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LONGVIEW – A Henderson man was jailed in Longview, accused of beating and stabbing his common law wife. Placed in the Gregg County Jail under bonds totaling $40,000 was Ronnie Alan Montalbano, 29. The woman was taken to Good Shepherd Medical Center Sunday where she told officers Montalbano had stabbed her in the shoulder with a pair of needle nose pliers. He is also said to have punched her in the face and stomped on her head. She also received bruises and abrasions which she said she got when she jumped from his moving vehicle.

LONGVIEW – A person reported standing naked in a Longview street has been taken into custody. Arrested Sunday afternoon was Sandra Lois Smith, 57. Police describe her as a local transient.

Arriving officers said they found the woman fully clothed and blocking traffic in the 3100 block of 4th Street. Officers told her she was free to leave as long as she stopped walking in the middle of the road. However she walked onto the north bound lane of 4th street, causing cars to stop. She was escorted from the street, but continued to walk back into traffic. It was then she was arrested. At her arraignment Monday morning, a mental health evaluation was ordered.

WILLS POINT — After a month-long investigation, authorities in Van Zandt County make a methamphetamine bust. This past Friday, the Sheriff’s Office along with the Wills Point Police Department and the Constable of Precinct #3 executed a search warrant on VZCR #3825 in Wills Point. An undisclosed amount of methamphetamines was recovered. Kimberly Dawn Marshall, 25, was arrested, placed into custody, and booked into the Van Zandt County Justice Center. Marshall was charged with manufacturing and delivery, and her bond was set at $10,000.

NACOGDOCHES — The Nacogdoches County Sheriff’s office is following up on its discovery of a large amount of stolen vehicles and property last week. KETK reports that law officers executed search warrants Monday at two more locations where stolen property was located. Several more vehicles, trailers, and ATVs have been recovered. Sheriff’s officials reported their initial find Friday at a residence in Briar Forest subdivision. On that day, authorities reported that vehicles and ATVs that were stolen from Panola, Rusk, and Shelby Counties had been recovered.

EAST TEXAS — Here’s an update on mobile disaster recovery centers available in the coming days to survivors of the recent East Texas wildfires:

Smith County
Bethel Baptist Church
13108 Highway 64 East
Tyler, TX 75707
Monday, Oct. 31
1 pm – 6 pm
Tuesday, Nov. 1 and Wednesday, Nov. 2
9 am – 6 pm
Closes Wednesday, Nov. 2

Henderson County
Emergency Operations Center Building
622 S. Prairieville Street
Athens, TX 75751
Monday, Oct. 24
1 pm – 6 pm
Tuesday, Oct. 25, and Wednesday, Oct. 26
9 am – 6 pm
Closes Wednesday, Oct. 26

Marion County
Jefferson Visitor Center
305 East Austin Street
Jefferson, TX 75657
Monday, Oct. 24, through Friday, Oct. 28
9 am – 6 pm
Closes Friday, Oct. 28

Disaster loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters are eligible for up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property. Disaster loans up to $2 million are available to businesses of all sizes and private, nonprofit organizations to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery, equipment, inventory and other business assets.

Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) up to $2 million are available to small businesses and most private, nonprofit organizations to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster, regardless of whether the business suffered any property damage. The maximum business disaster loan is $2 million for any combination of property damage and working capital.

Interest rates can be as low as 2.5% for homeowners and renters, 4% for businesses and 3% for private, nonprofit organizations, with terms up to 30 years. Loan amounts and terms are set by the U.S. Small Business Administration and are based on each applicant’s financial condition. SBA can also lend additional funds to homeowners and businesses to help with the cost of making improvements that protect, prevent or minimize the same type of disaster damage from occurring in the future.

Applicants may also apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela — SBA’s secure Web site. Residents and business owners may obtain information on SBA disaster loans by calling SBA’s Customer Service Center toll-free at (800) 659-2955, visiting SBA’s Web site at http://www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance or contacting disastercustomerservice@sba.gov via e-mail. Individuals who are deaf or hard-of-hearing may call (800) 877‑8339. The filing deadline to return applications for property damage has been extended to December 8, 2011. The deadline to return economic injury applications is June 6, 2012.

PALESTINE — According to the Anderson County Judge’s Office, Judge Robert Johnston has decided to temporarily drop the county’s burn ban. According to KETK, the judge felt that the amount of rain the county received in the last few days was enough to allow people to burn their trash. People are still cautioned to use common sense while burning.

CRAFT — Due to conditions which have occurred recently in the water system, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has required Craft-Turney Water Supply, south of Jacksonville to notify all the customers involved in the repair area to boil their water prior to consumption. According to KETK, the area included in this boil water notice is on FM 347 South, from Smith Wrecking Yard on both sides of FM 347 to and including County Roads 3101, 3103, 3145, 3147, 3148, 3159 — and from the intersection of FM 2138 and FM 347, south ½ mile down FM 2138 on the west side of the road.

Officials say to ensure destruction of all harmful bacteria and other microbes, water for drinking, cooking, and ice making should be boiled and cooled prior to consumption. The water should be brought to a vigorous rolling boil and then boiled for two minutes. In lieu of boiling, you may purchase bottled water or obtain water from some other suitable source. When it is no longer necessary to boil the water, water system officials will notify you. If you have questions regarding this matter you may contact Rhonda Briggs, Office Manager, at 903-586-9301.

NACOGDOCHES — When it comes right down to it, if people don’t conserve water now and a deluge of steady rain doesn’t hit Nacogdoches County soon, projections show that Lake Nacogdoches will be empty in less than a year. That’s according to KETK and the Nacogdoches Daily Sentinel. “Not only are we running out of water, we’re using more water,” Nacogdoches City Engineer Steve Bartlett said. “We have had a 25 percent increase in a one-year study period in our sprinkler account.” Brad Randall, chief operator at the Nacogdoches Surface Water Treatment Plant, says the process of preparing water from the lake for consumption hasn’t changed, but the city is contemplating mandatory conservation regulations as the ongoing drought has worsened.

TYLER — Smith County sheriff hopeful Chris Green hung up his game warden badge over the weekend at his retirement party. According to KETK, Green served 16 years as Smith County’s game warden and 20 years in the state. Green says family, friends, and other wardens came in from all over Texas to see him off. Although he’s retiring as game warden, Green says it’s only the beginning of a new chapter in his life. He says, “You know, we’re having a good time tonight. It’s kind of a closing chapter to my career as a game warden…we’re off to bigger and better things.” Green announced his run for sheriff earlier in the year. He says he’s ready to serve the public in a larger capacity.

SMITH COUNTY — Halloween is just around the corner and the drought is putting a damper on those decorations. If you’re thinking of putting out jack-o-lanterns, think twice about using an actual candle to light it up. With the burn ban still in effect, Smith County Fire Marshal Jim Seaton says pumpkins are no exceptions. He confirmed that all outdoor burning of any combustible material is prohibited, which includes candles burning in pumpkins. Seaton suggests LED lights as an alternative.

LUFKIN — A Lufkin man with a blood alcohol concentration twice the legal limit was booked into the Angelina County Jail after crashing his truck into a pole Friday night. Witnesses at the scene of the accident in the 1900 block of East Denman Avenue said a man driving a silver Ford pickup truck hit the pole, then backed up and drove away. Because the truck sustained extensive damage from the crash, it broke down about 200 yards west of the accident.

The man, later identified as Miguel Garcia, 50, of Lufkin, ran into a nearby wooded area, according to witnesses. When police found him hiding in low-lying grass near the edge of a wooded area, they discovered he was intoxicated. After being transported to the jail, Garcia provided breath samples that indicated his blood alcohol content was twice the legal limit. He was booked on a charge of driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of the accident.

LONGVIEW — A Longview teenager is in custody after a fatal hit and run. Ashley Nicole Lambert, 19, faces a charge of failure to stop and render aid, a third degree felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. She remained jailed on $10,000 bond. Police say, for more than a month, Lambert eluded police despite a grand jury indictment for the March 28th collision on Loop 281 that killed Harold Grady, 57, Farmersville. Authorities search for Lambert ended Oct. 17, when the 19-year-old motorist was arrested after what was at least her second wreck of the year. An arraignment hearing is scheduled for Friday.

TYLER – Early voting is underway in Texas in the November 8th constitutional amendments election. Ten proposed amendments to the Texas constitution are being presented to voters. Early voting will take place at the Smith County Courthouse Annex Building, 200 East Ferguson Street. According to the Smith County website, the election hours are:

10/24/2011-10/28/2011 Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
10/31/2011-11/02/2011 Monday-Wednesday 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
11/03/2011-11/04/2011 Thursday-Friday 7:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m.

LUFKIN – A Lufkin home has been destroyed by fire. The blaze was reported around 5:45 Sunday morning in Lufkin’s Crown Colony subdivision. No injuries were reported. Authorities say, while it is apparent the lightning strike is to blame, the Lufkin Fire Department will do a routine investigation before declaring an official cause.

TYLER –The East Texas Food Bank will soon be signing up senior citizens for the Commodity and Supplemental Food Program. The program is designed to improve the health and nutrition of senior citizens.

Dennis Cullinane, the executive director of the food bank says the program will provide the East Texas Food Bank more resources for which to serve the area’s senior population. “We are eager to start providing nutritious boxes of food for our seniors.

Participants must meet two requirements to be included in the program: be 60 years of age or older and meet gross income requirements. Proof of age and income is required. Those who are already enrolled in SNAP, formerly known as Food Stamps, Medicaid or SSI will automatically qualify, pending proof of enrollment.

Representatives of the East Texas Food Bank will be at the following locations:
Tuesday October 25
9:00am at the Senior Citizens Center, 112 Church Street in Grapeland
1:30pm at the First Baptist Church, 424 West Parker Street in Elkhart
Thursday October 27th
9:00am at First Christian Church, corner of Broad and Holly Street in Oakwood
1:30pm Leon County Senior Center 941½ Hill Street in Buffalo