WDBJ 7 morning news AM cutins for 04/18/00

[7-Roanoke-Weather]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]

[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=00-]
[GRAPHIC=severe weather]

Yesterday's severe thunderstorms created some tense moments for 5 people in a car who quickly realized one road was impassable due to high water.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

Around 8 last night, a driver was apparently trying to cross a bridge near Tenth and Grayson streets in Northwest Roanoke when the vehicle stalled. Police and firefighters helped rescue the 5 people inside. All were pulled to safety and were not seriously hurt.

The car was damaged and had to be towed.
(------------)

[WIPE WIPE WIPE]

[7-11NRV-Weather]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=dse/ejo]
[TAPE#=00-04 TC1:43:56]
[GRAPHIC=WIPE]
[WIPE WIPE WIPE]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Christiansburg]

Afternoon thunderstorms dumped several inches of hail in the New River Valley.
Our ruler measured at least nine inches at the Pizza Hut parking lot in Christiansburg.
Traffic on nearby Interstate-81 was slowed for a time, when heavy rain washed debris into the roadway.
(------------)

[WIPE WIPE WIPE]

[7-11southside-weather]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=sch]
[TAPE#=00-02 TC1:47:51]
[GRAPHIC=WIPE]
[WIPE WIPE WIPE]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Halifax Co.;]

People in Southside kept an eye on streams and creeks.
Most of the area saw heavy rain and lightening yesterday evening.
Pittsylvania County had a couple of thunder storm warnings, and strong winds.
No major damage has been reported. South Boston suffered sporadic power outages throughout the evening.
(------------)

[7-11Drug-Sweep]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=ejo]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=Drug Bust]

Last night's rain did not prevent Roanoke police from making a number of drug arrests.
The arrests were the result of undercover detective work that started last October.
More than 40 local, state and federal officers and agents went looking for 60 people facing drug counts.
At last word, 17 were already in custody.

[7-11School-Gun]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=jmc/nkr]
[TAPE#=00-12 TC17:45]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Pulaski County's school superintendent says there was nothing to fear when a student brought a loaded gun to school Friday.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Dublin]

A fourth-grader showed the gun to a couple of friends before classes started at Dublin elementary school.
Those kids told a teacher, who searched the boy's backpack and found a small-caliber semi-automatic.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
((DAVID COX/PULASKI CO. SUPERINTENDENT: ALL ACCOUNTS INDICATE THAT THIS WAS AN ISOLATED INCIDENT, WHICH INVOLVED ONLY ONE STUDENT. AT THIS TIME IT IS BELIEVED THAT THERE WAS NO INTENT TO HARM ANYONE ON THE PART OF THE STUDENT INVOLVED. HE APPARENTLY BROUGHT THE GUN FOR THE PURPOSE OF SHOWING IT TO SOME OF HIS FRIENDS.))
[SUPER=01-David Cox/Pulaski Co. Superintendent;]
[RUNS=16]
[OUT Q=some of his friends.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The boy has been suspended.
Dublin police are trying to find out how he got hold of the gun.
(------------)

[7-11Boty-Schools]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tte]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=none]
Students in Botetourt County won't see bookshelves and coat racks for classroom walls next year. That's because the school board plans to spend 710-thousand-dollars this summer to build walls in five elementary schools. The schools don't have walls due to outdated construction. The money's coming from public school loans, but the superintendent says the board can NOT afford to build walls inside Eagle Rock Elementary School.

[7Weather]

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

Here's a look at your Tuesday forecast.
Periods of rain today with highs in the upper 50s.
Tonight, cloudy and breezy with a chance of light rain.
Lows in the upper 40s.
The extended forecast...

[SUPER=X5000; set dissolve]
[SUPER=314-Periods of Rain/Cooler Temps/55-59/Cloudy & Breezy/Chance of Light Rain/45-49;]
[SUPER=#555; reset]

[45-School-Watch]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=School information]

We have a school delay to pass on to you this morning.
(XXXXXXXXXXXXX)
[Take FS Board]
There is a one hour delay for the following Montgomery County schools. Shawsville Elementary school, Shawsville Middle and High Schools and Elliston-Lafayette Elementary.
(XXXXXXXXXXXX)

[45-11Trout]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=99-59 TC35:19]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Roanoke City Council member Jim Trout is in the hospital this morning after falling ill during a council meeting yesterday.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

At first Trout thought it was just a bad case of indigestion, but doctors apparently found a tear in his aorta.
He's expected to remain in the hospital for a week, but a campaign aide says Trout is "emphatic" about continuing his bid for re-election, and serving another term on city council.
(------------)

[45-Meningitis]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=nkr]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Another Radford University student has been diagnosed with Meningitis.
The unidentified student got sick last Friday and was taken to the New River Valley Medical Center on Saturday.
That person is now in stable condition.
Another student came down with the illness after leaving school April 7th.
A spokesperson for the New River Valley Health District says that the two cases are NOT related and that there are no other known Meningitis cases in the New River Valley area.

[45-11Franklin-Dental]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tfl]
[TAPE#=00-]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Franklin County residents have new medical clinic that is sure to keep them smiling.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Franklin Co.; ]
Carilion funded a 110-thousand dollar dental clinic for the Franklin County health department. One private dentist spends his Monday's seeing patients in the dental trailer.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT tc 00:09:19]
[IN Q=I was actually]
((DR. JAMES HARTIGAN/DENTIST: I WAS ACTUALLY LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO DO IN FRANKLIN COUNTY, I'M INVOLVED IN MISSION WORK OVER IN AFRICA AND I WAS LOOKING FOR SOMETHING THAT I MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO LOCALLY THAT WOULD COINCIDE WITH WHAT I DO THERE.))
[Super=01-Dr. James Hartigan/Dentist;]
[RUNS=:12]
[OUT Q=what I do there.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
The clinic is for adults who qualify and provides basic oral health services.
(------------)

[45-11Mental-Health]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=sch]
[TAPE#=00-14 TC05:17]
[GRAPHIC=Mental Health]

A campaign is under way to educate the public against abuse, neglect and unnecessary deaths in mental health institutions.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-South Boston]

NAMI, (NAA-mee) the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill held a candlelight vigil in South Boston in the hopes of helping people who can't help themselves.
Governor Gilmore vetoed a bill that would give a state agency the independence to investigate alleged mistreatments of patients.
The General Assembly has a chance to overturn that decision.
(/////SOT/////)
[IN Q=I'm a mental health]
[SOT 1:27:37]
((HOPE BAGWELL/SUFFERS FROM BIPOLAR DEPRESSION: I'M A MENTAL HEALTH CONSUMER AND MY CONCERN IS THERE'S SO MANY STIGMAS ATTACHED TO MENTAL ILLNESS AND RETARDATION STILL TO THIS DAY, 2000, AND I FELL THAT IF WE CAN GET OUR MESSAGE ACROSS TO JUST ONE PERSON THAN WE WILL CONTINUE TO FIGHT IN THE STATE OF VIRGINIA.))
[SUPER=01-Hope Bagwell/Mental Health Patient]
[RUNS=22]
[OUT Q=state of Virginia.]
(------------------)
[VO-NAT]

The General Assembly will have the opportunity to override Governor Gilmore's veto on house bill 491 tomorrow.
(-----------------)

[45weather]

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

Taking a look at the Tuesday forecast...
No more storms, just periods of rain today and cooler highs in the upper 50s.
Cloudy and breezy overnight with a chance of light rain.
Lows in the upper 40s.
Looking ahead to the next five days.... warm and dry...with a chance of showers again by friday.

[SUPER=X5000; set dissolve]
[SUPER=314-Periods of Rain/Cooler Temps/55-59/Cloudy & Breezy/Chance of Light Rain/45-49;]
[SUPER=#555; reset]

[8-Schoolwatch]

[8-11Dynasty-Fire]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tte]
[TAPE#=00-]
[GRAPHIC=Fire]
An electrical motor is to blame for a fire at a Roanoke restaurant yesterday morning.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]
The fire did 800-thousand-dollars damage to the Dynasty restaurant in the Ramada hotel on Franklin Road. Flames were confined to the kitchen and ventilation system. The night manager was the only one in the restaurant. She was treated for smoke inhalation. The hotel was not evacuated.
(------------)

[8-11Vinton-Police]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=khu/nkr]
[TAPE#=00-15 TC02:17]
[GRAPHIC=Vinton PD Invest.]

Bedford County authorities have picked up where a special grand jury left off-- developing leads turned up in the investigation of the Vinton Police Department.
A prosecutor from Bedford appeared before a Roanoke County judge yesterday, citing an "on-going criminal investigation," and asking the judge not to release any more information from the grand jury report.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=04-November 1999]

Judge Diane Strickland gave the public three hours February 18th to review the 24-page report.
The names of certain targets of the investigation had been blacked out. The full report remains sealed.
[SUPER=03-Salem/Yesterday]

Attorneys for former Police Chief Ricky Foutz and Lieutenant Bill Brown argued against disclosing additional information sought by the Roanoke Times.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[SS=none]

It's unclear whether Foutz and Brown could be targets of the BEDFORD County probe, or if the current investigation focuses only on those people whose names were not revealed in February.

[8-11Shooting-Arrest]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=jmc/nkr]
[TAPE#=599-14 1:30:54]
[GRAPHIC=Shooting]

A Roanoke man has been charged for a fatal shooting that happened last winter.
28-year-old Paul Childs of Chestnut Avenue was arrested yesterday, in the death of Joseph Nemo.
He was charged with murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
Police say Childs shot Nemo last February after the two got an argument.
It's said the two took a cab to the hospital TOGETHER where Nemo later died.

[8-11Tenth-Street]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=00-13 TC13:59]
[GRAPHIC=Roanoke City Logo]

Residents of a Roanoke neighborhood are celebrating. City council has backed away from a controversial plan for improvements on Tenth Street.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

Changes proposed by the Virginia Department of Transportation would have widened tenth street to four lanes in some areas. The proposal would have taken more than 20 homes and businesses.
But last night, city council embraced an alternative that has the support of residents in the area.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=We are very, very gratified]
((WE ARE VERY VERY GRATIFIED AND VERY RELIEVED. COUNCIL HAS DONE THE RIGHT THING BY ITS NEIGHBORHOODS, OR THE NEIGHBORHOODS OF THE CITY OF ROANOKE. THAT IS WHAT THEY ALWAYS SAY THEY WANT TO DO. AND TONIGHT WE HAVE REASON TO BELIEVE THEY ARE AS GOOD AS THEIR WORD.))
[SUPER=01-Rick Williams/Williamson Road Action Forum]
[RUNS=:18]
[OUT Q=as good as their word.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Rick Williams praised City Manager Darlene Burcham for her willingness to consider and address the residents' concerns.
(------------)

[8weather]

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

Let's take another look at today's forecast...
Periods of rain today with cooler temperatures.
Highs in the upper 50s.
Cloudy and breezy overnight, with a chance of light rain.
Lows in the upper 40s.
Looking ahead to the next five days.... warm and dry tomorrow and Thursday with a chance of showers again by Friday.

[SUPER=X5000; set dissolve]
[SUPER=314-Periods of Rain/Cooler Temps/55-59/Cloudy & Breezy/Chance of Light Rain/45-49;]
[SUPER=#555; reset]