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LONGVIEW — Police in Longview warn of a robbery scam. At around 9:50 p.m. Tuesday, Longview Officers were dispatched to 600 West Avalon Avenue in reference to a robbery that just occurred.

The victim told officers she was inside her apartment, when she received a knock at the door. The victim answered and a man told her that she had left her vehicle headlights on in the parking lot. The victim went to the parking lot, turned off her lights, and returned to her apartment. She then received another knock at the door. When she opened the door, the first man was there with a second man, who was armed with a handgun. The men entered the victim’s apartment and took her purse before fleeing the location. The suspects were last seen running south through the apartment complex parking lot.

The victim described one of the suspects as a black male, in his early 20s, with a slim build, wearing an oversized white t-shirt, baggy black gym shorts and a black hat with a shiny gold sticker on the bill. Police are warning you to be cautious of anyone that you don’t know who comes to your door. Ask the person what he or she needs without opening the door — and if you are suspicious, call police.

TYLER (AP/Staff) – Tyler police say a second person has died following a double shooting Tuesday. Gunfire blamed on a tenant killed the owner of the tenant’s residence — and the renter died later from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Officer Don Martin says the renter, 47-year-old Alice Aguilar (pictured), died Wednesday at East Texas Medical Center in Tyler. Police on Tuesday afternoon received a call of shots fired at a multi-apartment residence and discovered the body of 70-year-old Socorro Nunez in one unit. Martin says Aguilar was found unconscious, with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, in another unit. Police are investigating what led to the shootings and whether financial problems were involved.

TYLER — Staff members from the office of U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, recently presented several WWII military service medals to Mrs. Billie Bob Hickman, wife of the late Charles “Hick” Hickman, who passed away before receiving the medals he was authorized to receive. After being contacted by Hickman’s son-in-law, Enoch Freeman, earlier this year, Sen. Cornyn worked to secure Hickman’s overdue medals, including the Bronze Star, WWII Victory Medal, the American Defense Service Medal, and the American Campaign Medal. Sen. Cornyn’s staff delivered the medals to Mrs. Hickman’s Tyler home and hosted a ceremony during which Hickman’s grandson, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Freeman, presented the medals to his grandmother. Freeman currently serves in Iraq with the 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division — the same unit his grandfather served in during WWII.

“It is always a great honor to have a hand in securing long overdue medals for American heroes and the family members who supported them during their service. Sadly, WWII veteran Charles Hickman passed away before receiving the medals he was due. But thanks to the hard work and persistence of his family members, I was able to help them obtain Mr. Hickman’s medals, including the prestigious Bronze Star,” Sen. Cornyn said.

The Senator added, “In a poignant act of remembrance, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Freeman, grandson of Mr. Hickman, who today serves in the same unit his grandfather did in WWII, was able to present these medals to his grandmother while he was on leave from his tour in Iraq. Thanks to this family’s love and respect for the late Charles “Hick” Hickman, his legacy and service to our nation will be celebrated and remembered for generations to come.”

TYLER (Staff/AP) – Tyler police are looking into the possibility of financial problems as they seek a motive in a case they’ve labeled a murder and attempted suicide. Police say the murder suspect’s landlord is dead after being shot, and the suspect is in critical condition at Tyler’s East Texas Medical Center with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police identify the slain woman as Socorro Nunez, 70. The other woman is said to be Alice Alvarez Aguilar, 47, who is pictured here. Police initially responded to a report of gunshots that came from inside the residence at 118 S. Beverly Street around after 12:30 yesterday afternoon. When officers arrived, they found Nunez’s body on the floor in Apartment #1. Officers searched the area for the suspect and located her unconscious in the adjacent apartment with the self-inflicted wound.

GREGG COUNTY — A Gregg County man is in court today charged with sexual assault of a child. The trial starts today for Tracy Antonio Bonner, 43, Longview, accused of sexually assaulting a 6-year-old girl back in 2000. KETK reports, officials with the Gregg County District Attorney’s office says if convicted, Bonner faces up to 99 years to life in prison.

BULLARD — Officials with the City of Bullard Utility Department say water came back on late Wednesday morning. This comes after an early morning water main break. A boil water notice has now been issued to all residents who have city water. Another notice will be issued when the water is clear to drink without boiling. According to KETK, officials still don’t know what caused the water main break, which canceled classes Wednesday in the Bullard ISD and at Brook Hill School.

TYLER — Tyler ISD says two more elementary campuses are beginning implementation of the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program. They are Jones MST Elementary Academy and Ramey Elementary School.

AVID Elementary is designed to bring academic success to all students by combining “best teaching practices” with AVID Elementary’s framework of Writing to Learn, Inquiry, Collaboration, Organization, and Reading to Learn. The targeted grade level(s) implement and embed AVID Elementary strategies and methodologies into grade-level expectations and classroom procedures. All students in the target grade level are exposed to the strategies and tools of the AVID Elementary Program.

“With college-readiness as our motivation, teachers will begin incorporating the AVID Elementary components into their daily teaching practices, wherein the high expectation of success for EVERY student will always be at the forefront of the days’ activities and lessons,” said Lillian Bowens, Tyler ISD AVID Director. “AVID Elementary is part of a district-wide effort to increase college-ready students, and because of the successes of our first AVID elementary campus, Peete Elementary, Tyler Independent School District will begin implementation of two additional AVID Elementary campuses, Jones and Ramey, in the 2010 school year.”

The AVID program is currently being implemented at: Peete, Jones and Ramey elementary schools; Secondary Certified sites are: Boulter, Dogan, Hogg, Hubbard, Moore, and Stewart middle schools; John Tyler and Robert E. Lee high schools.

TYLER – Tyler police are looking for a Hispanic male on charges of unlawful restraint. Officers were called to East Texas Medical Center around 9:00 Monday night. A woman told officers she had been abducted while going to the hospital.

She said she was in the area of South Beckham and East Erwin streets when a Hispanic Male offered her ride to ETMC. She told officers the man immediately deviated from the route to the hospital and would not allow her out of the vehicle. The man transported her victim out of the city at a high rate of speed. She was unable to get out of the vehicle until they were in the area of County Road 211 and Farm to Market Road 850. She said she jumped from the vehicle. She was found by a Smith County Sheriff’s deputy. She was then transported to East Texas Medical Center for treatment of her injuries.

The Hispanic male is described as being in his 40’s with a light beard, wearing a white t-shirt and blue jeans. The suspect’s vehicle is described as a dark green two door, possibly Ford Ranger with dark tinted windows. The vehicle also had a piece of plywood in the bed protruding over the tail gate.

TYLER – A 45-year-old Beckville woman has pleaded guilty to federal drug violations related to cold pills. Heidi Lynn Beall pleaded guilty to possession of pseudoephedrine with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine. The plea came Tuesday in Tyler before U.S. Magistrate Judge John D. Love.

According to information presented in court, on Dec. 24, 2008, Beall purchased cold pills containing pseudoephedrine at a Walgreens in Longview, in addition to making two other purchases that same day at other stores in the area, as well as on many other occasions. Officials say it was all in furtherance of her methamphetamine manufacturing activities. A federal grand jury returned a 256-count indictment on Feb. 2, 2010, charging Beall with federal drug violations. Beall faces up to 20 years in federal prison at sentencing. A sentencing date has not been set.

GLADEWATER — Sheriff’s officials in Gregg County are investigating a woman’s death. Tuesday morning Deputies and Emergency Medical personnel responded to a residence on FM 2207 North of Gladewater to conduct a death investigation. Sally Coker, 60, of Gladewater was found pinned between a chain and her passenger car at the entrance to her residence. Coker’s grandchild was inside the car at the time of the incident.

“At 10:50 am we received a telephone call from a Gregg County Reserve Deputy who discovered Coker pinned between a chain and the windshield of her passenger car,” Captain Mike Claxton said Tuesday afternoon. The Deputy happened upon this event while traveling on FM2207 and called for assistance. “Unfortunately Coker had no signs of life when found,” Claxton added.

“Investigators have been examining the scene with Judge Talyna Carlson,” Claxton said. Coker’s family has been notified of her death. Carlson has ordered an autopsy on Coker to assist in determining the manner and cause of her death. “It is too soon to comment intelligently on how this incident occurred,” Claxton added. “Initial investigative findings from the scene indicates that Coker was out of her car at the entrance to her property moving the chain to enable access to her driveway when she became pinned between the chain and her car.”

TYLER — Four biomedical investigators at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler recently were awarded a total of more than $2.1 million in grants despite intense competition for research dollars. Officials say the UTHSCT researchers will use those funds to:
* examine ways to prevent the rejection of transplanted insulin-producing cells that could cure diabetes;
* develop new strategies to protect lung cells against damage caused by tobacco smoke, including the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the fourth leading cause of death in the United States;
* explore how to boost the immune system so that it can fight off deadly microbes, such as the H1N1 flu virus; and
* study how changes in the thymus gland may contribute to the development of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and type 1 diabetes.

Almost $1.8 million of the $2.1 million came from the National Institutes of Health, the premier funding agency in the United States for biomedical research. Each NIH grant is evaluated by other scientists in the same field of study, in a process known as peer review. Grants are awarded based on the scores they receive, and officials say the competition is fierce.

“To receive significant NIH funding now is a remarkable achievement that speaks to the high quality of the scientific work our investigators are conducting. They compete against the leading scientists from top-tier institutions,” said UTHSCT Vice President for Research Dr. Steven Idell, MD, Ph.D. “On average, only the top 15 percent of the proposals submitted to NIH are funded. In some areas of research, the percentage funded is even less,” Dr. Idell said. “More investigators are applying for NIH funding, while the annual NIH budget has remained about the same. In addition, the cost of research has gone up.” It has also become harder for researchers to acquire private, non-governmental funding, he said.

“Grant applications to foundations and other research sponsors have become almost as competitive – sometimes even more so – than applying to the NIH. While this is a very exciting time to be in biomedical science, researchers face great challenges in acquiring and retaining outside funding to support their work,” Dr. Idell said. “The fact that UTHSCT investigators continue to be funded shows the high quality and importance of the science being done within the UTHSCT biomedical research community.”

One of the members of this community, Zhenhua Dai, Ph.D., MD, an associate professor of immunology, recently was awarded a $1.4 million, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health. These funds will support Dr. Dai’s ongoing study into how to prevent the immune system from rejecting transplanted organs. Sreerama Shetty, Ph.D., a professor of medicine, received a two-year grant for $387,750 from the NIH to examine the roles of two crucial proteins in protecting the lungs from the harm caused by tobacco smoke.

Amir Shams, Ph.D., an associate professor of microbiology and immunology, was awarded a three-year, $325,000 grant from the Flight Attendants Medical Research Institute. He is studying how an innovative technique that boosts the immune system could help people with COPD and other lung diseases to fight infections of influenza. Dongming Su, Ph.D., an associate professor of biochemistry, received an additional award of $71,854 to fund his ongoing research into the thymus, a gland located behind the top of the breastbone.

TYLER — Smith County Commissioners approved a budget Tuesday morning. According to KETK, the budget calls for 33 county job cuts and a property tax increase. In a crowded room, a handful of taxpayers gave their final words to the court before Commissioners decided on a final budget. They voted to increase property taxes by $.025.

During the discussion, Commissioner Bill McGinnis says he does not like the tax rate, and he thinks it should be higher. The votes for the budget and tax increase were 4-1 when Commissioner Terry Phillips voted against both. Phillips says, “I just feel like there was more that could have been done to lower the tax rate.” The 33 job cuts include 17 Road and Bridge, six administrative, five Judicial, three Public Safety, and two Agricultural Extension jobs.

TYLER – Tyler police say one woman is dead after being shot, and another — suspected in the fatal shooting — is in critical condition at ETMC/Tyler with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police identify the slain woman as 70-year-old Socorro Nunez; the other woman is named as 47-year-old Alice Alvarez Aguilar. Police initially responded to a report of gunshots that came from inside the residence around 12:34 p.m. When officers arrived, they found Nunez’s body on the floor in Apartment #1. Officers searched the area for the suspect and located her unconscious in the adjacent apartment with the self-inflicted wound. Police say investigators are attempting to determine the motives behind the deadly shooting.

LONGVIEW — The Longview Fire Department responds to a fire in the 1400 block of Lake Drive around 9:00 Tuesday morning. Officials say a man was removing the fuel pump from the gas tank of a car when a spark igniting the fuel in the tank. The blaze was extinguished with no damage to any other structures. The man suffered 2nd and 3rd degree burns but refused to taken to the hospital. The car was a total loss.

TYLER — Tyler Junior College officials are clarifying the tax rate increase approved last week for the new fiscal year’s budget. Trustees approved a rate of 18.29 cents per $100 valuation — the amount originally proposed. That’s 33.57 percent higher than the current rate — and 31.62 percent higher than the effective tax rate, which is the figure that would bring in the current year’s revenue.