TYLER — Information from the Texas Comptroller indicates that City of Tyler sales tax revenues deposited for the month of July have decreased 7.01 percent as compared to the same period in 2009. Year-to-date revenues have declined 8.76 percent, an improvement from last month’s 8.93 percent. The reported revenue of $ 2,533,713.39 comprises $1,689,142.26 in general sales tax revenue and $844,571.13 in half-cent sales tax revenue. The figures represent receipts from May 2010 collections, as there is a two-month period before revenue is reported.
“The City had budgeted for no growth in sales tax revenue for this fiscal year,” said City Manager Mark McDaniel. “As soon as the monthly returns began indicating that sales tax revenue was declining, the City took aggressive steps to curtail spending. This is paying off as we are closing the gap on the budget shortfall. We have approximately 47 positions frozen in the general fund alone and continue to delay projects, assess contracts, and limit spending where possible.” The City began its budgeting for the 2010-2011 fiscal year months earlier than normal in anticipation of another tight budget year.
“We anticipate having at least one more really tight budget year,” added McDaniel. “As the economy recovers, municipal revenues generally lag behind. We anticipate that property tax receipts will remain flat, or possibly dip slightly in the coming year based upon recent valuations. However, Tyler is fortunate that we have no general obligation debt so all tax revenue can go directly toward current operations. Combined with being very streamlined and fiscally disciplined, we are weathering the storm better than most.”
HALLSVILLE — 2,500 stadium light poles have been recalled, including some in Hallsville. According to KETK, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission made the announcement Monday after several incidents of the Whitco poles falling down. Here in East Texas, Hallsville ISD’s Bobcat Stadium was on the recall list. School officials say they learned of the recall Tuesday and are now in the process of figuring out what to do. For now, plans call for moving forward on the basis of engineers’ reports. The officials say they have had the lights inspected and they passed all necessary safety measures. The lights will be inspected again before football season starts. 
HENDERSON — A Smith County man has been killed and two persons injured in a two vehicle accident in Rusk County. The accident happened around 6:30 Tuesday morning on State Highway 64, just east of County Road 421. Dead at the scene was Juan Carlos Guiterrez-Leon, 24, of Tyler. Injured were the drivers of both vehicles, Jennifer Hibbard of Nacogdoches and Andres Blas-Luviano of Tyler. The Department of Public Safety report indicates Hibbard’s car was west bound on Highway 64 when veered into the east bound lane and hit Leon’s pickup head-on. Everyone in the two vehicles was wearing their seat belts. 
SMITH COUNTY — A Tyler man is killed following a three-vehicle accident Tuesday evening in northern Smith County. Killed was Russell Chamberlain, 64. The DPS says a pickup and Chamberlain’s car were southbound on Farm Road 14 at County Road 326. The car was waiting to make a left turn when the pickup hit the car, pushing it into the path of a north bound van. The car then collided with the van. Chamberlain was pronounced dead at the scene. No one else was injured. Officials say Chamberlain was wearing a seat belt. They also report that rain was falling and the road was wet at the time of the wreck.
AUSTIN (AP) – Health officials are warning against eating fish caught in parts of the Trinity River in Tarrant, Dallas, Ellis, Kaufman, Henderson, Navarro, Freestone and Anderson counties. Wednesday’s advisory is from the Department of State Health Services. The area includes the Clear Fork of the Trinity River from the Benbrook Reservoir Dam, and the West Fork from the Lake Worth Dam, through the main stem of the river downstream to the U.S. Highway 287 bridge on the Freestone-Anderson county line. Testing found some fish had elevated levels of dioxins and polychlorinated byphenyls, or PCBs. Long-term consumption may cause cancer and other health problems. DSHS says elevated levels of PCBs and dioxins in fish do not pose a health risk for people swimming or other water recreation.
TYLER — Smith County Commissioners Court will adopt their new 2011 budget which will include plans to reduce overcrowding at the Smith County Jail. According to KETK, tax payers wonder if adding electronic monitoring ankle bracelets would solve jail overcrowding issues and reduce the cost on tax payers. Judge Joel Baker says he’s in favor of the devices, but that it’s up to the Smith County Sherriff’s Department to buy them. Whether they’re used to track a person’s whereabouts or their alcohol intake, monitoring devices are used nation-wide. In East Texas, GPS ankle bracelets are used as an alternative to incarceration programs to help keep track of people on probation. The bracelets monitor more than 300 people on felony misdemeanor or civil probation charges costing less than $6 per day. 
TYLER (AP) – An 11-year-old boy has testified that he performed videotaped sexually explicit skits for paying adults as part of an alleged child sex ring. The testimony Wednesday in Tyler came on the second day of the criminal trial for a Mineola man charged with forcing three siblings to dance and engage in sexual acts. 47-year-old Dennis Boyd Pittman is one of six defendants facing charges of forcing three siblings as young as 5 to dance and engage in sexual acts for a paying audience in 2005. An alleged victim testified Tuesday that God told her the sexual acts she previously said happened didn’t really occur. After further questioning, the 11-year-old girl said she was given “silly pills” and danced for boys wearing a “sexy outfit.”