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LONGVIEW — A Longview teen could face charges for failing to stop after a fatal hit-and-run crash on Loop 281 in Longview, in front of East Texas Professional Credit Union. Longview police spokeswoman Kristie Brian said Harold Grady, 57, was struck by Ashley Lambert, 19, about 7:45 Monday evening when he stepped into the roadway. Brian said Lambert went to the police station Monday night, because when she got home she realized that she had hit something. The case is being turned over to the Gregg County District Attorney’s Office to determine whether charges will be filed against Lambert. No charges have been filed at this time. Grady, of Farmersville, was pronounced dead at Longview Regional Hospital at about 8:30 p.m. Monday by Justice of the Peace B.H. Jameson.

TYLER — With billions in state budget cuts looming in Texas, local mental health programs in the Tyler area stand to lose approximately $4 million in funding. That’s according to the local affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). A news release from the affiliate says Texas ranks 50th in the nation in per capita spending on mental health programs, meaning the programs are already underfunded according to local NAMI members. The news release says the implications of those cuts are that fewer people will receive treatment and more mentally ill would end up in jail or the emergency room, thus shifting the costs to the local community.

The Andrews Center Behavioral Healthcare System contracts with the State of Texas to serve the area’s community members who are indigent and have a serious mental illness. The news release says the Andrews Center is serving about 1500-1600 adult patients in community mental health care per month, but is only getting paid to serve 1094. With the proposed budget cuts, according to NAMI, the state would only pay for 875 adults to receive mental health treatment per month.

The Tyler NAMI affiliate met with representatives from the Andrews Center Behavioral Healthcare System, Smith County Sheriff’s Department, City of Tyler, People Attempting to Help (P.A.T.H.), private mental health providers, consumers with mental illness, and their family members to discuss the implications. Affiliate representatives say all were in agreement that shifting the tax burden locally would be the most expensive and least effective option. NAMI Tyler is asking residents to contact their state legislators to voice their concerns.

TYLER — A woman is cut out of her car Tuesday after a wreck in Tyler at the intersection of Shiloh Road and Kent Drive. Police say a man driving a truck, ran into the woman’s car, sending her off-road. Emergency workers used the jaws of life to cut her out. Her car was destroyed but she suffered only minor injuries and is expected to be ok.

HENDERSON — A Henderson man is in jail for allegedly sending sexually explicit e-mails to a minor. Carl Dewayne Anthony, 32, was arraigned on 3rd degree charges of online solicitation of a minor. Anthony reportedly sent a picture of male genitalia to the minor. His bond is set at $10,000.

TATUM — A fatal wreck that left a Tatum student dead this weekend is being blamed on texting while driving. Tatum High School Principal Debbie Maxey says Lillian Propes was texting during the weekend crash in Rusk County. Lillian’s mother issued a plea to her daughter’s classmates asking them not to text while driving. The wreck happened on Texas 43 between Tatum and Henderson. Officials say the vehicle left the road, rolled and hit a tree.

LONGVIEW — An early Wednesday morning fire leaves four families homeless. It happened at an apartment complex at 415 Tammy Lynn Drive in Longview around 6:40. Authorities say when they arrived; an upstairs apartment was engulfed in flames. No one was at home at the time, but three other apartments had to be evacuated. Longview Fire Chief J.P. Steelman says because some alert residents were home, the flames did not spread any more than they did. Steelman says if those residents hadn’t responded, “it would have allowed the fire to have a lot bigger head start, and naturally go unnoticed for a longer period of time.” No injuries were reported. Investigators are still looking into the cause of the fire.

GREGG COUNTY — A half-dozen lawsuits arising from the January 2009 deaths of two Kilgore firefighters were consolidated in Gregg County civil court Tuesday. Attorneys for the distributor of the fire engine ladder from which Cory Galloway and Kyle Perkins fell to their deaths filed the motion Thursday to consolidate the six lawsuits against it and the ladder manufacturer, both Florida-based companies.

This past week, 124th District Judge Alfonso Charles granted the motion in parts. Charles consolidated Galloway’s suit with suits from three injured firefighters for all purposes including trial. Perkins’ and Galloway’s suits will be combined for evidence discovery and pre-trial motions but not for trial, and the same goes for the city of Kilgore’s lawsuit against the manufacturer and distributor. All six cases have been transferred to the 124th District Court for judicial economy, Charles wrote in his ruling Tuesday.

Since June 17, widows for Galloway and Perkins, along with injured firefighters Robert King, James Sanders and Gary Tyson, each sued E-One Inc. and Hall-Mark Fire Apparatus of Texas over the Jan. 25, 2009 incident. Galloway’s widow, Regina Galloway, is also suing the city of Kilgore, while the city is suing E-One and Hall-Mark through its participation in the Texas Municipal League Intergovernmental Risk Pool, records showed.

E-One manufactured the 95-foot mid-mount aerial platform truck, known as Kilgore Fire Department’s Ladder-1, according to the suit filed by Galloway’s widow. Hall-Mark sold Ladder-1 to the city, records show. According to Hall-Mark’s motion, Galloway and Perkins were ejected from the bucket of Ladder-1, while operator Sanders was trying to remove and lower the bucket on the parapet wall of the building. King was inside the bucket with Galloway and Perkins. Tyson sustained injuries, he said, while assisting the two deceased firefighters immediately following their fall.

TYLER — A doctoral nursing student at The University of Texas at Tyler, Joan Edwards of Kingwood, has been named a Fulbright Scholar. The Fulbright Award, sponsored by the U.S. State Department, is a career-enhancing scholarship intended to foster international research and collaboration. Established in 1946 through the efforts of U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright, the program is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and people of other countries through educational exchanges. It is considered one of the most prestigious award programs worldwide. “The doctoral program at UT Tyler and the knowledge I am acquiring has made a tremendous impact on what I’ll be able to accomplish with the Fulbright Award,” said Edwards.

With the award, Edwards will spend the 2011 – 12 academic year in Indonesia, where she will work with faculty at five colleges of nursing on the island of Java. The project’s objective is to raise baccalaureate nursing education standards to correspond with the 2009 World Health Organization Global Standards for Initial Education of Professional Nurses and Midwives. The project stems from 2010 meetings Edwards and her academic adviser, Dr. Beth Mastel-Smith, had with Indonesian faculty and a representative from the Indonesian Ministry of Health, supported in part by UT Tyler.

“Faculty in Indonesia expressed the desire to improve their curriculum and sought guidance in how to achieve higher standards,” said Mastel-Smith, who was instrumental in assisting Edwards achieve this honor.

Edwards will graduate in 2012 with a Ph.D. in nursing. She is a faculty member at Texas Woman’s University – Houston, where she serves as director of the Center for Global Nursing Scholarship for all three TWU campuses.

AUSTIN (AP) — Senator Bob Deuell, whose district covers part of Smith County, and who’s a physician in his real life, was pressed into action when a spectator passed out in the Senate public gallery during a resolution honoring Americans who fought and died in Vietnam. Turns out the patient was Jay Kimbrough, a Vietnam veteran and former top aide to Governor Rick Perry. Kimbrough stayed down for several minutes and although security rushed a defibrillator over to Kimbrough it case it was needed, he was eventually able to walk out on his own.

Kimbrough, a former Marine, who was wounded in combat and has a tough-guy reputation, needed some prodding to go to the emergency room to get checked out. “I told him, you want me to call the boss?” said Sen. Leticia Van de Putte. “He said, ‘You’re going to call Governor Perry?’ I said, ‘No, I’m going to call your wife!'”

TYLER — Three East Texans are sentenced in cases related to pseudoephedrine and methamphetamine. All three received their sentences Tuesday in Tyler federal court from U.S. District Judge Leonard E. Davis. Jack London Ramsey, 49, of Overton pleaded guilty on Nov. 2, 2010, to possession of pseudoephedrine and was sentenced to 58 months in prison. According to information presented in court, from December 2, 2008 to January 21, 2010, Ramsey purchased cold pills containing pseudoephedrine on 56 separate occasions which amounted to a total of 147 grams of pseudoephedrine, which he planned to use to manufacture methamphetamine. A federal grand jury returned an indictment against Ramsey on May 6, 2010. All of Ramsey’s co-defendants have been convicted and are awaiting sentencing.

Joy Lavon Smith, 49, of Kilgore pleaded guilty last November 2 to being involved in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession of pseudoephedrine. She was sentenced to 121 months behind bars. According to officials, from January 13, 2009, to December 8, 2009, Smith purchased cold pills containing pseudoephedrine on 77 separate occasions which amounted to a total of 208 grams of pseudoephedrine, which she planned to use to manufacture methamphetamine. Smith was also named in an indictment returned last May 6. All of Smith’s co-defendants have been convicted and are awaiting sentencing.

Mary Kelly Maxwell, 52, of Gary, pleaded guilty on October 1, 2010, to possession of pseudoephedrine with intent to manufacture methamphetamine and was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison. According to prosecutors, Maxwell traveled to multiple pharmacies in the Eastern District of Texas to purchase cold pills containing pseudoephedrine, all in furtherance of her methamphetamine manufacturing activities. Maxwell was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 5, 2010.

LINDALE — Lindale school authorities say an elementary student has been disciplined after being caught with a knife. According to a statement from the school district, the principal of Velma Penny Elementary School was alerted by a student on Monday that a classmate was in possession of a knife. The statement says campus officials approached the student and the student revealed the weapon. According to school district officials, the weapon was reported after the student voiced a threat against a staff member to the other student. School officials say that the staff member was never directly threatened with the weapon, and that at no time were any students threatened or harmed.

The statement continues, “This is a serious violation of the Lindale ISD Code of Conduct. Appropriate disciplinary action has been taken by the district. Due to the privacy of the student and staff member, we are unable to provide further details of this incident. Providing a safe learning environment for all Lindale ISD students and staff members is our highest priority. We would like to commend the student who alerted the campus principal of the threat. Lindale ISD takes any incident of this nature very seriously and we will continue to reinforce the proper procedures to all students and staff members for their protection.”

LONGVIEW – A Longview man is facing a variety of charges after he is accused of leading law officers on a chase and firing at them. Arrested Sunday night was James Carl Goodwin, 45.

The chase started when state troopers tried to stop him for speeding and not wearing a seat belt. During the chase Goodwin is said to have tried to run over the trooper on a couple of occasions and nearly ran over pedestrians in his path. When officers shot out three of Goodwin’s tires, he tried to flee on foot. After a shot chase he was taken into custody.

He has been charged with aggravated assault against a public servant, evading arrest with a motor vehicle, evading arrest on foot, resisting arrest, and driving while intoxicated. He remains in the Gregg County Jail under bonds totaling $1.13 million.

TYLER – In an appearance in Tyler federal court, a Dallas man was sentenced to prison for drug violations. Alejandro Cabrera pleaded guilty on January 7, 2010 to being involved in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. He was sentenced yesterday to 189 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Leonard E. Davis.

According to information presented in court, on July 23, 2009, Cabrera was arrested in Smith County with around one pound of methamphetamine and a pistol in his possession. An investigation revealed that since 2007, Cabrera was involved in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Dallas County, which was then transported through East Texas for redistribution.

TYLER — A Mexican national illegally living in Whitehouse has been sentenced in Tyler Federal Court to prison for drug violations. Jose Zavala pleaded guilty on March 3, 2010 to being involved in a conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of methamphetamine and. He was sentenced yesterday to 72 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Leonard E. Davis. Zavala was also ordered to submit to the forfeiture of $5,000 and will be deported upon completion of his federal prison sentence.

According to information presented in court, from an unknown date until January 20, 2010, Zavala conspired with others to distribute more than 50 grams of actual methamphetamine in the Smith County area. Zavala also admitted to being in possession of a firearm in relation to the drug trafficking violations. Zavala was indicted by a federal grand jury in March of last year.

LONGVIEW – A 19-year-old Kilgore man was killed when his vehicle crashed into a business Sunday morning. According to Department of Public Safety officials, Mason Rawls was traveling southbound on FM 2011, five miles south of Longview when his 2004 Dodge pickup left the roadway and ran into Amanda’s Jewelry store in the 10,000 block of FM 2011. The teen wasn’t found until following morning, but officials estimated his time of death around 2:40 a.m. Elderville-Lakeport Volunteer Fire Department called Longview Fire Department’s special operations team to assist in stabilizing and securing the store, which was “severely damaged,” Fire Chief J.P. Steelman said. DPS officials said Rawls, a Kilgore College student, was not wearing a seatbelt when the crash occurred.

NACOGDOCHES – Nacogdoches police have identified the body of a man found in a duplex parking area. He is Jeffrey Dale Honea, 47, of Nacogdoches. His body was found just before 6:45 Saturday evening when a person in the area saw the body and called 9-1-1. Nacogdoches authorities say there were no signs of foul play. An autopsy has been ordered.

Honea was to appear in state district court Wednesday on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and impersonating a public servant. The charges are said to have stemmed from a road rage incident last May in which he is accused of attacking someone with a baseball bat.

HENDERSON — A Smith County man is free on bond after being charged with several complaints in Rusk County. Arrested was Mark Richard Green, 30, of Flint. He has been charged with retaliation on a public servant, public intoxication and criminal mischief. His bonds totaled $10,670. His arrest followed a disturbance at a Henderson convenience store.

LONGVIEW — A Tatum High School student has died after a Sunday evening one-vehicle crash in Rusk County. Lillian Propes, 16, was pronounced dead at about 5:45pm at Good Shepherd Medical Center in Longview after being taken from the scene of the crash, according to Justice of the Peace B.H. Jameson. The crash happened on Highway 43 between Tatum and Henderson. Jameson said the teen’s vehicle left the roadway, rolled and hit a tree. Reports indicate she may have been texting at the time of the accident.

TYLER — Tyler police confirm Christopher Summerville, 26, has been released from a local hospital. Summerville was arrested last week after allegedly shooting Smith County Deputy Josh Caulkins in the chest. According to KETK, Caulkins was trying to serve Summerville a warrant. Caulkins was wearing a vest and received only minor injuries. Police say Summerville was hospitalized at East Texas Medical Center for an overdose of methamphetamine that he reportedly had injected into his body just prior to the arrest warrant being served. Summerville is currently being held in the Smith County Jail on a $500,000 bond. Two others were also arrested at the time the warrant was served on Summerville.

TYLER (AP) – An East Texas deputy has died of head injuries suffered when he was attacked by an injured cow while he directed traffic around the half-ton animal. Smith County Sheriff J.B. Smith says Deputy Robert Britton of Tyler died Monday at East Texas Medical Center in Tyler, where he’d been since the incident early Thursday near Bullard, 95 miles southeast of Dallas and 15 miles south of Tyler. Smith had said the 54-year-old deputy had responded to a report of a stray cow struck by a vehicle and was directing traffic on Farm Road 344 when the cow charged him. He says Britton was knocked into the air and landed head-first on the pavement before the animal continued the attack until other deputies rescued Britton. Smith says the cow was euthanized. Britton had served as a deputy for the Smith County Sheriff’s Department since 1992.

TYLER — A North Texas woman is in the Smith County Jail charged with operating a massage business without a license and offering to engage in sexual conduct for a fee. The woman is identified as Qin Zhang, 48, of Plano. The business is Healthy Massage, located at 1420 West Southwest Loop 323. Authorities say the Tyler Police Department received several complaints that the massage business was allegedly operating without a license and that illegal sexual conduct may have been occurring. Zhang was arrested by Tyler undercover officers Friday evening at the business after undercover officers entered the business and allegedly confirmed the illegal activity.

HENDERSON — Rusk County officials are seeking public help as they investigate the theft of more than $5,000 worth of diesel fuel. Sheriff’s department officials said thieves broke into W.T. Byler Co. near CR 270 and stole 1,500 gallons of fuel from a 2,000-gallon tank earlier this month. The diesel is valued at about $5,250. Officials are asking anyone with information about the theft to contact Rusk County Crime Stoppers at 903- 655-TIPS or the sheriff’s department at 903-657-3581. A reward of up to $1,000 is being offered for any information leading to the arrest of the people responsible for the theft.

TYLER — Tyler ISD is participating in a new study to help school districts improve communication with employees, parents and others in the school community. Approximately 100 school districts across the United States and Canada are participating in the survey at no cost to the school districts. Some 100 school districts throughout the United States have agreed to participate in the survey as part of a national study to make communication more effective at the classroom, school building and district levels.

“We see this survey being a “win-win” for Tyler ISD and the profession of school communication,” said Angela Jenkins, Tyler ISD Director of Communications. “We will receive new, valuable information on the type of content and delivery methods our parents and others prefer, at no cost to the District,” Jenkins added.

All responses are confidential. School officials will receive the results from the community survey in late spring. Tyler ISD plans to use the results to refine the district’s current communication effort and improve its effectiveness. The compiled results from the 100 school districts will be announced in July by NSPRA and no identification will be given to individual school districts.

The survey will be offered by NSPRA’s partner, K12 Insight, Inc. through an email system beginning on March 22 and concluding on April 8. The research is part of a communication accountability program of the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA). NSPRA is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving all facets of communication in school communities. The survey firm, K12 Insight, Inc., is donating its services for this project to NSPRA.

JACKSONVILLE – A weekend accident in Cherokee County has killed one person. Killed in the two vehicle crash was David Lynn Davenport, 20, of Jacksonville. The crash occurred shortly before 10:45 Saturday night on Farm Road 347, about five miles south of Jacksonville. The Department of Public Safety reports it appears as if Davenport was traveling at a high rate of speed when his car hit a parked trailer. The report also said he was not wearing his seat belt.

CANTON – A weekend drug bust has resulted in seven persons being arrested at the Motel 6 in Canton. Authorities received a tip that that methamphetamine was being used and sold there. When officers raided a room at the motel they saw a large quantity of methamphetamine and as well as prescription medications. The suspects have been charged with two counts of manufacture and/or delivery of a controlled substance, They are identified as year old Russell Lynn Turner, 36, of Gilmer; Ian Joseph Daley ,25, Barbra Ann Pritchett, 29, and Holly Renee Hortman, 42, all of Mineola; Edward Robert Preston, 40,of Fruitvale and Kimberly Ann Herring, 21, and Matthew John Prough, 25, both of Canton.

TYLER – A large grass fire, that consumed over 40 acres east of Tyler, is under control. It started early Friday afternoon off the old Kilgore Highway and Farm Road 757. The fire is said to have started from the land owner’s truck, which had developed a mechanical problem. He was able to escape the burning truck and was not injured.

NACOGDOCHES – Nacogdoches police are trying to identify the body of a man found in a duplex parking area. The body was found just before 6:45 Saturday evening when a person in the area saw the body and called 9-1-1. An autopsy has been ordered.

UNDATED — Here’s a quick look at other work planned in the Tyler District of the Texas Department of Transportation.

LONGVIEW — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to perform pavement-repair operations on Loop 281 between State Highway 31 and U.S. Highway 259 (Estes Parkway). Daytime lane closures will be in effect in each location while the work is in progress, and motorists are encouraged to be prepared to reduce speed and merge in and around the work zone.

Also this week in Gregg County, TxDOT contractor Knife River announced today its plans to shift traffic to the newly constructed lanes on the State Highway 135 project north of Interstate 20 beginning mid-week. Motorists are encouraged to use caution in and around the construction zone.

VAN ZANDT COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to perform pavement-repair operations on State Highway 19 in Canton between Interstate Highway 20 and State Highway 64. A second crew will be performing fog-seal operations on Farm Road 751 between Wills Point and the Hunt County Line. 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.

RUSK COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to perform edge and pavement repairs on Farm Road 13, west of State Highway 42 in Price. Daytime lane closures will be in effect in each location while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic.

WOOD COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to be at work on the following roadways in and around Wood County:
*U.S. Highway 80 east of Farm Road 1255;
Farm Road 778 north of Farm Road 49; and
Farm Road 857 south of U.S. Highway 80.
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.

LONGVIEW — Longview Police are searching for two burglary suspects after a car chase and one arrest. It happened Wednesday night around 10:30 in the 100 Block of Hubbard Drive. Officers were told by the victims that three black males armed with semi-automatic handguns had kicked in the door of the residence and stole an undetermined amount of cash. The victims stated the suspects brandished the weapons and demanded money. Once the suspects got the money, they fled on foot from the home.

While Officers were responding to the victim’s house another officer located what was determined to be the suspect’s vehicle traveling North on Estes Parkway and were attempting to pull the suspects over when a chase began. During the pursuit the suspects threw out several items from the moving vehicle. Two of the suspects jumped from the moving car and ran into the woods. The driver of the car stopped the vehicle and was taken into custody. Ledarvion Deante George, 24, of Longview was taken into custody. Authorities were unable to locate the other two suspects at that time. Officers went back to the location where the items were thrown from the vehicle and located 3 handguns and a bag containing approximately 11 pounds of marijuana. George was booked into the Gregg County Jail for evading arrest, possession of marijuana 5 – 50 pounds, and burglary of a habitation with intent to commit another felony. George remains in the Gregg County Jail on bonds totaling $120,000.00.

SMITH COUNTY — Two men were taken to a Tyler hospital Saturday for “significant” injuries after their 2002 Ford Ranger crashed into a creek bed on Farm Road 724 near Tyler Pounds Airport. The Department of Public Safety says the driver fell asleep and their pickup ran off of the road around 4:00 Saturday afternoon. The driver made the 911 call, but he was unaware of his location, so first responders had to “ping” his cell phone to locate the vehicle.