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TYLER — Tyler’s sales tax revenues deposited for October have grown 2.63% as compared to October 2011. The figures come from the state comptroller’s office. The increase means the city’s soft hiring freeze has been lifted, according to City Manager Mark McDaniel (pictured). October is the first month of the City’s fiscal year, so the cumulative year-do-date increase is also 2.63%. The reported revenue of $2,815,711.47 comprises $1,877,140.98 general sales tax revenue and $938,570.49 half-cent sales tax revenue. The figures represent receipts from August 2012 collections as there is a two-month lag before taxes are reported and remitted back to the City from the State.

“This is a great way to start off our new fiscal year,” said McDaniel. “The six percent growth we saw during September helped us end 2011-2012 in a strong financial position and the continued growth this month has set a positive tone for the upcoming fiscal year. “Because revenues have continued to slowly climb and are nearing the levels we were at prior to the economic downturn, we have lifted our soft hiring freeze,” added McDaniel. “Of course we will continue our rigorous efforts to operate as efficiently as possible as these have served us well and allowed us to lower property tax rates more than 60% in the last 15 years.”

HOUSTON — Two Texas universities, including one in East Texas, say part of the national health care act is trampling on their constitutional rights. East Texas Baptist University in Marshall and Houston Baptist University have filed a lawsuit in federal court. The litigation challenges the requirement for employers’ health insurance to cover their workers’ contraception drug costs. Professor Gerald Treece at South Texas College of Law in Houston says you’re going to see these schools join other religious institutions. The schools don’t want to be penalized for opting out. Treece says the Supreme Court hasn’t come close to addressing that question yet.

TYLER — Several homes and businesses on the south side of Tyler were tagged by vandals overnight with orange spray paint. Police Public Information Officer Don Martin said Thursday that “significant” damage was done to buildings, mailboxes and vehicles near WSW Loop 323 on Brookside Drive, Shelley Drive, and Woodland Hills Drive, as well as a few businesses on the Loop. Authorities do not have any persons of interest, but suspect the destruction was caused by kids.

Most homeowners and business owners were able to remove the orange paint, but some people have not been able to remove it from their brick mailboxes. Martin tells KETK investigators will compound the crimes into one charge, which will either be tagging or criminal mischief; police are using the latter term for now. Detectives could not pin down a specific pattern to the tagging, including gang symbols.

Anyone with information about the suspects involved in this crime is urged to contact the Tyler Police Department, at 903-531-1000, or Crimestoppers at 903-597-CUFF (903-597-2833). Crimestoppers will pay up to $1,000 for information that leads to arrests and charges filed against the suspects in this case or any felony case.

NACOGDOCHES COUNTY — The Nacogdoches Sheriff’s Department deputies are working to identify the man who reportedly raped a woman in her home during the early morning hours of October 1. According to KETK, the victim was asleep in her home just outside the city limits of Nacogdoches when she was awakened around 3:00 by a man sexually assaulting her. He left the home after the assault. She called the police. Authorities are not sure how he got into the home but think maybe he possibly used an unlocked door. They are waiting on the results of several forensic tests.

MARSHALL – Ten persons have been arrested as a combined task force of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies began executing federal arrest warrants. The arrests follow a three year investigation into the distribution of methamphetamine and cocaine in the Marshall area.

Three separate indictments were returned by a federal grand jury on October 3 charging 12 persons with federal drug and firearms violations. Of those, nine were arrested Wednesday and another was already in state custody. Those in custody, all Marshall residents, are identified as:
Apolinar Carbajal Abelardo, aka, La Cartera, 40;
Santiago Carbajal Abelardo, aka, Chiquies, 25;
Jehovani Abelardo, 20;
Santos Acuna, 23;
Rigoberto Aguirre-Valle, aka, Rigo, 35;
Karin Cardenas, aka, Quequi, 20;
Joeli Higuera Fernandez, 28;
Melicio Nunez-Duque, 44;
Julia Flores Saucedo, aka, Julia Bernal, 32; and
Oscar Diaz-Mendoza, 34.

During Wednesday’s arrests, officers also seized 14 firearms, a pound and a half of methamphetamine, two ounces of powder cocaine, $8,600 in cash, and four vehicles.

According to the first indictment, beginning in 2009, Apolinar Abelardo, Santiago Abelardo, Jehovani Abelardo, and Santos Acuna, conspired with others to import methamphetamine and cocaine into Northeast Texas for distribution in the Marshall area. The defendants are all charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of cocaine and methamphetamine, two counts of possession with intent to distribute and distribution of cocaine, four counts of possession with intent to distribute and distribution of methamphetamine, and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

According to the second indictment, beginning in 2010, Rigoberto Aguirre-Valle, Karin Cardenas, and Joeli Fernandez conspired to deliver methamphetamine from Mexico to Northeast Texas for distribution in the Marshall area. The defendants are charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and 8 counts of possession with intent to distribute and distribution of methamphetamine.

According to the third indictment, beginning in 2011, Melicio Nunez-Duque, Julia Saucedo, and Oscar Diaz-Mendoza conspired to distribute over 50 grams of methamphetamine in Marshall and Karnack, Texas. They are all charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and four counts of possession with intent to distribute and distribution of methamphetamine.

If convicted of the drug conspiracy charges, the defendants face a minimum of 10 years and up to life in federal prison. If convicted of the drug possession charges, the defendants face up to 20 years in federal prison. If convicted on the weapons violations, those defendants face at least 5 years and up to 40 years in federal prison. The indictments also seek forfeiture of any property used to commit or facilitate the crimes or derived from proceeds of the conspiracy.

TYLER — Tyler Police arrest a man accused of attacking his son. Darron Norris Campbell, 51, Tyler, was booked into the Smith County Jail on a charge of aggravated assault family violence. Authorities said they were called to the Trinity Mother Frances Emergency Room this morning around 8:45 to investigate after Kyan Campbell, 26, Tyler, told nurses he was attacked.

Campbell said he and his father were working together on lawn maintenance at Borden’s located at 805 W. Front Street when they got into a physical altercation. That fight apparently led to the father striking his son with a lawn mower blade across his arm, slicing it open. Campbell was transported by private vehicle to the hospital for treatment. Officers located the father and made an on-site arrest after obtaining the details of the incident.

KILGORE — A pre-kindergarten aide at Kilgore Heights Elementary has been fired following an October 2 injury to a 4-year-old boy, interim Superintendent Dennis Williams reported Tuesday. According to the Longview News-Journal, Williams verified reports that the student was injured when the aide pulled the child’s leg, causing him to fall and hit his head on a shelf. The boy was taken to the school nurse, and his parents were notified, Williams said.

“The aide is no longer with the district,” Williams said. “The police, they are still conducting their investigation. And (Child Protective Services), they are conducting their investigation. And, we at the school, conducted our investigation and that person is no longer working for the district.”

TYLER — Smith County Sheriff J. B. Smith has released the results of a study he conducted regarding the Wet/Dry issue and the impact on communities. Sheriff Smith said 28 ‘wet’ cities were polled about their average increase in crime since approving the sale of alcohol and the possible increase of litter on the streets. The Sheriff said of the 25 towns that responded, they anonymously responded by saying that there has been no increase in crime or littering since the sale of alcohol.

Smith said in two of the cities polled, Midlothian and Rockwall, they actually reported a decrease in crime and violence, as well as littering.

Sheriff Smith said he wanted to pursue some additional information after a report by a local newspaper. He said he wanted to dispel the myth that crime and litter would increase if the measure, now on the November 4th ballot, was voted for. Smith added, “It’s not the Sheriff’s job to make editorial comments whether his department is for or against it, I just wanted the public to have the truth.”

CHEYENNE, WYO. (AP) – An air and ground search is under way in southeast Wyoming for a single-engine plane carrying four people. Jeanne Stone-Hunter of the Wyoming Civil Air Patrol says the Piper PA-32 aircraft was reported missing after it failed to land as scheduled Tuesday evening at Casper/Natrona County International Airport. She says searchers are concentrating their efforts on the Laramie Mountains between Casper and Cheyenne. An initial search of the area Monday night by a Civil Air Patrol plane found no emergency beacon signals. Stone-Hunter says the flight originated in Harrison County, Texas and stopped in Dodge City, Kansas to refuel.

TYLER – Tyler police are looking for the lone gunman who robbed the service station at 1105 East Gentry Parkway, in front of Super One Foods. Just after 9:30 last night the cashier said a man displayed a gun and demanded money. He took an undisclosed amount of cash and ran north from the station. No injuries were reported. The suspect is described as a black male in his late 20’s to early 30’s, around 5’ 00” to 5’02” tall, wearing a black hoodie or possibly a hooded zipper type sweater with gold colored design and blue jeans. In addition, the suspect has a tattoo on the right side of his face and gold upper teeth.

LONGVIEW – Two Longview firemen suffered minor injuries extinguishing a fire in the 300 block of Blake Drive. It was reported around 4:45 yesterday morning. It is thought to have rekindled from a fire in a Futon on the back porch that was reported around 3:00 that morning. The fire displaced ten people living in the duplex. One firefighter was injured when his mask came off, exposing him to the flames and smoke. The second firefighter was burned helping the first fireman to escape.

JACKSONVILLE – Jacksonville police are still awaiting results from the blood work of a motorist who hit an elderly woman over the weekend. Margie Benge, 80, of Jacksonville, was knocked some 25 feet by the car driven by Matthew McCauley, 19, of Bullard. She was flown to Tyler’s Mother Francis Hospital where she is listed in critical condition. The woman was taking part in a pro-life rally on South Jackson Street when the accident happened around 2:30 Sunday afternoon.

KILGORE — Representatives from Chevron Corporation were on campus yesterday to present the Kilgore College Process Technology Program $10,000 for a third-straight year. Donation money will be used for scholarships and equipment for the Process Technology – Petroleum Specialty Program. Chevron was also on campus recruiting students for summer intern and trainee jobs.

Dewey Greer, KC’s Process Technology instructor, said that Chevron is one of the biggest supporters of the Process Technology Program at KC. “Along with donations of money for scholarships and equipment needs, they have been hiring graduates of process technology every year since we started a partnership,” Greer said. “We will continue to work toward meeting Chevron’s expectations of students who are completing a process technology degree here at Kilgore College.”

Since the Process Technology Program’s inception in 2008, 55 students have graduated from the program and Chevron has hired 16 of them.

LONGVIEW — A former Longview ISD teacher is back in jail after prosecutors presented evidence he violated terms of his bond by contacting a former student, the alleged victim of sexual assault. According to the Longview News-Journal, Robert Craig Varnell was being held Monday in Gregg County Jail under $1.25 million bond after an earlier $500,000 bond was revoked by 124th District Court Judge Alfonso Charles. A hearing on a defense motion to reduce the increased bond is set for 1:30 Wednesday, with a trial date scheduled Nov. 12. Varnell is awaiting trial on charges of sexual assault of a child and indecency with a child stemming from incidents prosecutors say occurred from August 2007 to May 2011.

Varnell was re-arrested Sept. 14 after a bond revocation hearing in which Gregg County Assistant District Attorney Stacey L. Brownlee presented evidence Varnell had violated the conditions of his bond by contacting the alleged victim through email. According to court documents filed at the time of Varnell’s indictment, a 16-year-old boy told authorities Varnell had inappropriate physical contact with him numerous times from 2007 to 2011. The alleged contact detailed in the court documents first occurred at a computer lab at LeTourneau University, where Varnell was employed, when the boy was 13.

Later incidents allegedly occurred in the victim’s classroom at Foster Middle School, in Dallas, in Austin, at the boy’s residence, and at Holly Lake Ranch.

TYLER — One person is in custody in connection with a Tyler shooting that left one person injured. It happened just before 2:00 yesterday afternoon in the 900 block of Turner Drive. Police say Christopher Demetrious Crockett, 29, had been shot in the lower left arm. He was transported to a local hospital with a non-life threatening injury.

Witnesses told officers, a White Crown Victoria pulled up to the residence and several men got out of the vehicle to talk to people in the yard. After about 10 minutes, one person pulled a handgun and shot Crockett one time while he stood on the front porch.

Officers said the suspects jumped back into the vehicle and fled. Authorities located the vehicle a short time later. The occupants of the vehicle were transported to Tyler Police Department and questioned about their involvement in the shooting on Turner Street. Officers found a .22 caliber handgun in the front yard of the residence that is believed to be the weapon used in the shooting.

Upon further investigation detectives arrested Bennie Jewels Williams III, 20, Tyler. Williams was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and transported to Smith County Jail.

EAST TEXAS — East Texas Baptist University (ETBU) and Houston Baptist University (HBU) have filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, asking the court for relief from the Department of Health and Human Services’ “preventative services” mandate. This forces the Christian Universities to violate their deeply held religious beliefs or pay severe fines, according to KETK.

“Baptists in America, by virtue of their history, are particularly sensitive to coercive government actions that infringe on religious liberty,” says Eric Rassbach, Deputy General Counsel for The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which filed suit this morning on behalf of the Universities. “America’s first Baptist leader, Roger Williams, had to flee Massachusetts and found a colony in Providence, Rhode Island, because his religious beliefs were not tolerated by the laws of Massachusetts. We shouldn’t have to fight for that same right today.”

ETBU’s and HBU’s religious convictions prevent them from providing their employees with access to abortion-causing drugs. The Universities’ lawsuit aims to preserve their religious liberty and the right to carry out their missions free from government coercion. The two Universities face fines of over $10 million per year, per institution, if they do not comply with the HHS mandate.

LUFKIN — The capital murder trial of Kerry Jock Woodard, a Lufkin sex offender accused in the December 2010 death of his girlfriend’s 3 year old son, started yesterday. According to KETK, Woodard’s case will be heard by an Angelina County jury in state district Judge Barry Bryan’s courtroom. Woodard was charged with capital murder in the beating death of Zi’Keishun “Zi” Lane, who was injured while in Woodard’s care while the child’s mother, Valerie Mosby, was at work.

Lane was rushed to a local hospital, and then airlifted to a Houston hospital, where he later died. His autopsy showed more than 100 bruises and liver damage. At the time of Woodard’s arrest, the Angelina County Sheriff’s Department called it the worst alleged child abuse death they’d seen.

CHEROKEE COUNTY — A 3-year-old boy is in the hospital after suffering third degree burns at his home in Cherokee County. Authorities with Child Protective Services tell KETK, they received a call on October 7th that the boy had been injured, and was in the hospital with burns on his chest, arms and torso. CPS arrived at the hospital and immediately took the boy and his 9 month old sibling into custody. The 9-month-old has been placed in a foster home. The 3-year-old boy is currently in a Dallas hospital undergoing treatment for his injuries. When he is released, he will join his sibling in foster care. CPS and the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the case for neglectful supervision. They are looking into what happened, how the burns occurred, and who was responsible for the children’s care at the time of the injuries.

MARSHALL (AP) — An East Texas school bus driver has been hurt in a wreck that left the vehicle on its side. Officials with the Marshall Independent School District say no students were on board when the bus was hit by a pickup truck Monday afternoon. Authorities say the bus was headed for an elementary school to pick up children after classes ended for the day. A district spokesman says the female driver, whose name hasn’t been released, managed to make a call for help while still trapped in the bus. She was treated at the scene and then transported to a hospital for treatment of injuries not believed to be life-threatening. Officials say the truck driver also required medical attention. Further details weren’t immediately available.

SMITH COUNTY – An abandoned Smith County home has been destroyed by fire. It was reported around 7:30 last night in the 10,000 block of State Highway 64 East. Before being extinguished, it spread to some nearby brush and trees. No injuries were reported.

HENDERSON — Rusk County Commissioners have accepted the resignation of former constable Ben Ferrell. The letter to the commissioners says he was resigning effective September 20th.

The former precinct 2 constable has been charged with federal drug and firearms violations. Benjamin Thomas Ferrell, 36, of Henderson, was indicted on March 8 and charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and delivery of a firearm to a convicted felon. According to the indictment, Ferrell is alleged to have conspired with an unindicted co-conspirator from December 2001 to January 2012, to possess with intent to distribute phentermine, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, and marijuana. It also alleges Ferrell sold an SKS assault rifle to a known felon on January of this year. He pleaded guilty to the charges last month. Ferrell faces up to 20 years in federal prison for the drug violations and up to 10 years for the firearms offense.

His wife has also been charged in the case. Amanda Gayle Ferrell, 32, of Henderson, was arrested in March at her residence on County Road 2127, by Rusk County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Officers. She was charged with two counts of Manufacture/Delivery of Controlled Substance, a state jail felony.

ATHENS – One person has been arrested following a hit and run accident in Athens that left one person dead and one injured. Killed in the weekend wreck was Kelby M. Ball, 22, of Athens. Flown to Tyler’s East Texas Medical center for treatment was Anna Latham, 19. Charged with intoxication manslaughter, intoxication assault and failure to stop and render aid was Charles Lee Linton, 37. The accident happened around 9:45 Saturday night in the 1300 block of Farm Road 2495. Linton and his damaged pickup were later found in the Wal-Mart parking lot.

PALESTINE — One person has been killed and one injured in a one vehicle wreck in Anderson County. It happened a little after 3:30 Monday morning On U.S. Highway 287. Killed was the Hakeem Mohammed, 26, a passenger in a car driven by Adedap Afolabi Adekunle, 41, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Adekunle is hospitalized at Palestine’s Regional Medical Center. The department of Public Safety says the accident occurred when their car hit two horses in the roadway. The horses were killed.

GILMER – A fatal one vehicle accident near Gilmer remains under investigation. Killed in the wreck, which was reported just before 4:15 Sunday morning, was Karl Oney, 22. The Department of Public Safety says the wreck occurred on Bluebird Road. The report said Oney’s pickup was west bound when it left the road and overturned.

HAWKINS — An East Texas man who filed a federal lawsuit against Wood County over the practice of opening commissioners court meetings with prayer is anything but an atheist. According to KETK, Charles Frederick Scott III considers himself a godly man and studies the Bible religiously.

He has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court, seeking removal of the motto “In God We Trust” from the Wood County commissioners’ courtroom and to forbid opening meetings with prayer. The lawsuit alleges the county is violating the U.S. Constitution. The crux of his legal argument is commissioners cannot display “In God We Trust” or pray before meetings if their motivation is religious.

Scott also believes it is a violation of the oath of any councilman or commissioner to protect and preserve the U.S. Constitution, if the person has made an oath to God. He sees these two oaths in direct conflict.

A hearing is set October 16 in Tyler federal court, where a judge will decide whether to approve or deny a motion for summary judgment filed by attorneys on behalf of the county on grounds the lawsuit is frivolous. In May, the Wood County commissioners agreed to retain services from the Alliance Defense Fund and Liberty Institute for representation in the lawsuit.

TYLER — The mother charged with the 2010 death of her 1-year-old, has avoided a murder charge. According to Smith County court documents, Judge Kerry L. Russell sentenced Emma Torres, 21, to two years in a state jail facility for child abandonment/endangering a child after she pleaded guilty. KETK reports, Torres was also facing a capital murder charge, but that was dropped Monday after the District Attorney’s Office filed a motion to dismiss it on August 20.

Torres and her boyfriend, Simon Lopez, 28, were indicted back in September 2011 for the death of Torres’ son, Jeremy Silva. An autopsy determined Silva died from blunt force trauma. Investigators say Lopez was watching the child in November 2010, when he called one of the mother’s relatives to say the boy wasn’t breathing. Tyler police say Lopez left the youngster with the relative and fled. In July, he was caught in Queretaro, Mexico. Lopez entered a not guilty plea on January 24. The charges against him remain in place.

NOONDAY — A home in Smith County is a total loss after an early morning fire, According to Smith County fire officials, Noonday, Dixie, and Flint-Gresham firefighters fought the blaze. It started at about 1:30 Monday morning in the 1600 block of County Road 1112, near Lake Palestine. No injuries were reported. The Smith County Fire Marshal’s office is investigating the cause of the fire.

RUSK COUNTY — Law Enforcement authorities in Henderson arrested Blake Everett on a Crimestoppers tip. Reed was arrested last Friday. According to Tyler police, Reed was wanted for a violation of protective order and has an extensive history of criminal activity in Wood County. Authorities said he should be considered very violent. Reed’s bond has been set at $1,100,000

VAN ZANDT COUNTY (AP/STAFF) — Authorities say four Texans have died in the crash of a small plane that went missing after departing from a regional airport near Roanoke. The crash site is just over the Kaufman County line In Van Zandt County. The plane was located off County Road 2702. Killed was the pilot, Leonard Ledet, 60, of Southlake, his sons, Paul Ledet, 16, and Mason Ledet, 13 and the pilot’s brother, Gregory Ledet, 62, of Keller.

Lynn Lunsford of the Federal Aviation Administration says Beechcraft Bonanza took off Saturday morning from the Northwest Regional Airport near Roanoke and disappeared about 25 miles southeast of Terrell. He says a search was begun after air traffic controllers lost radar and radio contact with the plane. Lunsford says a Texas Department of Safety helicopter that took part in the search found the plane Saturday evening.

AUSTIN – The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) announced a northeast Texas firm is one of the finalists for the 2012 Texas Workforce Solutions Employer of the Year Award. Among the finalists is Priefert Mfg. Co. Inc. of Mt. Pleasant.

The five finalists were chosen from 28 private-sector employers nominated for contributions to their community’s workforce through innovation and collaboration with the Texas workforce system. The nominated employers support TWC’s mission of ensuring that both employers and workers have the resources and skills needed to help the state of Texas remain competitive in the 21st century.

Other finalists are Champion Cooler Corporation of Denison, Mouser Electronics Inc. of Mansfield, Nabors of Midland and Walgreens Distribution Center in Waxahachie. The winner of this year’s award will be announced at the 16th Annual Texas Workforce Conference Employer Award Luncheon to be held at the Gaylord Hotel and Convention Center in Grapevine on Thursday, November 29.