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TYLER — As part of the Mayor�s Tree Initiative, Artmire�s Urban Forestry has donated 1,000 trees per year for the next five years to be planted at select locations in Faulkner Park, Rose Rudman Trail and Creekside Trail. The project includes all seedlings, amendments and labor for the plantings of Dogwoods, Eastern Redbud and American Beauty Berry. Planting is expected to commence today. �We are so thankful to Artmire�s for their generous donation,� commented Mayor Barbara Bass. �This is a huge step forward in our effort to plant trees throughout the City and to keep Tyler�s urban forest thriving.�

The Mayor�s Tree Tyler initiative was launched in early 2010 with a goal to plant 5,000 trees in five years. Residents are encouraged to go to http://www.TreeTyler.com to register their tree plantings. Since the launch of the program, nearly 400 trees have been registered. �With this new donation, our annual count will reach 1,400 trees,� added Mayor Bass. �Along with our partnership with LT24 and the upcoming Tree Tyler Day, I have no doubt that we will reach our goal well ahead of schedule.�

The City is partnering with LT 24 to hold Tree Tyler Day on March 19, 2011. Tree Tyler Day will give the community the opportunity to come together to work toward reaching the Mayor�s goal of planting 5,000 trees in five years at an inaugural community-wide tree planting event. The partnership sprouted when Mayor Bass spoke with members of the Leadership Tyler 24 class and challenged them to get on board to support the Tree Tyler Initiative. Many members of the class met several times to discuss how they could become involved and ultimately formed LT24.

Between now and the March event, LT 24 will be seeking sponsors for the tree planting event. With sponsorship opportunities ranging from a single tree all the way to 100 trees, the entire community, from school classes to the City�s largest businesses, is encouraged to participate. Go to http://www.TreeTyler.com or http://www.cityoftyler.org to view a flyer detailing Tree Tyler Day sponsorship opportunities. Sponsors who have already committed to the event include: Leo Mack Jr., Adams Engineering, the Native Plant Society, Tyler Men�s Garden Club, Salon Verve and the Bob Shelton Family. To sign up as a Tree Tyler Day sponsor, you can contact the Tyler Parks and Recreation Department at (903) 531-1370.

TYLER � In an effort to bring closure to unresolved warrants, the Tyler Municipal Court has announced that it will participate in the fifth annual statewide warrant sweep set to begin March 5. More than 240 agencies across Texas will be taking part in this effort to resolve outstanding warrants. �Similar sweeps held in past years have been very effective,� said Court Administrator Cam McCabe. �In a concentrated amount of time we have cleared several thousand warrants.� Arrests during the sweep will focus on warrants from all of the participating jurisdictions. Although the concentration is on Class C charges, which include traffic, criminal parking, penal code and City ordinance violations, higher charge warrants will also be served.

Affected persons are urged to contact the appropriate jurisdiction to dispose of their cases voluntarily. For assistance with resolving an outstanding warrant, contact the Municipal Court at 903531-1266. Warrants can also be paid online at http://www.CityofTyler.org under the �I Want To� menu at the top of the page. A kiosk in the lobby of the Municipal Court is also available for those paying with credit cards. Last year during the warrant sweep, the Tyler Municipal Court cleared 2,150 warrants. The Court is open Monday through Friday from 7:00am until 5:00pm.

KILGORE — Kilgore Police are investigating a reported stabbing that lands one woman in jail. It happened Saturday night around 10:30 at 301 Bates Street. Upon arrival, police found the victim, a 26-year-old male, suffering from a stab wound to the chest. The victim was transported to Good Shepherd Hospital. Details of his condition have not been released. Charlene Marie Jackson, 50,Kilgore, was identified by witnesses as the person who stabbed the victim with a knife. She was arrested for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a felony two offense and booked into the Kilgore City Jail. She has since been taken to the Gregg County Jail with bond set at $25,000.00.

GREGG COUNTY — Jury selection begins next Monday for 34-year-old Toronto Eldermek Lockridge, one of two men accused in a 2009 fatal shooting and arson. Lockridge, of Lakeport, faces up to life in prison for shooting 33-year-old Kelvin Muckleroy. Muckleroy�s body was found inside the torched remains of his Chappell Street home, but investigators determined he was shot before the house fire was set.

Lockridge had initially posted $150,000 bond from the Gregg County Jail in January 2010. He was arrested again four days later on a firearm charge, but posted a $35,000 bond on Feb. 18. He has been in jail since Dec. 7 on his latest charge � aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for threatening a witness in Muckleroy�s homicide � authorities said. He remains jailed on $150,000 bond.

Gregg County District Judge Alfonso Charles in November convicted co-defendent Brandon Quadnell Horne, 31, of Longview, for his part in Muckleroy�s slaying. A sentencing hearing has not been set, and Horne remains in the Gregg County Jail, records showed.

NACOGDOCHES — Stephen F. Austin State University student Christopher Lamb, 22, was found dead in the living room of a residence in the 1500 block of Leita Lane early Sunday. Lamb reportedly attended a party at the residence on Saturday night, and spent the night sleeping in a chair. He was found around 8 a.m. Sunday by the home’s residents, according to the police report.

TOOL — Authorities are investigating what appears to be the suicide of Tool Mayor Mike Black. He was found in a bathroom of his Henderson County home Sunday morning. He was dead from a gunshot wound to the head. His body was sent to a Dallas lab for autopsy.

The Athens Daily review reports Black was recently divorced, and was facing a criminal indictment for a DUI in the coming weeks. The DUI charge stems from an arrest last year by police in Seven Points.

TYLER — The National Center for Educational Achievement (NCEA) released, at the end of January, its 2010 Higher Performing Schools List for student achievement in the areas of reading, mathematics and science. Now the NCEA has released the schools that have been recognized in the areas of writing and/or social studies.

The following schools received the honor and Higher Performing recognition in the following areas:
�Bell Elementary Global Communications Academy, recognized in Writing
�Caldwell Elementary Arts Academy, recognized in Writing
�Dr. Bryan C. Jack Elementary School, recognized in Writing
�Griffin Elementary School, recognized in Reading and Writing
�Hubbard Middle School, recognized in Writing
�Moore MST Magnet School, recognized in Math

LUFKIN � The tuition at Angelina College is going up. School trustees approved the increase at yesterday�s meeting. In-district tuition will increase from $40 to $48 per semester hour. Out of district tuition goes from $62 to $74 per semester hour. The out of state tuition will go from $89 to $105. The hikes are expected to generate an additional $1.1 million for the college. School trustees said the action was necessary due to cuts from state appropriations and potential cuts during the current legislative session.

GILMER � Two Gilmer residents have died in a motorcycle accident near the Upshur County line on Farm Road 1795. Carl Walthall, 38, and Misty Lay, 36, died in hospitals in Tyler and Gilmer a few hours after the late Sunday afternoon accident.

According to the Department of Public Safety, the victims� motorcycle was traveling with another motorcycle. When a car drove between the two cycles, the victim�s cycle drove around the car to catch up with the other motorcycle. It was then he lost control of the cycle, it went into a skid and then rolled over.

AUSTIN — Governor Rick Perry has named Delbert Horton III of Cooper presiding officer of the Sulphur River Regional Mobility Authority for a term to expire February 1, 2013. Regional mobility authorities accelerate the development and financing of critical transportation projects throughout the state.

Horton is a registered professional engineer and an assistant engineering professor at Texas A&M University at Commerce. He is a member of the Institute of Industrial Engineers and American Society for Engineering Education, and a life senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. He is the investment officer and a board member of the Sulphur River Municipal Water District, and past president of the Sulphur River Regional Development Association.

Horton received a bachelor�s degree from Texas Tech University, a master�s degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University, and a doctorate degree in electrical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. He is also a graduate of the Southwest Graduate School of Banking at Southern Methodist University.

This appointment is subject to senate confirmation.

RUSK � Cherokee County Sheriff�s officials say a 2-year-old boy shot himself over the weekend at a house just east of Highway 84 and County Road 1201. Deputies say the boy�s mother was in the living room during the time of the incident. Authorities say the boy appears to have used a stool to get the gun case on a counter when he opened the case and shot himself once in the upper right chest, just below the collarbone. The gun is said to have been a small caliber semi-automatic with a round-chambered and fully-loaded magazine. The child is recovering from surgery now, and is listed in critical condition at Dallas Children�s Hospital.

LUFKIN – A medical assessment quickly turns violent Sunday morning in Lufkin. Police say they were called to a house in the 600 block of Lazy Oaks Street to assess the medical condition of Amber Michelle Branum. Family members warned she was intoxicated and aggressive. Officers say while she was being treated at the hospital, Branum punched an emergency room nurse. After being restrained and treated, the woman was booked into the Angelina County Jail on assault charges. The assault caused minor injuries to the nurse’s cheek and throat, but the offense is considered a third-degree felony because the nurse was providing emergency services.

TYLER � The dentist accused of secretly taping two female tenants was back in court yesterday. Judge Skeen set Charles Robinson�s pre-trial date for February 25. His trial date is reset to February 28. Robinson, 58, was arrested back in December and charged with possession of child pornography and improper visual recordings. A 40 year-old woman reported finding video equipment in the attic of a home she was purchasing from her employer, Dr. Robinson. The mother and daughter had been living in the house for four years. Robinson admitted to recording them for the purpose of sexual gratification for the past three years.

JACKSONVILLE — Services are scheduled for longtime Chief of Police. Funeral services for Floyd W. Stiefer, 66, Jacksonville, are scheduled for 2:00 pm Tuesday, February 15, at Autry Funeral Home chapel, Jacksonville. Burial will follow at Resthaven Memorial Park, Jacksonville. Mr. Stiefer passed away Friday, February 11, 2011 in Tyler. He was born April 4, 1944 in Jacksonville.

Mr. Stiefer began his career as a public servant in the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War. He began his career in law enforcement in 1974 as a Cherokee County baliff for Judge J. W. Summers. In December 1975 he went to work for the City of Jacksonville as a patrolman. Floyd worked his way through the ranks doing everything, including dispatching. He was Jacksonville’s first Criminal Investigations Officer. In October of 1985 he was promoted to Chief of Police, a position he held until his retirement in January of 2001. While serving the City of Jacksonville, he logged 3,050 hours of police training over the course of his career.

In 1984 he graduated from the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. In 1999 he achieved the highest rank possible from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officers Education and Standards. In 2001 Floyd was elected to City Council Seat for District 4 and went on to serve as Mayor Pro Tem until 2006.

RED SPRINGS � Smith County Fire Marshals confirm a house has been damaged by fire in the 1800 block of County Road 316 near Red Springs. Red Springs and Lindale Fire Departments extinguished the blaze. Officials said flames were shooting out of the front door when they arrived on scene. A family was in the house when the fire was called in at around 10:00 yesterday morning, but they were able to escape uninjured. Portions of the house received heavy smoke and fire damage. Fire officials say they are not able to determine the cause at this time.