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TYLER — The Tyler City Council voted Wednesday to adopt an ordinance amending Tyler City Code Chapter 4 to standardize the hours for home solicitation and handbill distribution, and prohibiting solicitation when the occupant provides notice. “We have had feedback from the community that they wanted to see this ordinance strengthened and clarified,” said Tyler Police Chief Gary Swindle. “We feel that the revisions made will help clarify the ordinance and also afford residents the privacy they are seeking when in their own homes.”

The amended ordinance will allow for solicitation Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. until sunset. However, solicitation is prohibited all day on Sunday and New Year’s Day, Fourth of July, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. The ordinance defines sunset as the time of day identified by the National Weather Service as the time for sunset for that day for the City of Tyler. Previously solicitation was allowed starting at 9 a.m. and precluded on all federal and state holidays. Additionally, the new ordinance will make it unlawful for solicitors to visit a home that has posted a “No Solicitation” notice.

“Homeowners must simply post a small sign on their home that is visible to the solicitor that says No Solicitation,” added Chief Swindle. “In the event that the solicitor still rings the bell or knocks on the door, residents can call the Police Department for enforcement.”

Specifically, the ordinance states:

“It is unlawful for any person to go upon any residential premises and ring the doorbell, rap or knock upon the door, or create any sound in a manner calculated to attract the attention of the occupant of the residence, for the purpose of a charitable solicitation or a home solicitation transaction, if there is placed on such premises in a conspicuous place upon or near the main entrance to the residence or main entrance to a residential gated community, apartment complex or other residential living facility, a sign indicating in any manner the occupants’ desire not to have their privacy disturbed or otherwise prohibiting solicitation, peddling or trespassing.”

The solicitation guidelines also apply to handbill distribution.

LUFKIN — An 18-year-old is arrested in Lufkin on a pair of charges at approximately 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Lufkin Police Department officers arrested Marqueiz Jermaine Jackson on the 1000 block of Turner Street in Lufkin for the Class A misdemeanor offenses of evading arrest or detention and unlawful carry of a weapon.

According to a police report, officers were dispatched to the 1000 block of Idylwood in reference to a report of gunshots. The officers located a person matching the caller-provided description of the suspect, but police say the suspect, later identified Jackson, fled on foot. According to police, the officers pursued Jackson for approximately four blocks through yards and over fences before apprehending him in the 1000 block of Turner Street. Once Jackson was in custody, officers retraced his path and recovered a Ruger brand P90 .45 caliber handgun allegedly discarded by Jackson. Jackson was booked into Angelina County Jail.

LUFKIN – A Lufkin man is arrested Tuesday night after allegedly pulling a knife on a convenience store employee. Lufkin police say it happened in the 600 block of North Raguet Street. The employee tells officers a customer got mad when he was told his lottery tickets weren’t winning tickets. He says that’s when the man left without paying for soft drinks, pulled a knife, and threatened to kill the employee. Police say when they got to the store, they found the man with the knife still in his hand. They add that after asking him numerous times to drop it, officers finally used a TASER to control the man without seriously hurting him.

The man was booked into the Angelina County Jail on charges of aggravated robbery and resisting arrest with a deadly weapon. According to authorities, the man also refused to identify himself to police. Officers say his fingerprints will be entered into their system in the meantime. When he is identified, police say he will be charged with failure to identify.

TYLER — A Tyler man has been found guilty of failing to register with the Smith County Sheriff’s Department as a sex offender. Officials with the 7th District Court in Tyler confirm that Timothy Allen Means, 23, was found guilty of the offense on Tuesday. Failing to register is a third degree felony. Means was originally found guilty of indecency with a child, and officials say he failed to register once before. He could face up to 10 years in prison and could be hit with a $10,000 fine when sentenced on January 3rd.

JACKSONVILLE – Warrants have been issued for two men suspected to be involved in a Cherokee County shooting over the weekend. According to KETK, officials with the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department confirm there is a Crimestoppers reward for information leading to the arrests of Hugo Rincon, 19 and his brother, Ruben Rincon, 22. Both men are wanted for aggravated robbery.

Over the weekend, a 73-year-old man reportedly witnessed the men burglarizing his tool shed. The man says his truck blocked the men from leaving his driveway. According to the victim, that’s when one them walked up to his truck window and shot him twice. The man says he was then pulled from his truck and put on the ground before they moved his vehicle and drove away. The man is now recovering and has been released from the hospital. Sheriff’s officials say both brothers are considered armed and dangerous. If you have any information about their whereabouts, you’re asked to call Cherokee County Crimestoppers.

LONGVIEW — Longview Police say a Gilmer man reportedly broke into a couple of trailers at a local retailer and is now in custody. A tip led authorities to John Harris, 21, who stands accused of trying to break into several trailers at the Academy Store in Longview Sunday morning and set them on fire. Harris was arrested in Upshur County Monday on an unrelated drug charge. Authorities say he’ll be extradited back to Gregg County. He faces burglary charges with arson charges pending.

TYLER – Jail records show Charles Robinson Jr., a Tyler dentist charged with possession of child pornography and improper visual recording, has been released from the Smith County Jail. Robinson was released on a $50,000 bond Monday night around 5:45 p.m. Robinson is accused of taping two tenants, a 40-year-old woman and her 15-year-old daughter, for the past three years. Cameras were found inside the woman’s attic, focused on both the bedrooms and bathrooms.

HENDERSON — A Rusk County Sheriff’s deputy discovers a load of marijuana during a routine traffic stop this week. Officials say the deputy stopped an SUV on Highway 59 in the southeast region of the county after he noticed the SUV had a defective license plate lamp. Officials say during the traffic stop, he noticed several things indicative of criminal activity. The deputy asked the driver for consent to search the vehicle. Authorities say the driver denied the consent, but the deputy used his certified narcotics dog, Caro, to do a “free air” sniff of the vehicle.

Officials say Caro alerted on the vehicle, so the lawman conducted a probable cause search of the vehicle based on the alert. According to authorities, the deputy discovered two large duffel bags in the rear cargo area of the SUV. Authorities say numerous bricks of marijuana were inside the bags. Authorities report that the lawman seized the marijuana and charged the suspect with possession of marijuana. Officials say the total weight of the marijuana was 204.6 lbs, with an estimated street value of $100,000. The suspect was placed in Rusk County Jail.

LONGVIEW (AP) – An East Texas county has halted electronic fund transfers after cyber hackers believed to be in Russia allegedly stole $200,000 in tax-related funds. The Longview News-Journal reported Tuesday that Gregg County, state and federal authorities are investigating. Tax assessor/collector Kirk Shields said Monday that local tax payments destined for schools and cities were hijacked. Shields says confirmation of Nov. 23 theft, discovered in progress and traced to a website in Moscow, has led to changes in the county’s method for moving funds. Thieves use malicious software, known as malware, to infect the computers of unsuspecting users by e-mail. Shields says a county employee who mistakenly unleashed the virus has been suspended for violating cyber-security policy. Efforts continue to retrieve the funds and identify the hackers.

GILMER — A Honduran national is sentenced to life without parole Monday. Miguel Espinal-Gomez, 26, pleaded guilty to stabbing a Gilmer couple to death on New Year’s Day. He admitted to killing the victim and his paraplegic wife. Gomez claims the man inappropriately touched his wife.

AUSTIN — A Tyler lawmaker files a bill which calls for the arrest and imprisonment of anybody who tries to enforce the new health care reform law. State Representative Leo Berman’s proposal calls for 2 years for state employees, 5 years prison for federal employees who do anything to enforce “Obamacare” in Texas. It also allows individual citizens to file lawsuits against the officials for money damages. The Tyler lawmaker says government mandated health care is unconstitutional and should be declared null and void in Texas.

LONGVIEW — A two vehicle accident in Gregg County has left one person dead. It happened around 3:00 Monday afternoon on U.S. Highway 259 at the east bound entrance ramp to Interstate Highway 20. Dead at the scene was Ashton Wayne Yates, 19, of Kilgore. His SUV was north bound on U.S. 259 when he hit the trailer of a south bound truck that was turning onto the east bound entrance ramp. The Dallas truck driver was not injured.

TYLER — The City of Tyler at 11:00 this morning will activate the outdoor warning system and the Tyler Emergency Alert System (Sudden-link Communications). The Outdoor Warning System will be activated starting with a test message. That message will be followed with approximately a 30-second steady tone, followed by an approximate 30-second alternate steady tone, followed by an approximate 30-second pulsed steady tone, followed by Westminster Chimes. The test will end with a test message. The test message is “Attention: This is a test of the City of Tyler outdoor early warning system. This is only a test. If this were an actual emergency, you should tune to your local radio station, 600 on your AM dial.

TYLER – The Tyler School District has a new Special Education Director. At a workshop yesterday afternoon, school trustees named Dana Pate to the post. Pate will be responsible for providing district-wide birth through age 21 services for students with disabilities, including planning, development, communication and evaluation of all initiatives and projects. She will report to the Deputy Superintendent of Schools. Pate holds more than 20 years of experience in education and is currently Executive Director of Special Programs in the Mexia Independent School District in Mexia, Texas.

“I look forward to bringing Ms. Pate on board,” said Tyler School Superintendent Dr. Randy Reid. “She has a wealth of experience and impeccable references. We are pleased that someone of her caliber is joining Tyler ISD. ” She officially begins her new duties Tuesday.

TYLER — Dr. Greg Wang, professor of human resource development at The University of Texas at Tyler, was appointed editor of the Journal of Chinese Human Resource Management. That’s an international scholarly journal, launched by Emerald Group Publishing Ltd this year, that focuses on human resource management and development research with implications for China. The announcement comes from Dr. Jerry Gilley, Department of Human Resource Development and Technology chair at UTT.

According to Gilley, Wang is appointed at a time when Chinese HRM theory, research and practice have global implications. The appointment was through an international competition coordinated by the publisher. “Together with Dr. Andrea Ellinger serving as associate editor of Human Resource Development Quarterly, we now have two international journals housed in the Department of Human Resource Development and Technology. This signifies the quality of our newly-established human resource development doctoral program.” Gilley said.

The Ph.D. program in HRD was approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board in 2008 and accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 2009. The first class will enroll in fall 2011.