Local News-Friday, Dec. 15th

The excitement has reached a fevered pitch for the Pottsville Crimson Tide. Are you ready for some football? Its week 16 of play for the Tide, as they make their second consecutive trip to Chocolatetown for the state Triple A final tonight. Schuylkill County is showing their support with Roll Tide signs and decorations in support of these young men. The Tide’s opponent, the General McLane Lancers, are from Edinboro. They are fresh off of an upset of the state’s top-ranked Triple A team, Thomas Jefferson, last week. WPPA and T-102 will be hosting a tailgate party at the stadium tonight beginning at 5pm, with pregame at 6:30pm. ROLL TIDE!

A Pottsville man is under arrest for theft and embezzlement from a city business. 23-year-old William Madrigal was charged yesterday with theft by deception, failure to make required disposition of funds, tampering with records and related offenses. While working at Brewer’s Outlet, Madrigal allegedly took money from the register, and doctored the business’s books to cover the theft. The amount of money taken is estimated to be around $6-thousand-dollars. Madrigal was arraigned and released on unsecured bail. He will have a preliminary hearing next Wednesday.

A Pottsville man is in Schuylkill County Prison after assaulting a city police officer Wednesday night. Officers were called in to assist EMS personnel at the home of John and Joann Lee on Mahantongo Street. Treatment for the Lee’s was sought by Mental Health and ACCESS Services staff. John Lee became abusive toward police when they arrived, and became violent, shouting obscenities at them. When attempting to treat Joann Lee, John Lee started after emergency workers. Police tried to handcuff Lee, and he began punching and kicking police, eventually biting one of the officers in the wrist. Lee was taken into custody, arraigned and taken to county prison.

We still don’t know whether the Dan Shields trial will be held in Schuylkill County or not. But a final answer will come soon. Schuylkill County Judge John Domalakes heard arguments about a change of venue yesterday. The Pottsville Republican reports that Shields’ attorney, Emmanuel Dimitriou, asked for the court to move the former Nativity track coach’s trial out of Schuylkill County due to pretrial publicity. Prosecutor Karen Noon said that Shields is entitled to a fair trial, and cited evidence that the same thing can happen in this case. Judge Domalakes said that both parties have until the day after Christmas to present briefs about the request. He will rule whether the trial will move out of the county shortly thereafter. Dan Shields is accused of secretly videotaping girls in the locker room at Nativity BVM, and sexually assaulting a former track team member during 2004 and 2005.

A Tamaqua Middle School student is in hot water for bringing pot to school. During an investigation at the school in Walker Township, a 12-year-old boy was found to have a small amount of pot in his possession. The tip was provided by another student. Charges will be filed pending the completion of the investigation.

Speeders, aggressive and drunk drivers beware. State police will be out in force this weekend looking for you. Troopers from local barracks will be conducting an Operation CARE Lifesavers Weekend through Sunday. Operation CARE is an international organization consisting of State Police and Highway Patrol agencies. Their goal is to reduce crashes and injuries on highways. Special enforcement operations will be in place for the upcoming Christmas holiday. Remember to wear your seatbelts and allow extra time for travel during the busy holiday season.