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NACOGDOCHES — A motorcycle accident in Nacogdoches County has killed one person. Dead at the scene was Glenn David Whitmore Jr., 48, of Douglass. The Department of Public Safety reports Whitmore was passing a vehicle when he ran off the road and hit a culvert. He was not wearing a helmet. The accident occurred around 1:15 Tuesday afternoon on Farm Road 225 in western Nacogdoches County.

EAST TEXAS — Dry conditions continue to prompt action by local governments in East Texas. Monday, the commissioners courts in Anderson and Harrison Counties issued outdoor burn bans in unincorporated areas. Tuesday, the commissioners court in Van Zandt County approved a burn ban, effective immediately, that prohibits the outdoor burning of combustible materials. Officials say the order will be in effect in Van Zandt County until further notice.

TYLER — New information is presented by Stand Strong for Tyler, the group against alcohol propositions on the November ballot for the city and Justice Precinct 2. The city and Smith County recently cleared the way for elections on the measures by approving citizen petitions. But the Stand Strong group gave our news partner KETK documents that they say prove some of the petition signatures are invalid. They also say people moved out of the area and some signatures were forged. Local government officials have consistently said the petitions had the required number of legitimate signatures.

KILGORE — Kilgore City Manager Scott Sellers responds after the city’s entire cemetery department resigns. According to KETK and the Longview News-Journal, Sellers said the resignations caught him and public works director Seth Sorensen off guard. Sellers attributed the employees’ dissatisfaction to an unfortunate reaction to changes he said he was hired to make. Sellers has been on the job ten months, and he brought Sorenson in four months ago. Earlier, the workers said their department was merged with several others in the city. The workers say that means less time for them to maintain and care for the city’s three cemeteries, where they take pride in working. Cemetery supervisor David Bond says the philosophy of the new city leaders led to the resignations, though Bond says he holds “no ill will” towards either Sellers or Sorenson.

TYLER — Tyler’s sales tax revenues deposited for the month of August have grown 2.05% as compared to August 2011. According to the Texas Comptroller’s office, this has resulted in a 2.29% cumulative year-to-date increase. The reported revenue of $3,272,314.48 comprises $2,181,542.99 general sales tax revenue and $1,090,771.49 half-cent sales tax revenue. The figures represent receipts from June 2012 collections as there is a two-month lag before taxes are reported and remitted back to the City from the State.

“Our sales tax revenues are continuing to grow at around two percent per month over last year’s revenues,” said City Manager Mark McDaniel (pictured). “We have budgeted for this level of growth through next fiscal year as we anticipate the economy to recover slowly from the recent downturn. We continue to hold the line on expenditures and focus on maintaining our service levels with fewer resources as we approach the end of our fiscal year.”

TYLER — As of Last Friday, the Upshur-Gregg County FSA office is closed to the public. Smith-Upshur-Gregg County USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) Executive Director Chris Lynn said there are 125 FSA offices closing nationwide, including 15 county offices in Texas. FSA office consolidations are part of USDA’s Blueprint for Stronger Service.

The new headquarter office will be in Smith County. Officials say producers were given the opportunity to move their respective business records to a county of their choosing if a county other than the default headquarter location was more convenient. Producers who did not select an alternative headquarter county were automatically transferred to Smith County, the default headquarter county. The Smith-Upshur-Gregg County FSA office is located at 4209 Republic Drive in Tyler and can be reached by phone at 903 561-2050 X2.

GILMER — Upshur County District Attorney Billy Byrd has released the name of the man who died after being stabbed in the city of East Mountain on July 28. According to KETK and the Longview News-Journal, Byrd identified him as Billy Gene Stewart, 35, of Longview. A suspect in the stabbing, James Nathaniel Nash, 46, of East Mountain, who is pictured here, remains jailed on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, but the matter will be presented to the county grand jury as a murder case, Byrd said.

The assault charge was filed before Stewart died in the emergency room at Good Shepherd Medical Center in Longview, said authorities. He was stabbed in the chest with a knife in the back yard of a home on Farm-to-Market Road 3358 after a “verbal altercation” between people at “a planned gathering,” said East Mountain interim Police Chief Betty Davis. Byrd released Stewart’s name after Ms. Davis said she would not identify him because his family did not want his name released. She had said she arrested Nash at the scene near the First Baptist Church of Glenwood after authorities received a disturbance call at 3:30am July 28.

TYLER — As the College Station community and others respond to Monday’s shooting near Texas A&M, Tyler Junior College already had a program in place to address violence, and that effort continues this week. According to a news release, the TJC Campus Police is being assisted by the FBI in a planned “Active Shooter Training” today inside Louise H. and Joseph Z. Ornelas Residential Complex, Building B, on the TJC Main campus. Preparation for the training began with pre-training meetings at 8:30am. Live scenarios commenced at around 9:30. Training is expected to conclude during the noon hour. The training involves an active gunman and responding Campus Police officers.

TJC officials say active shooter training involves realistic scenarios and the use of simulated ammunition. The “simunition” training rounds are approved by the National Tactical Officers Association. The rounds sound similar to real bullets being fired but use crayon-like material to show where they land and can be washed away. Staff are responsible for cleaning the area after each training exercise. No students, faculty or staff will be involved in the training scenarios.

Campus Police have been assisted previously by FBI officers with presentations on active shooter scenarios and all current officers have received some level of training. However, this will be the first time for FBI officers to lead TJC Campus Police in active shooter training scenarios on campus. TJC Police Chief Randy Melton said the training was scheduled several months ago as part of the TJC Campus Police department’s regular professional development training and is not in response to Monday’s shooting in College Station. Melton said the FBI will not allow video or photography of the training.

GILMER — Jury selection continues in the case of an Ore City woman charged with murdering her husband. Upshur County D.A. Billy Byrd tells KETK the trial for Sharon Maxwell, 44, is set to begin next Monday. Maxwell was charged with murder of Gordon Maxwell, 46. She was indicted in the case last November.

He was found dead August 30th of last year after authorities responded to a vehicle fire at a home on State Highway 155, just north of the Ore City limits. Investigators found a body in the vehicle after the fire was extinguished. Officials, at the time, described the condition of the body as “suspicious in nature.” According to an autopsy issued by the Southwest Forensic Center in Dallas, Gordon Maxwell died from multiple gunshot wounds.

LINDALE — Taxpayers in the Lindale Independent School District will see no change to the current tax rate for the 2012-2013 school year. Monday night, trustees voted to keep the same tax rate as the previous year, while adopting a slightly lower general fund budget for the district. LISD’s total tax rate is the same as the 2011-2012 rate with a Maintenance and Operation (M/O) rate of $1.06 and an Interest and Sinking (I/S) rate of $0.395. LISD trustees did make changes to the district’s general fund budget for the upcoming school year. The adopted budget includes total revenue and expenditures of $26,137,101. The amount is $84,855 less than the 2011-2012 budget.

“I am pleased with the budget that our administrative team and school board developed and adopted,” Lindale ISD Superintendent Stan Surratt said. “We hope that unknown factors like future expenses related to such things as electricity usage, fuel, food and other variables will not drastically increase so that we can meet our budget goals. Our staff does a wonderful job of being conservative and helping control cost for the district. This year’s budget process was a tough one. Our total revenue was cut again by the government. Last school year LISD received a reduction of almost $1.7 million in state revenue funds and during the 2012-2013 school year, LISD will receive about $700,000 less in federal funds.”

Several costs included in last year’s budget were eliminated for 2012-2013. Those costs included the purchase of a school bus, district phone system, and one-time technology purchases. Reductions were also made to the maintenance and renovation budgets. “This is a very tight budget because of the large reduction that LISD has received over the last two years,” Surratt said. “We did delay some large expenditures hoping that there will be improved funding from the state in the near future.”

CANTON — Dry conditions continue to prompt action by local governments in East Texas. The Commissioners Court of Van Zandt County established an order Tuesday morning, effective immediately, that prohibits the outdoor burning of combustible materials. Officials say the order will be in effect until further notice.

HENDERSON — A man has been arrested after he was found to be in possession of several small bags of methamphetamine.According to KETK, cops discovered David Allen Crouch, 42, of Willis, Texas, asleep behind the wheel of his car Friday, with the engine still running. When police found out that he had two active warrants for his arrest, they attempted to take him into custody, but he ran away. Eventually Crouch was caught and arrested. Police discovered two clear bags of what they believed to be meth. They also found syringes and scales in his possession as well.

TYLER — It’s back to school time and TISD has a new face. Interim Superintendent, Gary Mooring, is taking the place of former superintendent, Randy Reid, who’s accepted a position in Keller. Mooring spoke with KTBB about upcoming changes, including bus routes. He says a new system is in place to help cut down on the amount of time a student spends on the bus. He also says it will save the district money. Mooring said letters will be sent to parents concerning pick-up locations. There’s information listed at http://www.tylerisd.org which is the TISD web page.

JACKSONVILLE — Lon Morris College is still a virtually empty place in Jacksonville, but life will be coming back in just a couple of weeks. Dean of Students Dave Hubbard tells KETK, they will be having on-campus classes in the fall. “The normal core curriculum of classes will be offered, we’re very excited about that,” Hubbard said. Some of the furloughed faculty will be coming back to teach. They will be paid. Hubbard himself will be teaching Sociology and Student Success. He says they already have some students from last year registered…along with some new freshmen. And they’re getting a deal on tuition.

“Gone down to about $4,000 for the year. Scholarships…some, many are still available through the United Methodist Church, Pastors awards, things of that nature,” Hubbard said. As far as the rough summer they’ve had, Hubbard says they are thankful for volunteer groups like Loving Lon Morris that have helped them out during the crisis. “It’s not just from Jacksonville, it’s around the county, around the region. We’ve had volunteers coming in from as far away as from Houston to do volunteer work. And we couldn’t have made it without them, we’re very appreciative of that,” Hubbard said. Classes begin at Lon Morris on August 29th. So, how are the returning professors getting paid? The restructuring firm tells KETK, it’s through general funds…a combination of financing from their bank, aid and endowment income.

PALESTINE — Anderson County is among the latest in the area to institute a burn ban. County commissioners approved the 90 day burn ban at Monday’s meeting. The ban went into effect Monday afternoon at 3:00. It will remain in force until 3:00pm November 12th, unless it is lifted earlier. The dry conditions in the county caused the commissioners to take action. The burn ban prohibits outdoor burning in the unincorporated areas of Anderson County. Violators of the ban will be cited by law officers.

KILGORE — The city of Kilgore’s entire cemetery department resigns. All three workers turned in their resignations last week. They tell KETK their department was merged with several others in the city. The workers say that means less time for them to maintain and care for the city’s three cemeteries, where they take pride in working. Cemetery supervisor David Bond says the philosophy of new city leaders led to the resignations. City Manager Scott Sellers was unavailable for comment.

TYLER — The intersection of Fourth and Donnybrook in Tyler began functioning normally Monday afternoon after police earlier reported a traffic hazard there. The signal department worked for much of the day on the traffic lights after they became inoperable due to a motor vehicle accident. Some of the traffic lanes in the vicinity had to be shut down while the repairs were made.

LONGVIEW — A Longview woman has been jailed following an accident that injured five persons. It happened around 11:45 Sunday morning in the 1100 block of Lorin Lane. Witnesses told officers that LaKeisha Nicole Brown had gotten into an argument with her boyfriend. They said Brown got into her Suburban and drove it into the carport where 5 people were sitting at a table playing dominoes. Brown’s vehicle struck all 5 persons, including her boyfriend. Brown then struck a mailbox, knocking the mailbox into the street

Investigators say Brown fled the scene prior to the police arriving. They were able to locate Brown later in the 900 Block of South Fifteenth Street and she was arrested on 4 charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and one charge of aggravated assault family violence. She was transported to the Gregg County Jail without incident.

FLINT — A wildfire in Flint over the weekend rekindles Sunday afternoon around 1:00. Crews responded to the fire on the 4400 Block of County Road 1182. According to KETK, the fire originally started around 11:00 Saturday night. Firefighters had to manually extinguish the flames with rakes and shovels because of the wooded terrain. Jonathan McClish with the Noonday Fire Department says certain parts of the area are hard for the department’s bulldozer to get through. The cause of that fire is under investigation. No injuries reported.

SMITH COUNTY — A brush fire over the weekend in Smith County scorches 2 acres of land and destroys a mobile home. According to KETK, it happened just off County Road 384 at the intersection of Morningside Drive. A Chapel Hill fire official says the mobile home was abandoned, no one was injured, and the blaze’s cause is still under investigation.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Tyler Congressman Louie Gohmert says the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional because it was a bill for raising revenue that did not originate in the House of Representatives. Gohmert says the president misled the American people about the health-care reform bill. According to Gohmert, “It was not, is not, true that if you like your insurance, you could keep it. People have already lost doctors who were assured if you like your doctor, you keep [him or her]. That was simply not true.” Gohmert has 10 co-sponsors of a new resolution. It says the penalty, or tax, in the bill on people who don’t buy health insurance originated in the Senate — and he says that violates the Constitution.

TYLER — Tyler Police have identified two suspects in a reported aggravated robbery Friday morning. Tevin Montravian Dorsey, 21, Tyler was arrested Saturday morning. Police are searching for David Eugene Ford, 21, Tyler. The incident happened just after 5:00 at Shiloh Pines mobile home park. A woman was reportedly returning home when she was robbed by an armed man. That man reportedly fled the scene as a passenger in a light blue sedan. Authorities said a tip from a concerned citizen provided authorities with the suspect’s license plate, which allowed officials to identify the suspects.

Dorsey was located at the Economy Inn on Mineola Highway where he was taken into custody for the aggravated robbery. Investigators have not been able to locate Ford (pictured) at this time and are actively seeking his whereabouts. An arrest warrant has been issued for Ford for aggravated robbery. If you have information about David Ford’s whereabouts, please contact the Tyler Police Department, at 903-531-1000, or Crimestoppers, at 903-597-CUFF (903-597-2833).

MINEOLA — Four departments battled a blaze after flames consumed a house in Mineola. According to KETK, no injuries were reported in the fire that was called-in about 12:30 Monday morning in the 700 block of Walnut Street. Neighbors said the house where the fire occurred was vacant. The structure was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived. Mineola was joined by Quitman, Hainesville and Lindale firefighters. No word on what sparked that blaze.

TYLER — Tyler Congressman Louie Gohmert shares his thoughts on GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney’s choice of Paul Ryan as his running mate. Gohmert tells KETK, “I love the fact that Paul’s honest, that he is a scrapper, and unlike what we’ve gotten for four years now, if he disagrees with you, he’s not gonna make up some baloney; he’s gonna tell you why he believes what he believes.” Even though he’s disagreed with Ryan on many things, like TARP for instance, Gohmert says Ryan’s word is as good as gold.

JACKSONVILLE — A two vehicle accident in Cherokee County has killed one person and injured three. The wreck occurred just before 10:45 Saturday night on U.S. Highway 175, just under 4 miles north of Jacksonville. Dead at the scene was Raymond Stevenson, 43, of Athens.

The Department of Public Safety reports Stevenson’s pickup was northbound on U.S. 175 and veered into the south lane, hitting a Dodge Caravan driven by Marco Davalos of Jacksonville. Davalos was injured along with Cyvilla Hutton, 44, of Athens and Ladarius Jackson, 7 of Athens. State Trooper Steven Crosby says both Hutton and Jackson were not wearing seat belts.

TYLER — Two persons have been injured following an accident in which Tyler police say two cars were racing. The accident happened around 1:15 Sunday morning at 1500 West Grande Boulevard. Sgt. Paul Robeson says two vehicles, a Volkswagen Jetta and a Dodge truck, were racing westbound on Grande. When the vehicles entered the curve, both drivers were unable to make the turn. Both vehicles drove into the eastbound lanes and crashed into the curb.

Sgt. Robeson said the Jetta remained right side up but the Dodge truck rolled over. The driver of the Dodge truck, Daniel Dodd, was not wearing the seat belt and was ejected from the vehicle. The vehicle rolled over and ended up on top of his legs.

The driver of the Jetta, Luiz Enrique Barajas, age 23, of Whitehouse, who is pictured here, was arrested and charged with DWI 2nd, accident involving serious bodily injury, and racing. Charges are pending for Daniel Dodd, age 28, pending further investigation and lab results.

Dodd and a passenger from the Volkswagen Jetta were transported to East Texs Medical Center for treatment

TYLER — The NAACP’s Texas Conference president encourages East Texans to work at making a difference in their communities. Gary Bledsoe spoke Saturday night at the Tyler NAACP’s 66th annual Freedom Fund Banquet, at Marvin United Methodist Church. Bledsoe says too many people want to roll back the gains made towards greater equality in America over the years. He says part of the answer is to register to vote — and then follow through on election day. Bledsoe also advised looking around and seeing which community leaders can be recruited as allies. Addressing the ongoing challenge of apathy, Bledsoe remarked that there are many good people of all races in any community — “but too many good people sit by and let the bad people do their dirty work.” Bledsoe, an Austin attorney, has held his current NAACP position since 1991

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

TYLER — On Monday and Tuesday this week, Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews are scheduled to perform base and pavement repairs at the intersection of ESE Loop 323 and Spur 248 (University Drive), and then make additional repairs in various locations along Spur 248.

Also this week in Smith County, TxDOT maintenance crews are scheduled to work on various Interstate Highway 20 service roads, including those serving Farm Road 757 and Willow Branch. Daytime lane closures will be in effect in each location while the work is in progress, and motorists are encouraged to seek alternate routes if possible to avoid
delays.

VAN ZANDT COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to continue approximately three weeks of pavement-repair work on U.S. Highway 80 between Farm Road 859 in Edgewood and State Highway 19. Daytime lane closures will be in effect while the work is in progress. Motorists should be prepared to reduce speed and merge in and around the work zone.

WOOD COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to continue seal coat operations on Farm Road 312 between Winnsboro and Pine Mills. Daytime lane closures will be in effect in each location while the work is in progress, and flaggers and pilot vehicles will control traffic. Loose gravel may be present for several days following a seal coat application.

GREGG COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to perform resurfacing operations on Farm Road 1845 between Farm Road 2605 and the Upshur County Line. Daytime lane closures will be in effect while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic in two-lane areas.

CHEROKEE COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to continue resurfacing operations on Farm Road 23 south of Rusk, then move to perform the same work on Farm Road 343 east of Rusk. 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.

ANDERSON COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to perform resurfacing operations on Farm Road 322 between Loop 256 and State Highway 294 south of Palestine. Daytime lane closures will be in effect while the work is in progress, and flaggers and pilot vehicles will control traffic.

HENDERSON COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to continue base and pavement repairs on Farm Road 3273, between Farm Road 3441 south of Cross Roads and the end of state maintenance. Daytime lane closures will be in effect while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic.

JACKSONVILLE (AP) — Texas’ oldest junior college will resume classes this fall with only a handful of faculty and a gutted enrollment base. This comes after a failed effort at Lon Morris College to have a new football program save it from mounting debt. The East Texas college decided in 2009 to resurrect its football program after nearly 70 years in hopes it would increase enrollment and revenue. Although the program helped more than triple enrollment to about 1,000 by 2010, Lon Morris was burdened with waves of new students who couldn’t pay the bills and overwhelming football expenses. Now the 158-year-old private two-year college has filed for bankruptcy, cut all its sports programs and furloughed all but about a half dozen faculty. Officials estimate about 100 students remain enrolled at the Jacksonville campus.

LONGVIEW – -A Kilgore man has been arrested and charged with possession and promotion of child pornography. Arrested around 6:15 Thursday night in the 100 block of Rothance Drive in Longview was Bobby Lee Fleet, 38. He is currently on five year probation for a 2010 conviction for failing to register as a sex offender.

Investigators say they found child porn images on the computer at his home on Spinks-Chapman Road in Kilgore. Among the images were said to be several files of of a nude girl around 7 or 8 years of age. Fleet was booked into the Gregg County Jail and his bond set at $150,000.