[7-Danville-Braves]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=sch]
[TAPE#=00-]
[GRAPHIC=none]
Danville officials say the city's minor league baseball team owes the city thousands of dollars.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Danville]
The city wants its money and has sued the Danville Braves. According to court documents the team owes 40 thousand dollars along with 50 cents for each paid admission. Attorney's from both sides are negotiating. We talked with the Danville Braves' attorney by phone.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 1:04:15]
[IN Q= Our reaction]
((ANDREW GOLDSTEIN/DANVILLE BRAVES' ATTORNEY: OUR REACTION IS TO THE CITY'S LAWSUIT IS TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THERE HAVE BEEN SOME PROBLEMS REGARDING THE DANVILLE BRAVES HOWEVER WE'VE HAD CONCILIATORY NEGOTIATIONS SINCE THE FILING OF THE LAWSUIT. ))
[SOT 10:06]
((TIM SPENCER/DANVILLE CITY ATTORNEY: IT IS THE INTENT AND PURPOSE OF MY OFFICE AND CITY COUNCIL THAT THERE WILL BE BASEBALL THIS SEASON IN DANVILLE.))
[SUPER=02-Andrew Goldstein/Danville Braves' Attorney; :00]
[SUPER=01-Tim Spencer/Danville City Attorney; :20]
[RUNS=24]
[OUT Q=in Danville.]
(--------------)
[VO-NAT]
Both sides say they are very close to an agreement.
(--------------)
[7-6-Impostor]
[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=jsu]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Nelson County authorities are looking for a man who is posing as a police officer.
The man pulled over a woman yesterday afternoon on Route 29.
He told her to get out of her vehicle and to bring her keys and purse.
When the woman said she was going to call 9-1-1 the man fled.
(+++++++)
[TAKE PINNACLE 1002]
Authorities describe the man as a white male with brown hair and a beard.
Approximately 35 year old and about 6 feet tall.
He was driving a white Crown Victoria or Chevy Caprice.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=melanie]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Authorities say to be on the safe side, leave your vehicle running if you are pulled over, keep the doors locked -- and only let the window down just enough to hand out information.
And if you feel uncomfortable stopping, authorities say turn on your hazard lights and continue at a normal speed until you reach a well lit area.
Anyone with information should call 9-1-1 or the Nelson County Sheriff's office.
[7-5-Reform-Party]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tbr]
[TAPE#=599-17 1;54;30]
[GRAPHIC=reform party]
Control of the Reform Party of America is still up for grabs as testimony continues in Lynchburg's Federal Court.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg]
Jack Gargan was ousted as party chairman last month by supporters of Reform Party founder Ross Perot. Gargan claims the meeting and the vote to remove him were illegal and he should remain in control. But current chairman Pat Choate says Gargan was acting like a tyrant and refused to head the wishes of the executive committee.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Pat Choate/Current Reform Party Chairman;]
[RUNS=:19]
[OUT Q=will be removed]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Both sides say it will come down to how judge Norman Moon interprets the Party's Constitution. Moon says he will release his ruling after four Monday afternoon.
(------------)
[7Weather]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tar]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]
Here's a look at your Friday forecast.
Some fog this morning, then skies turn sunny.
Highs in the upper 60s to low 70s.
Tonight, mostly clear with light winds.
Lows in the low 40s.
The weekend forecast...
[SUPER=X5000; set dissolve]
[SUPER=314-Patchy A.M. Fog,/then Turning Sunny/68-72/Mostly Clear/Light Wind/40-45;]
[SUPER=#555; reset]
[45-6-ReSpec'd-Shutdown]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=jsu]
[TAPE#=00-]
[GRAPHIC=none]
[***ANCHOR TAG***]
Less than a month after it got a new owner, a Roanoke distribution and packaging company is closing.
Joy Sutton reports employees say they were given no warning.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=this is what]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke; :00]
[SUPER=01-Vernon Woods/Employee; :15]
[SUPER=01-Bonnie Duffield/Former Owner; :31]
[SUPER=@Joy2;1:20]
[RUNS=1:30]
[OUT Q=n7 roanoke]
(([nat sound 5:49:55 of guy hauling away ref.]
[RUNS5]
This is what employees of ReSpec'd Limited found when the returned from lunch Thursday afternoon -- the chairs, tables, almost everything inside the plant were being hauled away.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 5:51:57]
[IN Q=I found out]
((VERNON WOODS/EMPLOYEE: I FOUND OUT THAT THE COMPANY WAS BEING TAKEN OVER, WE'D BEEN CLOSED DOWN AND ALL ASSETS WERE BEING MOVED OUT AND WE WAS OUT OF A JOB ))
[RUNS7]
[OUT Q=out of a job]
The plant was purchased on March 1st by The Lester Group in Martinsville -- as part of a joint venture with one its competitors Professional Distribution Services Incorporated.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT5:57:12]
[IN Q=I felt very confident]
((BONNIE DUFFIELD/FORMER OWNER: I FELT VERY CONFIDENT THAT THE EMPLOYEES WOULD BE TAKEN CARE OF AND THAT THEY WOULD LEND FINANCIAL STABILITY FOR THE BUSINESS TO THRIVE AND I COULD GO OUT AND CONTINUE TO SELL))
[RUNS13]
[OUT Q=I felt very confident]
[nat sound 5:49:35]
[RUNS03]
The plants eleven employees say this was a big surprise --especially since business was going well.
George Gorman the General Manager for P-D-S did not want to comment on camera -- but did tell us that certain circumstances caused a change in plans.
He would not address the circumstances -- but says the decision was made by The Lester Group.
But employees say they worked too hard -- to watch the companies future be packed away.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 5:55:02]
[IN Q=We still have the]
((VERNON WOODS/EMPLOYEE: WE STILL HAVE THE BUILDING, WE STILL HAVE THE CONTRACTS, WE MIGHT HAVE NO ASSETS LIKE THE TABLE, BUT WE PLAN TO COME TO WORK AND EVEN IF WE HAVE TO SET ON THE FLOOR TO DO THE WORK))
[RUNS10]
[OUT Q=to do the work]
And these employees say they are moving-up and with the help of the previous owner they plan to turn this plant into an employee owned business.
Joy Sutton, News 7, Roanoke.))
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[GRAPHIC=none]
The Lester Group's management says the move was prompted by a change in business conditions. It was not a financial matter nor a reflection on the employee's quality of work.
[45-6-Price]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]
A Danville woman is facing embezzlement charges.
She allegedly took money from the union she worked for.
Thirty- nine year old Virginia Ann Price was the financial secretary to Bakery, Confectionery and Tobacco Workers Local 314-T in Danville.
The Grand Jury charges that Price wrote more than 2-thousand dollars worth of checks to herself and her two children between 1994 and 1997.
The 15- count indictment alleges Price also altered union records in an attempt to cover the theft.
[45-VMI-Cadet]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=VMI]
In 19-97, Erin Nicole Claunch was one of the women who broke the gender barrier at the Virginia Military Institute.
This fall, the cadet from Loudoun County will become one of two battalion commanders at the Lexington
school, leading half of the 12-hundred-member cadet corps her senior year.
Her selection was based on grades, leadership ability and physical fitness accomplishments.
[45Weather]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tar]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]
Taking a break from the news now to check the forecast..
Patchy morning fog will give way to sunshine today.
Highs near 70.
Tonight, mostly clear with light winds and low in the lower 40s.
The five day forecast is partly to mostly sunny through the weekend...with pleasant highs in the 70s.
[SUPER=X5000; set dissolve]
[SUPER=314-Patchy A.M. Fog,/then Turning Sunny/68-72/Mostly Clear/Light Wind/40-45;]
[SUPER=#555; reset]
[8-5-Smart-Road]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=500-4 39:59]
[GRAPHIC=Smart Road]
What makes Virginia's controversial Smart Road so smart?
Researchers got a chance answer that question yesterday.
As Marya Jones reports, officials say it is also a highway to economic opportunity.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=This two-mile]
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg; :00]
[SUPER=01-Ray Pethtel/Virginia Tech Transportation Inst.; :12]
[SUPER=01-Dan Brugh/VDOT Resident Engineer; :43]
[super=@Marya2; :56]
[RUNS=1:11]
[OUT Q=News 7]
(( This two-mile stretch of road already houses more than 70 transportation research projects.
Projects that Virginia Tech and VDOT officials say will put Blacksburg ... and Virginia ... in the transportation research fast lane.
[SOT 1:55:06 - :17]
(( RAY PETHTEL/ VIRGINIA TECH TRANSPORTATION INST.: THIS IS A UNIQUE PROJECT. IT'S THE ONLY ONE OF ITS KIND IN THE WORLD TODAY. THERE ARE OTHERS THAT HAVE SOME OF THE FEATURES OF THIS FACILITY BUT NOT ALL OF THEM. ))
[RUNS=:11]
Two years in the construction and 30-million dollars in the making, the Smart Road is a collaborative project between VDOT and Virginia Tech.
One day, the road will connect Interstate 81 to Blacksburg.
But in the meantime, it's a concrete and asphalt laboratory ... meant to help VDOT find out how to eliminate hazards in highway travel.
[SOT 2:06:13 - :25]
((DAN BRUGH/VDOT: WE HOPE THAT WE HAVE MUCH SAFER HIGHWAYS...THAT THE NUMBER OF ACCIDENTS, FATALITIES...THAT THOSE NUMBERS ARE REDUCED.))
[RUNS=:12]
Officials say the road's special technology also makes it a lure to businesses worldwide that want to test drive their automotive products... in a number of different weather and lighting conditions.
The road is expected to bring in 20-million dollars in research revenue in the next year.
Marya Jones News 7))
[8-6-Rockbridge-Fire]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=00-01 1:19:42]
[GRAPHIC=Fire Investigation]
Funeral Services are scheduled today for the two girls who died in a house fire in Rockbridge County earlier this week.
Investigators say the heating system was to blame for the fire.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Rockbridge Co./Monday]
Debris had apparently built up in the duct work and caught fire.
Flames burned through the ducts and shot up out of the floor of the master bedroom as everyone in the house slept Sunday night. Seven- year old Kassidy Higgins and her 12-year old half sister, Rebecca Chittum, died in the fire.
State Police Investigators determined that the oil furnace was replaced in 1993, but the duct work was not.
(------------)
[8-VMI-Cadet]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=VMI]
She helped break the gender barrier at V-M-I and this fall Erin Nicole Claunch will become one of two battalion commanders at the school.
The cadet will leading half of the 12-hundred-member cadet corps her senior year.
Her selection was based on grades, leadership ability and physical fitness accomplishments.
[8Weather]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tar]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]
Let's check out the Friday forecast....
Patchy fog early today, otherwise sunny with warm highs near 70.
Mostly clear tonight with a light breeze and lows in the lower 40s.
The five day forecast is partly to mostly sunny through the weekend...with pleasant highs in the 70s.
[SUPER=X5000; set dissolve]
[SUPER=314-Patchy A.M. Fog,/then Turning Sunny/68-72/Mostly Clear/Light Wind/40-45;]
[SUPER=#555; reset]
by SS