[7-S-Allen]

[ANCHOR=Kim]

[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=ejo]
[TAPE#=00-05 11:38]
[GRAPHIC=George Allen]


He served in the House of Representatives ten years ago, and now former Governor George Allen wants to return to the halls of Congress.
Today, Allen is starting his statewide tour to kick off his candidacy for the U-S Senate.
(-----------)
[VO-NAT ]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/February 28]


Just last month Allen made a stop in Roanoke on behalf of the Bush Presidential campaign.
Allen started his campaigning in Abingdon.
He has four stops scheduled today, including a morning rally in Roanoke.
It is scheduled for 8-30 at the airport's Piedmont-Hawthorne Terminal.
Allen is a Republican, challenging Democrat Chuck Robb.
(-----------)



[7-S-Explosion]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=jsu]
[TAPE#=00-04 39:32]
[GRAPHIC=New River Castings Plant]


Authorities are continuing their investigation at New River Castings in Radford.
Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms investigators wrapped up their work at the explosion site over the weekend.
Last weekend's explosion killed three people, and now
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Radford/Last Sunday;]


investigators say they have pinned down which gas most likely caused the blast.
They plan to release that information sometime this week.
Officials are still working to determine if the company committed any federal regulatory violations.
(------------)



[7-E-Grooms-Memorial]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=jsu]
[TAPE#=99-53 1:51:11]
[GRAPHIC=HOLD]


Curtis Grooms was one of the plant employees who died in last Sunday's explosion.
Family and friends gathered yesterday to remember the man known to them as Jack Spade.
Joy Sutton has the story.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Leaning]
[SUPER=03-Shawsville; :00 Quick!!!]
[SUPER=01-John Buchanan/Victim's Friend; :09]
[SUPER=01-Michelle Grooms/Victim's Wife; :24]
[SUPER=01-John Brumberg/Victim's Friend; :48]
[SUPER=01-Jimmy Valiant/Camp Owner; 1:10 Quick!!!]
[RUNS=1:16]
[OUT Q=n7 shawsville]

(( Leaning on each other for comfort -- dozens gathered to remember Curtis Grooms -- the man they called Jack Spade inside the wrestling ring.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT59:29]
[IN Q=Jack Spade was one]

((JOHN BUCHANAN/FRIEND: JACK SPADE WAS ONE OF THE BEST AND WE'RE GOING TO MISS HIM GREATLY))
[RUNS= 4]
[OUT Q=him greatly]


Grooms wife Michelle say Boogies Wrestling Camp in Shawsville was one of her husband's favorite places to go.
She says he loved to wrestle -- and that's why he was here last Sunday training.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT1:09:31]
[IN Q=]

((MICHELLE GROOMS: HE COULD COME OUT AND THE CROWD WOULD BE DEAD AND HE WOULD LIVEN IT RIGHT UP. EVERYBODY WANTED TO REACH OUT AND TOUCH HIS HAND))
[RUNS= 9]
[OUT Q=his hand]
(///// SOT /////)
[NAT SOT1:17:22]
[IN Q=On this day]
((NAT SOT: ON THIS DAY WE REMEMBER A FELLOW WRESTLER AND CLASSMATE WHO PASSED THROUGH HEAVEN'S GATE))
[RUNS= 7]
[OUT Q=heaven's gate]


Grooms graduated from the camp in 19-98 -- and to these wrestlers he was family -- and a man they admired.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT1:02:40]
[IN Q=He made me feel]

((JOHN BRUMBERG/VICTIM'S FRIEND:HE MADE ME FEEL LIKE I WAS A PART. I FELT LIKE REALLY NERVOUS MY FIRST DAY. HE KIND OF BROUGHT ME IN AND SAID DO NOT WORRY ABOUT IT JUST BE CALM COOL AND COLLECTIVE))
[RUNS= 9]
[OUT Q=collective]


This Sunday, while the wrestlers gathered inside the ring -- they give Curtis -- Jack Spade his final bell.
They say although Curtis is gone -- his memory and legacy inside the ring live on.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT1:21:29]
[IN Q=This was Curtis dream ]

((JIMMY VALIANT: THIS WAS CURTIS' DREAM, TO BECOME A PROCESSIONAL WRESTLER AND HE WAS LIVING OUT THAT DREAM))
[RUNS= 4]
[OUT Q=living out that dream.]

Joy Sutton, News 7, Shawsville))
(----------)



[7Weather]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tar]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=none]


Here's a look at today's weather.
Expect a sunny morning with clouds moving in this afternoon.
Highs in the upper 40s to 50.
Tonight, partly cloudy with a light breeze.
Lows in the upper 20s to 30.
The extended forecast...

[SUPER=X5000; set dissolve]
[SUPER=314-Sunny Morning/Partly Cloudy PM/45-50/Partly Cloudy/Light Breeze/25-30;]
[SUPER=#555; reset]





[45-S-Infant-Death]


[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tha]
[TAPE#=99-49 2:03:13]
[GRAPHIC=none]


Authorities are still trying to determine how an infant died, whose body was found in a Blacksburg dumpster.

(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg/Saturday;]


The baby boy was discovered Saturday morning wrapped in several plastic shopping bags.
Police discovered the newborn after tending to a woman at the same apartment complex who appeared to have given birth.
The baby's mother has NOT been charged.
An autopsy was inconclusive as to how the baby died or if he was born alive.
Right now, police are awaiting the results of lab tests to answer that question.
(------------)



[45-S-Weeks]


[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=ejo]
[TAPE#=00-01 1:00:45]
[GRAPHIC=Lonnie Weeks]


Governor Gilmore is the last hope for convicted killer Lonnie Weeks, who is scheduled for execution later this week.
(---------)
[VO-NAT]


Weeks is a 27 year old North Carolina man, convicted for the shooting death of a police officer 7 years ago.
[Super=03-Dale City/1993;]


It was in 19-93 that Weeks was pulled over on Interstate 95 in Dale City.
A jury found him guilty of fatally shooting a Virginia State Trooper six times.
The Supreme Court stayed his execution last September .. but has since ruled it can go forward.
Only a clemency ruling from Governor Gilmore can stop the execution this time.
(------------)



[45-E-Gas-Prices]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=kwe]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Gas Prices]


Higher gas prices have leaked into Campaign 2000...
Republican George W. Bush blames the Clinton administration and a federal gas tax hike -- which he says he would suspend.
Democrat Al Gore says the solution to high gas prices is "tough negotiating'' with OPEC.
In the past two weeks prices have soared a record 12 cents per gallon -- that's according to a national survey.

(------------)
[VO-NAT 99-51 1:33:53]
[SUPER=03-Troutville/March 2]


The average cost at the pump is around a dollar- 59 per gallon.
Prices are higher in the west because there's been a smaller supply of gasoline thanks to refinery problems last year.
Officials say don't look for a dip in prices anytime soon -- warmer weather is on the way and that means there will be a higher demand for gas.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[SS=HOLD]


The high prices are also affecting the airlines.
Led by Continental, many airlines have been raising fares in recent days by as much as 40 dollars a flight.

[45-US-Airways]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=US Airways]


March 25th is the deadline for U-S Airways to reach a new contract with its flight attendants.
If no deal is reached, the attendants are threatening to strike 49 routes.
Those include several flights in and out of New York, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington, Atlanta and Baltimore.
No flights in or out of Roanoke, Lynchburg or Charlotte were on the list.
U-S Airways says it would shut down all its routes if no accord is reached by the 25-th.

[45Weather]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tar]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=none]


Taking a break from the news to check the forecast...
Sunny this morning, then turning partly cloudy later with highs near 50.
Partly cloudy tonight with a light breeze and chilly lows in the upper 20s.
In the five day forecast.... temperatures stay in the 50s and 60s...with rain possible around mid- week.

[SUPER=X5000; set dissolve]
[SUPER=314-Sunny Morning/Partly Cloudy PM/45-50/Partly Cloudy/Light Breeze/25-30;]
[SUPER=#555; reset]





[8-S-Explosion]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=jsu]
[TAPE#=00-04 39:32]
[GRAPHIC=New River Castings Plant]


It was a week ago yesterday that three people lost their lives when the basement of the New River Castings Plant in Radford exploded.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Radford/Last Sunday;]


Investigators says they have now pinned down which gas most likely caused the blast and they plan to release that information sometime this week.
Officials are still working to determine if the company committed any federal regulatory violations.
(------------)



[8-Grooms]


[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tar]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=HOLD]


He had a passion for wrestling and his friends and ring-mates knew him as Jack Spade.
Curtis Grooms was one of the victims of last Sunday's plant explosion.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Shawsville;]


Yesterday, family and friends gathered at Boogies Wrestling Camp to honor Grooms and say a final goodbye.
Those who knew him best say the ring will miss him.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Jack Spade]

((JOHN BUCHANAN/FRIEND: JACK SPADE WAS ONE OF THE BEST AND WE'RE GOING TO MISS HIM GREATLY.))
((NAT SOT: ON THIS DAY WE REMEMBER A FELLOW WRESTLER AND CLASSMATE WHO PASSED THROUGH HEAVEN'S GATE.))
[SUPER=01-John Buchanan/Friend;]
[RUNS=11]
[OUT Q=heaven's gate.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]


Family members say Boogies Wrestling was one of Grooms favorite places to go and he was there training on the day of his death.
They also say wrestling was his dream and he always spread his love of the sport to his ring-mates and his audience.
(------------)



[8-S-Infant-Death]


[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tha]
[TAPE#=99-49 2:03:13]
[GRAPHIC=none]


The death of a newborn baby found in a dumpster in Blacksburg over the weekend is still raising questions.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg/Yesterday;]


The baby boy was discovered Saturday morning wrapped in several plastic shopping bags.
Police discovered the newborn after tending to a woman at the same apartment complex who appeared to have given birth.
The baby's mother has NOT been charged.
An autopsy was inconclusive as to how the baby died or if he was born alive.
Right now, police are awaiting the results of lab tests to answer that question.
(------------)



[8-S-Weeks]


[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=ejo]
[TAPE#=00-01 1:00:45]
[GRAPHIC=Lonnie Weeks]


Condemned killer Lonnie Weeks will be put to death in a few days, unless Governor Gilmore intervenes.
(---------)
[VO-NAT]


Weeks is a 27 year old North Carolina man, convicted for the shooting death of a police officer 7 years ago.
[Super=03-Dale City/1993;]


It was in 19-93 that Weeks was pulled over on Interstate 95 in Dale City.
A jury found him guilty of fatally shooting a Virginia State Trooper six times.
The Supreme Court stayed his execution last September .. but has since ruled it can go forward.
Only a clemency ruling from Governor Gilmore can stop the execution this time.
(------------)



[8-Bedford-Dance]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tar]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=none]


The Bedford County sheriff's office is asking the Board of Supervisors to close a loophole in county dance regulations.
The law allows post-midnight parties outside Saturday night dances held for charity.
Other dance sponsors have to close by midnight.
Sheriff's officials say the events sometimes turn violent, with fights breaking out.
The supervisors are to take up the proposal this week.



[8Weather]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tar]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=none]


Shifting gears now to weather...
Lots of sunshine this morning, then turning partly cloudy later on.
Highs in the upper 40s to near 50 today.
Staying partly cloudy tonight with temperatures dropping into the upper 20s.
In the five day forecast.... temperatures stay in the 50s and 60s...with rain possible around mid- week.

[SUPER=X5000; set dissolve]
[SUPER=314-Sunny Morning/Partly Cloudy PM/45-50/Partly Cloudy/Light Breeze/25-30;]
[SUPER=#555; reset]


by SS