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TYLER — According to East Texas health officials, the national epidemic of obesity has drastically increased over the past few years, and Tyler is not immune. To help combat obesity, organizations from across East Texas have come together to start Tyler’s Fit City Challenge and will be hosting a kick-off event from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 23, at Bergfeld Park. “The Northeast Texas Public Health District views the concurrent epidemic of obesity and sedentary lifestyles as the greatest threat to the health of Tyler,” said George Roberts, CEO of the Northeast Texas Public Health District. “Doctors who care for children are concerned because kids being born right now are not expected to live as long as their parents.”

Roberts says the Fit City Challenge is a community-wide campaign to promote healthy, fitter lifestyles for Tyler and Smith County residents. Roberts adds that the kick-off event is designed to give the community the information they need to make healthier choices. According to health district press materials, the event will feature healthy activities for all ages, cooking demonstrations, guest speakers, health and nutrition information, fitness and exercise demonstrations, and health screenings. Booth space at the kick-off event is still available. If your organization would like to participate, you can go online to http://www.FitCityTyler.com and complete the application.

TYLER — A missing senior citizen has been located in good condition. James Howard Marshall was earlier reported missing from a family outing at Caldwell Zoo. Police say church members who had been alerted by family went by Mr. Marshall’s residence and located him there.

MARSHALL – A 47-year-old Marshall man has been sentenced to federal prison — and ordered to pay millions in restitution — for his role in a multi-million dollar oil and gas Ponzi scheme. Richard W. McFarland, Jr., pleaded guilty on Mar. 26, 2010, to mail fraud and was sentenced Friday in Marshall to 97 months in federal prison. McFarland was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $8,861,160.34.

According to information presented in court, McFarland was founder and President of Delta Interest, Inc., a company based in Marshall, which purportedly obtained working interests in oil and gas wells located within Texas and then offered portions of those interests for sale to the public. From 2003 to 2009, McFarland devised a scheme in which he falsely represented to investors that they were purchasing interests held by Delta Interest in wells located on various leases, when in fact, no such wells or leases existed. To further facilitate the scheme, McFarland sent investors fraudulent monthly production statements which contained fictional production and sales figures as well as supposed investor revenue amounts related to the non-existent wells.

McFarland used a significant portion of the investor funds to make purported revenue payments on a regular basis to earlier-in-time investors. This funneling of proceeds received from new investors to previous investors induced new investors to participate and, in some instances, existing investors to contribute additional sums. He expended the remainder of investor monies for his own business and personal use. As a result of this scheme, McFarland fraudulently obtained in excess of $30 million from more than 350 investors who were residing in approximately 25 different states. This law enforcement action is part of President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force.

LINDALE – Officials say the victim of a Friday afternoon robbery in Lindale is okay after being set upon by three men who remain at large. They also identify the suspect vehicle as a white Jeep Cherokee. Police have obtained surveillance video from the Lindale Walmart that may show one of the suspects. Lindale Police say officers are continuing to look for the Jeep, two white men, and a black man involved in the robbery at Posado’s Café. According to KETK, it happened outside the restaurant, in the parking lot.

Officers say the suspects grabbed an older man, threw him into the SUV, and took his money before throwing him out on the pavement. Police report that the two white men then drove away, heading west. They say the black man ran off, possibly to Walmart. The alleged attacker shown in the Walmart surveillance video is wearing a white Sherwin Williams shirt. He goes into the restroom at the front of the building and changes into a black shirt which police say he stole from Walmart. No word yet on whether the victim knew the suspects. If you have any information, you’re asked to call Lindale Police.

TYLER – Renovations to the exterior of the historic Goodman Museum are underway. Work began earlier this week on Phase One, the east and south sides of the museum. Phase Two will address the west and north sides of the building. During Phase One, the front of the building will be inaccessible, and guests will have to enter from the rear of the building and vice versa during Phase Two of the renovations.

Officials say the renovation project is necessary to maintain the integrity of the structure and is in compliance with national, state and local historical guidelines. The project includes a new roof, painting, wood rot work, shutter and hardware restoration, and downspouts. It is anticipated that the renovation project will be completed at the end of November, weather permitting.

TYLER — The University of Texas at Tyler College of Engineering and Computer Science has received an endowment from SPEA to create a new computer engineering center within the Department of Electrical Engineering, Dr. James Nelson, College of Engineering and Computer Science dean, announced. School officials say The SPEA Center for Semiconductor Testing in the department will be used to introduce hands-on laboratory semiconductor test procedures into the electrical engineering curriculum so that graduates are prepared for a career in this field. SPEA designs and manufactures automatic test equipment for microchips and electronic boards. Its systems are utilized in all high-tech fields, such as aerospace, aeronautics, telecommunications, automotive, consumer and safety electronics.

“The gift from SPEA will help our college to meet the needs of local industry by preparing our students for successful careers in semiconductor engineering,” said Nelson. “College industry partnerships are the best way to introduce high-tech jobs to invigorate the East Texas economy and we hope to have many such successful collaborations in the near future.” A dedication ceremony will be 9 a.m. Monday, Oct. 4 at the UT Tyler Ratliff Engineering and Science Complex Building South, fourth floor suite and terrace. Dr. David Hoe, assistant professor, and Dr. Mukul Shirvaikar, chair and professor of electrical engineering, will oversee the daily activities of the grant.

UT Tyler has also been invited to join the Collaborative Alliance for Semiconductor Testing, including industry bellwethers such as Texas Instruments, IBM, and Intel — and such major universities as Texas A&M, Auburn, and Georgia Tech. UTT officials say this collaboration will inevitably result in high-tech research and development applications, thereby benefiting the East Texas area economy.

TYLER – A 43-year-old Palestine man has pleaded guilty in Tyler to federal drug trafficking violations. Kyle Edward Palmer pleaded guilty Friday to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. According to authorities, beginning in January 2008, Palmer possessed methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it to others in and around the Longview area. A federal indictment was returned on Oct. 7, 2009, charging Palmer and four other individuals with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. At sentencing, Palmer faces a up to 40 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not been set.

TYLER (AP) – A former east Texas high school football coach has been sentenced to three years of probation for his role in a dogfighting ring. Jerry Scott Chism of Longview was sentenced Thursday, four months after pleading guilty to a charge of sponsoring or exhibiting an animal fighting venture. He was also fined $2,000. The 36-year-old Chism apologized to U.S. District Judge Leonard Davis, saying he was “raised to respect and obey the law.” Chism’s attorney said his client “will not disappoint.” Chism faced up to five years in federal prison after his arrest along with eight others last year in a five-state raid of dogfighting operations. Chism was an assistant coach at Jacksonville High School.

AUSTIN (AP) – The Texas Supreme Court has ordered a juvenile court to delay a hearing on whether a teenager accused in the 2009 fatal stabbing of his teacher in a Tyler classroom should be tried as an adult. The state’s highest civil court ruled Friday that a mental health evaluation should be completed before the 17-year-old suspect has a hearing that could move his case to adult court. The suspect, who remains in custody, was 16 when authorities say he attacked special education teacher Todd Henry at John Tyler High School in Tyler. A defense attorney’s request for a writ of mandamus was denied by an appeals court. The state’s high court said it would issue a writ only if the juvenile court failed to comply with Friday’s order.

ATHENS — The man who was convicted of killing two Henderson County Sheriff’s Department officers was back in court Tuesday. Randall Wayne Mays was convicted of capital murder, and sentenced to the death penalty for fatally shooting Henderson County Sheriff’s Department Investigator Paul Steven Habelt, 63, and deputy Tony Ogburn, 61 on May 17, 2007. The officers were killed in the shootings after responding to a disturbance at a residence in Payne Springs. A third officer, HCSO Deputy Kevin Harris, was shot in the leg during the May 17 shooting. He did survive. Mays’ attorney, Jeff Haas of Tyler, filed his appeal stating Ineffective Assistance of Counsel. Some of the points he hopes to bring out are the fact that there was no Change of Venue applied to the case, as well as May’s mental state at the time of the trial.

TYLER — The City of Tyler Police Department received notification yesterday that they have been awarded a grant from the United States Department of Justice COPS Hiring Program (CHP) for four police officer positions. The estimated federal funding to be awarded over the three-year grant period is $853,988.

Currently, the City of Tyler has 187 officers and the additional four officers will bring the total to 191. The new officers will be assigned to the Community Response Unit which provides community policing. The Unit consists to six officers and will grow to 10 with this grant.

The recruitment for the new officers will begin in the next few weeks with the scheduling of a civil service test to identify potential candidates for the positions. For information about the test, please visit http://www.cityoftyler.org

VAN — Van school officials are battling Staph Infections and MRSA. Officials with the Northeast Texas Public Health District say a large portion of high school students are infected, most of them varsity football players. They say football players are more susceptible because they are more likely to have open wounds. Officials say MRSA can be deadly because of its resistance to drugs. According to KETK, that’s why, they say they’re doing everything they can to make sure there are no new cases. Officials say washing your hands is the best way to prevent it from spreading.

Van school officials have addressed the student body. As for parents, a meeting will take place at the Van High School Library on Monday, October 4th at 7:00.

ATHENS — A woman remained in the Henderson County Jail Thursday after scuffling with police at the East Texas Medical Center Gun Barrel City facility. Pamela Jeanne Struble, 47, was charged with two counts of assault on a public servant, possession of a prohibited substance in a correctional facility and criminal mischief. According to KETK, she was also held for disorderly conduct and public intoxication. Total bond on Struble was set at $57,500. Gun Barrel City Chief of Police Damon Boswell said Struble entered the hospital Monday, and began screaming that she was going to kill herself.

TYLER (AP) — A federal judge has lifted a 39-year-old statewide school desegregation order from all but nine rural Texas public school systems in what is now largely a symbolic move.

U.S. District Judge Michael H. Schneider of Tyler found that all but nine of the school systems have either been released from desegregation orders by other federal judges, or are under separate desegregation orders issued in different cases, or weren’t parties to the 1970 suit that spawned the statewide order.

In a four-page order issued this week, Schneider noted that he has neither examined nor determined whether the freed districts are fully desegregated. The districts remaining under the order are mostly small-town districts in east Texas. They are the Buffalo, Colmesneil, Daingerfield, Fairfield, Malakoff, Nacogdoches, Oakwood, Smithville and Whitewright school districts.

TYLER — Two men, one from Rusk County, have entered guilty pleas in Tyler federal court in separate methamphetamine trafficking cases. Derrick Duwayne Walker, 23, of Henderson pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. According to prosecutors, on Jan. 21, 2009, Walker was found in possession of methamphetamine which he intended to distribute to others. Walker was also indicted by a federal grand jury on May 6 and faces up to 20 years in federal prison when sentenced.

In a separate case, Dannis Ivan Villarreal, 24, of Lawrenceville, Georgia, pleaded guilty to being involved in a conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. According to information presented in court, on Jan. 25, 2010, Villarreal was stopped for a traffic violation on IH-20 near Longview. A search of the vehicle revealed 13 lbs. of methamphetamine hidden in a secret compartment built into the vehicle. Villarreal was transporting the drugs from Dallas to Georgia. He was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 6 and charged with drug trafficking violations. Villarreal faces a minimum of 10 years in federal prison. Sentencing dates have not been set for either man.