Today is
Thursday June 18, 2026
TYLER – Smith County judicial records indicate a Tyler man has been busted on pornography charges. Arrested Wednesday by the U.S. Marshal’s Service was Edgar James Penland, 54. He has been charged with possession/promotion of child pornography. He remains in the Smith County Jail on a $750,000 bond.
TYLER – Plans for a new three-story building for the School of Community and Rural Health on the UT Health Northeast campus are moving forward. The Board of Regents of the UT System gave their approval on Wednesday to add the building to UT System’s Capital Improvement Program and to proceed with its design and development. The building will be located south of the Academic Center on the main campus of UT Health and will take approximately 18 months to complete, according to a UTHNE news release. Total project cost is $39 million. Groundbreaking will take place this summer. Read the rest of this entry »
LONGVIEW — A Longview man has been charged in connection with an April 29 robbery. According to KETK, Michael Fred Houston, 36, was booked into the Gregg County Jail on a charge of aggravated robbery and credit card abuse. He’s being held on bonds totaling $157,500. Police were called to the Dollar General on Judson Road in reference to a robbery in the parking lot. The victim told officers a man opened the passenger door of her car and grabbed her purse. The suspect then reportedly demanded her cellphone and pointed a gun at her. After the victim told him that her phone was in her purse, the suspect fled the scene.
AUSTIN – Governor Greg Abbott has asked the United States Small Business Administration (SBA) to declare Van Zandt County a disaster area following the deadly storms that swept through North Texas on the weekend of April 28th and devastated the area. The Governor is asking the SBA to make long-term, low-interest-rate physical disaster home and business loans and economic injury disaster loans available to citizens and businesses affected by the catastrophe so that they may begin to rebuild their communities and pick up the pieces of their lives. If granted, these loans will be made available to affected citizens who qualify in Van Zandt and contiguous counties. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – The U.S. Marshals Service has arrested a Tyler man in connection with a fatal February accident. Arrested on Tuesday, and charged with intoxication manslaughter was Terry Lee, Jr., 24. Killed in the wreck was Harold Wayne Coleman, 58, of Tyler. The accident occurred on February 9th on Gentry Parkway. The car driven by Lee veered across the southeast bound lanes, left the roadway and struck a guide wire for a telephone pole. The vehicle rolled and struck a building on the corner of Shawnee Boulevard. Four others in the car were injured. Lee’s toxicology test shows his alcohol blood content level was at .092 following the wreck. The legal limit is .08. He remains in the Smith County Jail under a $500,000 bond.
LONGVIEW – A road rage incident has resulted in a man being shot. Hospitalized with life-threatening injuries is Cody Joshua Blood, 23, of Longview. Questioned and released was Robert Lee Walton Jr. 40. Both men had been driving on Hawkins Parkway. Longview police say their actions while driving led to the shooting that occurred just before 10:00 Wednesday morning, at the gas station in the parking lot of the Brookshire’s store on Gilmer Road. When the investigation is complete it will be presented to the Gregg County District Attorney. At this point in the investigation, detectives are filing charges of aggravated assault.
TYLER – Two Tyler schools are being singled out for national honors. The schools are Caldwell Elementary Arts Academy and Moore MST Magnet School. They have been named as one of more of 727 public schools in Texas to receive the title of 2016 Honor Roll school. The honor comes from the Educational Results Partnership and the Institute for Productivity in Education. Schools receiving this distinction have shown consistent high levels of student academic achievement.
TYLER – A man wanted in Hopkins County has been arrested following a Smith County Traffic stop. A state trooper stopped a pickup for a traffic violation on Interstate Highway 20 near U.S. Highway 271 around 9:00 Wednesday morning. It turned out that the driver, 51 year old James Cooper of Sulphur Springs, was named in multiple warrants in Hopkins County. Then it was discovered the pickup he was driving had been reported stolen in Ardmore, Oklahoma. Cooper was arrested for the outstanding warrants and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. He was transported to the Smith County Jail.
TYLER – The Tyler city council as authorized contracts that will lead to improvements of the city’s infrastructure. The city council has authorized City Manager Ed Broussard to award a construction contract for the 2017 Seal Coat Program. The asphalt binder restores the aging road and seals the asphalt pavement from water damage. Streets were selected using data from the 2013 PCI study. Data from the 2016 PCI study will be available in the next two months. Read the rest of this entry »
AUSTIN – There has been a slight drop in sales tax allocations in the area. But, the state as a whole saw an increase. The state comptroller’s office is sending out over $787 million dollars in sales tax allocations for May. This is up 6% from May of last year. This is based on sales made in March. Tyler’s check is for $3,738.844.98, which is down 0.86% from May of last year. But, for the year, Tyler’s sales tax allocations are up 2.87%. Longview’s May sales tax allocation is $2.779,702.15. This is down 2.33% from May of last year. Longview’s sales allocation for the year is off 0.85%.
LONGVIEW — Gregg County inked its approval for a major highway improvement project for Precinct Two. KETK reports the more than $40 million investment project will look to widen Farm to Market Road 2206, also known as Harrison Road. This connects the Loop from Longview to Highway 42 going to White Oak. The project will widen the roadway from two to four lanes, making Interstate 20 easier to get to for those who live in west Longview. Officials also say the easier access will encourage business owners to use the area, bringing in economic growth for west Longview.
CANTON — The American Red Cross continues to focus on mobile outreach and encourages anyone who has major damage due to the April 29 tornadoes to contact 1-866-505-4801. Red Cross mobile casework teams will be available to deliver client assistance cards and resources. Through Friday, May 12, a Red Cross representative will be present at the Van Zandt County Fairgrounds from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. At that time, the Red Cross will evaluate the need to man the site further, according to the agency’s Tammy Prater. Read the rest of this entry »
ATHENS — A man said to be a Dallas fugitive is jailed following a high speed-chase in Henderson County. According to Henderson County Sheriff Botie Hillhouse, Randy Blair, 57, of Dallas, was arrested in the Cherokee Shores subdivision of Mabank Tuesday evening. Sgt. Matt Jistel first noticed Blair when he allegedly committed a traffic violation. When the suspect stopped the vehicle by the side of the road to let a female passenger out, officials say he took off at a high rate of speed with the deputy in pursuit. Unable to navigate a turn, Blair drove his vehicle into a field, according to Hillhouse. Asked to identify himself, he reportedly gave a false name, but Hillhouse says a driver’s license identified him. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — On Thursday, the City of Tyler Parks Department and Texas A&M Forest Service (TFS) will have a crew mulching the understory along a portion of Rose Rudman Trail. The work will close that part of the trial until next Tuesday. Officials say the mulching project is being done to reduce safety concerns of users, increase aesthetics of the trail, remove invasive species, and mitigate hazardous fuel in the wildland urban interface. The portion of the Rose Rudman Trail to be closed is the length of trail from Rieck Road moving south to Grande Boulevard. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — Smith County residents will be able to buy fireworks to celebrate Memorial Day again this year. On Tuesday, county commissioners voted to approve an order authorizing fireworks sales from May 25-30, 2017. The 84th Texas Legislature passed House Bill 1150, authorizing three additional periods that fireworks may be sold to the public as long as the commissioners court in each county issues an order authorizing such sales each year. The three additional holidays, which were also approved in Smith County last year, are Texas Independence Day, celebrated on March 2; San Jacinto Day, April 21; and Memorial Day, May 29, 2017. Read the rest of this entry »