[7-Lewis-Gale]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=sgo]
[TAPE#=99-47]
[GRAPHIC=Lewis Gale]
Plans have been made by Lewis-Gale Clinic administrators and the board of directors to change the clinic's ownership.
Scott Goldberg reports the hope is this plan will stop additional doctors from departing and let it keep caring for its patients.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Salem; 00]
[SUPER=01-Dr. Larry Patton/Chmn. of Lewis-Gale Clinic Board; 10 --quick]
[SUPER=@Scott1; 1:24]
[RUNS=1:38]
[OUT Q=sg, news-7]
(( Behind closed doors in Salem ... it was a meeting of the doctors who have not resigned....
Hearing a complicated plan to divorce the clinic from its parent copmany, PhyCor.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 6:51:42]
[IN Q=i think]
((DR. LARRY PATTON/CHMN. OF THE LEWIS-GALE CLINIC BOARD OFR DIRECTORS: I THINK IT'S PRETTY OBVIOUS THAT PHYCOR DIDN'T WORK THE WAY WE HAD HOPED IT WOULD.))
[RUNS04]
[OUT Q=HOPED IT WOULD]
The chairman of the clinic's board of directors says when PhyCor took over four years ago ... it promised to run a more efficient clinic.
But since then, doctors have been quitting -- 29 doctors this month alone -- accusing the physician managment company of MISmanaging Lewis-Gale.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 6:49:48]
[IN Q=some of THE]
((DR. LARRY PATTON/CHMN. OF THE LEWIS-GALE CLINIC BOARD OFR DIRECTORS: SOME OF THE PHYSICIANS ARE DISENCHANTED WITH THE RELATIONSHIP. AND THAT RELATIONSHIP NEEDS TO CHANGE.))
[RUNS05]
[OUT Q=TO CHANGE]
[PRE PRO PAGE ONE]
The plan is to create an independent clinic, owned by the doctors who say they'll remain in the Lewis-Gale group.
[page 2]
That means a "significantly different" relationship with PhyCor --
Either completely cutting ties with the company ... or retaining PhyCor as a manager, but not an owner.
[page 3]
The doctors would buy back the clinic's assets.
They're now looking for loans to help finance the deal.
And health-care giant Columbia/HCA is one company said to be interested in supporting them.
One big question remaining unanswered is:
What happens to the doctors who quit ... whose clinic contracts forbid them from opening new private practices?
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 6:53:22]
[IN Q=WE'RE NEGOTIATING]
((PATTON: WE'RE NEGOTIATING WITH ALL PARTIES IN GOOD FAITH TO TRY TO BRING A RESOLUTION TO THE DIFFERENCES. (28) Scott Goldberg: And the clinic really does want to keep these doctors here? PATTON: THE WOULD CLINIC LOVE TO SEE THESE DOCTORS STAY HERE AND PRACTICE MEDICINE AND PROVIDE EXCELLENT CARE. WE'RE A TEAM WHEN IT COMES TO TAKING CARE OF PATIENTS. ))
[RUNS16]
[OUT Q=TAKING CARE OF PATIENTS]
One source close to the doctors who have resigned says it's too early to tell what tonight's developments mean.
But the doctors have remained hopeful they'll come up with their own deal to let them keep seeing their patients.
Scott Goldberg, News-7.))
[7-E-Primary-Deadline]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tha]
[TAPE#=99-49 1:10:38]
[GRAPHIC=Campaign 2000]
The people of New Hampshire are going to the polls today in the first primary of the presidential election year.
Meantime, Virginia Voters who plan to participate in state's Republican primary later this month will find forms waiting for their signatures.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Before casting their ballot-- voters will be required to sign a pledge stating that they do not intend to take part in a nomination process other than the G-O-P.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 00:01:13]
[IN Q=I think]
((JIM HOPKINS/REGISTERED VOTER: I THINK IT'S FINE IF IT CAN CUT DOWN ON VOTER FRAUD AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT IT'S FOR, IT'S CERTAINLY NOT TO KEEP PEOPLE FROM VOTING, I'VE HEARD THAT ARGUMENT BUT DON'T BUY IT.))
[SUPER=01-Jim Hopkins/Registered Voter;]
[RUNS=11]
[OUT Q=buy it.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]
Although Jim Hopkins supports the pledge.... Roanoke city's registrar says she expects some voters will be angered by it.
Virginia's Republican primary takes place February 29th.
(------------)
[7Weather]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tar]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=nada]
Here's a look at your Tuesday forecast.
Partly sunny and windy today.
Highs in the upper 30s to 40.
Tonight, clear and breezy with lows in the upper teens to low 20s.
The extended forecast...
[SUPER=X5000; set dissolve]
[SUPER=314-Partly Sunny/Winds NW 15-30/35-40/Clear &/Breezy/18-22;]
[SUPER=#555; reset]
[45-E-Missing-Girl]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=99-50 1:38:21]
[GRAPHIC=None]
It's been one week since a 16 year old Radford girl disappeared and investigators admit the trail is getting cold.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Radford;]
Still her family is not giving up hope that she'll turn up alive.
Tara Rose Munsey, a Radford High School sophomore, disappeared last Tuesday night after she left work at Taco Bell.
Authorities found her car in the parking lot with her dinner still on the seat.
Family and friends are convinced she was kidnapped.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=If she's able]
[SUPER=01-Kitty Irwin/Tara's Mother;]
[super=01-Nick Zaroba/Tara's Boyfriend;]
[SOT 22:51 - 23:00]
((KITTY IRWIN/TARA'S MOTHER: IF SHE'S ABLE TO GET TO A PHONE, THEN WE WOULD'VE HEARD FROM HER.))
[SOT 18:13 - :30]
((NICK ZAROBA/TARA'S BOYFRIEND: JOBWISE EVERYTHING WAS FINE, FRIENDWISE...SHE HADN'T GOTTEN INTO ANY ARGUMENTS WITH HER FRIENDS... SHE WAS THE NICEST PERSON IN THE WORLD SHE WAS THE EASIEST PERSON TO GET ALONG WITH. I DON'T SEE WHY OR WHO WOULD'VE DONE SOMETHING LIKE THIS.))
[SUPER=01-Kitty Irwin/Tara's Mother; :00]
[super=01-Nick Zaroba/Tara's Boyfriend; :10]
[RUNS=:26]
[OUT Q=something like this.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
The family is now offering a 5-thousand dollar reward, no questions asked, for her return.
(------------)
[45-E-Mutual-Aid]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=99-45 1:58:24]
[GRAPHIC=None]
The free ride may be over for county residents who are tranpsorted on a Lynchburg city ambulance.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=04-File Tape]
For years, the city has responded to mutual aid requests in the surrounding counties when local volunteers couldn't handle the call.
But county residents have never been charged the same fee that city residents pay for ambulance service.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 19:27:23//19:31:09]
[IN Q=Basically what]
((LES PUCKETT/L'BURG DEPUTY FIRE CHIEF: BASICALLY WHAT WE'VE LOOKED AT IS SIMPLY A MATTER OF FAIRNESS AS AFAR AS CHARGING FOR ANY TRANSPORT FEES, IT'S NO MORE AND NO LESS THAT WHAT CITY RESIDENTS ARE DOING AT PRESENT.))
((MIKE MILNOR/CAMPBELL CO. PUBLIC SAFETY DIRECTOR: I UNDERSTAND LYNCHBURG'S DECISION AND I'M REALLY SURPRISED IT HASN'T HAPPENED BEFORE NOW.))
[SUPER=01-Les Puckett/L'burg Deputy Fire Chief; :00]
[SUPER=01-Mike Milnor/Campbell Co. Public Safety; :11]
[RUNS=17]
[OUT Q=happened before now.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Authorities say a shortage of daytime volunteers in the counties has led to an increase in mutual aid requests.
(------------)
[45-E-Air-Enforcement]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#=00-01 19:21:18]
[GRAPHIC=81 Safety]
The statics are alarming---- 40 dead motorists and almost two thousand crashes on Interstate 81.
Those 1998 numbers have prompted Blacksburg Delegate Jim Shuler's latest bill.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co./March 1999;]
Shuler would empower State Police to write speeding tickets from the air.
Current state law only allows them to spot speeders from the air.
Troopers on the ground must still clock the cars and write the tickets.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 02:06:31]
[IN Q=What has happened]
((DEL. JIM SHULER/D-BLACKSBURG: WHAT HAS HAPPENED IS OF COURSE ONE MAN GOT THREE TICKETS...NORTH ON I-81.))
[SUPER=@Shuler;]
[RUNS=:21]
[OUT Q=on I-81.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
The House approved the bill -- despite concerns air enforcement won't be as accurate as ground-based radar.
(------------)
[45Weather]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tar]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=nada]
Taking a moment now to check the forecast...
Turning partly sunny and breezy, with highs near 40.
Clear overnight, with lows around 20.
As for the rest of the week...partly to mostly sunny skies with gradually warmer highs in the 40s and 50s.
[SUPER=X5000; set dissolve]
[SUPER=314-Partly Sunny/Winds NW 15-30/35-40/Clear &/Breezy/18-22;]
[SUPER=#555; reset]
[8-E-Primary-Deadline]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tha]
[TAPE#=99-49 1:10:38]
[GRAPHIC=Campaign 2000]
A heavy turnout is expected in New Hampshire today for the nation's first presidential primary.
Later this month, Virginians will head to the polls to cast their votes for the state's Republican primary.
But not without first signing a form.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Before casting their ballot-- voters will be required to sign a pledge stating that they do not intend to take part in a nomination process other than the G-O-P.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 00:01:13]
[IN Q=I think]
((JIM HOPKINS/REGISTERED VOTER: I THINK IT'S FINE IF IT CAN CUT DOWN ON VOTER FRAUD AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT IT'S FOR, IT'S CERTAINLY NOT TO KEEP PEOPLE FROM VOTING, I'VE HEARD THAT ARGUMENT BUT DON'T BUY IT.))
[SUPER=01-Jim Hopkins/Registered Voter;]
[RUNS=11]
[OUT Q=buy it.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]
Although Jim Hopkins supports the pledge.... Roanoke city's registrar says she expects some voters will be angered by it.
Virginia's Republican primary takes place February 29th.
(------------)
[8-E-Boucher-Jobs]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=99-54 56:35]
[GRAPHIC=New Jobs]
A major telecommunications company may set up shop in an area county, but it needs help from area workers to close the deal.
Montgomery County COULD become home to the company promising 12-hundred new jobs.
Congressman Rick Boucher
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Christiansburg;]
announced yesterday that the county is one of two finalists being considered by the company for a new telecommunications center.
Boucher would NOT identify the company or the other area competing for the jobs. He said it would jeopardize negotiations.
(+++++++++)
[TAKE Pinnacle Board]
More information will be available at a Job Expo on February ninth from noon to 8 p.m. in the Montgomery County Enterprise Center.
The company will decide if it's locating here, based on turnout at that expo, in the next few weeks.
(-------------)
[8-E-Prayer-Bill]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#=99-56 37:55]
[GRAPHIC=VA Capitol]
Virginia students now have a minute "to pray, reflect, or meditate" now that a bill endorsing it has passed in the state Senate.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Chesterfield Co./File Tape;]
Supporters say teachers should instruct students to "pray, reflect, or meditate" to discourage them from just daydreaming.
Opponents say the wording could offend some Christians who don't want their children "meditating," or offend some atheists who don't want their children "praying."
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 02:19:57]
[IN Q=The people]
((SEN. EDD HOUCK/D-SPOTSYLVANIA CO.: THE PEOPLE THAT I REPRESENT ARE CHRISTIANS, MUSLIMS, AND HINDUS, AND ATHEISTS. THEY'RE OF ALL WALKS OF LIFE.))
[SUPER=01-Sen. Edd Houck/(D) Spotsylvania; :00]
[RUNS=:09]
[OUT Q=of life.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
The bill passed on a 23 to 14 vote.
It gets another vote tomorrow, and could head to a House committee.
(------------)
[8-E-L'burg-Exams]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=99-46 1:59:37]
[GRAPHIC=Education]
The recent winter storms have closed most area schools for the week.
Now high school students in Lynchburg won't have to take their mid- term exams.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg]
Bad weather has already wiped out two thirds of the exam schedule.. and educators decided there was not enough time for students to prepare for the tests.
Those who want to take the exams to improve their overall grade CAN do so, but a poor grade won't count against them.
The end of the school year in Lynchburg has also been pushed back three days.
(------------)
[8Weather]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tar]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=nada]
Time now to check the Tuesday forecast...
Partly sunny skies, with strong northwesterly winds today.
Highs nearing 40.
Clear skies overnight, and still breezy, lows around 20.
As for the rest of the week...partly to mostly sunny skies with gradually warmer highs in the 40s and 50s.
[SUPER=X5000; set dissolve]
[SUPER=314-Partly Sunny/Winds NW 15-30/35-40/Clear &/Breezy/18-22;]
[SUPER=#555; reset]
by SS