[7-Floyd-Student]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=none]
Floyd County High School officials have agreed to allow a female student to take a female date to the Junior Prom on April 29th.
The decision came after the American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to the school stating that a rule prohibiting same-sex couples from dances quote "must be revoked immediately".
Within hours, Superintendent Terry Arbogast called the family of the 17-year-old student to say the student and her date are welcome at the dance.
Arbogast said the decision wasn't based on the A-C-L-U letter but that school officials needed to rethink the issue.
[7-11VMI-Claunch]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tha]
[TAPE#00-09 TC1:10:29 ]
[GRAPHIC=Claunch]
She helped break the gender barrier at V-M-I and this fall she will become one of the school's top ranking cadets.
Teresa Hamilton has the story.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=I'm just]
[SUPER=01-Erin Claunch/VMI Battalion Commander; :00 ]
[SUPER=03-Lexington; :06]
[SUPER=04-June 1997; :19]
[SUPER=01-Derek Bogdon/VMI Battalion Commander; 1:06 ]
[SUPER=@Teresa1; 1:25 ]
[RUNS=1:40]
[OUT Q=NEWS 7, Lexington.]
(([sot]
((I'M JUST KIND OF IN AWE, THAT I WAS ABLE TO ACHIEVE SOMETHING LIKE THIS.))
((NAT SOUND OF CANON))
20- year old Erin Claunch has accomplished a lot since arriving at VMI in the fall of '97.
Back then, she was among the first women admitted to the school.
Today, she's a highly successful junior who's ranked fourth in her class academically.
((WHEN I SET MY MIND TO SOMETHING....))
It's a way of thinking that's definitely paid off. This fall, Claunch will become one of two battalion commanders.
It's an honor based on her academics and leadership ability, as well as her physical fitness.
((I'VE ONLY GOTTEN CONGRATULATIONS EVERYONE'S HAPPY FOR ME.))
Derek Bogdon, the other upcoming battalion commander, is among those cheering the loudest.
[stand up]
Teresa Hamilton, NEWS 7, Lexington.))
[7-Fitness-VMI]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=VMI]
A report filed by V-M-I in federal court says fewer than a quarter of V-M-I's women cadets who have taken the school's fitness test this year have passed it.
About 85 percent of the men passed the test.
A V-M-I spokesman said the school has no plans to change the fitness standards.
Passing isn't a graduation requirement but counts as 25 percent of the required physical education grade.
[7Weather]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tar]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]
Here's a look at your Thursday forecast.
Some light rain this morning with skies turning mostly sunny by the afternoon.
Highs in the lower 60s.
Tonight mostly clear with light winds.
Lows in the upper 30s.
The extended forecast...
[SUPER=X5000; set dissolve]
[SUPER=314-A.M. Light Rain,/Turning Mostly Sunny/60-64/Mostly Clear/Winds N 5-10/35-39;]
[SUPER=#555; reset]
[45-Gas-Prices]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=kwe]
[TAPE#=99-60]
[GRAPHIC=Gas Prices]
OPEC's decision to increase oil production is not only good news for local oil suppliers.
They believe the increase will stabilize gas prices that have nearly tripled over the last year.
Kate Weidaw has more.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Ron Lundy has been]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.;:00]
[SUPER=01-Ron Lundy/APB Whiting Co.;:19]
[SUPER=03-Vienna, Austria;:38 QUICK!!]
[SUPER=@Kate1;1:20]
[RUNS=1:30]
[OUT Q=takes place overseas.]
((Ron Lundy has been in the oil supply business for 30 years and has seen prices at the pump fluctuate -- but says the last few months of price increases are like nothing he's ever seen before. As the President of APB Whiting Company in Roanoke the high price has been hard on his business.
[SOT 15:25:55]
[INQ=]
((RON LUNDY: IT'S BEEN MUCH MORE DIFFICULT TO OPERATE, OUR MARGINS HAVE BEEN SQUEEZED OUR COST OF INVENTORY HAVE SKY ROCKETED OUR ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE HAVE GONE UP.))
[OUTQ=]
[RUNS= 13]
And the cost to fuel his fleet of 14 oil tankers has increased as well.
Lundy says he's optimistic about OPEC's decision to increase oil production but isn't sure if an increase of 1 point 7 million barrels a day will make a difference in the long run.
[SOT 15:25:38]
[INQ=]
((RON LUNDY: IT ONLY REPLACED WHAT IT TOOK AWAY FROM PRODUCTION LAST APRIL THE FIRST TO GET PRICES UP WHICH IT DID.))
[OUTQ=]
[RUNS= 08]
[butt butt butt]
[SOT 15:23:02]
[INQ=]
((RON LUNDY: IT TAKES 6 TO 8 WEEKS TO GET THE PRODUCT THE CRUDE INTO THE SYSTEM FROM OPEC, INTO THE UNITED STATES, INTO THE REFINERIES, INTO THE PIPELINES, INTO THE TERMINALS, INTO THE STREAM.))
[OUTQ=]
[RUNS= 15]
Which means it could be July before we see a drop at the gas pump.
But for now Lundy says he'll keep a watchful eye on what takes place overseas.
[STANDUP]
[INQ=]
((KATE WEIDAW/REPORTING: OFFICIALS SAY A DROP AT THE GAS PUMP COULD BE AS MUCH AS 15 CENTS A GALLON, BUT WE WON'T SEE THAT UNTIL MID SUMMER. BUT FOR ANYONE PLANNING A SUMMER ROAD TRIP THAT'S GOOD NEWS. KATE WEIDAW NEWS 7.))
[OUTQ=]
[RUNS=]
))
[45-11Volvo-Donations]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=mjo/nkr]
[TAPE#=99-59 TC1:13:52]
[GRAPHIC=New River Castings]
Victims of the New River Castings explosion are getting a helping hand from local workers.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Dublin;]
Volvo plant workers, union members, and officials presented a check for 42-hundred dollars to a union representative for the victims and their families.
The workers spent several weeks collecting the money.
[SUPER=03-Radford/This Month;]
The explosion on March 5th, killed three and injured six.
The fund has reached 62-thousand dollars, so far.
(------------)
[45-11Free-Foundation]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tfl]
[TAPE#=00-02 TC1:19:05]
[GRAPHIC=None]
A newly formed Roanoke medical foundation is giving away free supplies.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke; ]
The Foundation for Rehabilitative Equipment and Endowment is providing wheelchairs, canes, orthotic and prosthetic devices for the disabled in the Roanoke Valley.
The goal of the foundation is to reach those who otherwise would NOT have access to help them recover.
Volunteers are targeting young adults and middle age patients who can't afford the proper equipment.
(------------)
[45Weather]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tar]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]
Taking a break from the news to check weather...
Morning light showers will give way to mostly sunny skies.
Highs this afternoon reaching the lower 60s.
Turning mostly clear overnight with lows in the upper 30s.
In the extended forecast... partly sunny for Friday...with late day showers and storms possible Saturday.
Highs in the 60s and 70s.
[SUPER=X5000; set dissolve]
[SUPER=314-A.M. Light Rain,/Turning Mostly Sunny/60-64/Mostly Clear/Winds N 5-10/35-39;]
[SUPER=#555; reset]
[8-11Confederate-Month]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#=500-10 TC52:29]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Governor Gilmore's declaration of April as Confederate History Month is not expected please all Virginians.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Last year's proclamation recognized "the noble spirit and inspiring leadership of great Confederate generals, leaders, and the ordinary men and women, free and NOT free."
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=The good and]
[sot 11:07]
((GOV. JIM GILMORE: THE GOOD AND THE BAD. ALL THAT USUALLY COMES OUT IN MY PROCLAMATIONS, AND I WOULD EXPECT TO DO THAT AGAIN.))
[sot 12:28:04]
((BRAG BOWLING/SONS OF CONFED. VETERANS: UNFORTUNATELY, CONFEDERATE HISTORY AND HERITAGE MONTH IS BEING TAMPERED WITH BY OUTSIDE GROUPS. AND GOVERNOR GILMORE I THINK FEELS SOME PRESSURE TO PLACATE THESE GROUPS.))11
[SUPER=@Gilmore; :00]
[SUPER=01-Brag Bowling/Sons of Confed. Veterans; :10]
[RUNS=:20]
[OUT Q=these groups.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Chesterfield Co./Sunday]
But NOT all are placated.
The Governor's own former director of Juvenile Justice is now using his church pulpit to blast the proclamation.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=26 lines you've got]
[sot 01:51]
((REV. GERALD GLENN/NEW DELIVERANCE EVANG. CHURCH: 26 LINES YOU'VE GOT. 23 YOU COMMEND THE CONFEDERACY. WHERE ARE THE LINES THAT SPEAK TO THE BLOOD OF MY ANCESTORS?))
[SUPER=01-Rev. Gerald Glenn/New Deliverance Evang. Church;]
[RUNS=:10]
[OUT Q=blood of my ancestors?]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Reverend Glenn has asked his congregation to wear black and red ribbons, which he says commemorate April as Mourning and Remembrance Month.
(------------)
[8-11Radford-Sports]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=99-57 TC1:36:12]
[GRAPHIC=Radford University]
Some Radford University athletes are not happy that two sports programs are closer to being dropped.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Radford;]
The school's intercollegiate athletic committee made a final recommendation to cut the gymnastics and lacrosse programs.
Radford officials say the school can not afford to maintain them.
The 170-thousand dollars saved by cutting the two programs would go toward strengthening the school's other Division One teams.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=We've brought]
[sot 11:20 - :31]
((JILL CARUSO/RADFORD GYMNAST: WE'VE BROUGHT RADFORD UP TO A NATIONAL LEVEL. LAST YEAR WE BROKE 10 SCHOOL RECORDS, SO IT'S TOO BAD THAT THIS IS EVEN A CONSIDERATION RIGHT NOW.))
[sot 40:16]
((GREIG DENNY/R.U. ATHLETIC DIRECTOR: WE'RE LOOKING AT IT AS A POSITIVE MOVE BECAUSE WE THINK THE PROGRAMS DESERVE TO BE FUNDED AT A LEVEL WHERE THEY HAVE A REASONABLE CHANCE TO SUCCEED.))
[SUPER=01-Jill Caruso/Radford Gymnast; :00]
[SUPER=01-Greig Denny/Radford Athletic Director; :11]
[RUNS=:20]
[OUT Q=chance to succeed.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Radford's president will decide the teams' fate in the next few weeks.
(------------)
[8-11Murray-Estate]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tte]
[TAPE#=00-04 TC55:56]
[GRAPHIC=none]
Pieces of history will be on sale this weekend.
Tomorrow, you can buy the furniture Homer Murray made in Franklin County before World War Two.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Franklin Co.;]
Homer Murray founded Franklin County's Apple Festival and served as a county supervisor.
But he also ran a furniture shop in Boones Mill back in the thirties, shipping pieces nationwide.
His work's even mentioned in history books.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 10:02:43]
[IN Q=During the war]
((DURING THE WAR, WORLD WAR TWO, THEY MANUFACTURED BRACKETS FOR POLES FOR THE BRITISH AND FILE HANDLES FOR THE U-S GOVERNMENT.))
[SUPER=01-Frances Murray/Widow;]
[RUNS=:09]
[OUT Q=the U-S government.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Now Murray's handmade furniture, tools and lumber go up for sale Friday night at the Craig Jamison Auction House in Franklin County.
(------------)
[8Weather]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tar]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]
Let's look at the forecast once more...
Light rain around the region this morning, then skies will turn mostly sunny later on.
Highs in the lower 60s.
Clearing overnight, with lows in the upper 30s.
In the extended forecast... partly sunny for Friday...with late day showers and storms possible Saturday.
Highs in the 60s and 70s.
[SUPER=X5000; set dissolve]
[SUPER=314-A.M. Light Rain,/Turning Mostly Sunny/60-64/Mostly Clear/Winds N 5-10/35-39;]
[SUPER=#555; reset]
by SS