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LUFKIN — Lufkin Crimestoppers need your help identifying a man who stole a coin operated air and water machine. Officers say that on September 16th, the man spent about 45 minutes working on his truck outside a convenience store on Atkinson Drive in Lufkin. At one point, the man even went into the store to buy motor oil, then he returned to his truck, hitched it to the coin operated air and water dispenser, and pulled it out of the ground. According to KETK, he then dragged the coin machine behind him as he drove away.

NACOGDOCHES — Nacogdoches Police say a 22-year-old man was hit in the ankle with several shotgun pellets this weekend. It happened in a yard in the 1700 block of East Main. Investigators say the man was involved with an argument that concerned an earlier disturbance with 29-year-old Gregory Donnell Porter. According to KETK, witnesses say Porter went to the trunk of his car and pulled out a short shotgun, then fired it toward the ground in the direction of the victim. The victim was taken to a hospital with non life-threatening injuries. Sheriff’s deputies later found Gregory Porter on Henderson Lane in the county. Porter was arrested and the shotgun was recovered.

LONGVIEW — Longview Police search for a suspect wanted in an assault. Officers responded to a fight in progress call at 1504 Timpson Street around 6:55 Sunday night. Authorities found 48-year-old Darron Thomas lying on the ground unconscious. Witnesses told officers that Thomas and another man had gotten into an argument when the man punched Thomas. After being punched, Thomas fell to the ground and struck his head on the pavement. The Longview Fire Department/EMS transported Thomas to Good Shepherd Medical Center with life-threatening head injuries. The investigation is open and ongoing.

TYLER — The Apache Pow Wow, the award-winning student newspaper of Tyler Junior College, walked away with 12 awards during the annual Texas Community College Journalism Association conference Friday, Oct. 8, in Arlington. The awards included First Place for General Excellence and the Division I Sweepstakes Award.

The students placed in an array of TCCJA categories for previously published work. Awards the Pow Wow staff received for previously published work from TCCJA were:

First Place, General Excellence, Staff
First Place, Advertising Design, Kamren Thompson – Lindale
Second Place, Sports Feature, Erica Smith – Dallas
Second Place, Sports News, Darius Nicholson – Dallas
Second Place, Column Writing, Madison Payne – Tyler
Third Place, Feature Writing, Chantel Martin – Dallas
Third Place, Layout & Design, Kamren Thompson – Lindale
Third Place, News Photo, Jessica Sharp – Tyler
Honorable Mention, In-Depth/Investigative, Kamren Thompson – Lindale
Honorable Mention, Layout & Design, Kamren Thompson and Griffin
Blackburn – Tyler

The students also placed in the on-site contest for TCCJA:
Honorable Mention, Editorial Writing, Jarah Wright

The Apache Pow Wow was also recognized with the Sweepstakes award for Division I newspapers.

LONGVIEW — Longview and 50 other Texas cities or areas, including Tyler and Nacogdoches, are among 1,100 communities nationwide in need of ultra high-speed broadband service. According to KETK, that’s according to a group advocating expanded Internet capabilities. Officials say, Longview is in the top 10 percent nationally. Officials say, the city has not yet heard whether it has been selected, but Google executives say the company plans to announce its target communities by 2010.

TYLER — Funeral services will be held on Thursday for Dr. George Hamm, former president of the University of Texas at Tyler. Dr. Hamm, who was 79, died Sunday following a brief illness. He served as president of U.T. Tyler from 1981 to 1998. Services are scheduled for Thursday morning at 11:00 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Tyler. Visitation is Wednesday evening from 6:00 till 7:00 at the Stewart Family Funeral Home.

President Rodney Mabry says on the school website, “President Hamm influenced the university and the community in such important ways. Among his major achievements were such things as getting permission for downward expansion and building the wonderful R. Don Cowan Fine and Performing Arts Center. He was a major force in the development of the university, and students, faculty and staff will be forever in his debt.” Mabry took office following Hamm’s retirement in June 1998.

During Hamm’s tenure as president, legislation was passed to transition UT Tyler from an upper-level university serving juniors, seniors and graduate students to a comprehensive four-year university enrolling its first freshman class in August 1998.

TYLER — Here’s a quick look at events and work planned in the Tyler District of the Texas Department of Transportation.

HENDERSON COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation contractor Garey Construction, Ltd. today is scheduled to shift traffic through the construction project on US 175 between Eustace and the Kaufman County Line. Eastbound traffic will be shifted to the permanent lanes, and the interchange at State Highway 334 will be opened to traffic. Meanwhile, final resurfacing work on the westbound lanes is scheduled to continue, causing traffic to remain reduced to one lane until the resurfacing work is completed.

Also this week in Henderson County, TxDOT maintenance crews are scheduled to continue base and pavement repairs on Ranch Road 2588 south of LaRue. Daytime lane closures will be in effect in each location while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic.

GREGG COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to perform pavement repairs in several locations throughout Gregg County, including:
* Loop 485 in Gladewater;
* US 80 near White Oak;
* Spur 63 in Longview
* SH 322 south of Longview
Daytime lane closures will be in effect in each location while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic in two-lane areas.

SMITH COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to perform edge repairs on Farm Road 346 in Flint between U.S. Highway 69 and Farm Road 2493. Daytime lane closures will be in effect while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic.

RUSK COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to continue several days of resurfacing operations in various locations on U.S. Highway 84 east of U.S. Highway 259 in Mount Enterprise. Daytime lane closures will be in effect while the work is in progress, and motorists are encouraged to be prepared to reduce speed and merge in and around the work zone.

ANDERSON COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to perform resurfacing operations in various locations on Farm Road 315 between U.S. Highway 175 in Poynor and Farm Road 837 in Brushy Creek. Daytime lane closures will be in effect while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic.

VAN ZANDT COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to continue base and pavement repair operations on Farm Road 751 in the northwest corner of the county between the Hunt County Line and Ranch Road 47 in Wills Point.

A second crew will be at work performing fog seal operations on Interstate Highway 20 frontage roads near Farm Road 773, State Highway 19 and Farm Road 1255. Daytime lane closures will be in effect in each location while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic.

QUITMAN — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to begin approximately two weeks of resurfacing operations on State Highway 154 east of State Highway 37 near Quitman High School. Daytime lane closures will be in effect while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic in two-lane areas.

TYLER — The Texas Rose Festival begins Thursday, and a special touch at Friday’s coronations will be stories that make Tyler special — and that you’ve probably never heard. They range from the city’s connection with the classic film “Casablanca” to how Tyler emerged from a failed peach crop to become a leader in the rose industry. On KTBB “Staff Meeting,” Festival Executive Vice President Tom Ramey said the Queen’s Court will provide the details: “Each girl will represent a story that sets this city unique — apart from any other city in America.” Ramey says one of his favorite stories involves the rose being named the national flower in 1986. According to Ramey, “It was a man from Tyler, Texas, who said, ‘We will do whatever it takes to make the rose the national flower of America.'” Ramey says details will come at the coronations.

The number to call for coronation tickets is (903) 566-7424. You can also go to http://www.texasrosefestival.com for more information. The “Staff Meeting” show is available at http://www.ktbb.com/audio beginning early Monday morning.

LONGVIEW — Tomorrow, neighborhoods throughout Longview will join forces during the Texans Against Crime event. Texans Against Crime is sponsored by the City of Longview Partners in Prevention and the Longview Police Department. This is the 20th year that the City of Longview has participated in an awareness campaign against crime. Currently, 79 block parties are planned across Longview.

All citizens are encouraged to participate by hosting or attending one of the many TAC parties designed to promote neighborhood alliances that strengthen our community and preserve the quality of life in East Texas.

To register to host a block party, or to find out about parties in your area, please call Partners in Prevention 903-237-1019.

TYLER — One person has been injured and one is being sought in connection with a Tyler stabbing. Officers received a call shortly after 1:35 Saturday morning that a stabbing victim was being treated at Mother Francis Hospital. The victim told officers the incident happened at a party at 514 West Barrett Avenue. The victim identified the suspect, who was said to have immediately fled the scene following the stabbing.

TYLER — Tyler Police Investigators have arrested three suspects in connection to an aggravated sexual assault of a child case that was reported on September 26. Police say the incident occurred on September 3, when five men in their late teens picked up three female juveniles ages 12, 14 and 15. The females all live in the Chapel Hill school district and were attending a high school football game at Rose Stadium. According to police, the girls went with the men to a private residence in Tyler, where the three suspects allegedly sexually assaulted the 12 year old girl. Police say after the assault took place, the girls were dropped off back at the football stadium.

Arrested were Joshua L. Baker and Glenn Authar Williams, both 18, and 19-year-old Brandon High, all of Tyler. Police add that the suspects have been identified as members of a local criminal street gang. Investigators are pursuing further charges for engaging in organized criminal activity. Judge Jack Skeen set bond at $250,000 for aggravated sexual assault of a child, a 1st degree felony.

LONGVIEW — The Longview Police Department has been awarded a Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (S.T.E.P.) grant from the Texas Department of Transportation for 2010 – 2011, awarding the Department of up to $62,109 to be used for providing additional traffic enforcement. Including local match funds, the S.T.E.P. grant has a total program budget of $95,560.63 that will be used to pay off-duty officers to conduct traffic enforcement on overtime. The current grant runs from October 1, 2010 through September 30, 2011.

The awarding of the grant represents the fourth consecutive year the Longview Police Department has received a comprehensive S.T.E.P. grant, which focuses enforcement on speeding, seatbelt, and child restraint violations and driving while intoxicated. While seatbelt and DWI enforcement is conducted City-wide, speed enforcement is concentrated on ten sites that have been identified to have a compliance rate of less than fifty percent. Speed surveys conducted show compliance rates as low five percent at one site, to a high of forty-eight percent at a site that has been a S.T.E.P. speed site for several years.

The 500 – 900 block of E. Loop 281 had a compliance rate of only fourteen percent at the beginning of 2008, but has increased to forty-eight percent (48%) due to the increased enforcement provided by the S.T.E.P. grant. Police say the higher compliance rate at this location is an indicator that the program is working to reduce overall speeds at that location, but still has a lot of violators.

The 2009 – 2010 Comprehensive S.T.E.P. grant ended on September 30, 2010. Work under that grant resulted in the following:

Number of Hours of Enforcement: 1,560
Speeding Tickets Issued: 2,876
Adult Seatbelt & Child Restraint Tickets Issued: 1,044
Other Tickets Issued: 1,019
DWI Arrests: 51
Arrests for Other Offenses: 57

According to Sgt. Buddy Molpus, Traffic Section Supervisor and Program Coordinator for S.T.E.P., it is the goal of S.T.E.P. to reduce the severity of traffic crashes that occur in Longview as well as reduce the number of crashes. “We know for a fact that the speed of vehicles involved in a crash plays a major role in how serious that crash will be. We also know that properly wearing seatbelts and using child safety seat systems correctly will reduce the number and severity of injuries received when a traffic crash does occur. If we can increase voluntary compliance with speed limits and convince motorists and their passengers to buckle up, we can make a positive impact on traffic safety in Longview,” Molpus said.

“Crashes are going to happen,” Molpus continued. “It’s inevitable. The number of crashes that happen may rise and fall from year to year because of a variety of factors outside of our control. But if we can reduce the overall severity, that’s huge.”

KILGORE — Smith County Precinct 4 Commissioner JoAnn Hampton has been appointed Chair of the East Texas Council of Governments Board of Directors at the group’s semi-annual meeting. Commissioner Hampton has served on the Board of Directors for eight years and says she’s looking forward to leading the board in the upcoming year. “It is an honor to serve as Board Chair for the East Texas Council of Governments. This organization helps Smith County and all surrounding counties work together for a greater mutual benefit,” Commissioner Hampton said.

The outgoing Chair, Emory Mayor Cay House, also presented Commissioner Hampton with the 2010 Chairman’s Service Award during the meeting. Mayor House said that Commissioner Hampton went above and beyond her duties as a board member and made it her mission to help members of ETCOG work together, bridge differences and reach goals throughout the year.

The East Texas Council of Governments is a voluntary association of counties, cities, school districts and special districts within the fourteen-county East Texas region. ETCOG provides programs and services for East Texas seniors, employers and job seekers; peace officer training and homeland security planning services; rural transportation services; business finance programs; grant writing services; and environmental grant funding for the region.

NACOGDOCHES — Police on Thursday arrested a third person in connection with Monday night’s stabbing death of Thomas Grimes, 49, at a North Street apartment complex where he lived. Melinda Long-Smith, 22, is charged of tampering with evidence and hindering apprehension for allegedly helping homicide suspect Nathan Welsh elude police officers Tuesday. According to KETK, Grimes was found at about 10:50 p.m. Monday outside his apartment suffering from multiple stab wounds, which police say stemmed from a disturbance inside his Austin Place apartment. Milton Brown, 18, was arrested for murder earlier this week in connection with the stabbing.

TYLER – Tyler’s most outstanding citizen is retired oncologist Dr. Gary T. Kimmel. He was presented the T.B. Butler Award Thursday night at the annual meeting of the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce. Kimmel, who moved to Tyler in the mid 70s, retired in 2001. He is the founder and board president of the Cancer Foundation for Life. Also at the meeting, the W.C. Windsor Award was presented to Sharon Brown Wynne. She’s an active community volunteer and current president of the Junior League of Tyler. This award goes to someone under the age of 40 who has contributed greatly to the community.

Other awards presented Thursday night: Brookshire Grocery Company was named Large Business of the Year, and Janie’s Cakes was honored as the Small Business of the Year. B.J. Hornbostel was a double winner, taking home the Volunteer of the Year and Mary Howes Awards. The Howes Award was given to Hornbostel for her work with the Chamber’s Contact Club. Lynda York was gaveled in as Chamber Board Chairman for the new fiscal year as the meeting came to a close.