Local News-Wednesday, Sept. 13th

A Pottsville man is in Schuylkill County Prison following a bust for growing marijuana. Pottsville police picked up 58-year-old John Conrad Phillips as he was leaving a Greenwood Avenue home Tuesday afternoon, where he had been staying. However, authorities were concerned that Phillips had booby trapped the area around the home with explosives. As a precaution, police called in the bomb squad when they came to take Phillips into custody. During the arrest, he reportedly resisted arrest, and struck an officer with a walking stick. An extensive search of the property did not uncover any explosives. But they did find a cache of weapons and ammunition in the home. He was arraigned on several drug possession charges. Authorities say that Phillips apparently had a beef with police that stemmed from an arrest 10 years ago.

Another Pottsville drug pusher will do time in state prison after he was found guilty in county court yesterday. A jury found Achille Walker guilty of possession with intent to deliver crack cocaine. He was in possession of 21 bags of cocaine when arrested in May, 2004. A trial held in May of this year found Walker guilty of possession of the crack cocaine, but a jury at that time was unable to reach a verdict on charges of intent to deliver. According to the Pottsville Republican, Schuylkill County District Attorney Jim Goodman was able to sway the jury that Walker had intended to sell the cocaine. The minimum sentence he could face is three to six years in state prison. Walker's sentencing is scheduled for October 25th.

Frackville state police are investigating a hit and run incident on Monday night. Troopers say that Brandon Fritz and Zachery Reichert of Pottsville, and an unidentified man were leaving a party Monday, when the man chased Fritz and Reichert, striking Fritz's car in the rear end several times and forcing him from the road. The unidentified man then hit Reichert's car twice as well. Reichert was able to pull into the Turkey Hill lot in Port Carbon. The man reached into Reichert's car and took his keys, throwing them across the lot . Then man then fled. Police are still looking for the man, who was driving a Jeep Cherokee. If you have any information, please contact Frackville State Police at 874-5300.

Minersville police apprehended a borough man for threatening another man. 29-year-old Paul Waddell will have to answer charges of harassment following a September 1st incident at the Curran Hotel. Waddell reportedly harassed and threatened to kill the victim, who was not identified. Waddell will faces the charges through the office of District Judge Charles Moran of Pottsville.

A local group dedicated to preventing suicide continues to spread the word about an ongoing problem in our area. The Schuylkill County Suicide Prevention Task force formed in 2003 to educate and inform the public about the warning signs of people contemplating suicide and to provide resources to help people at risk. Statistics indicate that in 2004, 24 people committed suicide in Schuylkill County. That number declined to 20 in 2005, and so far in 2006, 10 people have taken their own lives. The task force is holding a forum entitled "The Public Health Problem of Suicide in Schuylkill County" at the Schuylkill Intermediate Unit in MarLin, at 7pm this evening. The Schuylkill County Suicide Prevention Task force is part of Schuylkill County VISION, a community improvement organization.