[Headlines]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
A question and answer session for laid off Tultex workers.
(----------------)
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
And a Miami Judge defends involvement in a Cuban boy's custody ruling.
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
Mostly Clear and still a bit breezy out there this morning... Today's forecast features more sunshine and pleasantly mild temperatures.
In fact, a few fast- moving weather systems won't do too much to change the outlook for the next SEVERAL days...
[ANCHOR=Steve]
(ad lib live tease)
[2-shot]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[Tultex]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=am]
[WRITER=kwe]
[TAPE#=99-51 TC31:32]
[GRAPHIC=Tultex Chap. 11]
When Tultex employees were laid off on December 3rd they were left with a lot unanswered questions.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Martinsville]
Last night at Martinsville High School more than 500 people walked through the doors looking for answers from the President of Tultex.
Questions about vacation and severance pay as well as health insurance were on people's minds since the company has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy.
But many walked out with their questions still unanswered.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 1:58:57]
[IN Q=]
((FREDDIE WITCHER: I FEEL LIKE THEY ARE JUST TRYING TO MOVE EVERYTHING OVERSEAS AND GET RID OF THE PEOPLE HERE AND MAKE IT CHEAP AND EASY ON THEM.))
[SUPER=01-Freddie Witcher/Former Tultex Employee]
[RUNS=:07]
[OUT Q=easy on them]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
In the meantime former employees say they're looking for other work and trying to get by.
(------------)
[Southside-Tobacco]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=kwe]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=Tobacco Settlement]
Officials from the areas hardest hit by textile plant closings are asking the state for 6 million dollars in tobacco settlement money.
Martinsville and Henry County lost 33-hundred textile jobs-- yesterday local officials asked the Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission to reserve the money for economic revitalization.
Virginia is expected to receive 4 billion dollars over the next 25 years from the tobacco settlement.
[E-Rubatex]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=00-02 1:27]
[GRAPHIC=Rubatex Strike]
In Bedford- some striking Rubatex workers say Big Brother is watching them, and they're not happy about it.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Bedford]
Union president Richard Walker appeared before city council last night to question Rubatex's use of security cameras around the factory.
The cameras are attached to telephone poles, and the union wants to know who approved that and who's paying for the electricity that runs them.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 8:17:36]
[IN Q=We don't feel]
((RICHARD WALKER/UNION PRESIDENT: WE DON'T FEEL LIKE WE ARE SEEING AN EQUAL SHARE IN THIS AS FAR AS ON BEHALF OF THE CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT.))
[SUPER=01-Richard Walker/Union President]
[RUNS=11]
[OUT Q=police department.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
The Rubatex strike is now in its 18th week.
(------------)
[81-Repairs]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=Interstate 81]
You might expect some delays on Interstate 81 in Roanoke County over the next two days.
(XXXXXXXXX)
[TAKE FULL SCREEN MAP]
V-Dot will close one northbound lane of the interstate from nine in the morning till three in the afternoon today and tomorrow.
They're repairing a bridge near mile marker 143-- that's just north of the I-81 and I-581 interchange.
(-------------)
[General-Assembly]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=State Capitol]
The first ever Republican controlled General Assembly opens at noon today in Richmond.
The chief job for this year's session is to hammer out a 48-billion dollar state spending package for the next two years.
Ellen Qualls will have a live report from the state capitol later today on News-7 at noon.
Tonight at 7--
(XXXXXXXX)
[TAKE FULL SCREEN BOARD]
Governor Gilmore delivers his State of the Commonwealth address.
You can see it live here on your Hometown station from seven to eight.
(-------------)
[JUDGE-CONTROVERSY]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=MORN]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Elian Gonzalez]
The judge who granted temporary custody of Elian Gonzalez to his south Florida family is defending her ruling this morning.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Miami, FL;]
Judge Rose Rodriguez says she had no obligation to remove herself from the case even though she had a working relationship with the family's spokesman.
Armando Gutierrez and his wife worked for Judge Rodriguez during her 19-98 re-election campaign.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[3:07:24-35]
[IN Q=I haven't seen her since she...]
[SUPER=01-Armando Gutierrez/Family Spokesperson;]
[RUNS=:13]
[OUT Q=any smoke signals.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Rodriguez's ruling goes against an earlier I-N-S decision ordering the young boy back to his father in Cuba.
(------------)
[1-Sports]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=chr]
[TAPE#=sports cut in]
[GRAPHIC=None]
In sports, Denise Allen has highlights from the high school and college hardwood, including Radford's big win over visiting Concord.
Good Morning Denise.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Good morning]
[RUNS=2:00]
[OUT Q=little bit]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
(Melanie ad lib toss to Kimberly/Wx)
[One-Steve]
[ANCHOR=Steve]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=spa]
[TAPE#]
[GRAPHIC=NONE]
[Roll Cold out of Break]
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Today on]
[SUPER=15-Steve/Pardon; :00]
[SUPER=07-Chris McBride; :13]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke; :29]
[RUNS=2:18]
[OUT Q=News 7 Mornin' Returns]
(tape tosses to stocks)
[STOCKS]
[COMM]
((Archive:))
[columbine-threat]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#=Net]
[GRAPHIC=None]
The defense: ``Internet intoxication.''
That's the word from the attorney for a Florida teen accused of making an online threat against Columbine High School.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Denver, CO;]
[3:03:31]
The lawyer for Michael Ian Campbell says his client was impaired to the point of being hypnotized when he made the threat last month.
Attorney Ellis Rubin made the comments after Campbell pleaded innocent to charges in federal court in Denver yesterday.
Campbell allegedly used the Internet to send a message to a Columbine student saying he would ``finish what begun'' at the high school.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
((IS A VIRTUAL THREAT MADE IN A VIRTUAL STATE OF MIND THE SAME AS A REAL THREAT MADE IN A CRIMINAL STATE OF MIND.))
[SUPER=01-Ellis Rubin/Campbell's Attorney;]
[RUNS=:07]
[OUT Q=state of mind.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
School administrators canceled classes for two days because of the threat.
If convicted, Campbell could face up to five years in prison.
(------------)
[E-Lewis-Gale]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=sgo]
[TAPE#=99-60 47:21]
[GRAPHIC=Lewis Gale Departing Docs]
The number of doctors departing Lewis-Gale has risen...
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Salem]
But the clinic won't say much about why 18 doctors are leaving.
Its executive director says he's surprised.
But as long as Lewis-Gale is holding discussions with PhyCor ... the parent company ... clinic management says it can't talk about what made the doctors leave.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 2:26:30]
[IN-Q=It is not the intention]
((JON NESS/LEWIS-GALE CLINIC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: IT IS NOT THE INTENTION TO SAY THIS IS NOT AN ISSUE. THE PURPOSE OF THIS MEETING TODAY IS TO SAY THIS IS AN ISSUE, AND TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT.))
[SUPER=01-Jon Ness/Lewis-Gale Clinic Executive Dir.]
[RUNS=08]
[OUT Q=ACKNOWLEDGE THAT]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Here's the list of the 18-doctors who have resigned so far.
Four practice at the main clinic in Salem.
The rest are at Lewis-Gale satellite clinics:
One doctor is leaving Back Creek, two are from Fincastle, one resigned in Floyd and one in Fort Lewis
Five are from the Lee-Hi clinic and four at West Salem.
Meanwhile ... doctors tell us they're under a gag order.
They can't talk to each other or to their patients for fear of getting sued.
But Internet chat rooms echo what doctors tell us privately ... that the company mismanages clinics and takes too much of their profits.
(------------)
[E-Patients]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=tfl]
[TAPE#=00-01 :57]
[GRAPHIC=Hold]
The most resignations came from Lee-Hi Family Practice and Immediate Care Clinic.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Salem; ]
Some patients waited inside the clinic for three to six hours for treatment, but they say that's better than not having their doctors at all.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT tc 20:38:27]
[IN Q=Are you]
((WILLARD HARRISON/PATIENT: ARE YOU HAPPY WITH HIM? YES, HE'S A GOOD DOCTOR, SO YOU WOULDN'T WANT TO FIND ANOTHER? I WOULDN'T WANT TO, BUT I MIGHT HAVE TO.))
[SUPER=01-Willard Harrison/Patient; ]
[RUNS=:07]
[OUT Q=have to.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
NO doctors are talking to the media right now for fear it will interfere with current negotiations with Lewis-Gale Clinic.
But one resigning doctor did say even if they leave the clinic, they are NOT leaving town and have no intention of abandoning their patients here.
(------------)
[Health-Check]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=chr]
[TAPE#=NET]
[GRAPHIC=Mornin Health Check]
In medical news, flu season is putting a dent in the nation's blood supply.
Mika Brzezinski has that story and more in this morning's Health check.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Mika Brzezinski/Reporting; :00 ]
[RUNS=1:15]
[OUT Q=CBS News, New York.]
((THE U-S RED CROSS IS OUT FOR BLOOD TODAY..YOURS.
VT=VO
CURRENTLY, THE ORGANIZATION HAS LESS THAN ONE DAY'S SUPPLY OF "TYPE O" BLOOD. THAT'S THE CATEGORY THAT CAN BE SAFELY TRANSFUSED TO MOST PATIENTS IN THE EMERGENCY ROOM.
THE REASON FOR THE SHORTAGE?....THE FLU THAT'S SWEEPING THE NATION. DONATIONS ARE ALWAYS DOWN AROUND THE HOLIDAY SEASON BUT THE INFLUENZA OUTBREAK IS MAKING MATTERS WORSE.
THE RED CROSS IS ASKING ALL HEALTHY ADULTS OVER AGE 17 AND WEIGHING MORE
THAN A HUNDRED AND TEN POUNDS, TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT TO ROLL UP THEIR
SLEEVES.
ONCAM=MIKA
((on cam))
A NEW REPORT FROM GERMANY SUGGESTS MAJOR DEPRESSION CAN INCREASE THE
RISK OF BONE LOSS...ESPECIALLY IN MEN.
RESEARCHERS BELIEVE HORMONE LEVEL CHANGES IN DEPRESSED PEOPLE EFFECT BONE METABOLISM AND ULTIMATELY BONE STRENGTH.
BONE SCANS OF PATIENTS DEPRESSED FOR MORE THAN 2 YEARS SHOWED SIGNIFICANTLY MORE LOSS THAN PATIENTS WHO WEREN'T DEPRESSED.
VT=VO
((vo))
AND FINALLY IT MAY TAKE MORE THAN JUST A STERN TALKING TO, TO STOP TEENS FROM PICKING UP THE HABIT.
A NEW STUDY IN "THE JOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH," SAYS A BETTER TACT IS HAVING TEENS PARTICIPATE IN A PROGRAM AIMED AT RESISTING PEER AND SOCIAL PRESSURE TO TRY SMOKING.
THE KEY RESEARCHERS SAY IS SELF CONFIDENCE. TEENS WHO FEEL GOOD ABOUT
THEMSELVES WILL HAVE AN EASIER TIME JUST SAYING NO.
ONCAM=MIKA
AND THAT'S A LOOK AT THE DAY IN HEALTH. I'M MIKA BRZEZINSKI, CBS NEWS, NEW YORK.))
(ad lib to weather)
[Two-Steve]
[ANCHOR=Steve]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=spa]
[TAPE#NONE]
[GRAPHIC=NONE]
[On Record]
[SUPER=15-Steve/Pardon;]
[Double Boxes=KMC & SPA]
(toss to Kimberly)
[2-HEADLINES]
[2-shot=Mel/Kmc]
[SUPER=#4049; Morning Headlines]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
Here's a look at today's top stories.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
Hundreds of laid of Tultex workers attended a question and answer session with the President of Tultex.
The former employees wanted to know more about vacation and severance pay, as well as health insurance.
Thousand were laid off last month when Tultex filed for bankruptcy.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Kim]
The number of doctor's leaving Lewis Gale clinics continues to rise.
But Lewis Gale will not comment about what's behind the departures.
Internet chat rooms echo what doctors tell us privately ... that the parent company PhyCor mismanages clinics and takes too much of their profits.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
And the Supreme Court has heard arguments in the case of a former Virginia Tech student who sued two football players she says raped her.
A federal appeals court threw out parts of the 1994 Violence Against Women Act, under which Christy
Brzonkala brought her suit.
The Clinton administration wants the high court to reinstate the law.
(----------------)
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
And that's what's making news on this Wednesday January 12.
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
News 7 Mornin' will be right back.
[e-Bedford-NAACP]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=99-50 1:10:47]
[GRAPHIC=None]
A proposal to rename a Roanoke street in honor of Martin Luther King Junior created a storm of controversy a couple of months ago.
But as Steve Smallshaw reports, a similar proposal in Bedford is causing less of a stir.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=With the]
[SUPER=03-Bedford; :00]
[SUPER=01-Rev. I. L. Ward/Bedford NAACP President; :25]
[SUPER=01-Mike Shelton/Bedford Mayor; :47]
[SUPER=@ssm2; 1:00]
[RUNS=1:05]
[OUT Q=News7, Bedford.]
(( With the Martin Luther King holiday just weeks away, the Bedford chapter of the N-double-A-C-P wants to remember the civil rights leader by re-naming a city street for him.
They've settled on Independence Boulevard, a one-point-eight mile stretch of road built in 1993 to bypass downtown Bedford.
While some may ask why name a street after Dr. King, minority leaders respond `why not?'.
[SOT 8:07:58]
((REV. I.L. WARD/BEDFORD NAACP PRESIDENT: WHY NOT SEIZE THIS MOMENTOUS OPPORTUNITY AND TAKE INDISPENSABLE ACTIONS TO PRESERVE THE LEGACY OF DR. KING FOR THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF OUR FUTURE GENERATION?))
[RUNS= 14]
[OUT Q=future generation?]
But city council first wants to examine potential problems with postal delivery and 9-1-1 response before any decision is made.
[SOT 8:09:55]
((MIKE SHELTON/BEDFORD MAYOR: IT WON'T FALL BY THE WAYSIDE, BUT WE WANT TO LOOK AT EVERYTHING RELATIVE TO THAT AND WHERE OUR POLICIES AND PROGRAMS LIE IN DETERMINING NAMING OF STREETS AND PARTICULARLY RENAMING. FIRST ONE WE'VE HAD, YOU'VE PUT US TO THE TEST.))
[RUNS= 16]
[OUT Q=to the test.]
Answers should be provided in a couple of weeks.
Steve Smallshaw, News7, Bedford.))
[2-General-Assembly]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=State Capitol]
In just a few hours, the first ever Repulican controlled General Assembly convenes in Richmond.
The chief job for this year's session is to hammer out a 48-billion dollar state spending package for the next two years.
Ellen Qualls will have a live report from the state capitol later today on News-7 at noon.
Tonight at 7--
(XXXXXXXX)
[TAKE FULL SCREEN BOARD]
Governor Gilmore delivers his State of the Commonwealth address.
You can see it live here on your Hometown station from seven to eight.
(-------------)
[2-Tultex]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=am]
[WRITER=kwe]
[TAPE#=99-51 TC31:32]
[GRAPHIC=Tultex Chap. 11]
Thousands of former Tultex employees have been on pins and needles since they were laid off last month.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Martinsville]
Last night at Martinsville High School more than 500 people walked through the doors looking for answers from the President of Tultex.
Questions about vacation and severance pay as well as health insurance were on people's minds since the company has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy.
But many walked out with their questions still unanswered.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 1:58:57]
[IN Q=]
((FREDDIE WITCHER: I FEEL LIKE THEY ARE JUST TRYING TO MOVE EVERYTHING OVERSEAS AND GET RID OF THE PEOPLE HERE AND MAKE IT CHEAP AND EASY ON THEM.))
[SUPER=01-Freddie Witcher/Former Tultex Employee]
[RUNS=:07]
[OUT Q=easy on them]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
In the meantime former employees say they're looking for other work and trying to get by.
(------------)
[2-81-Repairs]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=Interstate 81]
You might expect some delays on Interstate 81 in Roanoke County over the next two days.
(XXXXXXXXX)
[TAKE FULL SCREEN MAP]
V-Dot will close one northbound lane of the interstate from nine in the morning till three in the afternoon today and tomorrow.
They're repairing a bridge near mile marker 143-- that's just north of the I-81 and I-581 interchange.
(-------------)
[E-Brzonkala]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#=99-53 34:51]
[GRAPHIC=Brzonkala]
It's still an unproven rape allegation against two former Virginia Tech football players.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Washington, DC;]
Yesterday, Christy Brzonkala was at the U-S Supreme Court, to hear arguments in what is now a national civil rights case.
It's a test of the 1994 federal Violence Against Women Act, which Brzonkala's using to sue Tony Morrison.
Brzonkala made her public comments last week.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 15:52:40]
[IN Q=It's too traumatic]
((CHRISTY BRZONKALA/ALLEGED RAPE VICTIM: IT'S TOO TRAUMATIC FOR ME TO TALK...YOUR SOUL TORN OUT.))
[sot 11;44:27]
((MARILYN MORRISON/TONY MORRISON'S MOTHER: THIS CRUSADE...SO WHY ARE WE HERE?))
[SUPER=03-Washington, DC/Friday; :00]
[SUPER=01-Marilyn Morrison/Tony Morrison's Mother; :14]
[RUNS=:28]
[OUT Q=why are we here?]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
The justices must decide if the commerce and equal protection clauses of the Constitution allow Congress to make laws about violence -- when state courts already provide a remedy.
(------------)
[TALENT=Melanie]
[SS=None]
A ruling will come some time before the court recesses in June.
A separate case accusing Virginia Tech of allowing a "hostile environment" for women has been sent back to Judge Jackson Kiser in Roanoke.
[e-Indictment]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=99-57 22:15]
[GRAPHIC=Legal scales]
A fatal accident last spring led to a grand jury indictment yesterday.
A trucker is charged with two counts of manslaughter, for taking his eyes off the road.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[from 99-24 21:09]
[SUPER=03-Montgomery Co./May;]
A Montgomery County grand jury charged the truck's driver, 31-year-old Richard Wayne West with the involuntary manslaughter of a New York couple.
West's tractor trailer went through a median, killing the elderly couple last May.
(------------)
[S-Crash-Cause]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=99-56 TC24:04]
[GRAPHIC=Crash Investigation]
Two years after a fatal plane crash near the Roanoke Regional Airport, the National Transportation Safety Board has ruled on the cause, but the final report is inconclusive.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/December 10, 1997]
47- year- old James Notch of Arlington, Texas was killed when his plane crashed into a Roanoke neighborhood.
No one on the ground was injured, but one house was totalled and two others were damaged.
The crash happened shortly after the small plane took off and disappeared into a cloud bank.
Witnesses said the plane sounded like it was having engine trouble, but investigators did not find any evidence of a mechanical malfunction.
The N-T-S-B determined the probable cause as loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. The final report also indicates the low ceiling was a related factor.
(------------)
[Three-Steve]
[ANCHOR=Steve]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=spa]
[TAPE#NONE]
[GRAPHIC=NONE]
[ROLL COLD OUT OF BIRTHDAYS]
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Today on]
[SUPER=15-Steve/Pardon; :06 QUICK!!!!]
[SUPER=07-Chris McBride; :17]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke; :26]
[RUNS=2:42]
[OUT Q=get involved with history.]
[Steve Live]
[double Boxes=SPA & MEL]
(toss to Melanie)
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[SS=None]
(ad lib toss to bump)
[BUMP-Chyron]
[COMM #6]
((Archive:))
[streisand]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=none]
Prosecutors have declined to file charges against a freelance photographer accused of tailing Barbra Streisand and her husband James Brolin over the weekend, citing a lack of evidence of "credible threat."
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Malibu, CA;]
[3:08]
Wendell Ivar Wall was arrested Saturday afternoon and held on 1 million dollars bail, after Streisand and Brolin flagged a deputy down on the Pacific Coast Highway.
Wall allegedly had been following the couple for more than two hours that day prior to his arrest.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[3:09:03-15]
[IN Q=]
((WALL:SHE HAS TIES ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES...AND KEEP SHOOTING PICTURES.))
[SUPER=01-Wendell Wall/Freelance Photographer;]
[RUNS=:11]
[OUT Q=and keep shooting pictures.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
The decision pleased a handful of Wall's supporters who showed up at the Malibu courthouse yesterday morning, holding picket signs.
(------------)
[2-E-Lewis-Gale]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=sgo]
[TAPE#=99-60 47:21]
[GRAPHIC=Lewis Gale Departing Docs]
More doctors are leaving Lewis-Gale...
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Salem]
But the clinic won't say much about why the 18 are going.
Its executive director says he's surprised.
But as long as Lewis-Gale is holding discussions with PhyCor ... the parent company ... clinic management says it can't talk about what made the doctors leave.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 2:26:30]
[IN-Q=It is not the intention]
((JON NESS/LEWIS-GALE CLINIC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: IT IS NOT THE INTENTION TO SAY THIS IS NOT AN ISSUE. THE PURPOSE OF THIS MEETING TODAY IS TO SAY THIS IS AN ISSUE, AND TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT.))
[SUPER=01-Jon Ness/Lewis-Gale Clinic Executive Dir.]
[RUNS=08]
[OUT Q=ACKNOWLEDGE THAT]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Here's the list of the 18-doctors who have resigned so far.
Four practice at the main clinic in Salem.
The rest are at Lewis-Gale satellite clinics:
One doctor is leaving Back Creek, two are from Fincastle, one resigned in Floyd and one in Fort Lewis
Five are from the Lee-Hi clinic and four at West Salem.
Meanwhile ... doctors tell us they're under a gag order.
They can't talk to each other or to their patients for fear of getting sued.
But Internet chat rooms echo what doctors tell us privately ... that say the company mismanages clinics and takes too much of their profits.
(------------)
[E-Waterworks]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=tte]
[TAPE#=99-46 1:17:13]
[GRAPHIC=None]
A Smith Mountain Lake man is racking up expensive fines for cutting off residents' water.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Franklin Co.;]
Robert Winney owns Waterworks of Franklin County, serving about 50 lake area homes.
The State Corporation Commission held a court hearing yesterday, saying Winney quit paying his electricity bills, overcharged customers, and left them without water several times.
[SUPER=04-September 1999;]
The health department says one leak gushed almost six thousand gallons of water a day for seven weeks during last summer's drought.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 1:09:33]
[IN Q=It oculd have been repaired]
((WILLIAM EISAMAN/CUSTOMER: IT COULD HAVE BEEN REPAIRED WITHIN TWO OR THREE DAYS. BUT NO, YOU LET THAT THING GO FOR SEVEN OR EIGHT WEEKS WITH THE WATER GOING DOWN THE HILL, THE TOWER COMING DOWN, AND THE REST OF US SUFFERED AS A RESULT OF YOUR LAXNESS.))
[SUPER=01-William Eisaman/Waterworks Customer;]
[RUNS=:15]
[OUT Q=YOUR LAXNESS]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Winney says he cannot afford to fix the system unless the state lets him raise rates by 30 percent.
Instead, the state may fine him at least 25-hundred dollars.
Winney already owes the commission 25-hundred dollars for past violations.
He says he plans to sell the company.
(------------)
[3-Sports]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=chr]
[TAPE#=sports cut in]
[GRAPHIC=None]
In sports, NASCAR is getting set for the start of the 2000 racing season.
Denise Allen has pre-season notes.
Good Morning Denise.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Good morning]
[RUNS=3:17]
[OUT Q=great day]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
(weather toss)
[Local-Recap]
[SUPER=#4059;Local Recap]
[2-Shot=Mel/Kmc]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
Now here's another look at today's top local stories:
(XXXXXXX)
[TAKE FULL SCREEN Board]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
Expect some delays on Interstate 81 in Roanoke County.
V-Dot is repairing a bridge near mile marker 143-- that's just north of the I-81 and I-581 interchange.
One northbound lane of the interstate will be closed from nine in the morning till three in the afternoon today and tomorrow.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
With the Martin Luther King holiday just weeks away, the Bedford chapter of the N-double-A-C-P wants to remember the civil rights leader by re-naming a city street for him.
They've settled on Independence Boulevard, a one-point-eight mile stretch of road built in 1993 to bypass downtown Bedford.
But city council first wants to examine potential problems with postal delivery and 9-1-1 response before any decision is made-- that will take a couple of weeks.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
Hundreds of people want answers from Tultex-- they have questions about vacation and severance pay as well as health insurance now that the company has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy.
However many of the 500 people at last night's creditors meeting at Martinsville High School walked away with their questions unanswered.
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
(Kimberly mic hot)
(///////////////)
(Kimberly ad lib weather)
(-------------)
[Double Boxes=Melanie/Kimberly and Steve]
(toss)
[ANCHOR=Steve]
(live ad lib, tease tomorrow)
(ad lib bye)
[Double Boxes=Melanie/Kimberly and Steve]
by SS