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AUSTIN — Leaders of the Alliance for I-69 Texas will push for continued development of I-69 in a presentation before the Texas Transportation Commission this morning at 9:00 in Austin. The Alliance, comprised of public and private sector leaders from thirty-four counties along US 59, 77 and 281, will focus on several short term objectives including:

*Completion of the master development plan for I-69, based on the work being done by the five I-69 Segment Committees and the I-69 Corridor Advisory Committee in conjunction with TxDOT.
*Securing interstate signage for segments of the corridor that are currently at interstate standard.

Alliance Chairman Judge John Thompson of Polk County will stress during the presentation that the development of I-69 is critical to each of the communities along the corridor. The Alliance remains committed and focused on seeing that US 59, 77 and 281 are upgraded as quickly as possible so that these communities and the state as a whole will reap the benefits of a seamless interstate from Texarkana to Laredo and the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Texas needs the missing pieces of I-69 completed to extend the geographic reach of the ports at Houston, Victoria, Corpus Christi and Brownsville and inland markets and production centers. Texas needs I-69 completed to better connect the Lower Rio Grande Valley with the rest of Texas. Texas needs I-69 completed to open up East Texas to new industry and economic growth.

TYLER — Two East Texas men have been sentenced to federal prison for money laundering convictions.

Tony Harris, also known as California Red, 33, of Marshall, and Lakendrick Miller, also known as Pee Wee, 26, of Longview, were convicted in February of money laundering following a three-day trial. They were sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Leonard Davis. Harris was sentenced to 293 months in federal prison and Miller received 252 months in federal prison. They were also both assessed forfeiture judgments of $1.5 million and ordered to relinquish assets which were seized from them at the time of their arrests, including several luxury cars and over $17,000 in cash.

Federal prosecutors say from April 2007 to June 2009, Harris and Miller were involved in a drug trafficking scheme which involved money being sent to California where it was used to buy illegal prescription drugs, such as codeine and hydrocodone. The prescription drugs were then smuggled from California to East Texas for distribution. After the illegal prescription drugs were sold in East Texas, the money was sent back to California to purchase more drugs, luxury cars, and other property. During trial, prosecutors presented evidence showing that more than $2 million was laundered through this scheme. A 14-count federal indictment was returned by a grand jury on June 3, 2009, charging Harris, Miller and 5 other individuals with conspiracy to commit money laundering.

TYLER — The University of Texas at Tyler led the nation this year in training new Project Lead The Way middle and high school teachers, UT Tyler President Rodney Mabry announced. University officials say PLTW teachers learn to teach engineering and technology courses in schools, thereby causing more students to choose engineering careers. �I am proud of UT Tyler�s full commitment to enabling more teachers to teaching engineering concepts and encouraging their students to pursue engineering in universities,� President Mabry said. The university had 243 participants who successfully completed training and will be qualified to teach PLTW engineering courses at their schools. UT Tyler offered two Texas Project Lead The Way Summer Training Institutes in 2010.

FORT WORTH (AP) – An agreement has been reached to build a $1.6 billion pipeline to provide water from East Texas to the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The board of the Tarrant Regional Water District on Tuesday approved the deal. The Dallas City Council approved the agreement last week. Board members approved a financing agreement with Dallas for the 149-mile pipeline from Lake Palestine to Benbrook Lake. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports the board also approved paying $16.3 million to five contractors for engineering work on nearly 95 miles of the pipeline. Construction could begin by 2013, with the goal of having the water available by 2018. Water district planning director Wayne Owen says the work serves as a blueprint for cooperation on future projects.

TYLER — Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) East Texas kicks off its 6th annual “Tie One On For Safety� Campaign. Spokespeople say it honors outstanding community leaders and law enforcement for saving lives and being �Difference Makers.” In addition to a Wednesday awards luncheon, the holiday �Tie One On For Safety� PSA campaign urges motorists to tie a MADD red ribbon, place a MADD decal or put a MADD red ribbon magnet on the side of their vehicle as a pledge to �drive safe, sober & buckled up� and remind other motorists to do the same. You can pick up the materials in Tyler at the MADD office, 215 Winchester Drive, or at Julian’s restaurant.

Difference Makers Award Honorees include J. B. Smith, Sheriff of Smith County; R. Scott McKee, District Attorney for Henderson County; and Tammi Branch, Victim Volunteer. MADD East Texas Executive Director Leslie Watson says the soon-to-retire Smith was honored for his ongoing service. Watson says she thinks Smith County “is probably one of the toughest place as far as DWI enforcement.” McKee was given credit for his close work with MADD’s victim advocates — and for serving in Iraq for about ten months, while keeping his DA post and continuing to support MADD. Branch has helped raise funds and handled speaking engagements for MADD since losing her son in a 2009 drunk driving crash. Watson terms Branch “an inspiration and a role model.”

Keynote speaker was Kimberly Earle, CEO of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Also attending was Mayor Barbara Bass and other community leaders. MADD leaders point out that Texas continues to lead the nation in drunk driving fatalities. In 2009, 1,235 Texans lost their lives in drunk driving crashes, 40% of the total driving fatalities that year. Drunk driving is a 100% preventable crime.

GLADEWATER — A woman crossing the railroad tracks in Gladewater has been struck and killed by an Amtrak train. The victim is identified as Crystilla Devorra Houston, 36, of Gladewater. She died instantly. Investigators say the warning signals at the crossing were working properly. The accident happened shortly before 6:00 Tuesday night on Walter Derrick Avenue in downtown Gladewater.

CANTON — Van Zandt County Sheriff R. P. �Pat� Burnett, Jr. has been appointed to three committees of the Sheriffs� Association of Texas. He has been appointed as Vice Chairman of the Jail Advisory Committee. This committee will provide input as to the daily problems confronting the Sheriffs in maintaining a safe jail and complying with Commission rules and regulations. The second committee, the Legislative Committee, enables the Sheriffs to actively participate in the legislative process and to insure that all bills introduced which affect the duties, responsibilities, training, court and jail functions of the Sheriffs are given proper consideration. When a particular bill affects the Sheriffs, they will be notified so that they may contact their Senators and Representatives concerning their views. The third committee that Sheriff Burnett has been appointed to is the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education Advisory Committee. This committee provides input as to the education, training and curriculum of the training program.

TROUP — The body of a missing Cherokee County man has been found. Investigators are trying to determine the cause of death. The body of Steven L Dowdy, 62, was found Wednesday afternoon in his car in a wooded area off Highway 110, about five miles south of Troup. It appears as if he had been there nearly a week. The body has been sent to a Dallas area lab for autopsy. Dowdy was reportedly last seen at 7:30am on November 11. Relatives were concerned because they say he needed medical care and medication that he did not have with him.

TYLER — Using the input received from residents at the recent neighborhood meeting, the City of Tyler has created a work schedule for the Fall 2010 Neighborhood Empowerment Works (NEW) program. The meeting provided residents an opportunity to meet with representatives from the City to share their ideas and concerns about their neighborhood. The NEW neighborhood�s boundaries are from West Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard between Border and Palace Avenues to West Vance Avenue between Moore and Palace Avenues to Franklin Street. �Resident input is critical to this program,� said Neighborhood Services Director Brenda Johnson. �The residents know their neighborhood better than anyone and are in the best position to identify opportunities for improvement.�

City officials say the NEW program enhances the quality of life for Tyler residents � one neighborhood at a time � by intensely concentrating City services in a specific area for three weeks. Various City departments use information gathered from the neighborhood meeting as well as an examination of the area to identify services that could make an immediate impact on the neighborhood.

Activities scheduled for the Fall 2010 NEW program include mowing yards; picking up trash, including removing large items from yards and moving it to the curb; minor painting and repairs to the exterior of homes in the neighborhood; and trimming branches and bushes. Residents and City employees will work on these activities through Dec. 3. On Jan. 28, the Neighborhood Services Department will make a report to the City Council on the outcomes of the Fall 2010 NEW program. A wrap-up meeting with the neighborhood will be held on Dec. 17 to discuss the results and how to sustain them while giving the residents the opportunity to celebrate their efforts.

This is the 10th NEW neighborhood since the City started the program in 2006. �The NEW program is an important tool that the City uses to stop neighborhood decline in its tracks,� said Mayor Pro Tem Ralph Caraway. �The program has made great progress throughout the City since its inception and the 10th program will certainly continue the success of NEW.�

JACKSONVILLE � The president of Jacksonville College plans to step down. Dr. Edwin Crank has told school trustees he plans to retire at the end of the year. According to the Jacksonville Daily Progress, before taking reins as president in 1988, Crank served as chairman of the Religion Department. Before he joined the faculty of Jacksonville College, Crank served on the faculty of the BMA Theological Seminary and pastor of First Baptist Church, New Summerfield.

TYLER — A teenager accused of stabbing his teacher to death in Tyler will undergo more mental health evaulation. 17-year-old Byron Truvia will be returned to the Vernon State Hospital as early as next week. He’s accused in the September 2009 stabbing death of John Tyler High School teacher Todd Henry. The incident occured inside a school classroom. Prosecutors want Truvia certified as mentally competent so he can be tried on murder charges. The hospital stay could last up to 90 days.

MARSHALL � A 35-year-old Jefferson man has been sentenced to federal prison for drug violations in the Eastern District of Texas. Travis Earl Shelton pleaded guilty on August 17 to possession of pseudoephedrine with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine and was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison on Monday by U.S. District Judge T. John Ward.

According to information presented in court, on July 20, 2009, Shelton purchased cold pills containing pseudoephedrine at a Walgreens in Marshall in addition to making two other purchases that same day at other stores in the area, all in furtherance of his methamphetamine manufacturing activities.

Shelton was one of nearly four dozen persons indicted by a federal grand jury in Tyler in early May. They were charged with involvement in a methamphetamine manufacturing and distribution criminal enterprise in the Panola, Rusk, Gregg, Upshur, Marion, and Cherokee Counties. The indictments charged the defendants, cumulatively, with over 2000 counts of federal drug violations. The indictments resulted from a lengthy investigation launched by the Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division, the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Panola County Sheriff’s Department, the Upshur County Sheriff’s Department, the Gilmer Police Department, the Rusk County Sheriff’s Department, the Henderson Police Department, the Gregg County CODE Unit, the Marion County Sheriff’s Department, the Jefferson Police Department, Cherokee County Precinct 4 Constable Office, and the New Summerfield Police Department.

TYLER – A 36-year-old Longview man has been sentenced to federal prison for child pornography violations Tuesday in Tyler. Sterling William Blade pleaded guilty on June 23 to possession of child pornography and was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison. According to information presented in court, on Feb. 26, Blade was arrested for failing to register as a sex offender. Blade had been previously convicted of carnal knowledge of a juvenile in 1995 in Bienville Parish, Louisiana and was required to register with local authorities as a sex offender. During the arrest, officers retrieved Blade’s cellular phone and received consent to search the phone.

Analysis of the phone revealed that Blade had received several text messages with photo attachments containing child pornography. The search ultimately revealed that Blade had received 34 pictures of child pornography, and likely distributed those images via text messaging. Officers later located two DVDs in Blade’s home, which contained videos of child pornography. Some of the material depicted children less than 12 years of age engaged in sadistic or masochistic conduct. Blade was indicted by a federal grand jury on Apr. 7, 2010.

HENDERSON — A 2-year-old is dead, and a grandfather may be charged. But when a dog fatally attacks someone, what kind of charges can they face? There have been several dog attacks in East Texas in the last couple of years, and most involved pit bulls. According to KETK, the job of the Rusk County Grand Jury is not going to be an easy one. The death of 2-year-old Kaden Muckleroy involves at least two guilty parties. One is obvious. A pit bull tied to a tree in his grandfather�s yard mauled the toddler to death November 10th. It has been euthanized.

Pit bulls are responsible for anywhere from 47-62% of the fatal dog attacks in this country in the last 5 years. But the grand jury has to decide on charges against the grandfather, Kelvin, who owned the dog along with over 30 others. Half of the animals confiscated were pit bull breeds and many were destroyed. The family claims they were just accumulated over the years.

The Rusk County Grand Jury will meet after the first of the year to look at charges based on the Sheriff�s investigation. But absent a civil suit, the charges will likely involve variations on negligence or child endangerment.

TYLER � One man is dead, one in custody after a police chase and stand-off ends all because of a kiss on the cheek. In the late Sunday night incident, Chad Otis Jones, 39, Arlington, was shot to death. The suspect, Ricky Jay Reynolds, 45, is said to have shot Jones after he saw his wife kiss the victim on the cheek. After the shooting Reynolds is said to have driven off in his truck.

Smith County Deputies, State Troopers and Troup Police forced the driver to stop at County Road 230 and 345, near the Omen community. The suspect refused to come out of his car and told officers he had a gun. After a short time, deputies say they were able to get the man out of his truck and into custody. Authorities searched the vehicle and found a handgun.