Today is
Thursday July 23, 2026
GLADEWATER – Gladewater has a new police chief. Former Gregg County Sheriff’s Office supervisor Gordon Freeman was chosen among a group of 30 candidates for the position. Gladewater City Manager Ricky Tow made the announced Saturday on Facebook. He begins his new duties February 25th. Freeman retired last year from the Gregg County Sheriff’s Office as a lieutenant. He succeeds Robert Vine who was hired several months ago at the police chief of Dayton, Texas. In making the announcement, Tow said Freeman was chosen from a very qualified group and “rose to the top due to his experience and knowledge of over thirty years in law enforcement along with his connections in and around the counties that Gladewater sets in.â€
TYLER – In separate cases, Smith County juries have sentenced two men to prison for sexual acts with children. Christopher Matthew Luna, 28, of Troup, was sentenced to 17 years in prison for sexual assault of a child. He was arrested last June. The victim was a family friend to the defendant, and testified to multiple offenses that took place over a two-week period when she was 14 years old. Read the rest of this entry »
BROWNSBORO – Because of illness, schools in Brownsboro will be closed on Monday. Over 475 students and staff members were out of school Friday, recovering from the flu and other health related illnesses. Because of the high number, district officials decided to close school on Monday and return from the weekend on Tuesday. All school-related activities that are scheduled to take place on Brownsboro campuses on Monday, including evening activities, will also be canceled. Bad weather days will not be used for this time off and the day will not have to be made up.
AUSTIN – Governor Greg Abbott has named a new district attorney for Wood County. The governor announced Friday he was appointing to the post, which is subject to senate confirmation, the county’s First Assistant DA, Angela Albers. The post became vacant late last year when Jim Wheeler stepped down during a Texas Rangers’ investigation of official oppression. Albers has been acting district attorney since Wheeler left. Her term will expire at the end of next year or until an election is held to name her successor.
LONGVIEW – A fugitive out of Virginia has been arrested in Longview. The arrest was made by a member of the United States Marshal’s East Texas Violent Crime Task Force. Arrested Thursday at a residence on Sabine Street was Antwain Maurice Jones, 34,of Reva, Virginia. He is being charged with assault and battery of a family member, obstruction of justice, contempt of court, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon involving a homicide. He remains in the Gregg County Jail awaiting extradition to Virginia.
PRICE – Because of a false threat that appeared in the social media, the Carlisle School District closed early Friday. The rumors were about an active shooter, which turned out to be false. Carlisle Superintendent Michael Payne told our news partner KETK the district beefed up security on campus and searched school facilities carefully for any weapons. None were found. Since mid week there have been many absences and the district has been contacted by numerous concerned parents. In the wake of all of this, they decided to close the schools early.
LOG CABIN – The Henderson County Sheriff’s Department is asking for the public’s help in locating a missing woman. She is Brenda Lizbeth Montanez, 25, who went missing Sunday, January 27. The case originated with the Addison Police Department. Their investigation led searchers to the Log Cabin area. Montanrez is about five feet tall and was last seen driving a maroon 2011, 4-door Mazda. It has a Texas license plate of CZW-4001. If you see this woman, you are asked to contact the nearest law enforcement agency.
TYLER – Union Pacific will be replacing rails and ties along the Tyler railroad system. The railroad will need to close intersecting roads to lay rail through the crossings and replace ties. The work started Friday and will run until next Friday. All closures will be from 11:00pm until 10:00am. There will be no through traffic. The following streets will be closed where they intersect with the Railroad: North Border Avenue, North Spring Avenue., North Palace Avenue., West Elm Street., West Houston Street and South Lyons Avenue. They will be focusing on North Spring Avenue and West Houston Street on Sunday to open the streets by 6:00am before church traffic begins. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – The Smith County Sheriff’s Office is requesting assistance in finding Dustin Dwayne Radney, 28, of Mineola. In late December, he is said to have forced his way into his ex-girlfriend’s home north of Lindale. He is said to have stolen a handgun and then physically assaulted the ex-girlfriend. He left in a black Ram pickup with black wheels and a black front grill. Warrants for his arrest charge him with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, burglary with intent to commit assault and theft of a firearm. His last known addresses are in the Alba and Mineola areas. If you know where he can be found, you are asked to contact the Smith County Sheriff’s office or your local law enforcement agency.
ORE CITY – Ore City police had been looking for Jesus Dominguez, 18. He had a protective order in place against him on behalf of his ex-girlfriend, which authorities say he has reportedly violated. He is said to have told family members he is not going back to jail and will force law officers to shoot and kill him before this happens. Acting on a tip, he was arrested Thursday afternoon. They say he was unarmed. With the help of the Upshur County Sheriff’s Department, Dominguez was arrested without incident.
MARSHALL – Overall crime in Marshall dropped last year. A report released Thursday showed 2,256 crimes reported in 2018. That is a drop of 15% from 2017. There was a major drop in building burglaries. That went from 92 in 2017 to 35 last year. Auto burglaries dropped by 35%. One area that saw an increase was homicides. Only two were recorded last year. There was only 1 in 2017. Read the rest of this entry »
LONGVIEW – Charges against a former White Oak high school band director have been dropped. Jacovia Cartwright had been facing charges of indecency with a child/sexual contact. In 2016, White Oak officers found what they said were inappropriate pictures of children on his phone. One of the students in the pictures says Cartwright touched her inappropriately during a band trip. Messages retrieved from his Facebook messenger show messages from the student saying she “kind of lied” to the police. In her motion to dismiss the case, prosecutor Stacey Brownlee said they were unable to approve the case beyond a reasonable doubt. The Longview News Journal reports, as part of the dismissal, Cartwright permanently and voluntarily surrendered his state educator’s certification.
EAST TEXAS – Illness among students and faculty is causing some East Texas school districts to call off classes The flu and other illnesses are causing some school districts to close the doors and to thoroughly clean buildings. Closed Thursday, as well as Friday: Karnack, Mount Vernon, LaPoyner, Eustace, DeKalb, Linden-Kildare and Jefferson school districts. Gladewater schools, which were dismissed Thursday morning because of a power failure at two schools, will also be closed on Friday. East Texas currently ranks first in the country for the highest population percentage with the flu, with the Dallas-Fort Worth area in second place.
TYLER – Some Tyler Junior College students have received scholarships thanks to the school’s faculty and staff. Thirty-three TJC students have received $1,000 scholarships for the spring semester. The funds come from the annual TJC Employee Campaign. The scholarships were presented during a luncheon this week. In all, 501 TJC employees gave a total of $87,831. After the scholarship money was handed out, the remainder went to various sources. Some went to directly to Promises to Keep Scholarships for TJC students, while other funds went to the TJC Annual Fund, TJC programs and activities and the United Way of Smith County.
TYLER – For the third day in a row a new temperature record has been recorded in Tyler. Wednesday morning’s 68 degrees was a record high minimum temperature for February 6th. The previous record high minimum temperature was 67, which was set in 1911. The 68 degree low temperature Wednesday morning is also the 2nd highest low minimum temperature ever recorded in Tyler in February. The current record is 69 degrees, which was set in 2017. Tyler’s weather records go all the way back to 1883.
AUSTIN – Tyler and Longview’s sales tax allocations continue to run ahead of the previous numbers. The State Comptroller’s office is sending Tyler a February check of $4,648,037.66. This is 4.66% above the same figure from last year. The year to date figure comes to $8,286,561.80, an increase of 5.37%. Longview’s February check is for $3,562,214.14. This is an increase of 6.58% from last year. Longview’s year to date figure of $6,186,953.91 is an increase of 4.29%. The state is sending out checks totaling $953.9 million. This is up 4.6% from February of last year. These allocations are based on sales made last December
MARSHALL – A Marshall arsonist is heading to prison. A state district judge has sentenced Willie Earl Elder, 59, of Marshall, to 15 years in prison. The Marshall News Messenger also reported that Elder was ordered to pay the management company of the Navajo Trail Apartments nearly $14,000 in restitution. The fire was reported early in the morning of May 5th, 2017. Fire officials say it was fortunate that no one was home when the fire started.
AUSTIN – If you are planning a trip to Tyler State Park, or any other state park, planning that trip has been made easier. New on line features have been unveiled with the state parks’ reservation system. The new options allow visitors to reserve a specific campsite, buy day passes in advance and buy or renew a Texas State Parks Pass online. State park officials say the system includes online features that are mobile-friendly and easy to use. For some of the parks, you can even set your arrival time. Anyone planning overnight trips at a Texas State Park can now choose a specific site when making reservations up to five months in advance. Photos and details of campsites, shelters and cabins are available online. Larger families and groups can also select and reserve neighboring sites, so they can enjoy the outdoors together. You can visit visit http://www.texasstateparks.org/reservations for more information about the system, or to make a reservation to a state park.
TOOL – The State Highway 274 Bridge at the Cedar Creek Reservoir Spillway remains closed for repairs. The bridge, located between Trinidad and Tool, was first closed late last month as a precautionary measure. An exposed roadway joint was noticed during a routine inspection. A thorough inspection by bridge experts found some concrete deterioration under the structure that required keeping the bridge closed until repairs could be completed. Work is expected to begin on Thursday. The repairs should be completed and the bridge returned to normal traffic flow by the end of the month.
TYLER – There are some new additions to the board of the Better Business Bureau Serving Central East Texas. Troy Bevill, Jr., owner of Proforma Horizon Total Source has been elected board chairman. He succeeds Paul Ingle, Director of Sales for Design Center Signs, a Comet Signs Company. Ingle remains on the board as immediate past chair. Other officers elected were:
Vice Char/Chair Elect— Camille Brown, Stepping Stone School
Vice Chair – Driedra Brelsford, Brelsford Personnel
Treasurer – Ray McKinney, The Genecov Group
Secretary – Criss Sudduth, Ark Assurance Group
Legal Counsel – David Dobbs, Dobbs and Tittle, PC
Mechele Mills was re-elected president and CEO Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – There will be a special celebration at the Watkins-Logan Texas State Veterans Home in Tyler late Wednesday afternoon. They will host a 100th birthday party for one of their residents, Mrs. Leola Shamburger. She moved into the veterans home in 2013 after the death of her husband, US Army Staff Sargent Thomas Jefferson. One of few women living at the Home, the veterans home officials says she is held in high esteem, and her advice and conversation is often sought after by both veterans and staff.
MARSHALL – The Marshall Police Department and the Marshall School District are reminding drivers about the new ordinance in effect for the school zone at the Marshall Junior High School. Last October, the Marshall City Commission designated the 2700 block of East Travis Street, Farm Road 31 in front of the junior high, a “No Parking and No Standing†zone. The changes came after numerous traffic violations and unsafe practices occurred in the area. This zone change is designed to keep students from having to walk across a 4-lane roadway to get to school. The signs showing the new ordinance will be put up on Wednesday. Marshall police officers and Marshall ISD officers will remain present in the school zone during drop off/pick up hours to help ensure the safety of all students.
TYLER – Tyler set another temperature record on Tuesday. The morning low of 63 degrees was a record high minimum temperature. The previous record was 61 degrees which was reported in 1911 and 1927. By Friday and Saturday morning, the lows will be around freezing.
TYLER – A man accused of stealing heavy equipment has been arrested by Smith County sheriff’s deputies. Nathan Andrew Yacyszyn, 33, has been charged with theft. The Caterpillar skid steer was stolen off highway 69 north of Tyler Tuesday morning. About a mile and a half from where it was stolen a deputy saw a man with a heavy duty pickup pulling a trailer with a Caterpillar skid steer on it. When it was determined it was the equipment stolen from the construction site, Yacyszyn was arrested.
KILGORE – Texas Mutual Insurance Company has awarded a $100,000 grant to Kilgore College to fund the school’s Risk Management Institute. Jeremy Hansen, manager of safety services for the Dallas region of Texas Mutual presented the check Tuesday morning. This is the 12th-consecutive year the company has given a $100,000 grant to the college. The Risk Management Institute at KC provides free workplace safety courses for community employers, workers and the general public.
TYLER – A man wanted for a Tyler robbery has been arrested. They had been looking for Gabriel Lamando Johnson, 41, of Flint. He was wanted for the robbery of Razzoo’s, on South Broadway, that occurred last November. Tyler police spokesman Don Martin says he was arrested in Nacogdoches late last month during a traffic stop. Johnson remains in Nacogdoches County Jail for numerous drug violations and a parole warrant. He has a lengthy criminal history. His bond on the Tyler aggravated robbery case was sent at $1,000,000.
AUSTIN – The governor is calling for two new anti gang centers in Texas, one in Tyler. Governor Greg Abbott said that we must do more to crack down on the gangs that bring drugs, weapons, and violence into our communities. In his state of the state address, he called for two new anti-gang centers in Tyler and Waco to rid the areas of dangerous gangs. The governor said, by doing this, we will make our neighborhoods safer, dismantle criminal enterprises and put more gang members behind bars.
TYLER – Seven persons have been arrested following a lengthy investigation into drug trafficking activities in Upshur County. All of the suspects are from Gilmer. They were indicted by a federal grand jury in Tyler last month. The indictment was unsealed on Monday after the final defendant was arrested. Several of the suspects were charged with weapons violations. All of them have been charged with with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The charges stem from a multi agency investigation that started in 2017. If convicted, they could each face from five to 40 years in federal prison. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – The Tyler Area Metropolitan Planning Organization has started updating the Metropolitan Transportation Plan. It’s a long range transportation plan for the community. In order to understand the needs and priorities of Tyler’s residents, the Tyler MPO has created a website to get your input. If you go to https://atginc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=85c62f6efa36404da2fa877756c4e3b3, you will open an interactive map where you can zoom into different areas of town. You can then leave them comments about issues and opportunities that you have seen. They will even ask you to tell them about you. This will help them understand who is responding so that they can reach all parts of the community.
TYLER – The TJC Vocational Nursing program achieved a 93% pass rate on the 2018 National Council Licensure Examination. The preliminary results showed that of 131 TJC students who took the test, 122 successfully passed the exam. In addition, TJC was one of only five colleges in the state with LVN programs supporting over 100 students to achieve the “commended†pass rate. The school says the job outlook is strong with vocational nursing expected to grow by 16% over the next 10 years.