Today is
Thursday November 28, 2024
TYLER – The Smith County Commissioners Court has approved the purchase a new voting system. It replaces the aging voting equipment that is currently being used. The county says it will ensure the integrity of the elections. The new system uses touch-screen technology and produces a paper-based record for tabulation. It gives the voter the ability to double-check their ballot on screen and on paper before depositing the paper ballot into the voting box. The cost of the new equipment is around $1.25 million. The county has been saving for these upgrades and is paying for them in cash through the fiscal year 2019 capital improvements budget. They should arrive in December and be ready to use in the May elections.
AUSTIN – Tyler and Longview’s sales tax allocations from the state continue to outpace the figures from last year. The state comptrollers office is sending out $735.9 million in local sales tax allocations for October. This is 11.4% more than in October 2017. These allocations are based on sales made in August. Tyler will be getting $3, 539,181.17. This is 9.45% more than October of last year. This year’s total to date is $36,109,004.30, which is 6.74% more than the same period last year. Longview’s October check is for $2,577,307.68, an increase of 6.46%. For the year, Longview has received $27,063,770.76, an increase of 10.23%.
LONGVIEW – A Longview man has been arrested in connection with a September shooting death. the Longview News Journal reports Ladadrian Deontae King, 22, was arrested in Mabank and booked into the Kaufman County Jail. He was arrested in connection with the September 29th shooting death of Henry England Williams, 32. He was found wounded and sitting in a chair on his front porch on Clover Lane. He died nearly three hours later at a Longview hospital.
TYLER – Some from the Tyler are are heading to Florida to provide help in the wake of Hurricane Michael. An 11-person Incident Management Team from Texas will lead The Salvation Army response efforts in Florida. Some from Tyler left Wednesday morning, heading to Pensacola. They are bringing one of the seven mobile kitchens from Texas, which are able to prepare and serve up to 1,500 meals a day. They remind you, the best way to help The Salvation Army relief efforts is to make a financial contribution. Monetary donations allow the Salvation Army the flexibility to quickly and efficiently meet the immediate needs of disaster survivors without incurring many of the costs associated with sorting, packing, transporting and distributing donated goods. You can go to http://www.salvationarmytexas.org/blog/hurricane-michael-approaches and donate to the hurricane relief effort of the Salvation Army.
EAST TEXAS – Separate area accidents have left three persons dead. A Tyler man has been killed in a one vehicle accident in Gregg County. Dead at the scene was Javier Altamirano Olvera, 55. He was heading east on Interstate Highway 20 when he hit a dog in the road. He then swerved and left the road, sliding sideways and then rolling down an embankment. His pickup came to rest upside down in the south side bar ditch. The accident happened shortly before 5:45 Tuesday afternoon about a mile north of Kilgore. Read the rest of this entry »
NACOGDOCHES – The location has changed for funeral services for Nacogdoches County deputy sheriff Raymond Bradley Jimmerson. He was killed last Friday morning as he removed debris from U.S. Highway 259, 7 miles north of Nacogdoches. Deputy Jimmerson, who had been in law enforcement for over 20 years, has been with the Nacogdoches County Sheriff’s Department for 19 years. Visitation was held Tuesday night at First Baptist Church in Nacogdoches. The funeral will be held Wednesday afternoon at 2:00 at the William R. Johnson Coliseum located at 700 East College Street, on the Stephen F. Austin State University Campus. Doors opened at noon.
TYLER – The Better Business Bureau Serving Central East Texas is warning about an increase in Internal Revenue Service imposter calls this month. A Tyler area resident reports losing over $27,000 to an IRS imposter. The IRS has issued an online warning for taxpayers as the October 15 tax-filing extension deadline is approaching and scammers are continuing to pose as IRS employees. Mechele Agbayani Mills, President and CEO of Better Business Bureau Serving Central East Texas, says “These callers are using scare tactics in an attempt to catch you off guard.†She says, “Don’t be pressured into making payments to collectors without verifying that you owe the debt.†Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – Tyler Junior College is among five recipients of the inaugural TXU Energy Leadership Award. The program recognizes corporate and nonprofit leaders in various energy-related categories, including sustainability, innovation, energy management, community, and engagement. TJC received the Leadership in Energy Management Award in recognition for its efforts to manage energy consumption through the use of new technologies. The awards were announced in conjunction with the TXU Energy Summit held recently in Dallas.
TYLER – A professor of marketing in the Soules College of Business at the University of Texas at Tyler, Dr. Barbara Ross Wooldridge, has received the Marketing Management Association’s 2018 Master Teacher Award. It is presented annually to outstanding marketing educators. Wooldridge, one of three global finalists, was recognized for developing innovative marketing courses within the college. She engages students in the online environment through the use of Duolingo technology and challenges them through service learning projects with area businesses and organizations. Read the rest of this entry »
ATHENS – Two men, who are accused of trying to sell stolen items on Craigslist, have been arrested in Henderson County. The victim told authorities he was in contact with a person trying to sell the stolen property. Sheriff’s deputies went to a home on Highway 175, just east of Athens, and arrested Joshua Morgan, 29, and Earnest Morgan, 35, both of Athens. They recovered $15,000 worth of stolen tools and supplies. Both men charged with burglary of a building and theft of property. And, since suspected methamphetamines was found in an eye glass case, Joshua Morgan was also charged with possession of a controlled substance. Read the rest of this entry »
LONGVIEW – A man accused of a Longview murder will not be going to trial anytime soon. Rodrick Deshun Arkeith Elliott, 20, is charged in the May 3rd stabbing death of Sandy Smith, 51, of Longview. She was found bleeding on East Grand Street. She later died at a Longview hospital. The Longview News Journal reports he has been declared mentally unfit to stand trial. Judge Alfonso Charles said in an email to the paper, “The court found him incompetent to stand trial based on the report of appointed psychologist and the agreement of the parties. He will remain in jail until there is a bed available for him in Vernon State Hospital. Once he regains competency, he will be a trial priority.â€
GILMER – A Gladewater man is headed to prison for a March shooting in Upshur County that left two dead and one injured. Joseph Lee Adkins, 54, pleaded guilty to the shooting deaths of his ex-girlfriend and one of her sons and the wounding of another one of her sons. He was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison for both murder cases and 20 years in prison for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The shootings occurred on March 6th in the Union Grove community. The wounded son, Kyle Moore, 25, was able to crawl to a phone and call 911 and describe the shootings and name the shooter.
JACKSONVILLE – The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality continues to work to resolve the do not use the water order for over 500 customers of the Craft-Turney Water Supply Corporation in Cherokee County. The order was issued for an area southeast of Jacksonville when a contaminant was found in the water. The TCEQ collected water samples last Thursday. Five of these samples indicated the low-level presence of one of the chemicals found in the fungicide that was suspected of entering the water supply. The water supply company has been continuously flushing the system to remove any contaminants. The state agency and the supplier have also worked with the customers served by the 11 connections to flush their homes. Sunday, additional samples were collected to check for any contaminants. Read the rest of this entry »
HENDERSON – A two vehicle accident in Rusk County has left one person dead and one injured. It was reported around 8:30 Saturday night on State Highway 64, 8 miles west of Henderson. Dead at the scene was Manuela Mata, 36, of Henderson. In serious condition at UT Health-Tyler is Christopher Potts, 39, of Henderson. The Department of Public Safety reports Mata’s pickup drifted across the yellow center stripe and hit the pickup driven by Potts.
TYLER – This is National Fire Prevention Week. The Tyler Fire Department says this is an excellent time for residents to “Look, Listen and Learn.” Tyler Fire Marshall Paul Findley says in a typical home fire, you may have as little as one to two minutes to escape safely from the time the smoke alarm sounds. Knowing how to use that time wisely takes planning and practice. He encourages you to look for places a fire could start, listen for the sound of the smoke alarm, and learn two ways out of every room. You can go to the web at http://www.firepreventionweek.org for more on fire prevention and escape planning.