Today is
Friday June 05, 2026
AUSTIN – Two east Texans have won big money from the Texas Lottery. A Longview resident claimed a top prize winning ticket worth $1 million in the Texas Lottery scratch ticket game, Stacks of Cash. The ticket was purchased at Kwick Food Mart #2, on South Eastman Road in Longview. And a resident of Tennessee Colony, in Anderson County, claimed a $1 million prize in the Texas Lottery scratch ticket game, $500,000,000 Cash. That ticket was sold at a store in Gatesville. Both winners wanted to remain anonymous.
LONGVIEW – Extra patrols for the holidays took suspected drunk drivers off Longview’s streets. The extra patrols were part of the Texas Department of Public Safety’s STEP IDM Grant. The enforcement period started on December 20th and ran through January 1. During that time, 20 suspected drunk drivers were arrested. There will be additional officers deployed for the stepped up enforcement program through out new year. They will be out during the spring break, and over the Independence Day and Labor Day holidays.
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate has confirmed John Garrison as U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Texas in Tyler. Garrison has spent his entire 28-year career with the marshal’s service in the Eastern District of Texas. He has served as the District’s Sex Offender Investigations Coordinator, Judicial Security Inspector, and Acting Assistant Chief. He has also served as a member of the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force and the Special Operations Group within the marshal’s service. The announcement of his conformation was announced Thursday by Texas Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz.
LONGVIEW – A third man has been arrested in a Longview murder just over 3 months ago. Thursday morning, Longview police arrested Erik JaVonte Jefferson, 26, of Longview. He was arrested in connection with the murder of Henry England Williams, 32, on September 29. He was found bleeding and sitting in a chair on the front porch of his home on Clover Lane. He later died at a Longview hospital. The other two suspects, Ladadrian Deontae King, 23, and Decharleston LaVaughn Stanley, 17, both from Longview, are still in the Gregg County Jail.
WINONA – A man wanted for a shooting in Louisiana has been arrested in Smith County. Shreveport police tipped off Smith County authorities that the suspect, and his 6 year old daughter, were in a car off Interstate Highway 20 in the Winona area. After finding the vehicle, around 2:00 Thursday morning, the deputies called in the department’s SWAT team. They were able to quickly remove the child and arrest Luther Lee Wilson Jr., 41, of Glenn Heights, Texas, which is just south of Dallas. Wilson is believed to the the uncle of the wounded man, who was taken to a Shreveport hospital following the shooting around 11:00 Wednesday night.
LONGVIEW – The death of a homeless man in Longview is now being investigated as a homicide. The body of Donald Woodlief, 61, was found on December 20th, behind a former convenience store on South Mobberly Avenue. At the time, investigators said there were signs of trauma to his body. An autopsy was ordered to help in identifying any injuries and the cause of death. There is no word at this time on what led investigators to say the death was a homicide.
TYLER – For a veteran receiving a pension, some of the rules have changed. Veterans or surviving spouses receiving a pension, from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, no longer have to turn in an updated medical expense or financial status report every year, unless specifically told to do so by the VA. That’s the word from Smith County Veteran Services Officer Michael Roark. His office was recently notified by the Texas Veterans Commission about the change. He said other changes made by the VA include changing the network ceiling of the pension system. You can contact his office if you have questions about any of the changes.
LONGVIEW – The Longview Municipal Court is offering a warrant amnesty program. It is now underway through the end of March. Anyone with an outstanding warrant through the court is encouraged to save some money and get a fresh start. When a person comes in voluntarily and either pays in full or pays a minimum of ½ the total amount due, and starts a payment plan for the balance owed, all warrant fees will be removed. As an added incentive, anyone who pays in full will save an additional 20% off the fine amount. The percentage savings is only on the fine, not the court costs. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – A case of domestic violence between a husband and his wife has left one person dead and one injured. The shooting occurred shortly before 10:30 Monday night on County Road 383, just off U.S. Highway 21 just northeast of Tyler. Sheriff’s deputies found shot to death Rodney Kilman, 50, and wounded was Tena Kilman, 47. She is the one who called 911 to report the shooting. She is listed in stable condition at a Tyler Hospital. According to sheriff’s department spokesman Deputy Larry Christian, investigators have contacted the Smith County District Attorney’s Office and recommended this investigation be presented to a Grand Jury.
TYLER – The first baby of the new year belongs to Joshua and Andromelia Jones of Tyler. Alanna Gracelyn Jones was born Tuesday morning at 12:50 at UT Health East Texas-Tyler. She arrived weighing 7 pounds 9 ounces and was 19 inches long. She joins in the Jones family, her sister, Amelia Paris Jones, 18 months old, who was born on the 4th of July. Her mother was at work when her contractions became closer together. She is a Smith County Jail detention officer.
TYLER – The month of December 2018 was warmer and wetter than normal in Tyler. The National Weather Service says, compared with December 2017, the month was 1.8 degrees warmer, and 0.01 inch drier. Total yearly rainfall was 4.09 inches more in 2018 than in 2017. Both years saw well above normal rainfall. 2018 was, though still warmer than normal, 1.3 degrees cooler than 2017. The mean temperature was 67.2 degrees. The mean temperature was 1.6 degrees warmer than normal, and rainfall was 11.51 inches greater than normal. Read the rest of this entry »
PALESTINE – Beginning at midnight on Tuesday, Palestine’s yearly Water Distribution System Burnout will begin. They do this by turning the ammonia off at the treatment plant. This produces a free chlorine residual that will kill bacterial growth in the distribution system. This procedure is recommended by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to help achieve and maintain the required .5 parts-per-million chlorine residual. Residents may experience chlorine smell or red water for approximately one to three weeks. The ammonia will be turned back on at midnight on January 21. If residents experience red water, they may pick up a product called Red-B-Gone for free at the Public Water Works Utilities Office at 1620 West Palestine Avenue or at City Hall, 504 North Queen Street.
LONGVIEW – Longview police say a suspect wounded by an officer fired multiple shots at the officer before he returned the fire. Randy Carl Jeffrey, 33, of Mount Pleasant, was treated and released at a Longview hospital, then booked into the Gregg County Jail. On December 23rd, Officer William Smeltzer responded to a suspicious person call on East Marshall Avenue near American Legion Boulevard. Authorities say there was soon a confrontation with Jeffrey. The officer was not injured. As is the department’s normal practice in an officer involved shooting incident, Smeltzer was placed on administrative leave pending the investigation which is being conducted by the Texas Rangers. Read the rest of this entry »
MARSHALL – A missing Marshall teenager has been located. A report says Denisha Mathews, 16, was found safe in Marshall on Sunday. No other information was released. She had last seen on the high school campus on October 31st.
TYLER – Crews from the Texas Department of Transportation are preparing area roadways for potentially icy conditions. Operations are currently being conducted on Interstate Highway 20, from U.S. Highway 69 moving west. Portions of various other roads, such as but not limited to U.S. Highway 271 and State Highway 31, would be included. TxDOT says the pre-treatment of major roadways allows them to get ahead of wintry weather conditions. The process is a fast-moving mobile operation with minimal impacts to traffic. Additional work will be conducted Wednesday, if needed, in advance of the wintry conditions.