Today is
Thursday July 23, 2026
TYLER – One person has been arrested and one person has been wounded in a Tyler shooting. The initial report said a witness flagged down an officer and reported seeing a shooting happen shortly before 4:15 Sunday afternoon at the Westwood Shopping Center at S SW Loop 323 and Chandler Highway. Witnesses were able to give a suspect and vehicle description and officers were able to arrest a suspect. Kristian Perdomo, 25, was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and was booked into the Smith County Jail. His bond was set at $1,000,000. The man who was wounded is in critical condition in a Tyler hospital. The investigation into the circumstances surrounding the shooting is continuing. Read the rest of this entry »
LONGVEW – One person was killed in a vehicle/pedestrian accident in Longview. Killed shortly after 6:30 Saturday night was Jorelle Antwon Reese, 32, of Longview. Longview police say he was walking across West Marshall Avenue when the accident occurred. Investigators say he was not in a designated crosswalk. He later died at a Longview hospital. No information was made available about the car’s driver.
TYLER – A TSA Pre mobile enrollment center is coming to Tyler. From January 21 through January 25, pre enrollment center will be open at Tyler Pounds Regional Airport. Travelers can now schedule their in-person appointment for that week to complete the background check and fingerprinting part of the application process. Before applying, be sure to go to the TSA Website at http://www.tsa.gov for full details on how to enroll. Airport Manager Davis Dickson said the enrollment is easy and passengers don’t have to have a ticket or be traveling to access the enrollment center. The mobile enrollment center will be located in the baggage claim area in the airport terminal building. Signs will be present to provide location information inside the terminal.
LONGVIEW – A Longview man has pleaded guilty in connection with a fatal Gregg County accident last year. In 124th District Court in Longview on Friday, Danny Clayton Lee, 63, pleaded guilty to intoxication manslaughter with a vehicle. A sentencing date has not been set. The accident occurred in July of last year on U.S. Highway 259. The Department of Public safety report says Lee was in the wrong lane of traffic when his pickup and a car collided head-on. The car’s driver, Benjamin Murphy of Diana, was pronounced dead at the scene.
ATHENS – It is now official. The Athens school district will go to a four day school week next year. The action was taken by school trustees during a called noon meeting on Friday. The new school week will start with the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year on August 5. The shorter school week would be launched as part of a three-year pilot program. Their action was made possible in Texas after lawmakers approved two statutes in 2015. One of the measures requires a certain number of instructional minutes rather than instructional days. In order to comply with this, the instructional day in Athens ISD will increase by 50 minutes in the new school year.
KILGORE – M. Roberts Media is expanding its holdings in East Texas. The company, which recently purchased the Tyler Morning Telegraph, is now buying the Kilgore News Herald. The company also owns the Longview News Journal and the Marshall News Messenger. The paper says it can trace its roots back to the early days of the East Texas oil boom and has changed hands several times. Terms of the deal between M. Roberts Media and News Herald owner Bluebonnet Publishing Company were not disclosed.
One person has died in a one vehicle accident in Harrison County. Dead at the scene was Steven D. Alexander, 38, of Marshall. The Department of Public Safety reports his car was traveling at a high rate of speed on Macedonia Road when the accident occurred. His vehicle left the road and hit a travel trailer. The accident, which remains under investigation, was reported shortly after 9:15 Thursday night, just under 5 miles northwest of Marshall.
MARSHALL – At Thursday’s meeting, the Marshall City Commission voted to appoint Mark Rohr as city manager. Support Services Director Jack Redmon has been serving as acting city manager since April. Rohr has 31 years of local government experience. That includes 29 years as a city manager. He most recently served as city manager of League City, Texas, from March 2014 to December 2016. Rohr will tentatively begin his duties in Marshall next month.
ATHENS – The Athens school board is scheduled to vote on going to a four day school week during a noon meeting on Friday. School district employees learned about it during a district wide meeting earlier this month. In order to comply with the state’s requirements for a minimum number of instructional minutes during a school year, the instructional day would increase by 50 minutes. They have been studying a possible change for the past six months. If approved, it would start next year and it would be launched as a three-year pilot program.
RUSK – A Cherokee County jury has found a Bullard man guilty possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. The jury sentenced John Michael Lydy, 46, who is a habituation offender and a registered sex offender, to life in prison. According to a news releases from the Cherokee County District Attorney’s Office, Lydy was distributing methamphetamine from his mobile home in the Shady Brooke subdivision near Bullard.
TROUP – There has been a change in the Troup Christmas Parade. It had been scheduled for 6:00 Thursday evening. But, because of the rain in the area, the parade has been rescheduled for next Tuesday evening.
TYLER – Friday will be graduation time at Tyler Junior College. U-T Tyler will hold graduation ceremonies on Friday and Saturday. TJC will hold two ceremonies on Friday. Both will be in Wagstaff Gym. They will be recognizing 639 candidates for graduation who are earning a total of 752 degrees and certificates. UT Tyler will have two ceremonies on Friday and two on Saturday, recognizing over 1,500 degree candidates. The ceremonies will all be held in the Cowan Center. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – Three Smith County road improvement projects have been completed while others are about to begin. That was the report Smith County Engineer Frank Davis presented to county commissioners this week. Completed last month was work on County Road 1113, Lake Placid Road; County Road 220, Old Henderson Road and the first section of County Road 223, Old Overton Road. Getting underway this month is work on County Road 2171, Willingham Road, County Road 1302 and the second segment of County Road 223. And, there is an additional nearly 6 miles worth of overlay projects currently out for bid. And, with weather permitting, they plan on 1 1/2 miles of asphalt paving this month.
TYLER – The Tyler city council has signed a memorandum with the Texas Music Office to begin the process in designating the city as a Music Friendly City. The next step in the process would be a community workshop, where the Texas Music Office would provide training for city officials, music industry professionals and local venues, and artists. The city would also need to demonstrate partnerships with the community’s music related nonprofits, music education programs and schools. According to the city, designating Tyler as a Music Friendly City would help promote the growth of the music industry within the community. Cities that have received this designation include Lindale, Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio and Denton.
MARSHALL – A Marshall man is behind bars accused of indecency with a child. Arrested by Marshall detectives was Terry Lynn Jones, 27. The Tuesday arrest stems from a report filed late last month. Jones is accused of inappropriately touching a juvenile under the age of 14. He has been charged with indecency with a child sexual contact, He was booked into the Harrison County Jail under a $100,000 bond.
TYLER – The city council on Wednesday received a presentation on the results of a resident survey about Tyler. The survey shows most respondents have a positive perception of the city. Over 80% of those surveyed indicated that Tyler is a good place to live, raise children and retire. The survey was conducted during the summer by the ETC Institute. The six-page survey was originally mailed to a random sample of households in the city. A total of 406 residents completed the survey. Read the rest of this entry »
SMITH COUNTY – Smith County authorities say that Jhoel Hidalgo Sevilla, 33, was the man killed over the weekend. The shooting was reported shortly after 9:30 Sunday morning in an apartment on County Road 382 in the northeastern part of the county. He died from an apparent gunshot wound. There is no other information on the case as the investigation is continuing.
AUSTIN – Sales Tax rebates for Tyler and Longview continue to grow. The state comptrollers office is sending out sales tax allocations for December. They are based on sales made in October. Tyler’s check tops $3.6 million. This is an increase of over 16% from last December. So far this year, Tyler’s sales tax allocations top $43 million, for an increase of 7 1/2%. Longview’s December check is for over $2.6 million, a hike of over 19%. For the year, Longview’s checks exceed $32 million, for a 10% increase. The over all state figure for the month is $761 million, for an increase of 9 1/2%
TYLER – The Tyler Rotary Club has a special guest speaker on Thursday. He is former Baylor University President Kenneth Starr. He is also a former federal appeals court judge, who resigned to become U.S. solicitor general under President George H.W. Bush. In August 1994, Starr became independent counsel responsible for overseeing several investigations involving the Clinton administration, including Whitewater and the Monica Lewinsky scandal. The Tyler Rotary Club meets at the Hollytree Country Club.
CHEROKEE COUNTY – Two Cherokee County Sheriff’s deputies are being honored for saving the life of a motorist. The commendation goes to deputies Houston Munsinger and Keith Jones. They were flagged down last month by a woman whose husband had a heart attack and was unresponsive. Because of the deputies’ actions, the man regained his breathing and heartbeat. Sheriff James Campbell says a check at Tyler’s CHRISTUS Mother Francis Hospital has shown the man is doing fine.
TYLER – TJC student Lorenzo Luna, of Henderson, has been awarded a $2,000 scholarship from the Clifford H. “Ted†Rees Jr. Scholarship Foundation. It’s a charitable foundation of the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute, and the Air Conditioning Contractors of America. The foundation recently announced scholarship awards to students nationwide who are studying to become technicians in the HVACR and water heating industry.
MARSHALL – A woman posing as a nurse has been indicted by the Harrison County Grand Jury. Stephanie Garcia, 30, of Henderson, has been indicted for fraudulent use/possession of identifying information and two counts of nursing regulation violations. The Longview News Journal reports she used a registered nurse license number as identifying information on a job application in March of last year. The indictment also says Garcia practiced professional nursing without a license twice in July of that year. The investigation began following a complaint to the Texas Board of Nursing by former patient at Davita Dialysis in Marshall.
TYLER – A member of the Tyler Police Department has received the Blue Ribbon Award at the Wednesday city council meeting. It was presented to financial crime detective Jeff Roberts for the month of December. The city’s financial crimes unit has become experts on credit card skimming cases. Detective Roberts has taught classes on credit card skimming all over the state and with federal agencies in different parts of the U.S. The Blueprint Blue Ribbon Award goes to city employees who have placed the highest premium on responsiveness to the public’s needs.
HENDERSON COUNTY – Gabriel McBride, 46, has died at a Tyler hospital following a Monday afternoon shooting near Chandler. His daughter, Beverly McBride, 17, was was found on a couch inside the home, dead from a gunshot wound to the head. Sheriff Botie Hillhouse said this was not a random shooting, it was a deliberate act. The Texas Rangers have joined Henderson County authorities in investigating the case.
TYLER – A woman accused of stealing $100,000 from a wedding venue in Flint has been arrested. Holly Longino Elliott, 42, who also goes by the name of Holly Leann Elliott, is charged with theft of property, greater than $30,000 but less than $150,000. Details of her arrest are unavailable. She is currently in the Smith County Jail under a $100,000 bond.
LONGVIEW – The weather is causing a Christmas celebration in Longview to be canceled. The Christmas Balloon Glow, scheduled for the Maude Cobb Convention and Activity Center, has been canceled for Thursday because of thunderstorms in the forecast. The organization said on its Facebook page, they had previously said “there would be no “rain date†or plan B, but we will let you know if that changes.” The event, which is organized by local balloon pilots in East Texas, is not an official Great Texas Balloon Race event.
TYLER – Two Tyler businesses have won awards in the 2018 Texas Downtown Association President’s Awards Program. ETX Brewing Company was named winner of the Best Downtown Business in towns over over 50,000 population. The microbrewery participates in all of the downtown promotional activities.They also host a monthly game night fundraiser for the Tyler Public Library and Meet and Greets prior the symphony’s concerts. The winner of the 2018 Best Promotional Event – Festival Event was Red Dirt BBQ & Music Festival, which is held in downtown Tyler each May.
TYLER – The holiday season has arrived at the Center for Earth & Space Science Education at Tyler Junior College. Tuesday through Saturday, the center is presenting a variety of holiday related shows in the domed theater. You will learn about the Mystery of the Christmas Star. There is also a “Season of Light,†which recounts the historical religious and cultural rituals practiced during the time of winter solstice. There is even a Laser Holiday show which features a mix of everyone’s favorite holiday music set to fantastic laser artwork. Theater seating is limited, and it is recommended that tickets are purchased in advance on line at http://sciencecenter.tjc.edu or at the front counter. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – Someone in the Tyler area is a Texas Lottery winner. There were two winning tickets sold for the grand prize in Monday’s Texas Two Step drawing. The winning numbers are 7, 13, 26, 29 and the bonus ball is 6. One winning ticket was sold in Tyler at the Food Fast on University Boulevard. The other was sold in Lubbock. Both were quick picks. The grand prize was $225,000. That means, before taxes, each winner will receive $112,500, which will be paid out in a single, lump sum.
TYLER – The investigation continues into the shooting death of Bennie Ray Jackson, 65, of Tyler. A neighbor found him unresponsive on the front porch of his home on West Barrett Street shortly before 1:45 Monday afternoon. It appears as if he died from a gunshot wound.