Today's News-Saturday, October 13th

POTTSVILLE - City police arrested two people who were big suppliers of cocaine to the area. A months-long investigation revealed that 20 year old Crystal Ann Shultz of Myerstown and Raymond Edwards, age 26, also known as Aliem Tullison of Philadelphia, were bringing cocaine from Philadelphia into our area. The pair would set up shop in local motels while distributing cocaine in crack form to area addicts. On October 1st, the pair led police on a high speed chase, but police had to give up the chase due to excessive speeds by them, and the potential risk to public safety. Philadelphia police arrested the pair on October 9th. Shultz was returned to the county to face charges. Tullison is currently in jail in Philadelphia on additional drug counts, and will be returned to Schuylkill County upon his release. Shultz was arraigned on felony drug delivery counts, and related offenses. The pair face mandatory sentencing since they were dealing in school zone areas in the city. The investigation continues, and additional arrests of buyers and accomplices may result.

POTTSVILLE - A Pottsville native and Broadway performer is coming home to the Sovereign Majestic Theatre Monday. A 1988 Pottsville High graduate Bradley Dean, who has performed in numerous Broadway productions and on TV, will entertain theatergoers Monday at 7. Dean will perform Broadway tunes that symbolize, as he puts it "a travelogue of his life experiences so far", plus some familiar standards. Dean graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 1993, and has performed in lead and supporting roles in shows like "The Rocky Horror Show", the "Man of La Mancha" and the Tony award winning "Company". He told WPPA News that he is thrilled to return home to perform in a benefit for the Sovereign Majestic in front of his hometown fans. According to Diana McGeever of the Pottsville Downtown Corporation, the tickets are almost sold out. Call 628-4647 to check ticket availability. Welcome home, Bradley Dean.

SCHUYLKILL HAVEN - A man pepper sprayed a neighbor’s dog in Schuylkill County. Troopers say 38-year old Kelly Reese of Schuylkill Haven pepper sprayed 45-year old Brenda Leymeister's three and a half year old Chocolate Lab, Buddy, Thursday morning around 8:30 while the dog was fenced inside Leymeister's yard along Meadow Drive in North Manheim Township. Police described the dog as docile. Reese also threatened to kill the dog the day before. He is charged with harrassment.

FRAILEY TOWNSHIP - Two Connecticut residents suffered minor injuries in a crash on I-81 in Frailey Township Thursday morning. 72-year-old Robert Bowman of Bristol, Connecticut was southbound on the Interstate when he tried to swerve to avoid stopped traffic from a multiple tractor-trailer crash that took place earlier in the day. Bowman's car struck a guiderail, severely damaging the driver's side of the car. Bowman and his wife, Patricia, were taken to Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center for treatment. State police at Frackville acknowledged that dense fog and heavy rain contributed to the crash.

MAHANOY TOWNSHIP - A York woman was arrested for attempting to bring drugs into the State Correctional Institution at Mahanoy. State police at Frackville just reported that 34-year-old Tamika Jamison attempted to bring marijuana onto the grounds of the prison. The drugs were found during a consent search of her vehicle. Jamison was taken into custody and arraigned on a drug possession charge. The incident happened on September 29th, but was only reported to the public Friday.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - Suspended Penn State running back Austin Scott is accused of raping a woman at his on-campus apartment after meeting her at a bar. The 22-year-old Scott was arraigned Friday on charges of rape, sexual assault and aggravated indecent assault. All are felonies. Scott declined to comment as he left the courtroom. Authorities say the encounter occurred in the early morning hours of October 5th. According to court papers, Scott admitted that the woman did not initially want to have sex. Scott's lawyer, Joseph Amendola, says the "interaction" with the woman was consensual. Coach Joe Paterno suspended Scott last week, saying the tailback had violated an unspecified team rule. Scott remains enrolled at Penn State. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (AP) - A 15-truck pileup on the Golden State Freeway has left five big rigs in flames inside a tunnel and a-half mile of wreckage. Firefighters are working to douse the flames. Authorities say at least 10 people were hurt. One person is missing.

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) - The U.S. mission in Iraq is a "nightmare with no end in sight." Those are the words of a former commander of American forces in Iraq, retired Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez. Sanchez says the current strategies in Iraq are a "desperate attempt" to fix years of misguided policies there.

CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) - President Bush says free trade agreements with Latin America and South Korea will open up new markets and create more jobs for Americans. He's pressing Congress on the issue in his weekly radio address today. Bush says lawmakers who oppose the agreements are wrong when they say the deals sell out U.S. workers.

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (AP) - The NAACP says the Justice Department has an opportunity to show that minorities can be assured that rogue law enforcement officials will held accountable. The department is reviewing the case of a black teenager who died after an altercation at a Florida boot camp. An all-white jury yesterday acquitted those involved.

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - The government of Myanmar has organized a mass pro-regime rally in the capital of Yangon. Residents were bused in from around the city and some were given money to participate. The rally denounced Western powers, foreign media and Myanmar's pro-democracy opposition.

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - An hours-long standoff in Arlington, Texas, has ended with a man shooting himself while driving his car into a lake. Police say the man has killed his estranged wife and two stepchildren, but did not harm his three-year-old daughter.

PHOENIX (AP) - Spam e-mails have cost two men their freedom. Jeffrey Kilbride and James Schaffer have been sentenced to five years in federal prison for sending millions of unsolicited pornographic e-mails. Authorities say the men received more than 2 million dollars in commissions for sending the spam.

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) - Authorities say a teenager accused of planning to attack a Philadelphia-area high school collected a stash of weapons with the help of his mother. The mother was arrested Friday. Authorities say she didn't know of the teen's plans but indulged his interests in weapons because he was unhappy.

LAKE GENEVA, Wis. (AP) - Two people are dead after a school bus carrying a high school soccer team slammed into an SUV in Wisconsin Friday evening. The dead were in the SUV, which authorities say failed to stop at a stop sign. Nine students on the bus suffered only minor injuries.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Two Florida high school students are being hailed as heroes for stopping a school bus after the driver suffered a seizure. Authorities say one student steered the bus after it hit a guardrail and the other pulled the emergency brake. The driver is now hospitalized in fair condition.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed another gay marriage bill. Schwarzenegger says voters and the state Supreme Court should decide the issue, not lawmakers. A gay rights group calls the veto "hypocrisy at its worst," noting that Schwarzenegger has said he opposes discrimination based on sexual orientation.