NACOGDOCHES — The Nacogdoches County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the report of a sexual assault that occurred near Etoile late Monday evening. According to KETK, The victim and her husband were traveling along State Hwy. 103 en route to San Augustine County when the vehicle the couple was riding in ran out of gas. The female victim remained with the vehicle while her husband went on foot to get gas.
A short while after the husband left his wife, a white male with long, gray tinted hair worn in a pony tail stopped his vehicle, a silver colored pickup, where the victim was parked. He pretended to offer the victim assistance and then grabbed the victim and forced her into his vehicle where he immediately began a sexual assault on her.
The victim retrieved a beer bottle from the suspect’s vehicle during the attack and struck the suspect on the head hard enough to shatter the bottle. The victim then managed to get away from the suspect and exit his vehicle. She ran to her vehicle and locked herself inside. The suspect then fled the scene in his vehicle. Upon the husband’s return, the victim informed him of the attack, and they drove to San Augustine County and reported the incident. She was later transported to a hospital in Lufkin where she was treated and released. Residents and motorists that may have passed through Nacogdoches County along Hwy. 103 between the hours of approximately 7:00-9:00 p.m. and observed the suspect’s vehicle stopped behind the victim’s vehicle are asked to contact the Nacogdoches County Sheriff’s Office.
AUSTIN – East Texas is very much in the picture as The Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS) recognizes volunteers from across the state who have assisted aging Texans and Texans with disabilities. It happens at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the annual DADS Vision Awards Ceremony at the John H. Winters Human Services Complex in Austin. Awards will be presented to nine individuals and volunteer groups for exemplary volunteer service in three categories: wellness, dignity and choice. In the wellness category, Good Shepherd Medical Center (Longview Texercise Program) and Dicque Oliver (Sulphur Springs DADS Silver Lining Program) will be honored. Under the dignity banner, an award will be presented to Randy George of the Lufkin State Supported Living Center.
TYLER — The East Texas Center for Independent Living Monday held a day-long celebration and information session in Tyler, observing the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The center’s purpose is to help the disabled in various ways. Its board president, Billie Holloway, said the gathering was a great event — and that much has been accomplished since 1990. She says 20 years on, many disabled people “have a life where they can participate in the community and be a contributing member of society.” But Holloway points out that lots of barriers remain. Just one example. “There are still many older buildings that were grandfathered out of the legislation.” Holloway says just one of many ways you can help is to leave disabled parking spaces for those who need them. 
TYLER — Tyler Investigators have identified the two suspects allegedly involved in a June 28 robbery. Police name them as Joel Correa, 22, seen on the left, and Forrest Edward Frazier, 21. Both are from Tyler. The Tyler Police Department has an outstanding warrant for their arrest for robbery, a second degree felony. Bond is set at $250,000 on each man. 
EAST TEXAS — The race for state agriculture commissioner, which features two East Texans, has become a volley of accusations. According to KETK, the fight between incumbent Republican Todd Staples of Palestine and Whitehouse Democrat Hank Gilbert has gone online with competing websites focusing more on the opposing candidates’ faults than on campaign issues. Gilbert’s site is called “Sleazy, Sleazy Staples.” In it, he accuses the incumbent of things like a “$3 million broadband boondoogle” and voting to allow radioactive waste from other states to be dumped in Texas. Staples’s site is called “Guilty, Guilty Gilbert.” It chronicles Gilbert’s run-ins with the law, like driving with an expired driver’s license and driving without a seat belt.
LONGVIEW — One suspect is in custody after a reported burglary. Longview Police responded to 2005 Secretariat Trail A Sunday morning around 7:30 after the resident said his flat screen television had been stolen. About two hours later, officers were notified of a suspicious person on the McWhorter Park walking trail carrying a flat screen television. Upon arrival, officers located the suspect standing next to the television. The suspect reportedly fled when he saw the officers but was caught after a short pursuit. The suspect, a black male juvenile, was placed in custody for burglary of a habitation and transported to the Gregg County Juvenile Detention Center. 
TYLER — The City of Tyler hosted a ceremony Monday to unveil the second marker in the Reflections Program in Tyler. The subject marker honors Henry M. Morgan; it can be found at 212 E. Erwin, in front of the Henry M. Morgan Barbers Museum.
TYLER — The Christian Men’s Job Corps has been up and running in Tyler for just seven months, but it’s already getting great results. That’s the word from Executive Director Charles Smith. On KTBB “Staff Meeting,” he says the agency offers “Christian-based life and employment skills training to men who desire a positive change in their life.” The agency, modeled after the long-running Christian Women’s Job Corps, also offers one-one-one mentoring. Smith says his organization combines practical training, relationship building, emotional healing, and spiritual growth “to meet a man’s eternal needs.”
TYLER — The Smith County Wide Clean-Up is underway and runs through July 31. The event is an opportunity for county residents to bring trash and bulky items to the Greenwood Farms Landfill for free. The Smith County Environmental Crimes Unit, precinct constables, and Commissioners Court are working together to host the event.