Today is
Thursday June 18, 2026
WHITEHOUSE – The new Director of Bands for Whitehouse ISD is Tom Mensch. He is succeeding long-time Director, Denny Whitley, who has decided to retire after 46 years in public education. Mensch has had an active band career after being the Director at both Lamar High School and Robert E. Lee High School before leading the Tyler Junior College Band for 11 years. From there he became Minister of Instrumental Music at Green Acres Baptist Church. Read the rest of this entry »
PALESTINE – The Anderson County grand jury has returned no indictment in the death of a jail inmate last month. Texas Ranger Nick Castle investigated the April 17th death of William Edward Brown, III, 31. He had been arrested for a parole violation. At the time of his death, authorities said he died from natural causes. Ranger Castle’s investigation was presented last week to the grand jury. When the panel was asked “was there sufficient evidence that a criminal act occurred causing his death?†The grand jury’s answer was, “no.”
TYLER – The Tyler Junior College Occupational Therapy Assistant program has received full accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education of the American Occupational Therapy Association. Occupational therapy assistants work with licensed occupational therapists to provide care and treatment to help people participate more fully in everyday life. They help persons develop, recover and improve the skills needed for daily living and working. They work with in a variety of settings, including hospitals, clinics, schools and nursing homes, as well as in the patients’ homes, places of employment and other community settings. Read the rest of this entry »
MARSHALL — The family of a man who died at work at Marshall Pottery has filed a civil lawsuit. KETK reports the family of Arturo Gonzalez is seeking more than $1 million. The lawsuit says he entered the kiln to perform maintenance, but that while he was inside, the automated system suddenly closed the kiln doors. After they were closed, the chamber began heating, killing Gonzalez, according to the suit. The cause of the death has been ruled accidental.
EMORY – A man accused of not paying for cattle at 7 East Texas auction markets in 2011, is heading to prison. Ronald Ryan Shepard Jr., 41, in an appearance in state district court in Emory, pleaded guilty to three counts of theft of livestock. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was also ordered to pay court costs, attorney’s fees and more than $125,000 in restitution to his victim in Texas. As a part of the plea agreement, he also agreed to pay restitution of $200,000 to a victim in Florida in lieu of extradition and criminal prosecution in that state. Read the rest of this entry »
LARUE – Two drug suspects are in custody following a high speed chase in Henderson County. Arrested Monday night were John Henry Smith, 17, of Larue and Cherith Mills, 18, of Athens. The two sped off after a sheriff’s deputy tried to stop the couple’s car for a traffic violation in Larue. Speeds reached 100 miles-per-hour for several miles before the pair was stopped on County Road 4704 in the Baxter area. Baggies of a crystal like substance believed to be methamphetamine was found under the driver’s seat and in the truck’s console. Glass pipes containing what is also believed to be the illegal drugs were also found in the vehicle. The two were booked into the Henderson County Jail.
LONGVIEW — Longview Police arrest three armed robbery suspects. It happened at the Summer Brook Apartments on Bill Owens Parkway just after 2:00 Monday after a man was reportedly robbed at gunpoint. Officers said Devonte Smith, 19 (pictured), Kaleb Bush, 18 and a juvenile approached a resident while he was in the parking lot unloading his car. One of the three pointed a gun at the resident and tried to rob him, then fled the scene. They were in custody a short time later. The juvenile was transported to Gregg County Juvenile Detention Center. Bush and Smith were charged with aggravated robbery and booked into the Gregg County Jail.
AUSTIN (AP/STAFF) — Wills Point native, singer-songwriter Jimmy LaFave, whose 2007 album “Cimarron Manifesto” drew critical raves and reached the top of the Americana music chart, has died just days after he appeared at a concert held in his honor. A statement Monday from Music Road Records says LaFave died Sunday at his Austin home after a fight with cancer. He was 61. More than 1,000 people attended a sold-out concert Thursday night at Austin’s Paramount Theatre to honor LaFave. He attended using a wheelchair. The East Texas native embraced the spirit of folk music icon Woody Guthrie. In 1996, Nora Guthrie invited LaFave to appear at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame tribute to her father and at her father’s 1997 induction into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. LaFave also was a two-time Austin Music Award winner for singer-songwriter.
PALESTINE – Palestine’s Interim Police Chief, John Herod, has resigned from the post to become the city’s Emergency Management Director. City Manager Mike Alexander said the administration “fully supports Herod’s transition into the role.†In Herod’s place, Lt. R.C. Johnson has been named as the interim police chief while a search begins for a permanent chief. Alexander said during Monday’s City Council meeting the search for a permanent chief will begin immediately. Read the rest of this entry »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Supreme Court may have just taken a bite out of the Marshall economy. The town was home to a huge chunk of all patent infringement lawsuits nationwide. Now the high court has ruled that these cases can only be heard in states where the defendant is incorporated. Joshua Landau, patent counsel for the Computer and Communications Industry Association, says, “They developed rules that tended to drive cases quickly and were pretty favorable for plaintiffs — and the juries in Eastern Texas have historically been pretty favorable to plaintiffs as well. He says the practice of buying patents from a company or inventor, living or dead — with the purpose of suing over infringement — is common.
TYLER – The Texas Department of Transportation marks the 15th anniversary of the “Click It or Ticket†campaign with a special event in Tyler. It will be Tuesday from 11:30 to 1:00 at the fountain at the Village at Cumberland Park on South Broadway. Kathi White with TxDOTsays seat belt compliance in the district is about 92%. But that leaves 8% percent who are still vulnerable. She said there were 100 crashes in the district last year that had unrestrained persons in the vehicle. Those crashes killed 41 persons and 74 persons sustained serious injuries. Read the rest of this entry »
DALLAS — JC Penney is getting ready to close more stores, including three in East Texas and six others around the state. The retailer plans to close 138 stores by the end of July; the liquidation sales began this week. A company spokesman says about 5,000 jobs will be affected. Some employees will be offered a chance to work at other stores, and the rest will get help with their job searches. JC Penney had announced the closure plan earlier this year. Some of the Texas closures include stores in Athens, Marshall, Nacogdoches, Stephenville, McAllen, and El Paso.
LONGVIEW – One person has been taken into custody for a couple of Longview vehicle burglaries. Arrested shortly before midnight Sunday was Hayden Michael Dale, 25, of Longview. He was arrested for two vehicle burglaries on West Hope Drive. Longview police reported 12 vehicle burglaries over the weekend. The locations that are normally targeted are areas of high vehicle traffic and neighborhoods. They remind you to lock your vehicle. They encourage you to take, lock and hide your valuables. They say 75% of these vehicle burglaries were the result of the cars being unlocked. While a locked vehicle will not prevent every burglary, it will prevent a majority of them.
NACOGDOCHES – Authorities are looking for five men who held up a credit union in Nacogdoches. The robbery occurred around 11:00 Monday morning at the Doches Credit Union on University Drive. Authorities report five suspects, described as black males, entered the building and ordered everyone on the floor. At least two of the men were armed. They took an undetermined amount of money and were last seen heading north on Hayward Street. Both local and federal authorities are investigating the robbery. No injuries were reported.
AUSTIN – Texas Monthly has published, what it calls, the top 50 barbecue joints in Texas. And an area restaurant has made the top ten. It is Bodacious Bar-B-Que in Longview, which the magazine has at number 4. The restaurant opened in 1968 and re-opened in 2015. Their brisket is smoked for 24 to 46 hours. Also on the top 50 list is Tyler’s Stanley’s Famous Pit Barbecue. It opened in 1959. The magazine says, once you settle in, you may not want to leave. Also making the top 50 is Joseph’s Riverport Barbecue in Jefferson. According to Texas Monthly, once the term Texas barbecue belt meant the center of Texas. But now, it stretches far and wide.