Today is
Thursday November 28, 2024
AUSTIN – Tyler’s unemployment rate continues to be better than the state’s number. The state’s unemployment rate fell to 3.7% in October, down from 3.8% in September. This is the lowest level since the state unemployment data series began in January 1976. The Texas economy added 32,300 seasonally adjusted nonfarm jobs in October. Annual employment growth for Texas was 3.1% in October, marking 102 consecutive months of annual growth. Tyler’s unemployment rate went from 3.5% in September to 3.4% last month. A year ago it was 4.2%. Longview’s unemployment rate in October was 3.8%. It had been 4% in September and 4.3% a year ago.
TYLER – Tyler’s growing season has come to an end. The National Weather Service reports Tyler recorded 32 degrees at 7:46 Tuesday morning. That put the growing season at 272 days. It began a little earlier and ended a little earlier than normal. With a trace of snow on Tuesday, Tyler’s high temperature was 36 degrees. That is not a record low maximum for the date. The record is 35 degree degrees, which was recorded in 1907.
TYLER – Tyler has recorded a new rainfall record for November 12th. The National Weather Service reports Tyler’s rainfall total for Monday was 2.96 inches. That beat the 2.17 inches recorded in 1914. Tyler’s 5 day storm total came to 5.52 inches.
TYLER – A Tyler robbery attempt is under investigation. It occurred around 5:15 Friday afternoon at City Fuel at 7205 South Broadway. A man, armed with a knife, came into the business and demanded money. When he was unable to get any money, he left the store on foot. He is described as a white or Hispanic male, 5’8″ with a thin build. He was wearing white pants, gloves and a long sleeve black shirt.
LONGVIEW – A trial date has been set in Longview for a man accused of killing two people five years ago. During a hearing Friday afternoon, a March 18th trial date has been set for 27 year old Kyron Rayshawn Templeton of Longview. A psychologist has determined that he was competent to stand trial. Since the killing,Templeton received psychiatric treatment and underwent another mental evaluation last month. The attacks occurred in November 2013 at then-Good Shepherd Medical Center in Longview. While at the hospital for his mother’s surgery, he stabbed and killed a nurse and a hospital visitor. Three persons were injured. He is charged with capital murder and three counts of aggravated assault.
WINONA – Thanks to a $200,000 Rural Volunteer Fire Department cost-share grant through Texas A&M Forest Service, the Winona Volunteer Fire Department has a brush truck and tender. The primary use for this new tanker will be carrying water so they can maintain a constant supply when fighting a variety of fires. It also has drafting capability for refilling from a pool or creek. The tanker will help to fill the need in the far north end of the county. The water tank is mounted to a rugged chassis to provide improved access to ranching and farm areas that may have plowed fields or narrow driveways. They got the truck just in time to respond to several emergency calls.
LONGVIEW – Two more Texas Sears stores will be shut down. One is in Longview. It was previously announced the Sears store in Tyler would be closing. Now, with the latest announcement of the closing of 29 Sears and 11 Kmart stores, the Sears store in the Longview Mall is on the list. According to a statement on the company’s web site, the latest locations will close in February with liquidation sales to begin late next week. The latest shutdowns are in addition to the previously announced closure of 142 unprofitable stores, a process that’s expected to be complete near the end of the year.
LONGVIEW – A Longview man is in jail after being accused of injuring a child and his mother-in-law. Being held on Bonds totaling $7,500 is Branden Dale Mills, 39. The Longview News Journal reports he was arrested after sheriff’s deputies responded to a disturbance call on Big Woods Road. He is said to have pushed the woman against the house, injuring her shoulder and forearm. When he tried to leave, the 4 year old girl screamed “you’re hurting me” because he squeezed her so tight in his arms. Mills is charged with assault causes bodily injury family violence and injury to a child.
KILGORE – Kilgore College is warning students to be leery of a rash of social media advertisements that appear to offer an option to “remove all student loans” and promising loan forgiveness. Loan rescue organizations promise assistance to arrange federal student loan forgiveness in exchange for a fee. The college tells students, it is important to know that companies cannot do anything that a student’s federal student loan servicer cannot do free. And the college tells them, under no circumstances should students give their federal student aid IDs to loan rescue companies. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – Smith County has a new budget analyst. Smith County Judge Nathaniel Moran has announced the hiring of Paul Feltes to the post. A former analyst for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy, Feltes most recently did budget and statistical analysis for UT Health East Texas. According to Judge Moran, the primary function of the analyst is to compile, review, examine, analyze and interpret financial data and policies related to the county budget. Feltes said he is looking forward to getting into the details of the budget and operations of each department or office to see where the County can increase efficiencies and save the taxpayers money.
Rusk – A man arrested last month for Cherokee County burglaries is now facing additional charges. Ruben Reyes Jr., 30, of Jacksonville, was first arrested on a warrant for burglary of a habitation. He has since been charged with a total of 9 charges and his bonds total $202,500. His arrest follows theft and burglary reports in September and October in the New Summerfield area. Reyes is said to have committed one of the burglaries with Ruben Lyon Martinez, 25, of Jacksonville. Martinez has also been arrested. Some of the items taken in the burglaries have been recovered and returned to their owners.
TYLER – You are invited to take part in One Night Without a Home to help you understand the plight of the homeless. It starts Friday afternoon with dinner at the Salvation Army in Tyler. Then there is a walk to Fun Forest Park where you will hear from the homeless and spend the night. The next morning you will walk to the Gentry Bridge where you will help feed the homeless. Then it’s a walk back to the Salvation Army. Leave behind your money, watches, food and snacks and no electronics. Event organizers will have cell phones in case of emergency. You can go to
http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=us5o8dkab&oeidk=a07eew1ipth202dd3db for more details and how to register for the event.
TURNERTOWN – Two kids have been killed and a man injured in a fire in Rusk County. It happened at a home on Highway 42 near U.S. Highway 64, south of Turnertown, Wednesday afternoon. All three of the injured were taken to a Henderson hospital where the two children, ages 2 and 4, later died. Their father was treated for minor injuries and released. The Texas Fire Marshal’s Office has been called in to determine the cause of the fire
LONGVIEW – A psychologist has determined a suspect in a 2013 stabbing attack at a Longview hospital that left two dead is competent to stand trial. The Longview News-Journal reports Kyron Rayshawn Templeton received psychiatric treatment and underwent another mental evaluation last month. Earlier this week he was transferred from a mental health facility to jail in Longview, where he’s charged with capital murder and aggravated assault. Templeton was twice ruled incompetent in the November 2013 attacks at then-Good Shepherd Medical Center in Longview. Templeton was at the center, where his mother was scheduled for surgery, and told an officer he thought “they” were trying to kill her. A nurse and a visitor at the hospital were stabbed to death. Three persons were injured. Templeton’s case is on the docket Friday afternoon to determine if and when a trial will be set.
LINDALE – Wednesday marked the first day traffic was permitted on a portion of Toll 49 on what is known as the Lindale relief route. This portion of the toll road runs from Interstate Highway 20 to U.S. Highway 69 north of Lindale. A $68.7 million contract was awarded in March of 2016 to build this segment. The groundbreaking for the project was held 5 months later. The use of the nearly seven mile section of Toll 49 west of Lindale comes earlier than anticipated. It had earlier been announced that the Lindale relief route would open in early 2019. Read the rest of this entry »