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LONGVIEW — The Longview Economic Development Corporation (LEDCO) announced Thursday that American Home Patient, Inc., one of the nation�s largest home health care providers, will be expanding its Patient Contact Center Operations into Longview. LEDCO officials say the company will occupy an existing building in Longview and will employ up to 220 people when fully operational.

�The economic impact to the Longview area will be significant,� said Steve Metcalf, president of LEDCO, the economic development arm of the City of Longview. �American Home Patient will invest in new equipment and facilities in the City of Longview, Gregg County and the Longview Independent School District. The total payroll, benefits, capital investment and taxes paid will reach $80 million over the next ten years.� Local governments and LEDCO worked together for several months to attract the company to the area. LEDCO will provide a $1.1 million performance grant over a 7-year period.

TYLER — The citizen group Grassroots America – We the People (GAWTP) endorses the Smith County jail bond proposal on the May 14 ballot. According to a statement from the group, the sheriff and commissioners court have more than adequately demonstrated the need for the jail beds to be added under the plan. The group also says the sheriff and commissioners court have done a good job communicating the details of the plan well in advance of early voting, which starts Monday.

Among the key points made by GAWTP in its statement:

“Smith County has been under a remedial order since 2004 from the Texas Commission on Jail Standards for non-compliance due to overcrowding. Smith County has tried on three different occasions to get in compliance with jail plans that included much higher bed counts to meet long-range 10 � 20 year projections, but the voters have said ‘No’ because the plans were too expensive or included court facilities that drove up the costs. Now is the opportunity, at a reasonable cost, to remove the remedial order for a jail � not a courthouse � with approval of the $35 million jail bond proposal.

“We well understand the economic challenges made worse by out-of-control government spending that piles up debt. Our members are actively at work on those issues; however, this jail project is not about ‘wants.’ It is about a ‘need’ to house inmates locally at the lowest possible price and to stop spending millions of dollars in other counties. It is about saving tax dollars on lower medical costs for inmates and lower transportation costs by having our inmates housed locally next to the courts. Most importantly, this jail plan is about assuming responsibility for the safety of the men and women who wear the law enforcement uniform and are now having to manage inmates in unsafe conditions.”

GAWTP defines itself as a non-profit, non-partisan, conservative group of citizen activists. The only announced opposition to the jail plan comes from the Tyler Tea Party. That group cites several reasons including a perceived lack of transparency, timing, and issues regarding the arguments used to support the plan.

TYLER — The Tyler City Council has unanimously adopted the Lake Tyler Master Plan. The plan, which was compiled by Freese and Nichols and Planning Concepts, took nearly two years to complete and includes input received from stakeholder meetings, town hall meetings, a public survey, the Lake Tyler Roundtable and City staff. �The Lake Tyler Master Plan came about from concepts laid out in the Tyler 21 plan,� said Councilman Sam Mezayek, chair of the Lake Tyler Roundtable. �Lake Tyler is truly a jewel and this plan will help us shine it up and make it more enjoyable for the residents of Tyler.�

Officials say the Lake Tyler Master Plan was designed to complement existing amenities and enhance the lake for Tyler residents. The plan contains 19 major recommendations and approximately 60 sub-recommendations as well as long- and short-term implementation plans. These recommendations are broken down into three categories: Planning and Development, Recreation, and Water Quality. Highlights of the plan include:

* The addition of way finding signage to guide visitors to amenities and public access areas;
* Mechanisms for managing development and to restrict new uses that do not contribute to the desirable character of the lakes;
* Access and thoroughfare planning;
* Options for programming and marketing the lakes;
* Expanding water quality sampling and monitoring;
* Continuing aquatic vegetation management; and,
* Evaluating development standards throughout the watershed.

�Like the Tyler 21 Plan, we received and incorporated citizen input when developing the Lake Tyler Master Plan,� said Mayor Barbara Bass. �This input is vital to ensuring that we are creating the best plan possible for all of our residents.� Recommendations included in the Master Plan are:

* Development of hiking and bike trails in the vicinity of the marina, Hill Creek and East Side Drive;
* Enhancements to the East Side recreation facilities;
* A timber management program;
* The addition of camp sites, improved picnic stations, restrooms and security lighting;
* The addition of canoe and kayak facilities; and,
* The addition of a Lake Tyler East Marina and convention facility.

LUFKIN � A Lufkin city planner who had used his public Twitter feed to express derogatory feelings about the city and region resigned Wednesday morning after being confronted by city officials about the comments, City Manager Paul Parker said Thursday. That’s according to KETK and the Lufkin Daily News. Attempts to reach City Planner Trent Cantrell for comment Wednesday were unsuccessful. Cantrell in late March posted the message �Lufkin is an armpit. I know (…) I have to live here temporarily.� Months earlier he posted, �Hello there. Just waiting for the heat to leave for good. Of course, Deep East Texas will still be a (expletive) hole.�

Cantrell, who had been an employee with the city since April 2009, apparently removed the posts from the online social networking site Wednesday morning, after The Lufkin Daily News sought comment from city officials about the posts. Cantrell did not return a request for comment left in his office. His Lufkin home phone number is unlisted.

Assistant City Manager Keith Wright said Wednesday that the issue had been addressed but that he could not comment further. �We don�t condone this, and we regret that one of our employees feels that way,� Wright said. �We think our city is a great place to live, a great environment and a great place to have a family.�

LONGVIEW � After seeking a second opinion on the autopsy report for Amy Lynn Cowling, 33, her cause of death was officially ruled seizure due to methadone and Xanax withdrawals. Justice of the Peace B.H. Jameson ruled the manner of death undetermined. Jameson noted that he didn�t think there was any foul play involved. �Nothing was done improperly,� he said.

Cowling, of Gilmer, was pronounced dead at 12:48 a.m. on December 29 after she was found unresponsive in her Gregg County Jail cell. She was removed from the cell after hours of seizures said to be symptoms of withdrawal from methadone, former jail Cpl. Kashena Davis said at the time. Jameson, who pronounced Cowling dead at the hospital, said he sought a second opinion from a Tarrant County pathologist with Cowling�s autopsy results because the manner of death was left up to Jameson to decide and the cause of death was listed as �probable.� Jameson said his precinct was closing Cowling�s case at this time.

TYLER — The City of Tyler hosted a ceremony Thursday to unveil three new Half Mile of History Stones in downtown Tyler. The stones are part of the Half-Mile of History heritage trail and honor W.E. Stewart, D.K. Caldwell and Walter Connally.

W.E. Stewart organized a total of 10 banks in Texas and Louisiana, including the First National Bank of Lindale in 1907. Stewart also served as the first president of Medical Center Hospital, now ETMC. The first Stewart blood bank building, equipment, and furnishings were donations of Stewart and his wife. The blood bank is now a facility of Carter BloodCare.

While working for Smith County, D.K Caldwell was influential in the formation of the State Highway Commission and the Texas Highway Department. He was a driving force in formation of the Smith County / Tyler Youth Foundation, which established Camp Tyler, and established the Caldwell Playschools, which existed for 41 years. Caldwell and his wife, Lottie, also started Caldwell Zoo. Additionally, he was responsible for building the first residential home for the elderly in Tyler.

Walter Connally�s business, Walter Connally and Company, grew into the largest machinery firm in East Texas, and one of the best-known firms of its kind in the South. Connally also operated a facility which became one of the largest private experiment farms in the Southwest. Connally Peninsula at Lake Tyler was once part of a large tract of land that he purchased in 1917. Portions of that acreage are now included in both Lake Tyler and Lake Tyler East.

The City of Tyler�s historic preservation program, the Half Mile of History, resulted from a recommendation that came out of the Tyler 21 planning process. City officials say the goal of the Half Mile of History is to pay tribute to people, places and events that have contributed to the rich history of Tyler and Smith County. The Half Mile of History is a permanent, outdoor, half-mile loop that surrounds the square in the heart of downtown Tyler. Stone plaques are placed in the sidewalk along the Half Mile of History to commemorate significant people, places or events. You can go to http://www.cityoftyler.org/ to read more about the Half Mile of History program and the most recent honorees.

CUNEY (AP/STAFF) — The founding pastor of Times Square Church in New York City and author of the best-selling book, “The Cross and the Switchblade,� David Wilkerson, has died in a Cherokee County crash. Wilkerson, 79, died yesterday when his car smashed head-on into a tractor-trailer rig. His wife Gwen, 80, was critically injured. She is being treated at Tyler�s East Texas Medical Center. The truck�s driver, Fredrick Braggs, 39, of Beaumont, is being treated at ETMC in Jacksonville.

The accident happened on U.S. Highway 175 at the Neches River Bridge. The Department of Public Safety says, for some reason, Wilkerson�s car, which was east bound, swerved into the west bound lane and hit the truck.

Wilkerson’s World Challenge Inc. ministries confirmed on its website that he “went to be with Jesus.” Wilkerson founded the non-denominational Protestant church in 1987 in an area of Manhattan that was then riddled with X-rated movie houses, strip clubs, prostitution and drugs. Wilkerson also founded Teen Challenge, which uses a biblically based recovery program for drug addicts.

BEN WHEELER (AP) — The National Weather Service says a moderate tornado damaged more than 100 structures in an East Texas storm that left one woman injured. The agency said Wednesday a tornado with winds in the range of 90-100 mph hit a rural area in Van Zandt County on Tuesday. The weather service said three structures were destroyed. That included the mobile home of a woman who was hospitalized after the storm rolled her home and turned it into a pile of debris. Van Zandt County emergency management spokesman Chuck Allen says the tornado left a 1-mile-wide, 8-mile-long path of destruction between the towns of Ben Wheeler and Edom.

LONGVIEW — A late afternoon shooting at a West Longview trailer park sent one man to the hospital with gunshot wounds and another to the Gregg County Jail.

Gregg County sheriff�s deputies were dispatched to the Riverside RV Park in the 3700 block of Texas 42 just after 3 p.m. Wednesday for a reported shooting.

Gregg County officials said they could not confirm the name of the victim or the man who was arrested, but said a man was transported to an area hospital with non-life threatening injuries for a gunshot wound to the leg. Initial radio reports indicated the victim had been shot twice in the leg.

Officers were advised the victim and man arrested both lived at the RV park, 10 lots away from one another.

This is the second call sheriff�s deputies have responded to in the past nine months for a shooting at the RV park.

Officers were dispatched to the park July 21 after 34-year-old Brian Keith Barnett was found shot in the head near his trailer. James Nathan Alexander, 34, was arrested a few days after Barnett�s death after an attorney arranged for him to surrender.

Alexander was released from Gregg County Jail on $100,000 bond after two days. He was indicted in October for murder and is awaiting a trial date.

TYLER — The Tyler City Council has adopted a resolution urging the Texas Legislature to support the continuation of the high-cost gas investment tax credit. In 1989, the Legislature created the credit to encourage natural gas exploration and production in areas that are difficult and expensive to develop. The credit was extended several times and made permanent in 2003. Under the current credit, natural gas producers receive a partial tax reduction for each qualifying gas well, certified as �high-cost� by the Texas Railroad Commission, based on the actual drilling and completion costs for that well. �The Oil & Gas industry is important to Tyler�s economic future,� said Tyler Mayor Barbara Bass. �We have a vested interest in ensuring we are proactive in supporting its success because it means jobs and revenue for our community.�

It is estimated that the high-cost gas tax credit currently generates $4 of economic growth for every dollar invested and generates nearly 40,000 jobs a year. City officials say the investment tax credit is critical to the state�s position as a national energy leader. They say it has encouraged the development of important new sources of Texas natural gas. Between 1990 and 2009, high-cost gas production, as a percentage of statewide gas production, increased from 5.5 percent to 56 percent. During this time, according to city officials, Texas was the only major producing state to increase natural gas production.

In early 2010, the Tyler City Council and several other community boards and elected bodies came together to jointly adopt a measure to support the Industry Growth Initiative (IGI). The IGI is a twenty-year plan that contains strategic tactics focused on achieving an Innovation Economy which brings higher paying jobs, economic growth, job creation and a higher standard of living. One of the IGI�s ten building blocks is 21st Century Energy.

�For generations, the Oil & Gas sector has been a mainstay in the Tyler economy; it has provided jobs and stability when other areas of the country have struggled in tough economic times,� added Mayor Bass. �This legacy industry still has so much more in store for us. With the development of horizontal drilling and the discovery of the Haynesville Shale, the Oil & Gas sector will play an important role in Tyler�s economic future.�

City officials say discontinuing the investment tax credit would increase taxes on natural gas � termed one of the state�s most vital economic engines � and have what officials call negative consequences. Officials say it would discourage investment in new production and expansion of natural gas operations and would put Texas at a competitive disadvantage with states like Louisiana and Arkansas that have substantial high-cost gas incentives.

TYLER — The Tyler City Council has voted unanimously to authorize the City Manager to award a $5,125,344 contract to S.J. Louis Construction of Texas, Ltd. for the construction of the Highway 69 /Interstate 20 Corridor Sanitary Sewerage System improvements. �It is gratifying to see Tyler move forward with economic development projects that are designed to spur private investment,� commented Tyler Mayor Barbara Bass. �Development follows the path of infrastructure and this project will pave the way for growth in this area. Tyler is taking an important step to ensuring we are prepared for future growth and fulfilling the vision outlined in Tyler 21.�

A total of 10 proposals were received during this competitive sealed process. S.J. Louis was recommended for award of the contract based upon the following criteria:
� Proposal price;
� Experience with projects of this specific type and magnitude;
� Experience and references of key personnel;
� Company profile and general experience;
� Ability/commitment to respond to City needs in a timely fashion; and
� Safety record and financial profile.

Funding for the project was allocated from the 2008 Tyler Water Utilities Revenue Bond Fund and will be paid for from revenues collected from the sale of water and sewer services � not from property taxes. The City paid off all general obligation (tax supported) debt in 2008. �We are pleased with how competitive the pricing on this project came in,� said City Manager Mark McDaniel. �It will allow the project to come in well under budget.� The project was first identified during the Tyler 21 planning process, which called for the revitalization of North Tyler as well as balanced growth in all areas of the community.

TYLER � Officials with Trinity Mother Frances Hospitals and Clinics broke ground Wednesday on the region’s first freestanding heart hospital. The Louis and Peaches Owen Heart Hospital, named after the Tyler couple that donated $18 million toward the cost of construction, is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2012. It will be located on the campus of Mother Frances Hospital-Tyler.

The Louis and Peaches Owen Heart Hospital is a two-phase project. Phase One, located in the Ornelas Tower, was completed in December. Construction is underway on Phase Two, a freestanding structure located between Saunders Street and South Fleishel Avenue. The hospital will be six stories; include comprehensive cardiac, thoracic, and vascular services; and stand east of and adjacent to Mother Frances Hospital. It will connect to the main hospital and to the Medical Arts Plaza building in several locations, allowing specialists and clinical personnel to easily access both buildings.

“Our administrators, physicians and many others have worked very hard over the last five years to gather the best ideas for delivering cardiac care, and today, construction is underway,” said Lindsey Bradley, FACHE, president, Trinity Mother Frances Hospitals and Clinics. “Building the Louis and Peaches Owen Heart Hospital is the crowning achievement of cardiac care, not only for our patients, but for us as proud medical providers.”

Hospital officials say Phase Two will include:

� Three floors with 72 ICU-capable patient rooms dedicated exclusively to cardiac patients and designed to provide all levels of care, from admission through discharge
� New dedicated cardiac and thoracic OR suites, with ability to expand to more rooms as technology changes
� On-site Cardiac Rehabilitation Center
� Inpatient and Outpatient Cardiac Diagnostics
� Conference Center for community events and heart screenings
� Separate entry and driveway accessible from East Dawson Street with valet parking and patient assistance available
� Connectivity at all times to the Ornelas Tower of Mother Frances Hospital to allow for access to other hospital based services
� Spacious multi-level lobby with amenities including gift shop and dining
� Meditation Room/Chapel to meet spiritual needs of patients, families and caregivers
� Patient and Family Education Center and Resource Center
� A single one-stop registration using a new electronic medical record that supports all in and out patient offices
� Room Service dining

WOOD COUNTY — A former Mineola teacher, JoAnn Stephens, has been sentenced for having an improper relationship with a student. Stephens received 180 days in the Wood County Jail and 10 years probation. If Stephens were to violate her probation, she would receive an additional 5 years confinement.

The 43-year-old was arrested December 16 after a four month investigation into the relationship. Mineola Police say they started the investigation after receiving a complaint from Child Protective Services on August 4. The alleged relationship was between Stephens and a male student who has since graduated. Stephens and the student reportedly were communicating by cell phone calls and text messages on a trac phone that she provided for the student.

Stephens had resigned as an elementary and middle school physical education teacher at Mineola ISD.

TYLER — The Special Meeting of the Tyler Independent School District Board of Trustees that kicked off Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. had to be moved due to a power outage. The meeting was relocated to conference room B at the Tyler ISD Administration building, 1319 New Sunnybrook Drive.

TYLER — Tyler police investigate a stabbing. Police responded to 435 S. Bonner at 10:18 Wednesday morning. Officers located the suspect allegedly involved in the incident at Front and Bonner; they say he had also called police. The suspect was identified as 49-year-old Donald Franklin of Tyler. Franklin was detained and later charged at the scene with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Police say the incident started when Franklin went to 435 S. Bonner, where his baby boy lives with his mother. Franklin got into an argument with the boy�s mother over the child. According to a police report, 45-year-old Marcus Horn, who now lives with the mother, stepped in and got into a physical altercation with Franklin. Franklin allegedly pulled out a knife during the altercation with Horn and stabbed Horn multiple times. Horn was transported to East Texas Medical Center Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.