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TYLER – A 28-year-old Rusk man has pleaded guilty to making threats against the President of the United States of America, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales. Robert Lee Berkley, Jr., entered the plea this week in Tyler before U.S. Magistrate Judge John D. Love. According to information presented in court, on June 16, 2010, Berkley was incarcerated in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) Hodge Unit in Rusk. That day, he wrote a letter claiming that upon his release from TDCJ, he planned to travel to Washington, D.C., in order to kill President Barack Obama and the First Family. Berkley confirmed his plan during at least two separate interviews with law enforcement officers. He was indicted by a federal grand jury on July 14, 2010. Berkley faces up to five years in federal prison at sentencing. A sentencing date has not been set.

TYLER — Tyler ISD has received a total of 17 awards for distinguished achievement in school communications. The awards were announced at the Texas School Public Relations Association (TSPRA) Star Awards Celebration on February 24 during the association’s annual conference held this year in Arlington. “We are thrilled by the amount of awards we received,” said Angela Jenkins, Director of Communications for Tyler ISD. “I am humbled to be recognized by our professional peers for our hard work in our communication efforts.”

The school district was also visible at the state conference in other ways. Jenkins was selected to present at the state conference and was also inducted as the Vice President for the East Texas Region for the next two years. “This conference is a wonderful opportunity to share ideas and bring back ways to improve our department. I am also looking forward to my term as Vice President. It is an honor to work with all the members in our region as well as at the state level,” Jenkins explained.

TYLER — Last October, Tyler residents Louis and Peaches Owen gave $18 million to Mother Frances Hospital-Tyler to help construct the area’s first freestanding heart hospital. Thursday, Trinity Mother Frances sponsored a women’s luncheon and style show at Willow Brook Country Club to highlight the Owen family’s gift. The luncheon was also held to help raise awareness of coronary heart disease in women, which is the single leading cause of death in American women. February is American Heart Month.

The event featured new artist renderings of the heart hospital. Hospital officials say they reveal a sleek, modernistic architecture that will provide a circular drive to the main entrance. The hospital will be seven stories; include comprehensive cardiac, thoracic, and vascular services; and stand east of and adjacent to Mother Frances Hospital. Officials say it will connect to the main hospital in several locations, allowing specialists and clinical personnel to easily access both buildings.

The Louis and Peaches Owen Heart Hospital at Mother Frances Hospital is a two-phase project. Phase One, located in the Ornelas Tower, was completed in December. Construction on Phase Two, a freestanding structure to be located between Saunders Street and South Fleishel Avenue, begins this spring and is scheduled for completion in 2012.

TYLER — Tyler Police investigators have officially ruled the death of 28-year-old Harold Davinci Miller a homicide. Police say details of the case are not being released at this time so the case will not be compromised. Further information will be brought forward as the case progresses, according to police.

Miller’s body was found Thursday at the scene of a house fire and was soon termed suspicious. Tyler Fire, Police and EMS responded to the blaze at 4516 Edinburgh around 11:17 Thursday morning. The fire was reported by a neighbor who was passing by the residence and observed the smoke and flames. Tyler firefighters located what turned out to be Miller’s body inside the residence while attending to the fire, and Tyler police investigators responded to the scene. The body was sent to Southwest Forensics for autopsy.

ELYSIAN FIELDS — An autopsy has confirmed that a 13-year-old East Texas boy died from swine flu. Trenton Lindsey of Elysian Fields was rushed to a Marshall medical facility Valentine’s Day after his temperature spiked to almost 103 degrees. He was then transferred to a Shreveport hospital — where doctors diagnosed him with having H1N1. Despite using new experimental treatment, they couldn’t save him. Funeral services are planned Saturday. A memorial page for Trenton has been set up on Facebook, with hundreds of visitors already paying their respects.

QUITMAN — The men involved in a Mineola Sonic robbery last summer have been sentenced. Last June, 21-year-old Pete Saucedo Ybarra and his 18-year-old brother Tony flashed a knife at a Sonic employee and took off with a bag full of money. Both were sentenced to 10 years for the crime. Pete Ybarra also got 20 more years for organized criminal activity.

KILGORE — The city of Kilgore and Gregg County are working on a settlement after a cyber thief took more than $17,000 in funds designated for the city. According to KETK and the Longview News-Journal, Kilgore City Council members authorized their lawyer to negotiate a settlement Tuesday night. In November, a cyber attack stole more than $200,000 dollars from the county during bank tax transfers. The money was designated for Kilgore and several other entities in the county.

LONGVIEW — Two Longview men arrested in connection with the Christmas Eve shooting of 15-year-old Nicole Cartwright were indicted on murder charges in Smith County. Adrian Earl Blankenship Jr., 22 was the first to be arrested on Jan. 3 in connection with the stray bullet that killed Cartwright at about 1:30 a.m. at a car wash in the 1100 block of West Gentry Parkway in Tyler.

Gregory Dewayne Polley, 26, was arrested a few days later as the suspected gunman. Tyler police spokesman Don Martin said Blankenship owned the gun and the getaway vehicle used in the shooting at the car wash. Polley remains jailed in Gregg County Jail on bonds totaling $502,250, charged with first-degree murder, assault and family violence causing bodily injury and contempt of court, all of which were outstanding warrants. Blankenship remains jailed in the Smith County Jail on $500,000, charged with first-degree murder.

LONGVIEW — Longtime local law enforcement officer Tony Means expressed disappointment Tuesday in the Longview Police Department after learning a suspected drunk driver who crashed into his Noel Drive home Saturday was released by police an hour earlier despite not being able to show proof of insurance and past drunk driving convictions. Police officials said 44-year-old Anthony Woods was released to a family member after the traffic stop before crashing into the house.

Woods, of Longview, remained in the Gregg County Jail on bonds totaling $23,000 Tuesday, charged with drunk driving Saturday night plus a pending felony indictment for drunk driving and misdemeanor warrants for assault causing bodily injury/family violence and interfering with an emergency call. In 2010, he was arrested four times on charges ranging from assault and deadly conduct to drunk driving and marijuana possession, jail records showed.

CANTON (AP) – Three people have died in a fiery head-on traffic accident about 50 miles southeast of Dallas. Van Zandt County authorities say the crash happened Wednesday afternoon south of Canton. Justice of the Peace Don Kirkpatrick says a car going north on Texas Highway 19 went into the southbound lane and hit a pickup truck. The car driver and both people in the truck, which burned, were dead at the scene. The Department of Public Safety identified the car driver as 19-year-old Sebastian Ostoin of Canton. The other driver was 43-year-old Francisco Puga of Athens, whose passenger was identified as 60-year-old Kathleen Shue.

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TYLER – Tyler’s teen curfew, which has been in effect since 1994, remains in effect after the city council renewed the measure. State law requires the city council to renew the measure every three years, which the council did at yesterday’s meeting. Under the law, teens have to be home by 11:00pm Sunday through Thursday and by midnight on Friday and Saturday. Last year Tyler police cited 52 teens for violating the law.

LUFKIN — As a result of a study that began in September 2010, the Postal Service has made the decision to move some mail processing operations from the Lufkin Processing and Distribution Facility to the Tyler Processing and Distribution Center. That’s according to a U.S. Postal Service press release. Local mail service will not be affected by the move, the release stated. And, contrary to earlier reports, the Lufkin facility will not close.

Still, officials are acknowledging the impact the move will have. “Given the drastic decline in mail volume the Postal Service has experienced, with a decline of 26 billion pieces this past year, we must take action to reduce the size of our mail processing network,” Dallas District Manager Victor Benavides stated in the release. “Consolidating operations and placing our people where we need them is necessary if the Postal Service is to remain viable to provide mail service to the nation. I understand our employees’ concern over this move, but the consolidation makes sense given the fiscal realities. The Tyler Processing and Distribution Center has the capacity to handle the additional workload and we can realize significant savings by shifting operations there.”

According to the release, the transition is now underway and will be completed by July 2011. Some employees may be reassigned to the Tyler plant or to other vacant positions as a result of the move, the release stated.

AUSTIN — Governor Rick Perry has appointed Kerry ‘Dan’ Woodson of Mount Pleasant as judge of the 76th District Court of Morris, Camp and Titus counties for a term to expire at the next general election. This appointment is subject to Senate confirmation.

Woodson is an attorney in private practice, and is admitted to practice law in the U.S. District Courts of the Eastern and Northern districts of Texas, and the Fifth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals. He is a member of the Titus County and Northeast Texas Bar associations, and the State Bar of Texas. Woodson is a fellow of the State Bar College of Texas and past panel chair of the District 1B State Bar Grievance Committee.

Woodson received a bachelor’s degree from East Texas State University and a law degree from Texas Tech University School of Law.

ELYSIAN FIELDS — Investigators are trying to determine if an East Texas child died from swine flu. Trenton Lindsey was a sixth grader from Elysian Fields, in southeast Harrison County. Following his death at a Shreveport hospital, rumors spread via Facebook that the child’s death was flu-related. At this point, Chris Van Deusen with the Texas Department of State Health Services says that has not been confirmed. He says, “We’ve not gotten any sort of official report on a pediatric flu death.” Van Deusen adds that hospitals are required to report a flu-related death within one business day.

LONGVIEW — According to City Secretary Shelly Ballenger, three candidates have filed to run in the May 14 General Election for Longview City Council District 3 (Southeast Longview). They’re 42-year-old business owner Wray Wade, 37-year-old home health administrative representative Kasha G. Williams, and 65-year-old Victoria Wilson, who’s self-employed. The seat is currently held by Sidney Bell Willis, who will reach her term limit in May. Carlton W. Mitchell has filed his Certificate of Withdrawal from the City Council District 3 candidacy.