Local News, Tuesday Sept. 5th

With just over 90 days left in the campaign, Republican gubernatorial candidate Lynn Swann is criss-crossing the state looking for votes in his bid to unseat incumbent Ed Rendell. Swann, an NFL Hall-of-Famer and ABC sports broadcaster, has been in Schuylkill County several times in recent months, including a visit to the Yuengling Brewery in Port Carbon for a tour last week. WPPA/T-102 News asked Swann why he wants to run for Governor:

SWANN Audio Cut

You can hear an interview with candidate Lynn Swann today on WPPA at 3pm this afternoon.

A Shenandoah man was arrested on a host of charges following a traffic stop in Gilberton Monday afternoon. State Police at Frackville say that 22-year-old Edwin Mendoza-Gomez was clocked doing 84 in a 55-mile-per-hour zone on Route 924 when he was stopped by troopers. Gomez gave police a driver's license identifying him as Anibal Gonzalez Sanchez. State police suspected that the license was fraudulent. He was taken to the Frackville barracks, where a fingerprint check indicated that the man was in fact Gomez, and that he did not have a driver's license. Gomez was arraigned on charges of false identification, fabricating evidence and speeding. Police also found an outstanding warrant on Gomez from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. He was taken to county prison, being unable to post the $25-thousand-dollars bail.

A crash in Pine Grove Township Sunday injured two people. Schuylkill Haven troopers say that Karen Carroll of Harrisburg was traveling eastbound on Route 443, and a motorcycle operated by Clifford Fidler of Lebanon was headed west in front of Arby's Restaurant, near the I-81 interchange. Carroll turned left into the restaurant, directly into the path of the motorcycle. She was not hurt, but Fidler and his passenger, Marilyn Fidler, suffered leg and head injuries. They were transported to Hershey Medical Center via Life Lion for treatment.

A Cops in Shops operation in Ashland resulted in the arrest of several people over the weekend. The monitoring operation was conducted in Ashland Saturday, resulting in 2 underage drinking arrests and 4 criminal arrests. One police department participated in the operation. The checkpoint is part of the North Central PA Regional Sobriety Checkpoint and Expanded DUI/Underage Drinking Enforcement Program, funded through PennDOT and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Pottsville police are continuing their investigation following a drug arrest in the city Saturday morning. Police say that they were called to a fight in the 400 block of Schuylkill Avenue between Robert Thornburg and George Omlor. During the melee, Thornburg reportedly threatened to shoot Omlor and went to his truck to retrieve a gun. Police searched Thornburg's truck and found a loaded .45 caliber handgun, which he had no permit to carry, and drug packaging material. They also found 4 packets of methamphetamine on Thornburg, with a street value of over $1-thousand-dollars. He was also carrying a large sum of money. A search of Thornburg's home in Palo Alto uncovered more meth, and various drug paraphernalia. The investigation is continuing, and further arrests may be made.

Pottsville police report a crash at the intersection of Route 61 and Arch Street Saturday night. After 9pm, 43-year-old Jean Bayer of Auburn was stopped at the traffic light facing south. She was rear-ended by a car driven by 19-year-old Brianna Cappel of Frackville, who was stopped behind her. Cappel's car was struck from behind by 18-year-old Ricky Surmon Jr. of Philadelphia, who was unable to stop in time. Bayer was taken to Pottsville Hospital for treatment of a lower back injury. Cappel was not injured. Surmon's passenger, 21-year-old Ashley Walston suffered a minor head injury and was taken by Surmon to the hospital for treatment. Charges are pending against Surmon in the chain-reaction crash.

Tips from an informant led to separate arrests of two Tamaqua men on drug charges Monday. Tamaqua police established controlled buys of heroin and cocaine over the past several months at various locations in the Tamaqua area through an informant. According to the Pottsville Republican, the investigation netted the arrest of 36-year-old Joseph Sharpe and 40-year-old Christopher Shea for felony and misdemeanor drug offenses. Both men were arraigned before District Judge Bernadette Nahas and taken to Schuylkill County Prison, being unable to post the $25-thousand-dollar bail.

Two bicycle accidents injured one and claimed the life of another over the Labor Day weekend. On Sunday, state police say that 19-year-old Joshua Frantz, and a 16-year-old boy were riding their bikes on State Route 2003 in Blythe Township when Frantz attempted to pass his companion. The bikes touched each other, causing Frantz to lose control. He hit the road, causing fatal injuries. The boy was not hurt. The incident happened around 5pm.
On Labor Day, a 15-year-old boy was riding his bike with friends on the Minersville/Llewellyn highway when he went over a ramp and landed face down on the road. He was Life-Flighted from the scene to Lehigh Valley Hospital for treatment.