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TYLER — Three scientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler have been awarded a total of $616,830 in competitive grants. Their research projects could lead to new treatments for diseases such as cancer, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and tuberculosis.

Hua Tang, Ph.D., an associate professor of biochemistry, received a two-year, $382,830 grant from the National Institutes of Health to investigate how capillaries, tiny, one-cell-thick blood vessels, form from pre-existing blood vessels.

This process is called angiogenesis and is essential in helping tumors grow and spread. Angiogenesis also has been linked to the buildup of fatty deposits in the arteries that causes cardiovascular disease, age-related macular degeneration, and rheumatoid arthritis.

Dr. Tang is studying the role of a natural chemical in the body called protein kinase D2 (PKD2) in regulating the growth of these tiny blood vessels. The idea is that understanding how PKD2 controls blood vessels’ growth can lead to better treatments for cancer and other diseases.

Jian Fu, Ph.D., an assistant professor of biochemistry, received a two-year, $140,000 grant from the American Heart Association (AHA) to examine a specific type of lung injury. He is exploring how a protein called Sirt1 tells lung cells injured by sepsis, a severe illness in which the bloodstream is overwhelmed by a bacterial infection, to die.

Each year about 750,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with sepsis, and it is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

Hema Kothari, Ph.D., a postdoctoral research associate, received a two-year, $94,000 grant from the AHA to investigate the role of a protein called tissue factor in the development of tuberculosis.

Proteins are required for the structure, function, and regulation of the body’s cells, tissues, and organs; each protein has unique functions. Hormones, enzymes, and antibodies are all examples of proteins.

Tissue factor is the protein that begins the blood-clotting process. People infected with TB sometimes develop blood clots. The purpose of Dr. Kothari’s research is to determine if tissue factor is involved in limiting the spread of TB bacteria or if it helps TB bacteria survive in the body.

Understanding the relationship between tissue factor and TB could lead to new treatments for this infectious disease, which kills almost 2 million people throughout the world each year.

CHEROKEE COUNTY — Officials with the Texas Forest Service say a fire in Cherokee County was started by an illegal burn. Authorities say a resident was cooking corn in an outdoor boiler when the fire got out of control. They say he’s likely to face a burn ban violation as well as reckless endangerment of property. Livestock was endangered, a house was evacuated and choppers took to the skies. Michael Batton with the Texas Forest Service says the fire spread rapidly. Numerous departments were called to the scene of the five acre fire on County Road 1615 off of Hwy 69, south of Jacksonville.

TYLER — The owner of Where’s Rufus Sports Bar in Tyler is pressing charges against a woman he says stole money from several tip jars Saturday night. Shaun Galbraith said the bar’s surveillance video caught King stealing money and an entire tip jar, putting it into her purse. According to KETK, Galbraith says he reviewed the tape, confronted Molly King, 21, about the incident and detained her until Tyler Police arrived at the scene.

Tyler Police say they have issued a warrant, but the case is still under investigation. They say they need to determine what she’ll be charged with, depending on how much cash was taken, before they make an arrest.

King had been released from the Smith County jail on August 4th after another theft charge. Police say she could face jail time and up to a $500 fine.

SMITH COUNTY – A fire in Eastern Smith County has destroyed a mobile home. The fire was reported yesterday on Goforth Road near the Smith/Gregg County line. Firemen were able to keep the fire from spreading to a nearby wooded area. No word on what caused the fire. No injuries were reported.

TROUP — According to Smith County Fire Officials, a grass fire has been extinguished near the Dollar Store on the 1400 block of West Duval Street in Troup. Firefighters requested the Texas Forest Service helicopters to assist them.

KILGORE – A small fire near the Danville Farm was quickly extinguished yesterday. The Christmas tree farm was not damaged and the fire was contained to a small wooded area east of the farm. It is unknown what caused the one acre fire.

NACOGDOCHES — Nacogdoches County fire departments have been moving throughout the county the last couple of days battling fires caused by intensely dry conditions and low humidity. “All you have to do is go outside and walk in your grass to know why we’re having more fires,” Texas Forest Service Urban Wildland Interface Specialist Jan Amen said. “This is a drought worse than the last 100 years, and we have no end to it in sight.”

Nacogdoches County fire departments and the Texas Forest Service on Tuesday battled a several-acre fire that threatened at least three homes on CR 113 in the North Redland community. A forest service helicopter was dispatched to the fire in an effort to combat the areas which weren’t accessible to fire trucks, said Rodney Witaker, Lilbert/Looneyville Volunteer Fire Department safety officer.

LONGVIEW (AP) – An East Texas man has been accused of killing his father who earlier raised mental stability concerns about the son. The Gregg County Sheriff’s Office says 30-year-old Anthony Cort Phelan of Longview was jailed Wednesday on a murder charge, with bond at $500,000. Electronic jail records did not list an attorney for Phelan, who allegedly had blood on him when he was arrested Tuesday walking near Lake Cherokee. Investigators say 64-year-old Johnny Phelan minutes earlier called 911 to say he was being attacked by his son at their home. Chief Deputy Chuck Willeford says the father apparently was stabbed after calling. He was pronounced dead at a hospital. Deputies on July 23 were also summoned by the father, who reported his son had mental issues and wasn’t taking his medicine.

TYLER (AP) – Some criminal justice students in East Texas will take a crack at a cold case: the 1995 theft of a statue of a former college president. Tyler Junior College President Mike Metke on Tuesday announced renewed efforts to find the bronze statue of Harry Jenkins. Jenkins led TJC from 1946 to 1980. He died in 1983. The $30,000 statue was erected four years later outside Wise Cultural Arts Plaza. Jason Waller, who leads the TJC criminal justice program and worked with Jenkins, says students will help law officers follow up on leads. Crime Stoppers has pledged a $5,000 reward for information leading to the statue, with reported sightings ranging from a fraternity house to the bottom of Lake Tyler.

MARSHALL — A fire that broke out Monday on a Harrison County pine plantation had consumed 450 acres by late Tuesday, fire officials said, placing it among the largest blazes in county history. Firefighters had contained the fire by Tuesday afternoon, Texas Forest Service officials said, after working more than 24 hours at the Phoenix Pine Plantation on Peters Chapel road near Texas 43 North, about 10 miles from Marshall. The property is owned by the family of state Rep. David Simpson, R-Longview, who was on site Tuesday surveying the damage. The Simpson family company, Avinger Timber, owns 6,500 acres in Harrison County.

KILGORE — An East Texas teacher was arrested after a search of her vehicle turned up drugs. Nacogdoches County officials arrested Sharon Ann Shaw, an attendance aid for KISD’s Kilgore Heights Campus. Officials said Shaw, 40, and James Hodkinson, 30, of Henderson, were stopped early Tuesday morning because the vehicle they were driving had a tail light out. Officials said officers had consent to search the vehicle and found 11 grams of meth in a can disguised to look like the aerosol lubricant WD-40. The vehicle also had what they suspected was stolen property and tools commonly used in burglaries. The pair were arrested and charged with delivery of a controlled substance and unlawful carrying of a weapon.

District representatives had been dispatched to Nacogdoches County to retrieve the district’s records found in the vehicle. Kilgore ISD Superintendent Jodie Clements Tuesday night said the arrest of one of the district’s employees of several years came as a surprise to him and co-workers in the district. Clements said the district will terminate Shaw upon receiving legal paperwork confirming her arrest.

JACKSONVILLE (AP) — Former Texas Representative Paul Ragsdale, one of the first African Americans elected to the Texas House since Reconstruction, has died. He was 66. Ragsdale was elected first in 1972 and served seven terms representing a Dallas district. Cherokee County Democratic Chairman Ceasar Roy told the Jacksonville Daily Progress Tuesday that Roy, who died Sunday in Tyler, was amiable and jovial but a “no-nonsense legislator.” Services were set for Saturday in Jacksonville.

With seven other lawmakers, he founded the Texas Legislative Black Caucus in 1973. Records show he authored more than 124 House bills and championed Black History Week in Texas. He’s also credited with getting pictures of black citizens who served in the Legislature and Constitutional Convention before 1900 to be on permanent display in the Capitol in Austin.

LONGVIEW — Reel Road will be open to through traffic today between Gilmer Road and Pine Tree Road. The road had been closed to through traffic since July 25, to allow for intersection construction at Knobcrest Drive and Reel Road.

Although the road has reopened to through traffic, construction will continue on the Reel Road Widening project for approximately another month. Drivers are encouraged to observe construction warning signs. The project was approved by voters as part of the Capital Improvements Bond Election in May 2007. This project is being constructed by East Texas Bridge of Longview.

LONGVIEW — A Longview motorcycle officer was transported an area hospital around 12:45 yesterday afternoon after being struck by a motorist near the intersection of Mobberly Avenue and Cotton Street. Longview police spokeswoman Kristie Brian said the officer, Ricky Mitchell, was transported to Longview Regional Medical Center. Brian said she was unsure about the details of the crash or how serious the victim’s injuries were.

SMITH COUNTY — Chapel Hill area residents forced to evacuate because of a large wildfire were allowed back in their homes last night. Officials with the Texas Forest Service report, as of 7:30 this morning, the fire is not quite 100% contained. Authorities will be on scene all day to make sure the high winds don’t increase the intensity of the remaining fire. The Texas Forest Service will have one helicopter out this morning, and hope to have it fully contained by this afternoon.

The evacuation order was issued yesterday afternoon for the area surrounding County Road 235 and County Road 26. Law enforcement started the evacuation process, even blocking off traffic in the area.

Smith County firefighters battled the grass fire that damaged two mobile homes. Several other structures had been threatened in the 18,000 block of County Road 26. There were reportedly 250 acres burned by the blaze that ten fire departments battled. The Texas Forest Service was called in. Plows from Henderson were brought in and choppers were used to drop water on the flames.

TYLER — Tyler firefighters were called to a house fire shortly before noon yesterday in the 400 block of Virginia at Line Street. Officials say the fire started after dry leaves under the vacant house started burning due to the hot temperature. No one was injured. Authorities say firefighters were able to contain the blaze in about 15 minutes.

LUFKIN — Two Xanax pills tucked into her bra in the Angelina County Jail cost a Lufkin woman five years in prison Monday, three months after she was found not guilty on an unrelated murder charge. Kendall Thompson, 20, sobbed as state District Judge Barry Bran sentenced her Monday afternoon. She had pleaded guilty July 13 to possessing a prohibited substance while she was in jail in 2009.

One month after being found not guilty of murder in the drive-by shooting death of Joseph Cooper, 63, in January 2010, Thompson gave birth to a baby girl. When Thompson’s attorney Al Charanza put her on the stand Monday, she explained how the combination of motherhood and having been scared by the criminal process had set her on the straight and narrow.

LONGVIEW — The Longview Fire Department responded to the scene of a house fire yesterday morning in the 2900 Block of Letourneau. The structure fire was reported around 9:00 and was extinguished a short time later. The family was at home when the fire started and was able to escape safely. No injuries were reported. Authorities say the blaze started in a front room of the house but the exact cause is still under investigation.

ANDERSON COUNTY — The Texas Forest Service said a 150 acre wild fire in Anderson County has been contained. Fire Officials had been on the scene of the fire on County Road 335 and Highway 19 since Monday evening. Officials believe the fire started when a tree branch fell onto a power line.

TYLER — Tyler Police are searching for several suspects accused of stealing credit cards and using them around East Texas. Security footage showed two men using the stolen credit cards after a Flint woman reported her purse stolen out of her car, which was parked in her garage Thursday. Authorities say the cards were used several times that day. Police say the majority of recent car burglaries are due to unlocked cars and open garage doors. Officers remind you not to leave any valuables in plain sight.

ALTO — No action was taken on the Alto Police Department status on Monday’s city council meeting, despite the council members going into executive session with the city attorney to discuss the matter. The entire Alto Police Department was shuttered on June 15 due to budget cuts. The plan is to bring back the department in December. The Cherokee County sheriff’s department tries to keep a patrol car in the area at all times.

Fourteen days after the Alto City Council sent its police force on a six-month furlough, the Wall Street Journal got wind of the story and ran an article entitled “The Day the Law Left Town.” The next day, Forbes and the Business Insider caught onto the story. Sheriff Campbell said national coverage has not yet greatly increased the number of crimes committed by outsiders. He said most of the crimes committed in Alto are done by locals.

TYLER — One person has been arrested in connection with a Tyler fire. The Tyler Fire Department responded to the two-alarm fire in the 2800 block of North Whitten Avenue yesterday afternoon. Fire crews reported heavy smoke conditions upon arrival. Five engines and one ladder company, along with a district chief and an investigator were on the scene. No injuries were reported. Taken into custody was John Edward Beck, 49, of Lancaster. He is identified as the ex-boyfriend of the woman who lives in the house.

TYLER – In Tyler federal court, a Panola County woman has woman has pleaded guilty to federal drug trafficking violations. In an appearance yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge John D. Love, Penni Sue Mooney, 48, of Carthage, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess pseudoephedrine with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine. She faces up to 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not been set.

According to federal prosecutors, on March 21, 2010, Mooney purchased cold pills containing pseudoephedrine at a Rite-Aid store in Shreveport, Louisiana and attempted to make an additional purchase that same day in the area with intentions of bringing the cold pills to Panola County where they would be used to manufacture methamphetamine. Mooney was named in a federal indictment returned by the grand jury on several months ago and charged with drug trafficking violations.

LONGVIEW — Two teens are under arrest for robbery. Joshun Pickens, 17, and Lacorian Dewayne Davis, 19, (pictured) both of Longview, are charged with robbery. Their bond was set at $7,500. Longview Police say they were arrested around 11:45 Sunday morning in the 1500 block of Mobberly Avenue.

SMITH COUNTY — Firefighters were dispatched to the 10,000 block of Littlefield Drive, just south of the UT Health Center off of Hwy 271, for a reported structure fire. According to Smith County Fire Officials, the blaze started around 2:00 and has now been contained. They say a storage unit behind a house was slightly damaged. No injuries were reported.

ANGELINA COUNTY — The Angelina County Commissioners Court voted Monday to adopt a plan that would abolish justice of the peace and constable precinct 4. The plan, which will placed on the agenda for formal resolution on Aug. 23, would combine precinct 4, which includes Zavalla, with precinct 3, which includes Huntington. Upon approval of a formal resolution order by the court, the proposed changes would not immediately come into effect, as Pct. 4 Justice of the Peace Claude Marshall is in the first year of a four-year term.

LONGVIEW — Former Harrison County Judge Richard Anderson is in discussions with supporters about trying to return Northeast Texas to Democratic representation in Congress. It would be a long shot for a Democrat to unseat incumbent Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler, in a congressional district that leans heavily Republican.

“Certainly, no decision has been made,” Anderson said of a Democratic run at Gohmert’s congressional seat. “Several individuals have inquired as to whether I would consider seeking the congressional seat now held by him. I have no present plans to make such a race.” He wouldn’t rule it out, either, and the state Democratic Party appears to be holding a place for him.

TYLER – On land off Gentry Parkway, on land with a house donated by the Caldwell Foundation, you find the Tyler Day Nursery. The oldest non-profit day nursery in Texas celebrated its 75th anniversary Sunday afternoon. It was started by the Tyler Council of Church Women with a goal of providing child-care for low-income families. And with today’s economy, the need appears to be even greater. According to Tyler Day Nursery President Mary Meyers, they are currently working on expanding the facility.

TYLER — Here’s a quick look at other work planned in the Tyler District of the Texas Department of Transportation.

LINDALE — A new traffic signal at the intersection of U.S. Highway 69 and County Road 474 in Lindale is scheduled to be turned on Wednesday morning. The signal is located just north of Centennial Drive in southern Lindale. Leading up to the signal’s activation, TxDOT crews will complete their work to add shoulders and turn lanes at the intersection and a striping crew is scheduled to be at work in and around the intersection on Tuesday.

SEVEN POINTS — Texas Department of Transportation contractor Nixon Construction is scheduled to begin work today to repair a damaged portion of bridge rail on the State Highway 334 causeway bridge, which is nearest to the Seven Points end. Lane closures will be in effect during daytime hours only, and flaggers will work one-lane traffic. Motorists should expect some delays while the work is in progress. The work is expected to last through Friday.

“We’re going to try to make this as painless as possible,” said TxDOT spokesman Larry Krantz. “We were all reminded around this time last year just how important this bridge is to the communities it serves, and we’ve instructed our contractor to act accordingly.” This work is not related to work done on the SH 334 bridge last year to repair a damaged column.

ATHENS — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to perform seal coat operations in various locations on Farm Road 2709, Ranch Road 2970, Ranch Road 2588 and Farm Road 2752. Daytime lane closures will be in effect in each location while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic. Loose gravel may be present for several days following a seal coat application.

HENDERSON — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to continue street-sweeping operations in the curb-and-gutter sections of U.S. Highway 79 in Henderson. While lane closures are not a part of street-sweeping operations, motorists are encouraged to drive in the inside lanes to avoid having to merge around street-sweeping operations.

Crews are also scheduled to perform shoulder work in various locations on Loop 571 and U.S. Highway 259, and resurfacing work on U.S. Highway 84 between Reklaw and Farm Road 2753. Daytime lane closures will be in effect in each location while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic.

WOOD COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to continue resurfacing operations on State Highway 37 between Quitman and Winnsboro. Daytime lane closures will be in effect in each location while the work is in progress, and flaggers and pilot vehicles will control traffic in two-lane areas.

ANDERSON COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to perform resurfacing operations in various locations on Farm Road 1990, followed by the same work later in the week on Farm Road 320 between Farm Road 645 and Loop 256. Daytime lane closures will be in effect in each location, and traffic will be controlled by flaggers.

LONGVIEW — The Longview Fire Department deployed all but one of its engines as it tried to stop a fire that destroyed a home and several classic automobiles late Friday in South Longview. A woman who was asleep when the fire broke out in another part of the house was treated for smoke inhalation, Fire Marshal Johnny Zackary said Saturday. Two firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion. No one was hospitalized. The three-bedroom home and six automobiles were a total loss, Zackary said.

As Longview equipment was being used at the fire in the 400 block of Ridgecrest Drive, equipment from fire departments in Gilmer, Elderville and White Oak was moved to Longview in case it was needed elsewhere in the city. Zackary said the fire was reported about 8:40 p.m., and crews were on the scene well past midnight.

EAST TEXAS — Smoke could continue to rise for days or even weeks from a Friday fire in Overton. More than 40 area firefighters, 14 vehicles and a helicopter were used to battle the grass fire near FM 1639, according to Michael Stanley, spokesman for the Kilgore Fire Department, which was in command operations. Stanley said initial estimates of a fire that covered as much as 300 acres were reduced to about 100 acres after talking with firefighters on the scene. “With that large of a geographical area, it’s difficult to say,” he said.

The blaze reportedly started when a hay baler being used by a crew on his land on CR 1115 caught fire. Volunteer fire departments from Overton, Crims Chapel, Sabine and New London also responded to the fire. The Texas Forestry Service brought two plows and a helicopter to assist. Stanley said Kilgore firefighters cleared the scene about 10:30 p.m. Friday, but the Texas Forestry Service was watching hot spots Saturday. The fire is secure, but Stanley said officials will be watching the area an smoke could continue to rise from the area for days or even weeks.

Kilgore firefighters also responded Friday to a grass fire on FM 2276 east of Kilgore. Stanley said Elderville/Lakeport volunteer firefighters and the Texas Forestry Service assisted in battling the blaze the covered about 40 acres. No structures were damaged in either fire.

LONGVIEW — The victim of a hit-and-run driver just over a week ago has died. Charles Edward Leatch, 37, died last Thursday in a local hospital, Longview Police spokeswoman Kristie Brian said Friday. Leatch was struck by a passing vehicle while walking in the 200 block of Magnolia Lane before 6:00 Sunday morning, August 7. Later that day, police arrested Jonathan Soto Estrada, 21, (pictured) and charged him with accident involving serious bodily injury or death. Estrada was released from jail Monday on $50,000 bond.

EAST TEXAS — Firefighters across East Texas continued battling several grass fires. Firefighters spent several hours Friday afternoon and evening battling a large grass fire near Overton, another east of Kilgore, and one along Interstate 20 near Hallsville, officials reported.

At the same time, Longview firefighters were battling a blaze that consumed four automobiles and a home on the city’s south side late Friday, even as several grass fires that ravaged hundreds of acres across the area continue to burn. A house at 402 Ridgecrest Drive was fully engulfed shortly before 10 p.m., said Fire Marshal Johnny Zackary. Earlier blazes in the same area burned four cars.

Several fire departments and the Texas Forestry Service were battling a large fire near Rusk County CR 1115 between Texas 31 and 42 near Overton. James Copeland, who lives on CR 1115, said the fire started on his property when fire shot out of a hay baler being used by a baling crew.

Elderville/Lakeport volunteer firefighters and Kilgore Fire Department firefighters were battling a blaze on about five acres on fire near FM 2204 and FM 2276. One constable said 200 to 300 acres had been burned. Officials were still on the scene of both fires late Friday and did not have complete information on the extent of the damage. Officials said the fire had spread deep into the woods and was climbing trees while firefighters were working to protect structures.

In Harrison County along Interstate 20, officials reported another grass fire was being fought late Friday afternoon.

Franklin County Officials are on the scene of a fire burning near Winnsboro and Lake Cypress Springs. Numerous departments and a helicopter are responding.