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TYLER — Tyler’s Rose Garden is getting national attention. The website http://www.livability.com ranks it as one of the ten most inspiring gardens in the country. The Rose Garden has more than 32,000 varieties of roses. City staffers tell KETK getting national recognition for something the city is known for is an honor.

GRAPELAND � A former Grapeland city councilman is arrested for the second time this month. Aaron Pennington, 30, was arrested Tuesday by the attorney general�s office on a charge of sexual assault of a child. Pennington was arrested earlier this month on child pornography charges. A follow-up investigation led to the additional charges.

LUFKIN � A Lufkin man spent three days in jail this week for admittedly exposing himself to a woman at a washeteria Tuesday. Deadrion Haynes, 19, also had to pay a $300 fine and $243 court cost. On Tuesday, he reportedly walked into R&R Washeteria on Denman Avenue with his hands in his pants around 11:30 a.m., according to Lufkin Police Lt. David Young. A woman was inside washing clothes at the time. �The woman told us he walked in and went straight to the bathroom. When she walked outside to her car, she said he came to the window and just pulled his pants down, exposing himself,� Young said.

NOONDAY — Two Noonday volunteer firefighters return from helping fight those West Texas fires. The area where they fought was in Graham, west of Fort Worth. They tell our news partner KETK they arrived Monday morning and worked for three days straight. Noonday Assistant Fire Chief Jonathan McLish called it “intense.” McLish says ten Anderson County firefighters also helped in the effort. In all, more than 1500 firefighters are working endlessly across the state to get those fires put out. In Possum Kingdom alone, fire has destroyed about 160 of the 3,000 homes.

LONGVIEW (AP) � A worker at a scrap metal yard in Longview has been seriously burned in a tank explosion while he used a cutting torch. Longview police spokeswoman Kristie Brian says the accident happened Friday morning at Youngblood�s Scrap and Metals. She says the 36 year old worker, whose name was not immediately released, was transported to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, which has a burn unit. Brian says the accident involved some type of flammable substance in a tank, which exploded. Some nearby residents called police to report what they thought was a possible earthquake.

NACOGDOCHES � Two people are in jail after Nacogdoches County Pct. 4 constable�s deputies seized a large amount of marijuana from the trunk of a vehicle. Clarence Manning, 34, and Shalauna Collier, 26, both of Jonesboro, Arkansas, were charged with second-degree felony possession of marijuana following a traffic stop on April 16, Pct. 4 Constable Jason Bridges said. Authorities say they seized 72 pounds of marijuana.

QUITMAN (AP/Staff) � A Louisiana man wanted in his home state after failing to appear in court on animal abuse charges has been arrested in Wood County, and 79 snakes have been seized. Wood County deputies say David James Beauchemin, 45, of Oakdale, Louisiana, was arrested in Quitman on Wednesday on 22 outstanding warrants accusing him of failure to appear in court as ordered in Allen Parish, Louisiana.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Kilan Polk tells the Tyler Morning Telegraph that deputies rescued 79 boa constrictors, pythons and anacondas, some as long as 20 feet. The serpents have been turned over to the Humane Society of North Texas in Fort Worth. Beauchemin remains in Wood County Jail without bond pending extradition and any Texas charges.

BIRMINGHAM, ALA. (AP) � The Alabama fan accused of poisoning his rival school’s famous trees has gone a radio show, saying he is going to get what he deserves. Harvey Updyke is accused of poisoning the oak trees at Auburn’s Toomer’s Corner. Updyke is a former Lufkin resident. He also served as a state trooper in south Texas.

He told Birmingham radio show host Paul Finebaum on Thursday that he has “done a lot of good things, and undoubtedly that wasn’t one of them.” He says he doesn’t want to be remembered as “Harvey the tree poisoner.”

The 61-year-old Updyke appeared in court Wednesday for a preliminary hearing. Shortly afterward, he told police he was attacked at a gas station. Updyke told the radio show that he doesn’t blame Auburn fans for being angry with him. He ended his appearance on the show saying: “Roll Damn Tide.”

TYLER � Tyler ISD officials say a young student was safely returned to campus after walking off Thursday. According to a TISD news release, at approximately 1:20 p.m., the Clarkston Elementary second-grader left campus without authorization. Officials say it has been determined that the child decided to walk home. According to the campus principal, Kathryn Letsinger, a parent volunteer observed the child near the front of the school. The parent immediately notified a staff member. Campus employees began to search for the child. The Tyler ISD police, district administrators, and the child�s parent were immediately contacted. Officials say within 20 minutes of the initial report, the child was returned to campus by city of Tyler police.

TYLER — Officials say the news is good as the Tyler Police Department releases its 2010 Uniform Crime Reporting statistics. Two types of crimes were tracked by the department. Part 1 crimes are described by Uniform Crime Reporting as homicides, sexual assaults, robberies, aggravated assaults, burglaries (commercial & residential), thefts, and stolen vehicles. The calendar year of 2010 ended with a 13.24% decrease (834 fewer offenses) in Part 1 crimes compared to 2009. Part 2 crimes are described as simple assault, forgery, drug violations, liquor law violations, weapon violations, runaways, etc. Part 2 crime totals for 2010 decreased by 796 reported incidents (-12.99%) compared to 2009.

Police Chief Gary Swindle says one major factor in the decrease is “working together with the community and citizens reporting things to us and working with the media in efforts to get suspects and videos out there.” Swindle hopes to see even more citizen involvement. His advice: “Be smart, be responsible, use common sense. Don’t leave things in your vehicles in view to the general public.” Swindle adds, “When you see something that’s suspicious or out of the ordinary, report it. Don’t feel like you’re inconveniencing us.” Swindle also says the economic upturn helped limit property crimes, which had experienced a substantial increase in 2009.

GILMER � Darryl Gene Hollie has been sentenced to 99 years in prison for felony aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. On August 5th of last year, Hollie was parked at Glenn�s Grocery Store on Highway 155 in Upshur County waiting for the store to open. When an employee unlocked the door to the store, Hollie walked in, hit the employee in the back of the head, and stomped her with his foot. After he took all of the money from the register, he drove off. Hollie must serve half of his sentence before being eligible for parole.

NACOGDOCHES — The Nacogdoches Police Department is investigating an alleged kidnapping of a woman, which took place near the Stephen F. Austin campus at the Tetco Convenience store at the intersection of University Drive and Starr Ave. at approximately 5:30 a.m. Thursday. The victim was taken to a parking lot near the Azalea Garden off of University Drive. The victim got away and police were contacted. Police are looking for a black man, 6’1″, slim build, short hair, clean shaven with no facial hair, wearing dark colored jeans and a dark colored shirt with an emblem on the shirt.

LUFKIN — All three victims from Tuesday afternoon�s collision on U.S. Highway 69 south outside of Huntington have been transported to hospitals in Tyler or Houston. The crash involved three vehicles, including a Huntington Independent School District bus and a Texas attorney general�s car. The front passenger in the government car, Danna Gordon, 53, was taken by medical helicopter from the scene of the accident to East Texas Medical Center in Tyler, a Level 1 trauma center, according to Department of Public Safety Trooper Joe Wood. Records from ETMC show she was treated and released from the hospital.

The back seat passenger, Dorothy Musick, 59, was initially taken to Memorial, but Wood said she was then driven by ambulance to ETMC. She is listed in critical condition in the ICU unit. The driver, Veronica Burns, 51, was initially taken to Memorial Medical Center-Lufkin and was later flown by medical helicopter to Houston, Wood said. Her condition was not available as of Wednesday afternoon.

After further investigation, Wood said the attorney general�s car had been stopped behind the school bus as it let off students. The green Cadillac, driven by Tonia Sue Pena, rear-ended the stopped vehicle and pushed it into the side of the school bus before deflecting into a field on the opposite side of the highway. Pena later went to the hospital complaining of chest pain from the inflated airbag and an injury to her knee. She was ticketed for not having a driver�s license and failure to control speed, Wood said. Only one child from the school received a bump to the head, according to HISD superintendent Eric Wright. Wood said everyone was wearing their seatbelts.

ELDERVILLE � A two vehicle accident in Gregg County has left one person dead. The Wednesday afternoon crash occurred on State Highway 149 at the Lake Cherokee Bridge near Elderville. Involved in the wreck were a tractor/trailer rig and a pickup. The pickup�s driver was killed. The driver of the rig is being treated for non-life threatening injuries at Good Shepherd Medical Center in Longview. No word yet on the identities of the people involved in the crash.

TYLER — A woman tells Tyler police she was the victim of an attempted robbery. It started around 7:00 Wednesday night at the Valero station on Loop 323 at West front Street. The victim told officers she was pumping gas when approached by a woman claiming to have diabetes. She asked for a ride to a restaurant.

The suspect gave the woman directions all over west Tyler and she became confused and lost. The suspect asked for money, but the victim refused. The suspect later said she had a gun and demanded money. The victim was then directed to a bank so the victim could get money from an ATM. When the vehicle stopped, the victim grabbed her purse and got out of the vehicle, telling the suspect to get out of her car. The suspect complied and walked away. The victim was not harmed and a gun was never seen.

The suspect is described as a black female approximately 30 years old. She is around 5�3� tall and weighs approximately 130 pounds. She has short, ear length hair. The victim could only remember the suspect was wearing a white shirt with small designs on it, possibly flower petals.