TYLER -- Eighteen Law Enforcement agencies in Smith County are planning to be out in force during the Labor Day Holiday on the lookout for drunken drivers -- and they won’t be taking “no” for an answer.

A multi-joint effort involving the Smith County District Attorney's Office, Smith County Certified Nurses and police agencies from all over the county will participate in the "No-Refusal" DWI Campaign. Upon the arrest of a suspected drunk driver, he or she will be asked to blow into a breath-test machine or take a blood test. If the driver refuses, officers will obtain an immediate search warrant signed by a judge on call to have blood drawn by a nurse on staff at the Smith County Jail. The blood is then analyzed to determine whether the driver’s blood-alcohol concentration is 0.08 or higher, the legal limit for driving in Texas.

Participating authorities say it is their intent that this effort will act as a deterrent. They're expressing hope that people will avoid driving while intoxicated because they know that police officers will be conducting sobriety testing with or without the driver’s consent. In 2007, 1,122 DWI cases were filed with the Smith County District Attorney’s office -- and 25 DWI arrests during the Labor Day holiday.

The participating agencies in the program include the police departments in Bullard, Lindale, Overton, Troup, Tyler, and Whitehouse. Also involved are Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the Smith County District Attorney's office, all Smith County constables, the Smith County Sheriff's Department, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Texas Game Warden, the TJC Police Department, and the UT Tyler Police Department.

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TYLER -- Tyler Police are looking for a man they say ran from them Tuesday morning. It happened at the Sherwood Forrest apartments along Southpark Drive. According to KETK, police tried to serve a warrant on a man when he took off running, with a knife in his hand, in the area of Paluxy and Spur 248. Officers swarmed the area unable to locate him. Police say he's a black man in his 20's, wearing red baggy shorts and a t-shirt.

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WHITEHOUSE -- The cities of Whitehouse and Tyler have reached an agreement on water supply. According to KETK, the cities have signed 25-year contracts. Last month, Whitehouse had been struggling to keep up with its water needs through wells, even enforcing some restrictions on water use. Now Tyler officials confirm they'll begin providing water for Whitehouse. Water will come from Lake Tyler, and supplies will not be short.

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AUSTIN (AP) - Faculty members at the University of Texas are objecting to plans to create an endowed chair in Pakistan studies in honor of former U.S. Rep. Charlie Wilson -- the colorful Democrat who was portrayed in last year's movie "Charlie Wilson's War." Wilson represented an East Texas district in the U.S. Congress from 1973 to 1996. He played a pivotal role in the funding of Islamic rebel fighters who opposed Soviet-occupied Afghanistan. His efforts were portrayed in the film.

In a letter to Randy Diehl, dean of UT's College of Liberal Arts, 12 professors wrote that establishing a chair in Wilson's name would represent a "romanticized vision" of the congressman's legacy as well as the history of the conflict. The Austin American-Statesman reports that the faculty members wrote -- "Mr. Wilson's record as the key Congressman who sent monies and munitions to the anti-Soviet mujahideen groups underscores the worrisome role the U.S. played in escalating the Soviet-Afghan conflict, with devastating consequences for the peoples of Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United States." The professors noted that Afghanistan's Taliban rose up from the -- quote -- "rubble of a decimated Afghan society."

A spokeswoman for the College of Liberal Arts says the letter had not yet been received and had no comment. UT officials have said they want to raise $500,000 to match an identical amount pledged by the T.L.L. Temple Foundation in Lufkin, Wilson's hometown.

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TYLER -- Tyler's city council has authorized a 60-day notification letter to all other taxing jurisdictions -- the next step in creating a North Tyler Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ), or Tax Increment Financing District. Tax Increment Financing is a tool used to foster development. As private reinvestment occurs in the zone, it captures the tax revenue from incremental increases in the property values in the area; it is not a new or additional tax. The amount of property tax and sales tax increment that is captured is then directly reinvested back into the zone in the form of public improvements, revitalization, and infrastructure projects. “Chapter 5 of the Tyler 21 Plan focuses on North End Revitalization,” said Tyler Mayor Barbara Bass. “The use of a TIRZ in this area will be an important tool to stimulate private reinvestment as a result of public projects.” You can go to http://www.cityoftyler.org to learn more.

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ROCKWALL (AP/Staff) - Mary Ellen Hall, the wife of U.S. Rep. Ralph Hall, has died at the age of 83. Mary Ellen Hall died Wednesday morning at home in Rockwall. She had been in the hospital for two weeks but returned home Monday, Hall's congressional office said. She and Hall would have celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary in November. They married while Hall was serving in the Navy in Pensacola, Fla. She is survived by Hall and her three sons and several grandchildren. Funeral services are to be held Friday in Rockwall. The congressman represented Tyler for years, and his district still covers much of East Texas.

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TYLER -- Tyler school trustees have unanimously approved a budget for the district and adopted a tax rate for the 2008-2009 school year. At Tuesday night’s meeting the Tyler school board approved a $129,987,549 budget which includes an increase in starting teacher salaries from $38,000 to $39,500; raises of $1,200 per teacher at a cost of $2 million; and an increase in other employee salaries of 3% of the midpoint at a cost of $1.2 million. The tax rate to fund the District’s general operating and debt service fund budgets is $1.21 per $100 valuation. The new tax rate is a half a cent under the current tax rate.

Also at Tuesday night’s meeting school trustees unanimously approved the purchase of wireless network equipment and network wiring. The total project cost is $353,126.86. The funding for the wireless networks will be provided by E-rate fund balance. A campus-wide wireless network will enable mobile computer labs to be deployed to meet the needs for increased availability of technology to our students and provide additional computers to allow on-line testing for larger numbers of students. Wireless networks also provide flexibility for our teachers to use their laptops anywhere on the campus. Campuses that do not have wireless networks available are: Rice, Dixie, Hubbard, Birdwell, Plyler, Owens, Stewart, Hogg, Clarkston, Caldwell, Griffin, Jones, St. Louis, Woods, PACE and the Peete Annex. Additional wireless antennas are needed at Bell, Ramey and Jack Elementary schools to increase the wireless coverage.

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EAST TEXAS -- Law enforcement across East Texas are hunting a gang of burglars. Authorities say they have hit grocery, Dollar Stores, fast food restaurants and ATMs. The thefts occurred in Wood, Harrison, Gregg, Upshur and Titus counties. According to KETK, police have been comparing surveillance video. They say the men wear dark clothing, masks and gloves when they break ion and steal safes.

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LONGVIEW -- A Longview woman's been remembered after police say a teen shot and killed her, according to KETK. Family and friends of Cynthia Weaver gathered Tuesday in Longview. Officers say an 18-year-old killed the woman at the Newgate Mission last week. Weaver was a regular there. People at the mission say she had many friends. Andrew McCoy has been arrested and charged with Weaver's murder.

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Austin -- Governor Rick Perry has visited schools around the state to award more than $28 million in funding to school districts participating in the District Awards for Teaching Excellence (D.A.T.E.) grant program. D.A.T.E. supports school districts in creating or maintaining a system of awards for educators who improve student achievement. D.A.T.E. grants combined with Texas Educator Excellence Grants represent the largest teacher incentive programs in the nation.

"There is no financial measure for a young life that is changed, inspired and set on course to fulfill its potential," Gov. Perry said. "We must reward those teachers that break away from the pack and make a positive and lasting influence on our students' education and lives."
Among the schools in Northeast Texas getting the funds:
Schools--Grant Award
Arp $58,916
Athens $231,326
Big Sandy $49 210
Chapel Hill $58 209
Frankston $52,847
Gilmer $152,851
Lindale $242,394
Longview $532,726
Mabank $216,160
Mount Enterprise $26,177
Mount Pleasant $346,467
Pine Tree $303,593
Tatum $87,623

Available for the first time in the 2008-2009 school year, the D.A.T.E. program begins with a $147.5 million appropriation. D.A.T.E. grants differ from other incentive programs by distributing awards to entire school districts rather than one campus. All school districts are eligible to participate and award amounts are determined by dividing the total appropriation by the number of students educated in the districts.

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TYLER -- Bishop T. K. Gorman Catholic School commences its Golden Jubilee Year in two separate functions on Tuesday, September 2. That's the date the school opened in 1958 as Tyler Catholic High, with approximately 60 students and nine staff. Students and faculty will begin the day in the same manner their counterparts began the school year in 1958: gathering around the flagpole for the prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance. The students and faculty will remember the original students in Grades 7-10 and the teachers who opened the only Catholic high school in East Texas.

At 9:50 a.m., the Gorman community will celebrate mass with Bishop Alvaro Corrada, bishop of the Diocese of Tyler, as main celebrant. After the mass, students, staff, families and friends will begin fifty continuous hours of prayer and Eucharistic adoration in the school chapel, ending at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 4.

Gorman was the first school in East Texas to be named a United States Department of Education Blue Ribbon Exemplary School. In recent years the school has seen increased enrollment, increased stability with faculty and administration, and a balanced operating budget.

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TYLER -- The Tyler City Council has picked the Tyler Woman’s Building and Wood T. Brookshire as the city’s fourth and fifth Half-Mile of History honorees. The Tyler Woman’s Building has been a civic and social gathering place for Tyler residents for more than 75 years. Wood T. Brookshire moved to Tyler in 1928 and opened his first store -- the cornerstone for today’s Brookshire Grocery Company -- on the east side of the downtown square. The Half-Mile of History program was launched in February as a result of a recommendation from the Tyler 21 Plan to promote and display diverse aspects of Tyler’s history. The Half-Mile of History is a permanent, outdoor, half-mile heritage trail that surrounds the square in the heart of downtown Tyler. You can log on to http://www.cityoftyler.org for more information.

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TYLER -- Three persons where injured in a four vehicle accident at Broadway and Amherst in Tyler. It happened shortly after 11:15 Tuesday morning. All four vehicles were south bound when the accident occurred.

Tyler police say the accident happened when a car driven by Tina Faults, 36, of Tyler, ran into the rear of a car driven by Sharyn Clark, 54, of Tyler. Clarks’ vehicle was then pushed into a Hummer driven by Robin Zillena, 26, of Tyler and a pickup driven by Amy Miles, 32, of Tyler. Faults car then became airborne and rolled over on its top. Miles and Clark were taken to Mother Francis Hospital for treatment. Faults was treated at East Texas Medical Center. Their injuries were not life threatening. Police spokesman Don Martin said Faults was cited for failure to control speed.

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RED SPRINGS -- A one vehicle accident in Northern Smith County has left one person dead. Killed in the wreck around 4:30 Tuesday morning was David Wesley Welch, 52, of Tyler. The wreck happened on Farm Road 14, nearly a mile north of County Road 2710.

According to state trooper Stephen Hodge, Welch’s pickup was north bound when, because of a distraction in the vehicle, the vehicle left the road. The pickup then overturned and hit a tree. There was no word in the report on what distracted the driver.

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TYLER -- Smith County is cutting the apron strings when it comes to the county’s volunteer fire departments. At Monday’s meeting the commissioners’ court voted to cut funding to the departments. KETK-TV reports now, the 11 volunteer fire departments in the county have their own tax rate. The funding that all of the eleven departments have been getting from Smith County pales in comparison to the funding each department currently gets from a special tax that's levied by the Emergency Services District.

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NACOGDOCHES -- City of Nacogdoches Assistant City Planner Larissa Philpot has earned the American Institute of Certified Planners certification. In the planning field, AICP certification is the accepted credential for professional competence and ethical practice. To become certified, a candidate must belong to APA, fulfill rigorous education and experience requirements, and pass the written AICP examination.

The American Institute of Certified Planners, the professional institute within the American Planning Association, certifies practicing city, regional, urban, and rural planners and promotes continuing education and professional development.

According to City Manager Jim Jeffers, her appointment is a plus for the City. “Larissa is a bright professional who is very passionate about her work, dedicated to providing quality services to the citizens of Nacogdoches. We are all very proud of Larissa's AICP designation,” Jeffers said.

Ms. Philpot began her career with the Planning Department nine years ago as an intern while she pursued her Bachelor of Science degree at Stephen F. Austin State University. She has been employed as the Assistant City Planner for nearly six years, during which time she received her Master of Science degree at SFA.

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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A man charged in a fatal hit-and-run accident in Oklahoma has been booked into jail there after being extradited from Texas. Thirty-four-year-old Torrez Ceasar is accused of driving a vehicle that struck two teens on a Midwest City street on July Eighth. One of the teens died the next day. On July 24th, Houston police arrested Ceasar following a police chase.

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FORT WORTH (AP) - A columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telgram has been released on bail after being arrested for leaving his eleven-year-old son in a Watauga restaurant parking lot after an argument. Watauga police say he was arrested on two probable cause warrants, one for child abandonment with intent to return and the other for child abandonment/endangering a child.

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UNDATED (AP) - Oil companies are evacuating their offshore rigs as Gustav approaches the gates to the Gulf of Mexico. Gustav diminished to a tropical storm over Haiti, but forecasters say it could regain hurricane strength soon. Royal Dutch Shell began evacuating some 300 workers from offshore rigs, and other companies pulled out non-essential personnel. Any damage to the oil infrastructure or Gulf Coast refineries could send U.S. pump prices spiking, possibly before the busy Labor Day weekend.

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STONEWALL (AP) - Daughters and admirers of former President Lyndon B. Johnson celebrated his 100th birthday Wednesday by remembering his civil rights and education legacy. Daughters Luci Baines Johnson and Lynda Johnson Robb and dozens of Johnson admirers gathered Wednesday at his Hill Country ranch for a wreath-laying ceremony at his grave on the banks of the Pedernales River. They also celebrated the opening of his ranchhouse office to the public.

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NEW YORK (AP) - ConocoPhillips is selling the rest of its U.S. filling stations. But the Conoco, Phillips 66, and 76 signs will still shine over the 600 or so stations being sold to a subsidiary of PetroSun Fuel. The deal is worth about $800 million. Houston-based ConocoPhillips began several years ago to spin off its retail outlets to focus more on exploration and refining. The newly formed company, Pacific Convenience & Fuel LLC, says it's pushing into West Coast urban areas.

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DALLAS (AP) - The man who founded Dallas-based American Consolidated Media is resigning as the company's board chairman, president and CEO. Jeremy Halbreich is becoming non-executive chairman of Australia's Macquarie Media Group, which is American Consolidated's parent company. The company has more than 100 newspapers, among them are 15 dailies and 46 weeklies in nine states. Its Texas dailies are in Alice, Brownwood, Stephenville, and Waxahachie.

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