Today is
Tuesday June 09, 2026
TYLER — The UT Health Science Center at Tyler will receive a grant for more than $2 million for plasma research to fight COVID-19. According to our news partner KETK, the money comes from the National Institutes of Health and will help answer questions on the effectiveness of convalescent plasma, or blood from people who have recovered from the virus. As of now, the experimental treatment is proving as a promising option for patients with COVID-19. Read the rest of this entry »
GREGG COUNTY — A Kilgore woman has been arrested for embezzling more than $300,000 from her employer. According to our news partner KETK, the Gregg County Sheriff’s Office arrested Kayla Walthers, 29, who worked as a payroll clerk for a medical business in Longview. Walthers is accused of embezzling money from September 2017 to March 2020. According to the arrest warrant, she would add money to her regular paycheck, send money to her friends, and deposit money into a second personal bank account. Authorities say she admitted to the theft when questioned by detectives. Walthers was released on bond and is awaiting trial. No court date has been set.
SMITH COUNTY — Child Protective Services is asking for the public’s help in finding a missing 1-month-old child. According to our news partner KETK, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services was granted custody of Gatlyn Baker, a male child born July 8, by Henderson County Family Court Judge, Nancy Adams Perryman on Tuesday. When DPS attempted to remove the child, Chelsea Baker, the child’s mother, ran with him. Gatlyn is believed to be with his parents, Kenny and Chelsea Baker, according to CPS. The Bakers were last seen in Flint but may be anywhere in the area. Read the rest of this entry »
LONGVIEW — Longview police responded to a shooting around 2:15 Sunday afternoon where they found a 10-year-old with life threatening injuries. According to our news partner KETK, the shooting happened in the 200 block of Whatley. The victim was transported to a local hospital by the Longview Fire Department. Authorities report that the boy has died. His name has not been released. (Originally the press release stated he was an 8-year-old, but corrected the age on Monday.)
WASHINGTON – Several schools in East Texas will receive a total of $1,085,651 in federal grants to provide first-generation and low-income college students with financial assistance and academic support services to complete their post-secondary educations, U.S. Senator John Cornyn announced. The grant funding comes from the Student Support Services Program and it is anticipated that each grant will be sustained for a total of 5 years. Tyler Junior College is set to receive $274,262.00. It was also announced that Kilgore College will receive $274,396.00. Read the rest of this entry »
GRAND SALINE – A Grand Saline ISD employee has tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a letter sent by Superintendent Micah Lewis. Our news partner KETK reports, the employee was present at the elementary school campus on Friday, August 7. Lewis said that the school is working closely with the local health department. “After careful review, we have determined that the COVID-positive person came into contact with a limited number of staff members who will self-isolate based on health department standards,” stated Lewis. This is not the first case for Grand Saline. Another staff member tested positive back on July 30. Lewis said that individual also was in contact with a small amount of people. Read the rest of this entry »
SMITH COUNTY — The Smith County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate an early morning homicide. Deputies responded to a home on CR 384 in Tyler around 5:30 Sunday morning after being contacted by UT Health EMS regarding a woman dead from a gunshot wound. She’s been identified as Diamond Samantha Cruz, 21, of Tyler. Deputies received information that the suspect had fled the area in an unknown direction driving a Ford pickup. The suspect vehicle description was immediately broadcast to additional law enforcement agencies. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — A hit and run accident involving a cyclist is under investigation. According to Tyler Police, an unknown vehicle struck the cyclist around 9:15 Friday night on W. Bow, then fled the scene. The victim was transported to Christus Trinity Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler for treatment and is said to be in serious condition. Additional details were not available.
TYLER — The University of Texas at Tyler says it was the target of a ransomware attack. According to our news partner KETK, in a letter to university supporters, school president Dr. Michael Tidwell said the university was notified by Blackbaud, a third-party database provider, of a “security incident†that occurred in May. Blackbaud provides software and online apps that support philanthropic and communication activities, serving a host of clients that include most of the University of Texas system. Read the rest of this entry »
SMITH COUNTY — Tyler-Smith County Crime Stoppers is offering a reward for information that leads to an arrest in the “caltrops case.†According to our news partner KETK, nearly 300 of these “tire spikes†have been collected in the past weeks along I-20 in the westbound lanes, between Hwy 69 in Smith County and FM 314 in Van Zandt County. They have also been found in the westbound lanes of I-20 near the US 69 on-ramp in Lindale, near the Hideaway and Hwy. 110 exits and in the eastbound lanes near the Hideaway on-ramp. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — Opposition continues to grow over a proposed overpass on the Loop in Tyler. The Tyler Area Metropolitan Planning Organization decided to change the language in their transportation improvement program after an unanimous vote, eliminating the reference to the overpass. The language now reflects overall support to improving the intersection, meaning they will consider other alternatives. According to our news partner KETK, one of the fastest growing areas in Smith County is along Old Jacksonville Hwy from Tyler to Bullard, so the Tyler Area MPO started several expansion projects. Read the rest of this entry »
VAN ZANDT COUNTY – Two people were injured, two others have been taken into custody following a shooting in Van Zandt County late Wednesday night. According to our news partner KETK, deputies were responding to a shots fired report in the area of FM 198 and FM 1651, just south of Canton. When they arrived on the scene, they found the two victims and applied emergency first aid. One victim was flown to Dallas while the other victim was sent to a Tyler hospital.Two suspects were located a short time later, and are being held at the Van Zandt County Detention Center. The Sheriff’s Department said more information will be released as it becomes available.
HUNTSVILLE (AP) – A Texas inmate has been put to death for fatally shooting an 82-year-old man nearly three decades ago. That ends a five-month delay of executions in the nation’s busiest capital punishment state because of the coronavirus pandemic. Billy Joe Wardlow received a lethal injection Wednesday evening at the state penitentiary in Huntsville for the 1993 killing of Carl Cole at Cole’s East Texas home. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to stop the 45-year-old man’s execution. Wardlow was the first Texas inmate to be executed since Feb. 6. He was the second inmate in the U.S. to be put to death since the country began to reopen.
SMITH COUNTY — A Tyler man is behind bars on a murder charge for a Smith County shooting that left two Hispanic men dead last week. According to our news partner KETK, Ramiro Ortiz, 34, was booked Friday, July 3 for the deaths of Justino Rosales-Betancourt, 32, and Jose Betancourt, 35. He is being held on a $1.5 million bond. The shooting happened June 29 on Hwy 110 north. At the beginning of the investigation, Sheriff Larry Smith said that it was suspected the men “had a relationship and… it’s believed to be gang-related.†A third man, 20-year-old Saul Morado, suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital by a private car. Read the rest of this entry »
JACKSONVILLE — A Jacksonville teen is behind bars this morning after an early-morning bust by multiple agencies. According to our news partner KETK, Cayden Lyons, 17, was taken into custody on Nacogdoches Street around 4:45 a.m. Friday morning. Lyons was booked for Engaging in Criminal Activity. Bond has been set at $1 million. No details were released on what Lyons is accused of, but Chief Joe Williams called his arrest a “high-risk operation.†Lyons was also charged with possession of marijuana. “This joint operation is the culmination of weeks’ worth of investigations and is just the first step in arresting individuals engaged in illegal activities in the Jacksonville area. We are very appreciative of the support from our law enforcement partners.†– Chief Joe Williams.