Today is
Tuesday November 26, 2024
JACKSONVILLE – A man has been arrested in a Jacksonville homicide. London Castleberry, of Jacksonville, came to the police department just after 7:30 Monday morning and told officers he had just killed a man. Officers went to the Travis Towers Apartments on South Ragsdale Street. That’s where they found the body of Robert Barclay of Jacksonville. Castleberry was arrested and taken to the Cherokee County Jail. Jacksonville Police Chief Andrew Hawkes says, because this is an active, ongoing investigation, this is the only information that can be released at this time.
MARSHALL – Water main breaks in Marshall have been repaired. Repairs have been made and water is being restored to customers. If residents had little to no water pressure because of the breaks, they will need to boil any water used for consumption for two minutes, until the city provides a notice otherwise. The boil water notice only applies to those affected by the breaks. It is believed the boil water notice could be lifted on Tuesday. Because of the water main breaks, Texas State Technical College in Marshall was closed on Monday.
TYLER – Time is running out for young ladies to apply to be an Azalea Belle in Tyler. The Azalea and Spring Flower Trail runs March 22 through April 7. The Azalea Belles are Smith County freshman and sophomore high school girls. They wear antebellum dresses that are provided by Visit Tyler. Throughout this three-weekend event the girls promote Tyler, greet tourists, and pose for photographs. The girls must be academically eligible and are required to attend certain events and trainings. Applications are due January 30 and can be found online at http://www.visittyler.com/azaleatrail or at local high school counselor’s offices.
TYLER – Tyler police are asking for the public’s help in identifying a man who forged a very large check at a local bank. It happened last month. If you have information on this suspect please contact Detective Wayne Allen at 903-535-0121, case #18-24079.
RUSK – A Jacksonville man has been killed and two persons injured in a one vehicle accident in Rusk. Pronounced dead at the scene was Thurman Massey, 71, from Jacksonville. Injured in the crash was George Smith, 37, of Jacksonville, and a 14 year old, who was flown to Children’s Medical center in Dallas. Rusk police say the pickup, which was driven by Smith, left the road and hit a tree, trapping the three in the vehicle. The cause of the accident, which occurred shortly before 6:45 Sunday night on U.S Highway 69, remains under investigation.
WASKOM – A vehicle/pedestrian accident in Harrison County had killed one person. It happened on Interstate Highway 20, about 10 miles west of Waskom. Dead at the scene was Allan Onucko, 42, of Cottage Grove, Wisconsin. The Department of public Safety reports that Onucko, was walking west in the middle lane when he was hit by a tractor-trailer rig. The accident occurred shortly before 5:30 Friday morning. The investigation into the accident is continuing.
JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) – A Houston-area city has agreed to pay $145,000 to settle a free-speech lawsuit with its former city manager who took the job after he was fired from the southwest Missouri city of Joplin after a deadly tornado. The Joplin Globe reports that Mark Rohr was hired in League City, Texas, in 2014. The Joplin City Council fired him in a split vote after an investigator’s report described him as a vindictive manager who couldn’t get along with department heads. In 2016 he was fired from his League City post after he filed ethics complaints against the mayor. Rohr alleged in a federal lawsuit that his firing was an attempt to “chill” his speech. Rohr was hired last month as city manager for the city of Marshall, Texas.
TYLER – It is time to sign up for the annual weight loss challenge in East Texas. If you live in Tyler and near the Smith County area, then you can register for the annual Lighten Up East Texas Regional Weight Loss Challenge. Their kick off event will be on Saturday from 1:00pm till 2:00pm at the Broadway Square Mall. Door prizes will be raffled for anyone who registers. Just step on the scale and enter. The only requirements are that you are over the age of 18 and you enter at a weighing location in East Texas. You can go to https://www.fitcitytyler.com/2019weighinglocations for a location near you. Every registered person who loses 5% or more of their starting weight will be entered into their LUET Grand Prize Drawings in May.
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.