Today is
Tuesday June 09, 2026
AUSTIN — House Bill 1927, constitutional-carry handgun legislation, has now been officially passed by the Texas House of Representatives on a vote of 87-58. The controversial bill is now headed for further debate in the state Senate. House Speaker Dade Phelan made the final vote on third reading official. Tyler State Representative Matt Schaefer’s bill would allow for the carrying of a handgun without a permit. According to Schaefer, “This says that a person who is legally able to possess a handgun would now be able to carry that handgun in a public place.” Democrats unsuccessfully argued the bill would make Texans less safe. State Representative Ana-Maria Ramos said, “There is no proficiency test, no safety training, or anything before carrying a handgun in public.”
CHEROKEE COUNTY — A Jacksonville man died after being hit by a car early Tuesday morning. According to our news partner KETK, Bradley Thomas Price, 64, was walking in the area of South Jackson Street and HWY 69 when he was hit by a 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by Randy McDaniel, a Jacksonville resident. Price was taken to UT Health Emergency Room in Jacksonville before being flown to UT Health in Tyler. Price died from his injuries on Wednesday, April 14. Surveillance from a nearby business shows that he was walking in the road when he was hit, according to police. An investigation revealed that McDaniel was not impaired at the time of the crash and was not injured. No charges will be filed against him.
TYLER — Governor Abbott Tuesday announced the appointment of Kevin P. Eltife to a second six-year term as a member of The University of Texas System Board of Regents. First appointed as a regent in 2017, Eltife was elected board chairman in December 2018. His first term was slated to run through February 2023, but with two years left on his current term Governor Abbott reappointed Eltife to a new six-year term. One of Eltife’s early priorities as a Regent was to streamline the UT System’s administrative operations, with the intent of reducing overhead to redirect funds to UT institutions to support their students and patients. Read the rest of this entry »
SMITH COUNTY — If you received a Smith County Jury Summons to report for jury duty on Wednesday, April 14, at the Smith County Courthouse, you do not need to appear. If you received a summons for Smith County jury duty on a different day or location, you must still report.
WILLS POINT — A Wills Point man shot to death his elderly mother and then threatened to kill law officers during a seven-hour standoff before being arrested. According to our news partner KETK, Gerald Wayne Powell, 45, was booked into the Van Zandt County Jail on a charge of murder. Sheriff Steve Hendrix said deputies were notified by Powell’s sister that Powell told her around 10 p.m. Sunday that he had killed the family dog and planned to kill their mother. Officers surrounded the house at 890 FM 2965, just outside the Wills Point city limits, evacuated neighbors and blocked off the roadway. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler has named Dr. Beverly J. Bryant, a leader in child and adolescent psychiatry, as the new chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine. She has been serving as interim chair since December 2020. Bryant has extensive leadership experience serving in numerous program and medical director roles. She previously had served since 2017 as an associate professor of psychiatry and human behavior at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi. Read the rest of this entry »
SMITH COUNTY — Smith County Sheriff’s Deputies are no longer searching for a boy reported missing around 9:00 Wednesday night near Arp. According to Lt. Larry Christian, 5-year-old Hayden Wilcox has been found unharmed in close proximity to the area of his residence on CR 251. More details will follow as they become available. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice K-9 Unit, along with members of the International Alert Academy had been called in to search the area.
TYLER – Zachary Tatman, 23, was arrested for intoxication assault with a vehicle causing serious bodily injury. According to our news partner KETK, Tatman is charged in connection to an incident Thursday night where a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed near Old Jacksonville Highway and Oak Creek Boulevard struck a bicyclist. The bicyclist was transported to CHRISTUS Mother Frances with what appeared to be non-life threatening injuries. Tatman was transported to UT Health with non-life threatening injuries. Tatman was booked into the Smith County Jail Friday with bond set at $10,000. He bonded out the same day.
DIANA — The Upshur County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a homicide after a body was found Saturday night. According to our news partner KETK, witnesses found the body of a man inside a home on Swan Road, in Diana, and called authorities around 11:30 p.m. According to police, the person appeared to be the victim of an assault. Police say the victim is known to his neighbors, but the sheriff’s office is not releasing the name until next of kin can be located.
TYLER – UT Tyler and Tyler Junior College recently received a large donation from the Smith County Medical Society Alliance. According to our news partner KETK, during their 52nd annual Doctor’s Day Celebration on Tuesday night, the SCMSA Board of Directors announced the sale of their building and said the $290,000 proceeds will be divided evenly between TJC and UT Tyler. Each school will receive $145,000. TJC’s $145,000 portion will benefit the SCMSA’s two endowed scholarships with the TJC Foundation, with half going to their Endowed Scholarship and the other half to their Endowed Presidential Honors Scholarship. SCMSA President Joi Smith stressed the importance of helping students who are seeking to enter health professions. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — Tyler Police are investigating a wreck involving a bicyclist Thursday night. Officers were called to the area of Old Jacksonville and Oak Creek Boulevard where witnesses told them a speeding vehicle had hit a bicyclist, then crashed into a wooded area. The bicyclist was transported to Christus Trinity Mother Frances by EMS with what appeared to be non-life threatening injuries. The unnamed driver of the car was transported by EMS to UT Health with what appeared to be non-life threatening injuries. Police say alcohol appears to have played a part in the accident.
WACO (AP/Staff) – Officials say a Texas state trooper who was shot during a traffic stop last week has died. Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Chad Walker had been on life support after he was shot Friday evening while stopping to help a driver in an apparently disabled vehicle west of Mexia, a city about 75 miles southeast of Dallas. The 38-year-old Walker is survived by his wife and four children. Visitation for Trooper Walker will be open to the public from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. next Tuesday, at Groesbeck Funeral Home. Funeral services will be at 10 a.m., Wednesday, at the Groesbeck High School Football Stadium. The burial service will follow at LaSalle Cemetery. Read the rest of this entry »
EAST TEXAS — Anyone over the age of 16 can make an appointment to obtain the first Pfizer vaccine at the Harvey Convention Center in Tyler, either next Thursday April 8th, next Friday April 9th, or next Saturday April 10th, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. “Anyone interested in receiving their first COVID vaccine must make an appointment,” says George Roberts, NET Health CEO. “Please select your preferred day and time visiting NETHealthCOVID19.org and selecting the ‘Vaccine Updates’ link. vaccine clinics at Harvey Convention Center will be closed during the Easter weekend for this Friday and Saturday, April 2nd and April 3rd. Read the rest of this entry »
SMITH COUNTY — Authorities are searching an area near Jim Hogg Road and Interstate 20 for what authorities say are four immigrants. According to our news partner KETK, aound 3:45 Wednesday afternoon, a Smith County deputy stopped an SUV on I- 20, near Jim Hogg Road, when four men jumped out and ran into the woods nearby. The driver remained in the SUV. Public Information Officer Larry Christian, said the men who ran were “illegal immigrants.†He said authorities are not sure where the men were being taken. The men are not believed to be armed or dangerous. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agents have taken over the investigation, he said.
WOOD COUNTY — There is now a second victim in a one vehicle wreck that took place in Wood County on Saturday. The wreck took place at 1:30 p.m. on US-69, approximately two miles south of Mineola. According to a follow up DPS report, the driver of a 1998 Ford Explorer, Robert Guy Marino of Tyler, was originally transported to UT Health- Tyler in serious condition. However, Marino died Monday morning. His passenger Cathy Marks, 64, of Tyler died at the scene after the vehicle was traveling north on US-69 and the back left tire separated from the vehicle. The vehicle traveled off the roadway, and rolled.