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AUSTIN – Wildfire survivors in six more Texas counties – Anderson, Caldwell, Fayette, Henderson, Hill and Rusk – can now apply for state and federal recovery assistance, as those counties were added Wednesday to the state’s Sept. 9 presidential disaster declaration.

The Texas Division of Emergency Management and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) urge homeowners, renters and business owners in the newly designated counties to register with FEMA as soon as possible. The application process is simple, but crucial, as FEMA may provide assistance that can address specific needs. “Getting assistance to eligible Texans in all 22 counties affected by the wildfires is our top priority,” said Federal Coordinating Officer Kevin L. Hannes of FEMA. “The sooner survivors register with FEMA the sooner we can determine how we might be able to assist them.”

Counties previously designated for Individual Assistance in areas affected by wildfires beginning August 30 and continuing are Bastrop, Cass, Colorado, Gregg, Grimes, Harrison, Houston, Leon, Marion, Montgomery, Smith, Travis, Upshur, Walker, Waller and Williamson. Three counties – Colorado, Leon and Walker – were also added to the declaration Wednesday for supplementary funding under FEMA’s Public Assistance program, which reimburses the state, its agencies, local governments and certain nonprofit organizations for eligible costs to protect lives and property, clean up disaster-affected communities and repair infrastructure.

Aid under the Individual Assistance program may include grants to survivors that help pay for temporary housing, emergency home repairs or other serious disaster-related expenses, such as medical and dental expenses or funeral and burial costs, that are not covered by insurance. Low-interest disaster loans for homeowners, renters and businesses may also be available from the U.S. Small Business Administration that compensate for losses incurred during the disaster that are not fully covered by insurance or grants.

Survivors in all 22 counties can register for assistance online at http://www.disasterassistance.gov or via smart phone at m.fema.gov. They can also call 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or (TTY) 1-800-462-7585. Those who use 711-Relay or Video Relay Services can call 1-800-621-3362. Operators are available by phone from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week.

LUFKIN — A store employee apprehended a man he saw stealing ribeye steaks from a business in the 1800 block of Frank Avenue in Lufkin. The employee told police he saw the man throwing meat out of a buggy and into the lap of a woman sitting in a vehicle. The employee said the couple had no bags and looked suspicious, according to a report. When the employee called out to the man, he took off running to a nearby car wash. When the employee began talking to the woman in the car, later identified as the man’s wife, the husband came back and said his wife did not know he was stealing the meat, the report stated. The value of the steaks was nearly $300. The man claimed he was just trying to feed his family.

JACKSONVILLE — Jacksonville SWAT team members executed their fourth drug bust in two months Tuesday afternoon, seizing an estimated $13,500 in drugs and $800 in cash. The raid led to the arrests of Fredrick Fuller, 36, Jacksonville, and Lorena Laurean, 26, Rusk, on charges of delivery of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana. Authorities set Fuller’s bail at $56,000 and Laurean’s bail at $26,000. Officials say the department began surveillance of the residence on the 800 block of Grant Street after receiving a tip that a man was distributing cocaine from that location. The SWAT team raided the house and found 150 grams of cocaine, 36 grams of marijuana and other drug paraphernalia.

LIBERTY CITY – A Georgia man has been arrested in Gregg County on a drug charge. Taken into custody was Ryan O’Neil Daley, 42, of Atlanta. It all began with a traffic stop. A state trooper stopped Daley’s car for following to closely to another vehicle. As the officer approached the vehicle he smelled a “strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle along with an odor of air freshener.” A search of the vehicle turned up more than five pounds of marijuana in a trash bag, wrapped in duct tape. Daley was jailed in lieu of a $20,000 bond.

GLENDIVE, MONT. (AP) — Supporters outnumbered opponents at an eastern Montana meeting held to take public comment on a proposed pipeline that would carry Canadian crude to oil refineries in Texas. The route comes through eastern Smith County. Proponents said TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline would create up to 20,000 jobs. Opponents argued the job numbers are inflated and the risks of environmental damage are high.

TYLER — A new expansion project is set to clear up a longtime bottleneck on Tyler’s West Loop 323. According to KETK, the project is in place to start in 2013. It will widen the section near Bellwood Road south of Highway 31 from four lanes to six. The Metropolitan Planning Organization has agreed to help tackle the project with TxDOT. The effort also includes complete replacement of the existing underpass. Mayor Barbara Bass (pictured) says originally, the project wasn’t slated to happen for at least ten years. But she says because of some projects coming in under budget, the city was able to get the federal and state funding required. Bass says she hopes the work will be completed in the next five years. In the meantime, she asks the public for patience.

MARSHALL — The word is out in one East Texas city about a questionable letter. Officials with the city of Marshall are warning residents of a scam using city letterhead. The letters claim to be from the city public works and utilities department — but have a return address of Washington, D.C. Officials say the scam letter encourages recipients to make a donation to domestic drilling.

TYLER — Tyler’s police and fire departments get a helpful technology upgrade. The City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to purchase 89 Coban digital video computer systems for a base amount of $1,020,168.40 for the two departments. The systems are the computer and camera units that are in department vehicles, covering reports, mapping, GPS, video, and the like. The City of Tyler will execute a three-year lease purchase agreement with the Government Capital Corporation to assist with the financing of the purchase until January 3, 2012. Smith County 911 will contribute $400,000 towards the purchase of the Coban units.

RUSK – A one vehicle accident in Cherokee county has left one person dead. The wreck occurred on U.S. highway 69, just over two miles south of Rusk. Dead at the scene was Matthew Tanner Lowry, 20, of Rusk. The Department of Public Safety Reports he was south bound Wednesday morning around 2:45 when he lost control of his car and it flipped over. He was tossed from the vehicle.

EAST TEXAS — Authorities have released the name of a man now said to have been critically injured in a Tuesday morning wreck that closed a bridge on U.S. Highway 79. KETK has learned that Edwin Dolan, 76, from Jacksonville, was in a Honda Civic involved in the crash. Dolan remains hospitalized in critical condition. Officials reopened the bridge Wednesday morning. It had been expected to be closed until Wednesday afternoon at the Anderson/Cherokee County line, between Palestine and Jacksonville. Officials say an oversized semi crashed through the guardrail on the bridge. TxDOT’s Larry Krantz says it was part of a convoy, and Dolan was airlifted to the hospital.

TYLER — It’s a way to celebrate the seventh year of performing heart and other surgeries using robotic-assisted technology. Officials with Trinity Mother Frances Hospitals and Clinics and The Louis and Peaches Owen Heart Hospital have unveiled a children’s robotics exhibit at the Discovery Science Place that opens to the public on Saturday. The exhibit is designed to give visitors a hands-on opportunity to learn more about how robotics helps heal patients.

Hospital officials say technology like the da Vinci robot makes a surgeon’s movements more precise, giving more range of motion and providing enhanced 3-D visualization of the operating field. They say it also improves dexterity, but ultimately, the surgeon makes all the movements. From an educational standpoint, according to a news release, “this exhibit will show people how robotic technology and the human mind can combine to create powerful advancements in medical care. We are making steps towards non-invasive surgery that would not be possible without robotic technology.” Officials said the Trinity Mother Frances Foundation sponsored the exhibit to help children and parents better understand the direction that technology is taking medicine and hopefully inspire a young person to consider medicine as a career.

LONGVIEW — After almost two months, two area officer-involved shooting investigations have gone from the Texas Rangers to the Gregg County District Attorney’s Office. That’s according to KETK and the Longview News-Journal. On Aug. 1, Kilgore police shot and killed Jamel Freeman, 19, after authorities said he attacked two officers with a knife. On Aug. 2, Gladewater police shot and killed Willie B. Green, 56, after authorities said he charged three Gladewater officers also with a knife.

Texas Ranger Jason Dudley was called to investigate the Kilgore shooting, and Texas Ranger Rudy Flores investigated the Gladewater incident. On Tuesday, Dudley said he and Flores had turned over the findings of their investigations to the Gregg County district attorney for review, which later would be turned over to a grand jury. After the incidents, two Kilgore officers — Dee Ann Brown and Cpl. David Tucker — were placed on paid administrative leave while the investigation was completed.

GREGG COUNTY — Vernon Robinson, 43, of Longview remained jailed on bonds totaling $12,000, charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, interference with an emergency phone call and unlawful restraint. Robinson was arrested about 11:00 Monday night in connection with an assault in the 900 block of East Melton Street. According to arrest reports, the victim told police Robinson struck her in the face, strangled her using his arms and hands and struck her in the face a blunt object, knocking one or more of her teeth out. The victim said Robinson took her phone away when she attempted to call 911, and restrained her from seeking medical help.

NACOGDOCHES — A district judge has reduced bail to $10,000 for a Nacogdoches High School student accused of burning an infant in water. Kendrick Tarver has been in the Nacogdoches County Jail since September 1 after he was arrested on an injury to a child charge. A grand jury indicted the father after the 12-day-old infant was severely burned during a July 27 bath.

Tarver says he was giving the child a bath with a wash cloth. He eventually admitted spraying the baby directly out of the sprayer with scalding hot tap water. The mother blamed diaper rash. District Judge Campbell Cox lowered the bail amount from $50,000.

AUSTIN — Wildfire survivors in Cass and Marion counties can meet with state and federal specialists at recovery centers opening in area communities this week and next. Starting Thursday, 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:
Cass County – 851 County Road 1913 – Linden
1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 29 & Oct. 6
9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30-Oct. 1
9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, Oct.7-8

Marion County – Jefferson Visitor Center and Tourism Office
1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 3
9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 4-5

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 the centers are an excellent way for people to get answers to their questions about disaster aid and help applying for it.

Texans can register online at http://www.disasterassistance.gov and via web-enabled phone at m.fema.gov, or by telephone via FEMA’s toll-free numbers: 1-800-621-FEMA (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.