Today is
Thursday June 18, 2026
TYLER — Tyler Police are on the scene of an accident involving a pedestrian. Officials said the northbound lanes of HWY 271, by UT Health Northeast, were closed for several hours. Just before 2:00 this morning, a pedestrian walking on the outside lane of the highway was struck and killed. The accident is under investigation. Names have not been released.
KILGORE – A man who claimed to have a bomb has been arrested by Kilgore police. The man was at the front door of the National Guard Armory. He was said to have been threatening a staff member. Officers used binoculars to view several items in his possession and determined he did not have any explosives. The suspect was uncooperative and refused to comply with Officers. After a brief standoff, Jesse William Preston Hayes III, 29, Richmond, VA, was safely taken into custody and transported to the Kilgore Municipal Jail. He was later transported to the Gregg County Jail and charged with terroristic threat/fear of imminent serious bodily injury/influence the conduct or activities of a branch or agency of the federal government. He’s also charged with resisting arrest, search or transport. His bond was set at $7,000.
AUSTIN – A committee to advise The University of Texas System Board of Regents on the selection of a president for UT MD Anderson Cancer Center was announced Tuesday by Regents’ Chairman Paul L. Foster. Among those named to the committee is Dr. Michael Tidwell, the President of the University of Texas at Tyler. The presidential search advisory committee will make recommendations on possible successors to Dr. Ron DePinho. Dr. DePinho was appointed on September 1, 2011 as the fourth full-time president of the institution. He announced on March 8th he was stepping down. The committee will be asked to present names of potential candidates to The University of Texas System Board of Regents, which will make the final decision. The aim of the committee is to recommend top candidates to the regents by the end of the year.
DALLAS – An expert witness called by defense lawyers says former Dallas Mavs Maniac dancer and Tyler football standout Erbie Bowser was legally insane when he shot four women to death in 2013. In trying to prove their insanity case, Bowser’s team called a sports psychologist who testified repeated football hits, combined with post traumatic stress syndrome, left Bowser insane the night he killed his estranged wife, her daughter, his mistress, and her daughter. And pharmacology expert Dr. Ed French examined the antipsychotic medicines that Bowser was on at the time — calling some dangerous. According to French, “In terms of reducing his depression, it’s very possible that a side effect could be that he becomes anxious and agitated and he actually becomes more depressed.” Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – The City of Whitehouse will be getting assistance in housing stray dogs. Smith County Commissioners have approved an interlocal agreement with the City of Whitehouse to take its stray dogs into the Smith County Animal Shelter. According to the agreement, Whitehouse will be responsible for responding to animal control matters within its city, then transporting the dogs to the Smith County Animal Shelter. The city will pay any fees associated with impoundment, testing, medical treatment or other services. Whitehouse will pay Smith County $50 per dog that is brought to the shelter, as well as an additional $35 for each dog requiring euthanasia. The agreement between Smith County and Whitehouseis effective through Fiscal Year 2018. Read the rest of this entry »
AUSTIN — Texas right to life Republicans in the state House threaten to go over the speaker’s head to get their bills heard, with a Tyler lawmaker in the forefront. Weeks ago the Texas Freedom Caucus called for Speaker Straus to give the transgender bathroom bill a committee hearing and they got it; now they’re pushing for hearings for dismemberment abortion ban bills. State Representative Matt Schaefer said, “So you just don’t count votes on pro-life bills in the Texas House. You have to count the days left on the calendar, because unfortunately, session after session, the Texas House of Representatives has not prioritized pro-life bills.” Schaefer is also threatening to push for Governor Abbott to call for a special session if the bills are held up.
TYLER – This is National Teacher Appreciation Week. And on Tuesday, Tyler teachers were shown how much they are appreciated when they received gifts from the Tyler Area Business Education Council. To honor Tyler’s teachers, community leaders delivered cakes to over 40 different Tyler Independent School District campuses. Pictured is a cake delivered to Ramey Elementary. In the picture, from the left, Smith County Commissioner JoAnn Hampton, Thomas B. Ramey Elementary School Principal Tremayna Thomas, Smith County Administrator Leonardo Brown and Pre-Trial Services Director Gary Pinkerton
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MARSHALL – A Shreveport based business is moving its headquarters to Marshall. Hardware Distribution Warehouses Inc. will be moving into a a 670,000 square foot facility on Brown Road. They closed on the purchase of the property last week. The facility had been formerly owned by Celebrating Home, which closed a couple of years ago. Company officials tell the Marshall News Messenger many of the Shreveport employees are being brought to the Marshall facility. They plan to start with 165 employees and could hire up to 75 new employees from the Marshall community. A temporary employment office will be announced later this month.
PALESTINE – Palestine police have arrested a man for making a bomb threat. The bomb threat was made late Saturday afternoon at Lowe’s on South Loop 256. The phone threats were determined to have been made from inside the store. After customers were evacuated, the store manager told officers an employee was hiding inside the store. They found him, Paul Martinez, 21. The investigation indicated he was making the calls. He was arrested and charged with making a false alarm and booked into the Anderson County Jail.
TYLER – Two Tyler Junior College professors are being singled out as endowed teaching chairs for 2017. This year’s recipients are sociology professor Ryan Button who receives the “The Dorothy Fay and Jack White Endowed Chair for Teaching Excellence.” And speech professor Alfonso Ippolito, who receives “The Thomas H. Shelby Jr. Endowed Chair for Teaching Excellence.” The winners were surprised during their classes Tuesday with a fanfare of applause and balloons, followed by presentations of certificates and checks from TJC officials. Endowed teaching chair recipients receive $2,000 for each of two years. This includes a $1,500 cash stipend and $500 for professional development for each year. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – The population of Tyler’s Caldwell Zoo has grown by three. The zoo has announced the arrival of three cheetah cubs. They were born on April 23rd. Meadow and her cubs are living in off-exhibit quarters so that this little family has time to bond with mom. And they will feel secure as she cares for her youngsters in relative seclusion for a while. The zoo staff have not disturbed the mother and her cubs, so their gender is not known. Zoo visitors can watch the cheetah family on the zoo’s Cheetah Cam. It is located at the outpost on the African Overlook. Read the rest of this entry »
RUSK — 82-year-old Rayburn Hobbs of Bullard has been indicted for a November murder in Cherokee County. KETK reports A 9-1-1 call came in saying a person had been shot and killed. The caller said he was at a mobile home on County Road 3706 near Mount Selman. Police say they were met at the scene by Hobbs, the owner of the mobile home. They found 69-year-old Jimmie Zinn dead inside the house.
LONGVIEW – Longview police had been looking for a missing man. They now say that Donzel Bell, 71, has been found and is safe. Bell, who suffers from dementia, walked away from Christus Good Shepherd Medical Center around 10:00 Tuesday morning.
EAST TEXAS — The National Weather Service offices in Fort Worth and Shreveport were out surveying damage tracks again Monday. The team from Fort Worth found three additional tornado tracks. In addition, they’ve now included two tornado tracks from near Lindale and Mineola. The Eustace tornado that went just west of Canton (the first of several tornadoes to impact the city) was upgraded to an EF-4 with maximum sustained winds estimated to be near 180 MPH. Nine tornadoes have been confirmed and additional damage surveys will be conducted on Tuesday. These survey results are subject to change. Please note that the Lindale and Mineola tornado tracks are not included in the graphic.
TYLER – The nominees for Tyler’s Teachers of the year will be honored tonight. Teachers like Robert E Lee’s Josh Loeffler and John Tyler’s Kala Morrow are among the 30 teachers on the list. Those teachers will be honored and the Elementary and Secondary Teacher of the year will be announced at the annual banquet tonight at the Harvey Convention Center. Read the rest of this entry »