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TYLER — The Smith County Sheriff’s Office held its 9th Annual Awards Banquet Monday. Awards and honors are as follows, with details and comments as given by the sheriff’s department:

(1) Citizens Certificate of Merit: Bruce Bloch (Bloch Metals) and Tom Curtis (Tyler Iron and Metal) for their devotion and service to citizens of Smith County and willingness to work with Law Enforcement to capture individuals involved in the Theft of Materials.
(2) Volunteer Recognition: In memory of George Jefferson Mason Jr. who was the one of the 1st Smith County Volunteers and volunteered 1000 hours at a value of $21,360.00. George volunteered up until his 96th birthday.
(3) Don Pinkerton Memorial Supervisor of the Year: Sgt. Denice Johnigan

(4) Dale David Geddie Memorial Peace Officer of the Year: Deputy Yancy Green
(5) Plain Clothes Officer of the Year: Detective Joe Rasco
(6) Robert Britton Memorial Rookie of the Year: Deputy Jerel Crowder
(7) Detention Officer of the Year: John Preston
(8) Dispatcher of the Year: Josh Bennett
(9) Civilian Employee of the Year: Rubi Bahena

(10) Commendation Bars: Kim Matlock, Brad Williams, Demarcus Thompson, and Bryan Kelly for ending a dangerous pursuit without injury to innocent civilians or deputies.
(11) Meritorious Conduct Bar: Deputy Rickey Strickland for exceptional conduct and courage while risking his personal safety to end a deadly pursuit while keeping public safety and safety of other officers in mind.
(12) Purple Heart: Deputy Robert Britton (Accepted by his family). Deputy Britton was wounded in the line of duty March 24, 2011, while working traffic at an accident scene. Deputy Britton succumbed to his injuries March 28, 2011, at East Texas Medical Center.

(13) Medal of Valor: Deputy John Archer for demonstration of professionalism and courage while negotiating with an armed suspect November 14, 2010, after the suspect shot and killed another civilian. Deputy Archer ended the standoff successfully without any shots fired and injury to no one.
(14) Medal of Honor: Deputy Josh Caulkins. Deputy Caulkins was shot in the chest March 23, 2011 while serving a warrant on a convicted sex offender. Deputy Caulkins remained inside the apartment ensuring other officers got out safely and then re-entered the apartment assisting in the arrest of the shooter before allowing emergency services personnel to transport him to the hospital.

TYLER — Have a tip about suspicious activity on a Tyler Junior College campus or satellite facility but want to remain anonymous? The college has launched a new system that will accept your information without revealing your identity or location. As a result of its contract with e2Campus, TJC now offers “U-Tip,” a communication service that can provide mobile text messages directly to Campus Safety in an anonymous fashion. “This service will allow students, employees and even visitors to our campuses and satellite facilities to report suspicious activity or provide crime tips without their identity being exposed,” said Dr. Johnny Moore, TJC vice president of student affairs.

Individuals who wish to make a report or “tip” may do so by sending a text message to 79516, using the keyword of “tjctip.” The service was installed and tested during the fall semester, Dr. Moore said. “This is another example of TJC’s efforts to promote civility and safety in all areas,” he added. “All tips and leads provided will be investigated by our Campus Safety office. The person providing information will not be known, nor will their cell number or location. Only the information they provide will be revealed by the service.” Dr. Moore said efforts are under way to notify faculty, staff, students and visitors about the new service.

SACUL (AP) – Construction has been suspended at an East Texas biomass power plant after an accident left two workers critically hurt. Nacogdoches County emergency personnel say an electrical-related accident and brief fire were reported Tuesday morning in Sacul. Southern Power will own and operate the Nacogdoches Generating Facility once it goes into commercial operation, and that is scheduled for later this year. The general contractor, Fagen Inc. of Granite Falls, Minn., says the site has been closed for the investigation. CEO Evan Fagen also says the injured workers are receiving medical care and the incident poses no threat to the plant site. A spokeswoman at Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital says both critically injured men were being sent to the burn unit of Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas.

TYLER — The Tyler Independent School District is promoting an anti-bullying campaign, including a Public Service Announcement on TISD TV Channel 19 and an anonymous bullying tip form on campus websites. The Public Service Announcement encourages students to take a stand against bullying. School officials say way students can do that is by reporting any instance of bullying at their school. On each of the Tyler ISD campus websites, students can find a new “No Bully Zone” link. The link takes them to a bullying incident report form, where they can fill out the information anonymously. The information gathered from the website will be combined with reports from Tyler ISD teachers, administrators, and staff members, which will help campus officials locate and stop bullying in Tyler ISD schools.

TYLER — Tyler Police arrest a suspect wanted for criminal trespass. Kyle Garrett Williams, 30, Tyler was taken into custody Monday night without incident. The arrest came after a woman reported an intruder in her apartment. Officers were called to Town Village South at 200 Muller Garden just before 5:45 Monday morning. The 27-year-old victim said she was asleep with her small daughter when she heard a lot of banging inside her apartment. She told authorities she went to investigate and found a man inside her hot water heater closet trying to get out. The man reportedly told her he was just trying to get out and fled out the front door of her apartment.

Police say they recovered the Williams’ wallet inside the utility closet. Police then went to his apartment, within the same complex, to find him. At the suspect’s apartment, police found the suspect’s girlfriend, who was allegedly under the influence of narcotics. Officers say they observed crystal meth and heroin in plain view. The woman was identified as Mackenzie Leah Kerns, 21. Kerns was placed under arrest for possession of a controlled substance.

The investigation led officers to believe that Williams was also under the influence of narcotics and had been chasing an imaginary person into his attic. Police say Williams fell through the attic into the crawl space of the female victim’s apartment and removed a metal plate gaining access into her utility closet.

UPSHUR COUNTY — A 10-year-old Union Grove boy returned to school Monday after being attacked by two dogs and spending two weeks in a Dallas hospital. Upshur County Sheriff’s deputies were called January 11 to a residence in the 10,000 block of U.S. Highway 271 South after a child was bitten by a pit bull and a Black Mouth Cur in a neighbor’s backyard. According to the Longview News-Journal, Triston Milliorn, underwent two surgeries at Dallas Children’s Hospital during the past few weeks for three major dog bites, one on his arm and one on each of his legs. Triston would be in therapy until he regains full function of his elbow.

The dogs were released back to their owners’ care after being quarantined with a local veterinarian for 10 days. Angela Milliorn, the boy’s mother, said she was told the dogs weren’t put down because they were on the owner’s property when the attack occurred.

TYLER – Three persons are in custody in connection with two separate aggravated assaults. Both occurred around 8:45 Monday night in the parking lot of the Wal-Mart Store at 5050 Troup Highway.

Two women told officers they were shot with darts while in the store’s parking lot. In both cases the darts penetrated their skin up to an inch. One woman was hit in the leg and the other in the arm, narrowly missing her face. Both were treated and released at the scene. Both described the suspect vehicle as a red Chevy pickup truck containing several male subjects.

Witnesses followed the vehicle until officers were able to catch up to them. They were stopped in the Dairy Queen parking lot at 12050 State Highway 64 East. A blow dart gun and darts were recovered in the truck. The suspects are identified as Matthew Allen Arnold, 18, of Troup, (pictured) Kasey Dewayne McClendon, 17, of Overton and Gregory Alan Smith, 17, of Arp. They were charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for each victim.

Tyler police say the two victims did not know each other and were in different areas of the parking lot when they were struck with the darts. The victims are Kathryn Bilberry, 26, of Chandler, and Stephanie Spencer, 19, a student attending UT Tyler. Police say the suspects had purchased the dart gun at Academy 7:50 Monday night and used it a short time after, to shoot the two female victims. Police believe that this was a random act of violence and the victims were not targeted.

WHITEHOUSE – A home on Lake Tyler has been destroyed by fire. It was reported around 6:30 Thursday night on Peninsula Road. No injuries were reported and the cause remains under investigation. Neighbors say the homeowner left to visit someone and left a hamburger cooking on the stove, but there’s no official word on how that may have been related to the blaze.

DALLAS — Sulphur Springs resident McKenzie Glenn gave her three-year-old son one of her kidneys Monday. Jace’s diseased kidneys were removed when he was just weeks old — and he’s been on dialysis all this time. Chris Hawes with Medical City of Dallas says the family is thrilled “that he’s going to grow up, it looks like, and have a wonderful, normal life and have all the things that we take for granted. We asked what they were excited about, and one of the things that she said was just going to school, he’ll be able to go to school with other children.” Hawes says both are doing well. She says Jace, who was born six weeks early, has some challenges, but the hope is he’ll lead a long, normal life.

RUSK — A recent increase in court cases involving children in Cherokee County leaves the local CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) in need of even more volunteers. CASA volunteers are appointed by a judge to serve as advocates for abused and neglected children. Cherokee County CASA Director Lee Ann Millender tells KETK her agency is in crisis at the moment and really needs additional help looking at the cases.

TYLER — Oncor is on hand this week to answer questions from customers. According to KETK, numerous Tyler-area residents are concerned over skyrocketing electric bills. Some think the new “smart meters” are responsible, but Oncor says that’s not the case. There was an open house in Tyler yesterday. Another one is scheduled today from 1:00 till 8:00pm at the Rose Garden Center.

TYLER — State Representative Leo Berman’s health continues to improve, according to press materials from the Tyler Republican’s office. Spokespeople say Berman, who was hospitalized last week and diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, should be released from the hospital this week. According to a news release, “The Berman family was delighted to learn from Leo’s doctors that his cancer is not only treatable, but curable.” His medical team began chemotherapy treatment Monday, and it’s due to continue on an outpatient basis.

Berman said, “Although my cancer treatment has begun, I continue to coordinate my re-election campaign from the hospital. I am eagerly awaiting a final ruling on the redistricting maps, so the people of Texas can have a firm date for the primary election.”

Leo’s wife, Lou Ann Berman, commented on the outpouring of support from the community, “We want to thank everyone for their gestures of love and concern. We know God is answering prayers on Leo’s behalf–Leo is strong and positive. Please continue to pray for a full recovery!”

LONGVIEW — On Thursday, January 26, Longview Public Safety Communications completed the transition to a new Emergency CallWorx Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) 9-1-1 System. Officials say this system provides the City of Longview with a true Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG911) solution that directly addresses many of the outstanding issues associated with aging communications technology. They say the upgrade in technology also allows for the eventual implementation of emerging 9-1-1 functionality such as improved (GIS-based) call routing, text to 9-1-1, the sending and receiving of picture and video messages, and email integration. According to authorities, the overall improvements in technology, reliability, and support will provide Longview Public Safety Communications with a current, expandable, and cost-effective emergency communications solution.

LUFKIN — Crime Stoppers of Lufkin wants your help bringing to close the seven-month-long investigation into the death of Melodie Fay Sexton, 26, of Groves, Texas. According to KETK, Melodie, “Puff” to family and friends, died Father`s Day 2011 in Lake Charmaine in Tyler County’s Ivanhoe community, about ten miles south of Woodville. At 12:59 p.m. on June 19, Tyler County Sheriff’s Office personnel received a missing person report from Melodie’s family; at that time, the family knew only that she had been missing for approximately twelve hours from the lake house where she and her three-year-old son were spending the weekend. Three hours later, family members found Melodie’s body in the lake, not far from the property’s dock.

While investigators have not uncovered evidence necessary to determine that criminal conduct led to Melodie’s death, Crime Stoppers officials say suspicions remain that it was not the result of an accident. Her family has from the beginning asserted that she was murdered pointing to abnormalities in her alleged actions prior to her death.

If you can provide any information concerning the death of Melodie Fay Sexton, you’re asked to call Crime Stoppers of Lufkin at (936) 639-TIPS or use this link – https://www.tipsubmit.com/webtips.aspx?AgencyID=207&L=E&DSID=207&Memo=Crime%20of%20the%20Week:%201/30/2012%20-%20Melodie%20Fay%20Sexton — to submit an anonymous tip. You never have to give your name and Crime Stoppers may pay a cash reward of up to $2,000 for information that leads to an arrest related to this investigation.

MARSHALL — A person recently reported missing in Harrison County, Lalania Williams, has been located in Tyler. Authorities say she was located after she had been missing for approximately one week. According to KETK and the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department, she is reunited with her family, and they wish to extend their sincere thanks for the public assistance.

TYLER – Tyler police continue looking for the man who injured a woman in a Tyler robbery. It happened around 10:00 Sunday night at the east side parking garage at East Texas Medical Center. Shirley Steelman, 63, of Kilgore has been identified as the victim. She told officers she was leaving the parking garage, and as she neared the entrance a man threatened her with a gun and took her purse. He then knocked her to the ground, breaking her arm. The suspect then ran east bound from ETMC with the woman’s purse.

Police recovered the purse Monday morning a few blocks away from the hospital. The suspect is described as a black male, about 5’9’ and wearing dark clothing. Police released security footage of the suspect Monday afternoon.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP/Staff) — Two LeTourneau University graduates now living in Iowa are the parents of a boy weighing 13 pounds and 13 ounces – born without the aid of surgery. According to KETK, Asher Stewardson was born Thursday at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines, measuring 23½ inches long. Fifteen months ago, his brother, Judah, arrived weighing 12 pounds and an ounce at birth. Mercy officials say only a tenth of 1 percent of all newborns weigh more than 11 pounds at birth.

The boys’ mother, Kendall Stewardson, endured six hours of labor without an epidural injection. She says she and her husband, Joshua, wanted to avoid cesarean delivery because that wouldn’t have been good for her or Asher. According to information from the university, both parents graduated from LeTourneau in 2008, he with a computer science degree and she with a degree in biology.

LONGVIEW — A Longview man has been injured after jumping out of the way of a train. Saturday morning shortly after 9:45, officers were dispatched to the area of Sabine and Ray Streets after receiving a call that a pedestrian had been hit by a train. When officers arrived, they found Donald Roy Brown, 52, of Longview in a ditch approximately 20 feet below the rail bridge.

Brown said he was attempting to cross the rail bridge with his bicycle when the train approached. Union Pacific spokeswoman Raquel Espinoza-Williams told the Longview News Journal that one of Union Pacific’s investigators spoke with Brown Monday and he said that the train didn’t hit him. He said he jumped as the train approached.

Officers say they determined Brown was intoxicated at the time of the accident. He was transported to Good Shepherd Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.

TYLER – State District Jack Skeen of Tyler has set Nate Anderson’s trial date for Next Monday. Anderson is accused of fatally shooting his 19-year-old sister, Amanda, inside the home they shared with their parents on September 15, 2010. Nate was certified to stand trial as an adult last June for the first degree felony. He faces up to life in prison.

TYLER — A Tyler man remains in serious condition after a motorcyccle wreck over the weekend. It happened around 6:25 Saturday night on the 5000 Block of Paluxy. Police say 63-year-old Robert Tolleson was following a group of bikers when his motorcycle hit a curb and wrecked. He was taken to ETMC with severe injuries. Officials said he was not wearing a helmet.

TYLER — East Texans gathered at Greater Saint Mary Baptist Church Sunday to honor local African American Veterans that served in the military during the 1940’s and 50’s. According to KETK, the event was organized by Dr. Rodney Atkins, who wrote a book about the black soldiers, and Dr. M.K. Mast, pastor at St. Mary. The featured speaker was Timothy Hancock, Mayor of Killeen, and military veteran. He thanked the men in attendance for opening a way for him to serve his country. Doctors Atkins and Mast plan to hold this event every year from now on, with each ceremony recognizing a different decade of black soldiers.

LONGVIEW — A wreck shortly after 7:30 Monday morning involved a Longview school bus. It happened at the intersection of Glenn Street and Libby Lane. There were children on the bus at the time when the wreck happened but no injuries were reported.

TYLER — The Tyler ISD Foundation has some good news to report on its annual campaign. With about a month remaining, the development board of 28 directors has raised $215,324. That’s less than $35,000 from the quarter-million-dollar goal. But money is still needed; you can go to http://www.tyler.sprnet.org/tisdfoundation to learn more. The TISD Foundation funds educational projects not typically supported by taxpayer dollars.

TYLER — Champions for Children is a Tyler agency that offers training and support to childcare workers, kids, and parents using play-based activities. On KTBB “Staff Meeting,” Executive Director MaryAnn Girard says a key need right now is volunteers who can pitch in as qualified trainers. She says if there are people out there who are qualified in any specialty areas that relate to child care, she’d be glad to talk to them. You can go to http://www.championsforchildren.org to learn more. And you can go to http://www.ktbb.com/audio to hear the entire “Staff Meeting” show online.

LINDALE — A man from East Texas, who was a graduate of Lindale High School, was killed Thursday in an automobile accident while he was helping a stranded motorist in Orlando, Fla. Mark Adams, 28, graduated from Lindale High School in 2002 and was a motorcycle builder and mechanic for Motocross star James Stewart.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, a friend had run out of gas around 4:00am and called Adams for help, said FHP spokeswoman Sgt. Kim Montes. Adams parked his truck behind the vehicle off the road when a SUV came off the roadway and hit Adams. The driver voluntarily offered a blood sample to troopers but officials do not think alcohol was a factor, Montes said.

Miranda Lambert has rescheduled her Friday concert in Tallahassee, Florida because of Adams’ death. A news release said Adams was a childhood friend of Lamberts. Lambert said in a tweet: “I have lost a friend I’ve had since 3rd grade today in a tragic accident. When will this pain end. Please pray for peace.” Lambert’s “On Fire” tour will now stop in Tallahassee on May 17.

Funeral services for Adams are scheduled for Friday, Feb. 3, at 10:00 at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Carrollton. A memorial service is pending for 2:00 that afternoon in Lindale, with interment following at the Lindale City Cemetery, Lindale.

MARSHALL — Jury selection begins Tuesday in a lawsuit alleging negligence by a Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. truck driver. Sheshank Gujjari, of India, is suing the company for more than $75,000 after he said he was injured Sept. 17, 2007, in a wreck on U.S. 259 involving a Pilgrim’s truck. Gujjari claims he suffered serious and permanently disabling injuries as a result of the wreck and is suing Pilgrim’s Pride for more than $75,000 in lost wages. He also is suing to cover the cost of his medical care. Jury selection begins Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Marshall. The trial is scheduled to end Thursday.

In October, Pilgrim’s was ordered to pay $26 million in damages for manipulating the price of chicken. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of 90 chicken farmers in Arkansas after Pilgrim’s shut down a packing plant in El Dorado and refused to buy chickens from them.

LONGVIEW — Longview police are attributing a decline in homicides this past year to increased community patrols and officers taking a more active role in the community. Longview had four reported homicides in 2011. That was down from 10 in 2010; 11 in 2009; nine in 2008; five in 2007; 10 in 2006; and seven in 2005.

Here’s a look at the four homicides:

September 27: Police were dispatched to the 1100 block of Hutchings Boulevard, where the body of 31-year-old Orion Marcel Peoples was found. Authorities later arrested 18-year-old Troy Carnell Saddler of Longview in the death.

October 13: Officers were called to the 800 block of Travis Avenue in connection with shots fired. Victor Anthony, 34, of Longview was transported to Good Shepherd Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead. No arrests have been made in connection with Anthony’s shooting death.

March 7: Longview police were dispatched to the 100 block of East Melton Street after family members found 25-year-old Danielo Eugene Nelson dead with a gunshot wound. Dexter Levin Prince was arrested the following day, charged in connection with Nelson’s death.

The most recent death was December 8, when police were called to the 1600 block of Oden Street after a woman reported stabbing her husband after he hit her. Ray Dorphus Jacobs was transported to an area hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. Police spokeswoman Kristie Brian said the incident is being investigated, and no arrests have been made.

EAST TEXAS — News reports that pipeline builder TransCanada is exploring options toward laying the Texas leg of the 1,600-mile conduit for Canadian oil didn’t surprise the mayor of a small East Texas town fighting the project.

“Texas has already signed off on this thing,” Reklaw Mayor Harlan Crawford said Saturday, the day after Trans-Canada announced it was considering building the line from Cushing, Okla., to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast.

Crawford’s assessment that the Texas leg remains possible matched that of Keystone XL Project Representative Jim Prescott. The TransCanada spokesman said Friday the company has all necessary Texas permits for the pipeline, which would move a thick crude oil form known as oil sands, or tar sands. The proposed line cuts through northeast Wood, southwest Upshur, east Smith and southwest Rusk counties. Crawford’s town of 266 is in the Rusk County corridor. According to the Longview News-Journal, Reklaw has banded with neighboring Gallatin, population 374, to form a regional planning commission under Texas’ Local Government Code. President Barrack Obama put the international portion of the project on ice pending an environmental study.

BOWIE COUNTY — Officials have identified a man fatally shot during a Thursday traffic stop in Bowie County. A Texas Parks and Wildlife game warden shot and killed Frank Anthony Shoen, 55, during a possible driving while intoxicated stop Bowie County Sheriff’s officials said Friday in a news release. Game Warden Shawn Hervey fired the fatal round while assisting a deputy and Liberty Eylau School District police officer during the stop on Cummings Lane southwest of Texarkana, The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department said. During the stop, officials told Shoen to get on the ground with his face down. Schoen did not comply, the news release said. He then pulled out a gun and fired a round into the air. Schoen then lowered the weapon toward officers. The Texas Rangers are investigating the incident.

HARRISON COUNTY — A former Harrison County sheriff’s deputy has been indicted on his third charge of sexual indecency with a child. Huey Edwards “Eddie” Nichols was arrested in September on two charges of sexual indecency with a child by contact. He was arrested again in December on a third sex indecency charge. According to the Longview News-Journal, in the latest case, Nichols is accused of sexually abusing a 15-year-old girl between January 2002 and March 2003. Authorities learned of the third accusation from a school counselor, who came forward with the information after Nichols and his wife were arrested in the other two cases.

The girl, who now is an adult, told police that Nichols touched her inappropriately when she was 15. Police said the girl met Nichols in 2002 after running away to a vacant house after a counseling session. Nichols was one of the responding officers to the scene and asked the girl’s grandmother if he could be her male role model, according to police documents.

The other two cases involve two girls, age 14 and 11, who also told a school counselor and authorities that Nichols touched them inappropriately. Nichols, who is also an ordained minister, was immediately fired from the sheriff’s office after the investigation in the first case. His wife, 33-year-old Sharon Nichols, was fired from her position as deputy county clerk a few days later. Huey Nichols worked at the sheriff’s office for three-and-a-half years. Before that, he worked as a Marshall police officer for 13 years. He also served as the police department’s chaplain.