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AUSTIN – Wildfire survivors in Marion and Henderson counties can meet with state and federal specialists at recovery centers opening soon in area communities. Starting Saturday, specialists from the state of Texas, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Small Business Administration will be on hand to answer questions and provide information on the types of assistance available to survivors. They also have brochures and other written materials on disaster recovery.

The schedule is:

Marion County
Jefferson Visitor Center & Tourism Office
305 East Austin Street
Jefferson, TX 75657
1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22
9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24 through Friday, Oct. 28

Henderson County
Emergency Operations Center Training Facility
622 S. Prairieville
Athens, TX 75751
1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24
9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 25
9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26

Any Texan with questions about the recovery process or needing help registering with FEMA is urged to stop by a recovery center. Visiting with a recovery specialist is not a requirement for survivors who want disaster assistance, but officials say the centers are an excellent way for people to get answers to their questions about disaster aid and help applying for it.

Texas homeowners, renters, and business owners can register online at http://www.disasterassistance.gov or via web-enabled phone at m.fema.gov. They can also register by telephone via FEMA’s toll-free numbers: 1-800-621-3362 or TTY 1-800-462-7585. Those who use 711-Relay or Video Relay Services can call 1-800-621-3362. Assistants are available by phone from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week.

JACKSONVILLE — Jacksonville police are investigating two robberies that occurred across town within a span of 10 minutes Tuesday night. In one of the robberies, two men robbed a clerk at Nu Time Truck Stop at gunpoint and made off with an estimated $5,000 in cash. One robber was allegedly wearing a Halloween mask and another had wrapped a woman’s scarf around his face to hide his identity. It happened around 10:00 at a convenience store on Frankston Street. According to police reports, the store clerk was locking the front door for the night and had a money bag in his hand. As he was locking the door, the two men approached him, one pointing a pistol to the clerk’s head and the other putting a rifle to his back.

The clerk complied, and the men took him back to the cash register where there was more money. They took the money and told the man to give him his cell phone and the money in his pockets. Then they grabbed a package of cigarettes and left the scene on foot.

Minutes prior to the Nu Time robbery, an officer responded to a call from the J N J Food Mart regarding a robbery. A store clerk said a black man wearing a ski mask entered the store and demanded all the cash from the register. When she started emptying the register, she noticed he was holding a pistol. He then demanded that she give him all the money in the store office. She told him there was no money in the office, but the man did not believe her and went to the office and kicked in the door.

The robber then told the clerk to give him all the money in the safe, but she told him she did not know the combination to the safe. Just as the man was threatening to kill her, a customer pulled into the parking lot of the convenience store. The man immediately left the store and approached the customer outside and demanded that he give him all his money. Once the man handed over his wallet, the robber fled the scene on foot. The amount of money stolen from J N J has not yet been determined.

ATHENS — Henderson County Sheriff deputies have apprehended a man accused of assaulting officers with a large knife Wednesday night while they were attempting to serve an arrest warrant. Fred Billy Wray Jr., 46, was captured at a gas station in Tool after a resident reported seeing him.

LUFKIN – A man sought in connection with a Lufkin shooting has surrendered to authorities. Juan Carlos Garcia, 33, of Dallas, turned himself in on Wednesday. He has entered a not guilty plea in the 2002 attempted murder case. He is accused of shooting a man who had been sitting in a car with Garcia’s ex girl friend. Garcia is currently free on a $50,000 bond.

ATHENS – Henderson County authorities are investigating a 10 year old boy in connection with a grass fire in the Lake Palestine area in early August. The case has been referred to the Juvenile Probation Office for prosecution.

They feel the boy set the grass fire in the Wildewood Edition, off Farm-to-Market Road 315, south of Chandler, on August 7. The fire was quickly extinguished. The boy is also a suspect in a couple of fires in the same area in June of 2010.

MANGUM, OKLA. (AP) — The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has denied a motion to remove the presiding judge in the trial of a former warden’s wife who was convicted of helping an inmate escape from prison. Greer County Assistant District Attorney David Thomas said Thursday the court rejected Bobbi Parker’s appeal that sought to disqualify District Judge Richard Darby because of alleged bias.

A jury found Parker guilty September 21 of helping Randolph Dial break out of the Oklahoma State Reformatory in 1994. The couple were later found living in Texas on a Shelby Countychicknranch. Jurors recommended one year in prison. Parker was to be formally sentenced October 6 but that was delayed because of the dispute over Darby. A judge denied Garvin Isaacs’ request to disqualify Darby, ruling the appeals court was the more appropriate venue.

AUSTIN – Governor Rick Perry has named a Smith County man to the Texas Transportation Commission. Jeff Austin III was named to the post for a term to expire February 1, 2013. The commission oversees the Texas Department of Transportation.

Austin is vice chairman of Austin Bank and Texas NA. He is a board member of First State Bank in Athens and Capital Bank in Houston, and past president of First State Bank Frankston. He is a board member and past chair of the Texas Bankers Association, a member of the American Bankers Association Government Relations Committee and the Bank CEO Network, and an executive committee member and past director of the Texas Lyceum. He is a board member of the Bob Bullock Texas History Museum, past presiding officer of the North East Texas Regional Mobility Authority, past board chair of the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce. He is also a past board member of the Tyler Economic Development Corporation, Better Business Bureau of East Texas, University of Texas Tyler Business School Advisory Board, UT Tyler Health Center Development Board and Trinity Mother Frances Hospital Foundation.

Austin received a bachelor’s degree and Master of Business Administration from the University of Texas at Tyler, and is a graduate of the Southern Methodist University Southwestern Graduate and Intermediate schools of Banking, and the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program.

SHELBYVILLE (AP) — An East Texas man has surrendered after his wife and her adult son were found shot to death. The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office said Richard Dean, 39, of Shelbyville has been charged with capital murder and was being held without bond. No attorney was listed for Dean, who turned himself in Wednesday night to officers in neighboring San Augustine County. Officials say Dean’s 8-year-old son was with him and wasn’t harmed.

The body of Vicky Dean, 47, was discovered Wednesday in a vehicle on property near Shelbyville, a town of about 600 located near the Texas state line with Louisiana. The body of 20-year-old Christopher Reagan Smith was in a nearby building. Authorities are trying to determine a motive for the killings. The sheriff’s department didn’t immediately release further details Thursday.

LONGVIEW — The Longview City Council soon will consider a proposed redistricting plan. Redistricting is a regular process of adjusting the lines of City Council voting districts in accordance with population shifts. The districts are intended to be roughly equal in population so that each area of the City is equally represented on the City Council. In Longview, redistricting is traditionally considered every ten years following the decennial census. The proposed redistricting plan would affect Council Districts 2, 5, and 6. In order to balance the population of Longview in all districts, the following is needed: the population of District 2 needs to increase, the population of District 5 needs to decrease, and the population of District 6 needs to increase.

Residents are invited to attend an informational meeting about the proposed redistricting plan to be held at 5:30pm, Tuesday, October 25, at City Hall, 300 West Cotton Street. The proposed redistricting plan will be considered during a Longview City Council meeting at 5:30pm, Thursday, October 27, also at City Hall. The proposed redistricting plan affects Longview City Council voting districts only. The proposal does not affect school districts, county districts, state districts, or national districts. You can go to http://LongviewTexas.gov for more information about the proposed redistricting plan.

PITTSBURG — After losing his family in a tractor-trailer collision in Arizona, a Pittsburg resident has filed a lawsuit against the truck driver’s employer for negligent supervision. Sean Reynolds, individually and as representative of the estates of Wendy Reynolds, Shane Reynolds, and Derrick Reynolds filed suit September 26 against Sierra Transportation Inc. in the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division.

Authorities said the crash occurred September 8 near Tucson, Arizona. Rickey Duffey, an employee of Sierra Transportation Inc., was operating an 18- wheeler headed east on Interstate Highway 10 when he lost control, crossed a median and entered the oncoming westbound lane. The tractor-trailer hit the Reynolds’ vehicle head-on, causing fatal injuries. Reynolds is seeking wrongful death and survival damages for mental anguish, loss of consortium, loss of advice and counsel, loss of services, funeral expenses, loss of companionship and society, medical expenses, physical pain, disfigurement, physical impairment, court costs and interest.

TYLER — The Tyler Fire Department responded to two separate fires overnight. The first incident was reported around 9:40 Wednesday evening at 1514 N. Dargan. Firemen say the fire was nearly out when they got there because of the resident’s quick action to evacuate the family and fight the fire. The kitchen was heavily damaged but there were no injuries. Investigators say the fire started in the kitchen due to cooking on the stove left unattended.

Then, around 1:30 Thursday morning at 313 N. Fuller Avenue, another structure fire was reported. Authorities say that structure was completely engulfed in flames upon their arrival. The cause of that fire is still under investigation. Residents say the fire started in the living room. One occupant suffered burns and severe smoke inhalation and was taken to ETMC for treatment. He was later flown to a Dallas hospital. Officials say the structure appears to have been totally destroyed.

LONGVIEW — A 50-year-old Longview man was jailed Tuesday night after authorities said he tried to solicit sex from a minor. Watson Jerome Reed posted $5,000 bond from the Gregg County Jail on a charge of online solicitation of a minor Wednesday. Longview police arrested Reed in the 1500 block of North Eastman Road at 9:45 where Reed made plans to meet and engage in sexual intercourse with a person he believed to be a 14-year-old child but was actually Longview police Det. Kevin Brownlee, according to arrest reports.

“Reed stated in a text message that he was driving a black truck and he was instructed to flash his lights when he arrived at the pre-agreed location,” Brownlee wrote in his report. “I observed a black truck arrive at the location, and I watched as the driver flashed his lights several times.”

ZAVALLA – A one vehicle accident in Angelina County has left one person dead. Killed was Teresa Carson, 51. The accident happened on Farm Road 2109 about four miles from Zavalla. The Department of Public Safety reports the woman’s pickup was south bound at a high speed when she lost control of the vehicle on a curve. She over-corrected and left the road and hit a tree. She was thrown from the vehicle.

LUFKIN – A Lufkin man has been charged with indecency with a child after the 8 year old wrote about the incident in her school journal. Taken into custody was Justin Delane Nash, 33, who was free on probation for injury to a child. The girl he injured last year is the older sister of the girl in the latest incident. Nash remains in the Angelina County Jail.

AUSTIN – Wildfire survivors in Gregg, Harrison, Smith and Rusk counties can meet with state and federal specialists at recovery centers this week in area communities, including a new center opening Thursday in Smith County. Specialists from the state of Texas, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Small Business Administration will be on hand to answer questions and provide information on the types of assistance available to survivors. They also have brochures and other written materials on disaster recovery.

The remaining schedule is:

Gregg & Harrison Counties
Fairgrounds
1123 Jaycee Dr.
Longview, TX 75604
9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20
9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21

Smith & Rusk Counties
Bethel Baptist Church
13108 Hwy 64 East
Tyler, TX 75707
1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20
9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21
9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22

Any Texan with questions about the recovery process or needing help registering with FEMA is urged to stop by a recovery center. Visiting with a recovery specialist is not a requirement for survivors who want disaster assistance, but officials say the centers are an excellent way for people to get answers to their questions about disaster aid and help applying for it

Texas homeowners, renters, and business owners can register online at http://www.disasterassistance.gov or via web-enabled phone at m.fema.gov. They can also register by telephone via FEMA’s toll-free numbers: 1-800-621-3362 or TTY 1-800-462-7585. Those who use 711-Relay or Video Relay Services can call 1-800-621-3362. Assistants are available by phone from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week.