Today is
Sunday June 07, 2026
TYLER – For now, the name of Robert E Lee High School will remain. School board member Aaron Martinez made a motion for a name change, but there was no second so no vote was taken. And when there was no other motion, school trustees voted to end the meeting. For about 45 minutes prior to the motion, school trustees, individually, discussed the issue and their thoughts on it. Only Martinez and the board president, Rev. Fritz Hager, spoke in favor of bringing the name change issue to a vote. The issue could still come back before school trustees if one of the school board members requests the item be placed on the agenda for a future meeting.
TYLER – A Tyler man has been arrested on aggravated robbery charges. Joseph Glynn Sanders, 41, was arrested Sunday for the robbery of an individual. He is said to have approached a man and a woman on Houston Street early Saturday morning and forced the man, at gun point, to go with him. He is said to have taken him to another location, robbed him, then brought him back to Houston Street. He was arrested Sunday after an officer saw Sanders, and the woman from the first incident, arguing at 69 North and the Loop. He was arrested after the officer had to use mace to bring him under control. When arrested, officers found cocaine on him. He has been charged with aggravated robbery, possession of a controlled substance, evading arrest and resisting arrest. He remains in the Smith County jail.
TYLER – Keep Tyler Beautiful has handed out the First Quarter Beauty and Business Award. The award goes to the Genecov Group. It was nominated by the public and was selected by the Keep Tyler Beautiful board as the winner. Board members examine different aspects of the business. They look at everything from the property is inviting with the use and upkeep of greenery, the parking area is litter free, the store front has attractive signs and the building front is in good shape with clean paint or bricks. The winner of the award is presented a certificate and yard sign from the Keep Tyler Beautiful Board. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – There is a called meeting Tuesday morning at 10:00 of the Trustees of Tyler Junior College. The proposed tax rate is the only item on the agenda. Last Thursday, trustees approved a half-cent tax hike. It would bring the tax rate to just over 20 cents per $100 valuation. When the tax hike got preliminary approval, it was contingent upon further information from the Smith County Appraisal District. Now that the board has received the valuations it appears as if the board will update the proposal based upon those numbers. If the figures show a tax hike is still needed, It would be subject to approval at the trustee’s meeting later this month. Public hearings on the rate hike have been set for August 16 and 23.
TYLER – The high school name issue will be back before Tyler school trustees on Monday. The TISD school board has called a special meeting to consider changing the name of one or both of the high schools. If they decide on the name change, then they will begin the process to select a new name, or names. People on both sides of the issue discussed it at the last school board meeting. Monday’s meeting starts at 6:30pm at the Jack L. Davidson Conference Center on West Glenwood.
TYLER – Here’s a look at road work planned in the Tyler district of TxDOT during the week of August 6th. Schedules are subject to change due to weather conditions, equipment failure or other unforeseen issues. Slow down and pay attention when traveling through work zones.
Summer seal coat operations are winding down in the Tyler District. Motorists should expect lane closures and delays during this work to seal and protect roadways from water, and provide a longer life cycle. Because the time to complete work on each roadway is estimated, these schedules are subject to change. Striping and button installation operations will continue on various roadways for the next few weeks with little traffic disruption. Read the rest of this entry »
ELKHART – A one vehicle accident in Anderson County has left two persons dead and two injured. Dead at the scene were two back seat passengers who were unable to get out the car when it caught fire. There are identified as Luis Sardina, 17 and Javier Sardina, 14, both of Palestine. The driver, Miguel Morales-Ochoa, 17, of Palestine and the front seat passenger, Trina Bambeck, 18, of Palestine, were able to get out of the car. Bambeck is being treated at Palestine Regional Medical Center while Morales-Ocho is being treated at Christus Trinity Mother Francis Hospital in Tyler. The Department of Public Safety says their car left the roadway to the right and entered the west ditch in a side skid where it struck a tree causing it to flip and come to rest on its top. The accident happened at just before 1:00 Saturday morning on County Road 136, about half a mile west of Elkhart.
TYLER – The city of Tyler is conducting a survey to get community input on city planning. An independent consulting firm, ETC Institute, will randomly select households to participate in the survey and share their feedback. According to a city news release, the survey will establish priorities for #ItsTimeToBuildTyler: infrastructure, parks, recreation facilities, programs and services within the community. In 2006, the City completed its first survey to coincide with the adoption of the Tyler 21 Comprehensive Plan. Another survey was conducted in 2012 for the five-year update of the Plan. City completed another survey in 2015. This survey is intended to be the first part of the 2019 review of the Tyler 1st Comprehensive Plan.
TYLER – Graduates from three of TJC’s nursing and health sciences programs earned high marks in their recent licensing exams. In the TJC Vocational Nursing program, 93% of graduates passed their National Council Licensure Examination on the first try. The national average passing rate is 83%, and the state average is 87%. In the TJC Physical Therapist Assistant program, 100% of the recent graduating class passed their Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy exams on their initial attempt. The national average was an 85.7% pass rate on the initial attempt. Dental hygiene graduates must pass two board exams to receive their license. Recent TJC graduates had a 100% pass rate on the Western Regional clinical exam and a 97% pass rate on the National Board Dental Hygiene Exam.
LONGVIEW – The Gregg County grand jury has indicted a man in a Longview murder. Arrested in early May was Rodrick Deshun Arkeith Elliott, 20. He had earlier said to have been a resident of DeSoto. The jail log lists him as homeless. He was arrested for the stabbing death of Sandy Smith, 51. She was found bleeding at her home on East Grand Avenue. She later died at a Longview hospital. Elliott was later arrested with the help of the victim’s neighbors. He remains in the Gregg County Jail under a $500,000 bond.
TYLER – Officials with The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler announced that Gerald R. Ledlow, Ph.D., MHA, FACHE, has been named permanent Dean of the School of Community and Rural Health. He has served as interim dean since last October. The school offers a master’s degree in public health, and will soon offer a master’s degree in health administration. Read the rest of this entry »
MARSHALL – Marshall police say they have foiled a murder for hire scheme with a woman’s arrest. She is Trisha George, 33, of Marshall. Detectives received a tip she was trying to hire someone to kill her husband. Marshall detectives reached out to the Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division for assistance with the case. The police say, during the joint investigation, George paid an undercover officer to commit the crime. On Thursday, George was arrested and charged with capital murder while remuneration, which is murder for hire. She is currently in the Harrison County Jail under a one million dollar bond.
TYLER – Three Jacksonville men are heading to federal prison for drug trafficking violations. Carlos Brejohn Battle, 33, pleaded guilty in March to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. In Tyler Thursday, he was sentenced to 100 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Ron Clark. Battle was one of 8 persons indicted by a federal grand jury last October following a a federal investigation into wide-spread drug trafficking in East Texas. The 8 were charged with multiple drug trafficking and firearms related charges. Judge Clark sentenced two other Jacksonville men on Wednesday in connection with the case. Carlton Deshan Johnson, 28, was sentenced to 130 months in federal prison and David Lee Williams, 32, was sentenced to 57 months.
TYLER – The subject of a high school name change will be back before school trustees on Monday. The TISD school board has called a special meeting to consider changing the name of one or both of the high schools. If they decide on the name change, then they will begin the process to select a new name, or names. People on both sides of the issue discussed it at the last school board meeting. Monday’s meeting starts at 6:30pm at the Jack L. Davidson Conference Center on West Glenwood.
LINDALE – An investigation by the Smith County Sheriff’s Department has turned up several gambling machines. Acting on a tip, undercover officers made several trips to the Oasis gas station on Highway 110 north in Lindale. on Thursday, officers served a search warrant at the station. They seized three gambling machines, miscellaneous paperwork and over $12,500. Sheriff’s department Sgt. Darrell Coslin said no arrests have been made at this time. The investigation is ongoing and criminal charges may be filed when the investigation is completed.