
AUSTIN – Sales tax rebates from the state are going out. For Tyler and Longview, the numbers are up. The state is sending out $668.3 million in local sales tax allocations for September, 6.2% more than in September 2016. These allocations are based on sales made in July. Tyler’s check tops $3.2 million. That is over 7 1/2% more than July of last year. For the year to date, Tyler’s sales tax allocations total over $30 million. Longview’s September check is for over $2.3 million, or nearly 10% over last year’s check. For the year, Longview has received over $22 million from the state, up just over 1% from last year.
TYLER – Tyler Police are looking for a missing 9 year old Hispanic male. He is Natanael Laja Candelerio. He’s 4’09†and described as slightly chubby. There is no clothing description. He was last seen around 111 West Martin Luther King Boulevard. If you know where he can be found, you are asked to contact the Tyler Police Department.
LIBERTY CITY – A Kilgore teen is arrested on two charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. In the Gregg County Jail under bonds totaling $40,000 is Vangie Marie Weaver, 17. She is said to have cut one woman’s hand with a knife. The second woman’s hand was also cut by a knife and hit with a bamboo cane. Weaver was arrested after sheriff’s deputies were called to a home on Cain Lane in Liberty City around 12:45 Wednesday morning. No word on what caused the attack.
TYLER – Now parents of Tyler school students know where their child is after getting on a school bus. There is now an app for that. Introduced Wednesday, the app is called “Here Comes the School Bus.” Students scan on and off the bus with their student ID barcode. It’s a great safety feature and it makes sure your student never misses the bus. And if the weather is bad, the app will alert you when the bus is less then two miles away, so they don’t spend excess time in the rain. You get more information on the “Here Comes the School Bus” app on the TISD web site.
GUN BARREL CITY – Henderson County sheriff’s deputies, who were trying to serve a warrant, also made a drug bust. They were looking for Candice Renea Kirbie, 30, of Mabank. She wasn’t at a Gun Barrel City home. But they spotted her short time later in the passenger seat of a passing pickup. In her purse they found a a scale, a glass pipe and numerous plastic baggies, all commonly used in the sale and distribution of illegal drugs. They also found suspected methamphetamines. Kirbie was arrested for the outstanding felony warrant for the probation violation and charged with manufacture and delivery of a controlled substance.
CHEROKEE COUNTY — A Rusk man has died following a motorcycle wreck around 2:00 Tuesday afternoon. According to the DPS report, Danny Crouch, 68, was traveling south on CR 1910, about 10 miles south of Jacksonville, when he failed to negotiate a sharp curve. Crouch’s Harley left the roadway and crossed a grass median. He was ejected from the bike and pronounced dead at the scene.
TYLER – A grand jury has indicted a Lindale woman in the deaths of two persons just west of Tyler. Indicted on two counts of intoxication manslaughter is Jessica Lauren Vass, 35. She was involved in a wreck that killed Gary McCrary, 62, of Flint and Annette Burkhart, 56, of Garland. McCrary was assisting Burkhart in changing a flat tire on her car when the Vass vehicle hit the back of his pickup which then hit the Burkhart car. The crash occurred April 12th on Loop 49 just north of Highway 64.
TYLER – It is nearly East Texas State Fair time in Tyler and some new attractions are being announced. There will be a countryfest on each Saturday at the fair with live country music. There will also be Matt’s Family Jam, an interactive musical attraction for everyone. There will be pony rides, a live tiger show, a street artist painting murals using only spray paint and a slingshot to shoot you 150 feet into the air. Then there’s the usual carnival, exhibits and fair food waiting for you September 22nd through October 1st at Tyler’s East Texas State Fair.
WINONA – One person has been arrested and another is being sought in the burglary of a Smith County business. The burglary in progress was reported shortly before midnight on Monday. It was at Crystal Springs Spirts on South Main in Winona. While heading to the business, deputies spotted the suspect’s vehicle heading South on Highway 271. After a brief chase, the suspects vehicle left the road and traveled through a field and down several embankments. The vehicle was found abandoned near some woods. Items taken in the burglary was found in the vehicle.
TYLER – Here’s a look at work planned in the district during the Week of September 4th. These schedules are subject to change due to weather conditions, equipment failure or other unforeseen issues. Summer seal coat operations resume Tuesday to finish up work on U.S. Highway 271 in Smith County. The roadway is being sealed from Farm Road 2015 north to .03 mile south of Interstate Highway 20. Once complete, work moves to Farm Road 2767 from Loop 323 eastward to FM 2908. You can go to http://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/media-center/local-news/tyler/045-2017.html for a complete rundown of Tyler District work for the next several days.
TYLER – Tyler Junior College trustees have adopted a new budget of $90,708,721. The approval came at a meeting last week. Under the new budget, full-time employees will receive an increase to their annual base earnings of $600 plus 1%. School trustees also decided to keep the same tax rate. Even though the rate did not go up, they will still be receiving more money from homeowners because the appraised value of homeowners’ property in the TJC taxing district increased. School trustees also kept the same tuition rates, but there was a slight increase in fees. The surcharge for out-of-district students was increased by 1.1% and the no-resident student surcharge was hiked by 1.3%. School officials say the surcharge increase allows those who are not otherwise supporting the College with their tax dollars to pay an “equalization offset.”
TYLER – The month of August in Tyler was the wettest August on record. Tyler’s weather records started being kept in 1896. August also saw slightly below normal temperatures. The August rainfall total was 11.66 inches. Only .15 of that came from Hurricane Harvey. Still the month’s total easily surpassed August 1915 which held the existing record of 10.25 inches. Three daily rainfall records were also recorded in August. They are 2.99 inches on August 2nd, 2.54 inches on August 13th and 3.52 inches on August 17th. And the summer of 2017 was the second wettest on record with 21.45 inches. In the summer of 2007, 23.35 inches were recorded. Despite a cool August, June and July saw above normal temperatures. As a result, the summer of 2017 was 0.4 of a degree warmer than normal.
LUFKIN – A Cherokee County woman is facing a variety of charges after being accused of stealing a Lufkin police car and leading officers on a chase at speeds up to 100 miles an hour. Toscha Sponsler, 33, of Alto was first arrested shortly before 5:30 Saturday afternoon for shoplifting. As officers stood behind the police unit, the woman is said to have slipped out of one of her handcuffs and climbed through a sliding partition and into the front seat. She then drove away. The chase, which started near South First and Loop 287, ended near the state Highway 63 and U.S. Highway 69 south intersection when officers performed a maneuver that caused her to leave the road and hit a tree. Charges against her include unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, escaping and evading police, aggravated assault on a peace officer and possession of a controlled substance.