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LONGVIEW – A Longview home has been extensively damaged by fire. No injuries were reported from the blaze that was reported around 11:50 Friday night in the 100 block of Garfield Drive. Initial reports were the fire started in the living room. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

TYLER — The Tyler District of the Texas Department of Transportation has announced it would receive just over $32.5 million from the latest round of Proposition 12 funding. The funds were approved Thursday by the Texas Transportation Commission.

The Longview and Tyler Metropolitan Planning Organizations will receive an additional $8.8 million for projects in their respective areas, all of which is scheduled to be spent on expanding TxDOT’s system. The combined TxDOT-MPO funding allocation, and in some cases additional funding from other local entities, will allow 12 otherwise under-or-unfunded projects to move forward around the Tyler District, but only two of them are scheduled to let to contract in the next year. The remainder will be funded in 2013.

The two projects funded and set to let to contract in 2012 will add alternating passing lanes on State Highway 64 west of Tyler between Farm Road 848 in Ben Wheeler and Farm Road 314, and on State Highway 19 south of Athens between Farm Road 1615 and the Anderson County Line. The project on SH 64 is estimated to cost around $7.5 million, and the SH 19 project is estimated at $7 million.

In 2013, the Gregg County, the city of Longview and the Longview Economic Development Corporation are scheduled to add a combined $11 to the Longview MPO allocation for the construction of two extension segments of Farm Road 2275 (George Richey Road) between McCann Road and Spur 502, and from Spur 502 to U.S. Highway 259.

In Tyler, the project to eliminate the West Loop 323 bottleneck just south of State Highway 31 (Front Street) by adding an additional lane in each direction and rebuilding the railroad overpass, is scheduled let to construction in August 2013 and to cost approximately $7.4 million.

Additional projects scheduled to let to construction in 2013 include adding a continuous left-turn lane to State Highway 42 north of Kilgore between State Highway 31 and Interstate Highway 20; adding alternating passing lanes on U.S. Highway 69 north of Mineola between Loop 564 and Farm Road 779; adding alternating passing lanes on State Highway 31 east of Tyler between Farm Road 850 and the Gregg County Line; adding a continuous left-turn lane on U.S. Highway 79 south of Palestine roughly between South Loop 256 and Farm Road 645; adding a continuous left-turn lane on Farm Road 349 in Gregg County between State Highway 31 in Kilgore and U.S. Highway 259; widening the bottlenecked section of State Highway 64 in Henderson between State Highway 322 and US 79/US 259 traffic star; and a left-turn bay on US 259 Kilgore Bypass at Synergy Park.

The Texas Transportation Commission on Thursday approved distribution of $3 billion in Proposition 12 bond funding that will address congested highways, rehabilitate bridges and improve connectivity between the state’s metropolitan areas. The allocations will include $1.4 billion to TxDOT’s 25 districts and $600 million to the 25 Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) around the state according to existing formulas; as well as $200 million for statewide highway connectivity improvements; $500 million for bridges; and provide $300 million to begin developing projects to mitigate congestion in the four most congested regions of the state: Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, and San Antonio.

These funds represent the balance of $5 billion in general obligation bonding authority approved by voters and first authorized by the Texas Legislature in 2007. Construction contracts for the first $2 billion in projects were approved in 2010. TxDOT worked in partnership with MPOs, cities, counties and corridor associations to identify and prioritize needs.

LONGVIEW – A Smith County man has been sentenced to prison as the result of a drunken driving accident that injured the driver of the other vehicle. Randall Lee Eggers, 31, of Tyler, was sentenced to ten years in prison after pleading guilty on Friday. Eggers had three previous drunk driving convictions.

GREGG COUNTY – One person has been arrested in connection with the burglary of a concession building near the Sabine High School football field. The burglary occurred last Monday. About $400.00 in damage and the loss of cash and merchandise was reported. Gregg County Investigators, with the assistance of Sabine ISD Officials, arrested Christopher Nicholas Moore, 32, of Gladewater, for the burglary.

MARSHALL – Two buildings have been destroyed in separate Harrison County fires. One of the fires destroyed an industrial warehouse north of Marshall. The fire at the MasterCraft Wood Products warehouse was reported just before 7:30 Friday morning. It is thought the fire was electrical in nature.

About an hour and a half later, a home in the 600 block of Piney Grove School Road was destroyed by fire. Two cars were also destroyed by the blaze.

No injuries were reported in either fire and investigators are trying to determine what caused them.

TYLER — Through a generous gift, The University of Texas at Tyler has remodeled a space in the UT Tyler Physical Health Education Building to serve as a recreational Gymnasium. Named the Al and Nancy Jones Auxiliary Gymnasium, the facility will serve the entire UT Tyler community and broaden recreational opportunities on campus.

In August, Nancy Jones donated funds in memory of her late husband to remodel the facility. “Mr. and Mrs. Jones have been good friends of mine, and Mr. Jones was my best friend,” said King Campbell, UT Tyler assistant athletic director and head men’s and women’s golf coach. “He was a generous man who had done quite well in the business world and was willing to share a lot of that success he had.”

An avid supporter of the UT Tyler golf program, Al had recently contributed funds
for the golf practice facility on the main campus, he added. “When Al passed last June, we wanted to do something as a tribute to him, and the idea to dedicate this gym was through his widow and business partners,” Campbell said. “He was a man who loved life and young people, and he was always encouraging them. We think this is a great tribute to him and his family.”

A dedication ceremony will be 4:30pm on Tuesday, October 4th, at the UT Tyler PHE Building.

LUFKIN — Lufkin Police Department detectives will seek a warrant for the arrest of Eric Morgan, 42, of 9100 Dodson St. in Houston, in connection with a home invasion-style robbery at a Lufkin home.

Just before 4 p.m. Sept. 1, a 77-year-old woman responded to a knock at the front door of her Willow Bend Drive home. When she unlocked the door, a man forced his way inside the residence while pointing a handgun at the victim.

The man stole the victim’s purse and, within minutes of fleeing the house, used her credit card at a convenience store a few blocks away, at the intersection of East Denman Avenue and South Chestnut Street. Video captured by the convenience store’s security cameras showed the man using the victim’s credit card to purchase fuel for a dark-colored Volkswagen Eos, a two-door, hardtop convertible vehicle.

On Sept. 23, Navasota officers arrested Morgan for the robbery of a Wells Fargo Bank of Navasota that occurred at 10:43 a.m. that day. Lufkin Police Department detectives read a law enforcement release from Navasota and found the description of Morgan matched the description of the suspect in the Willow Bend Drive case.

Further investigation revealed that Morgan was in possession of property belonging to the home invasion victim, and that he was operating the dark-colored Volkswagen shown in the convenience store security video.

MARSHALL — A Big Sandy couple has been sentenced to federal prison today for tax violations. Timothy J. Patton, 61, (pictured) and his wife, Dawn G. Patton, 54, were found guilty on July 7 of conspiracy to attempt to evade federal income tax and five counts of attempting to evade federal income tax. Timothy Patton was sentenced to 40 months in federal prison and Dawn Patton was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison. They were also ordered to pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service in the amount of $571,734.00.

According to information presented in court, beginning in 2000, the defendants stopped filing federal income tax returns and began insisting that their employers not withhold any federal income tax. Each provided false W-2s to their employer, claiming that each was single and exempt from income tax. They also had their employers begin issuing paychecks to the Office of the Patriarch of the Gathering of the House of Israel, an entity created by Timothy Patton using an invalid Employer Identification Number. The Pattons would regularly refuse to provide a Social Security number to their employers. The defendants, who insisted on being referred to as Brother T and Mimi, claimed that they were not the individuals named in the indictment.

TYLER — A husband and wife from Tyler have been sentenced to federal prison for distributing methamphetamine. Eugene Cook, 44, pleaded guilty on June 20 to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and distribution of more than 50 grams of methamphetamine and was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison today. Cook was also ordered to pay a $50,000 forfeiture judgment.

Charlotte Cook, 45, (pictured) also pleaded guilty June 20 to possession with intent to distribute and distribution of more than 50 grams of methamphetamine and was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison today.

According to information presented in court, beginning in October 2010, the Cooks and their co-conspirators distributed more than 50 grams of methamphetamine in east Texas. Eugene Cook admitted responsibility for distributing up to 1.5 kilos of methamphetamine throughout the area. Eugene Cook, Charlotte Cook and 2 others were indicted by a federal grand jury on Dec. 1 and charged with federal drug trafficking crimes.

LONGVIEW — A Longview man has been found guilty of manslaughter. The jury later sentenced Michael Lekele Morrow to 10 years probation. The panel had earlier convicted Morrow of fatally stabbing Bobby Joe Smith Jr., 41, outside Smith’s apartment on West Avalon Street in June 2009. Morrow said he was defending himself as Smith attacked him with an object. He could have received up to life in prison.

ANGELINA COUNTY — A Lufkin man arrested last year on charges of burning his mother’s house down with a methamphetamine lab received a 20-year sentence this week on an unrelated charge. James Durham Jr., 36, is set to serve the next 20 years in prison after a sentence for third-degree felony evading arrest. The penalty was enhanced due to his previous convictions. The Prosecutor said that after reviewing Durham’s record, including 36 arrests in Angelina County alone, Durham was given the maximum sentence of 20 years.

ATKINSON, NEB. (AP) — The small, north-central Nebraska town of Atkinson is bracing for big crowds at the second in-state hearing over a hotly disputed Canadian oil pipeline project. Residents say the Keystone XL pipeline proposal has divided the town and is expected to generate a large showing at the U.S. State Department hearing in the West Holt High School gymnasium. Similar meetings are taking place this week in Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas. The pipeline operated by TransCanada would carry oil from Canada to Texas refineries. The pipeline would go through eastern Smith County. Supporters say it will reduce Middle East oil dependence and create jobs. Opponents say it will leak and contaminate the High Plains’ Ogallala aquifer.

NOONDAY — The continuing drought is taking a real toll on East Texas farmers and ranchers. Noonday feed store owner James Hand tells KETK he’s even heard from people who have had to leave the industry. Meanwhile, Austin Bank is busy trying to help. The bank’s Nathan Jones says ranchers will have to buy hay get through the winter. Both Jones and Hand point out that increasing prices for hay and other products are adding to the problem. And Jones notes that not only has hay gone up, but the ranchers are going to have to buy a lot more of it. But he says his bank is doing all it can about that and other problems. He says the bank has helped with irrigation, along with discussing well drilling and some people’s need to buy hay out of state.

QUITMAN — Authorities are on the hunt for suspect Brenda Bowdoin — A.K.A. Brenda Boaz, Brenda Hampton, and Brenda Gilbert. They say she’s wanted for multiple burglaries in Wood County. According to KETK, Bowdoin is traveling in a Champagne color 2004 Hyundai 4-door passenger car Texas license plate W93STT registered to Travis Gilbert and Brenda Bowdoin. Authorities say Bowdoin may be in possession of stolen items and drugs in the vehicle. Bowdoin is suspected to be heading toward the Longview or Wylie area.

TYLER — Tyler Police officials tell KETK a man is behind bars after allegedly being caught stealing from a van on Wednesday morning. Police say Terrence Cuba, 26, was found burglarizing the vehicle near Preferred Home Medical on 805 North Glenwood Blvd. just before noon. The owner of Preferred Home Medical, Richard Savage, reportedly saw Cuba breaking into the van to steal its GPS unit and approached him. The two broke into a struggle before Cuba ran away, with Savage following close behind, according to police.

According to authorities, Cuba started throwing concrete bricks and rocks at the business owner and threatened to kill him. Savage received minor injuries during the chase. The alleged burglar was eventually arrested once police arrived on scene. Cuba is charged with burglary of a vehicle and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and is being held on a bond of $52,500.