Today is
Sunday June 14, 2026
TYLER – The City of Tyler has launched a new podcast series called Roses and Weeds. It’s designed to keep residents up to date with current events and news about the city. The first episode is streaming on iTunes and Soundcloud. It is covering such topics as the city’s updated noise ordinance, the Rose Complex Master Plan and the city’s Half Cent Sales Tax program. You can hear the podcast at https://soundcloud.com/rosesandweeds or find it on the city’s homepage.
TYLER – Tyler Junior College’s Dr. Juan E. Mejia has been named recipient of the Nelson Administrative Leadership Award by the Texas Association of Community Colleges. Mejia, provost & vice president for academic and student affairs at TJC, received the award at the recent TACC Conference in San Antonio. The award was established in 2003 in memory of Carl M. Nelson, who served as president of Texarkana College.
TYLER – Dr. Larry K. Lowery has been named a 2017 University of Texas System Board of Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award recipient. Dr. Lowry is professor of occupational and environmental health sciences in the School of Community and Rural Health and is also director of environmental health graduate programs in the department of occupational health sciences at UT Health Northeast. He will received his award in Austin August 23rd.
ATHENS – 16-year-old Justin Gardner of Athens is listed as missing on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children website. He was last seen July 21st and they feel he may still be in the area. He is said to be 5’8′, and weighs 185 pounds. If you know where he can be found, you are asked to call you local law enforcement agency.
TYLER – Two persons wanted in a Smith County animal cruelty case have been arrested. Authorities have arrested Roderick Johnson and Vanessa Mederos, both are 23 and both are from Tyler. They had been wanted in connection with three dogs that were left chained without food or water. One died before they were found. Both suspects remain in the Smith County Jail. Read the rest of this entry »
MARSHALL – A Harrison County teen has been arrested following a day long manhunt. Perry Brown Jr., 19, had been sought after breaking into a home on Saturday and being scared away by the owner. He is then said to have stolen a car and wrecked it after being chased by the car’s owner. Authorities arrested him after a short foot chase. The Marshall News Messenger reports he is said a suspect in numerous burglaries in the area.
TYLER – Tyler’s Bill Baker is the winner of Longview’s 40th Annual Great Texas Balloon Race. He also won the Texas State and the Southwestern Regional championships, which were being held at the same time. Baker also won the Longview race in 2003. The event started Friday and ran through Sunday in Longview.
BULLARD – A Bullard area resident is being charged with theft after some $20,000 worth of jewelry was stolen in Cherokee County. Sheila Ardry Jones, 49, is accused of taking the jewels after going into a neighbor’s home while the neighbor was gone. Some of the items were found in several different pawn shops. Jones was was arrested on the theft charge earlier this week. She is currently free on a $15,000 bond.
DALLAS – A Wood County College student has been killed in a Dallas drive-by shooting. Patrick Powell, 18, was shooting basketball in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas when he was shot Wednesday night. He died the next day. The police say they don’t believe that Powell, who was to be a sophomore at Jarvis Christian College in Hawkins, was the target of the shooting. Two boys, ages 13 and 14, have been arrested and are facing murder charges in the case. A GoFundMe campaign has been started to raise money for Powell’s funeral.
PALESTINE – A Smith County Sheriff’s deputy has been bypassed in the search for Palestine’s new police chief. The Smith County Sheriff Department’s public information officer, Sgt Darrell Coslin, was one of four finalist for the post. Palestine City Manager Mike Alexander is said to have selected Dallas Police Dept. Lt. Andy Harvey for the post. Alexander will not confirm he has picked Harvey. He will only say that he has selected a finalist and that the city council will discuss the selection August 14th. Harvey has been with the Dallas Police Department for 22 years. He is currently in the department’s crime scene response section.
TYLER – Bond has been set at $1.25 million for a suspect in a Tyler shooting death. That’s after an exchange of gunfire between two men resulted in one person dead and the other in jail. Aquinas Lamar Dixon, 32, turned himself in at the Tyler Police Department Thursday morning. He had been wanted in the shooting death of Earnest Dennis, 28, around 8:45 Wednesday night. Dennis was found in a parking lot across the street from the Pool Hall Domino Club on Morris Street. He was pronounced dead at East Texas Medical Center. Investigators say the two men exchanged numerous shots at each other based on the number of shell casings they found. Dixon was booked into the Smith County Jail on a murder charge. He was later also charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.
LONGVIEW – Priscilla Kay Solomon, 41, of Longview has been charged with the possession of a prohibited weapon. She was booked into the Gregg County Jail on a $5,000 bond. A police officer first had stopped her for having an expired registration sticker. On the back seat, the officer saw a “sawed off” double barrel shotgun. When it was found the barrel was too short, Solomon was arrested. She also had an outstanding city warrant for failure to maintain financial responsibility.
LONGVIEW – The start of the Great Texas Balloon Race in Longview did not get off the ground Friday morning. The hot air balloons had been scheduled to fly over Longview, but wind conditions forced the flight to be cancelled. Other events got underway Friday afternoon at 4:00 at the East Texas Regional Airport.
TYLER – Keep Tyler Beautiful has added another newly wrapped traffic signal box in their Beauty and the Box program. The newest box is at the intersection of South Broadway and Loop 323. The artwork features a green-living design, promoting recycling and clean energy. It is being sponsored by Pyramid Homes. This program was launched in 2016 with the wrapping ten traffic utility boxes in the Downtown area. They showcased art designed by local artists. The program since added four additional boxes throughout the city.
FLINT – A Smith County woman is being treated for a neck wound and a suspect in the stabbing is in custody. The stabbing was reported around 12:30 Thursday afternoon off Highway 155 in the Flint area. The victim is being treated at a Tyler hospital. A woman was taken into custody at the scene. Their names have not yet been released. Also arrested at the scene was Allen Keith Bryant. His arrest was because of a parole violation.