WDBJ 7 morning news AM cutins for 05/26/00

[7-Greenfield]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

[NEWSCAST=AMCutins]
[WRITER=jsu]
[TAPE#=00-]
[GRAPHIC=Education]

The Botetourt County School Board has decided to NOT open Greenfield Elementary this fall, so teachers can be given a pay raise.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Botetourt Co.]

Board members say because of a budget deficit of almost 600-thousand dollars they were forced to chose between the school or the pay increase.
The Board of Supervisors had recently offered to give the school board more than 257 thousand dollars to open Greenfield.
But school board members say that was not enough money.
In the end they voted 3 to 2 in favor of the teacher pay raise.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 1:47:12]
[IN Q=We cut bus drivers]
((JIM RUHLAND/SCHOOL BOARD CHAIRMAN:WE CUT BUS DRIVERS, WE CUT OUT A BUS, WE CUT OUT TRAINERS FOR THE HIGH SCHOOL. SO WE'VE MADE CUTS ALREADY. WE JUST DON'T HAVE THE MONEY))
[SUPER=01-Jim Ruhland/School Board Chairman]
[RUNS=12]
[OUT Q=the money]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The board will need more than 535-thousand dollars in start-up cost to open Greenfield Elementary.

(------------)

[7-11Airline-merger]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AMCutins]
[WRITER=jmi]
[TAPE#=00-]
[GRAPHIC=Proposed Merger]

Some say Roanoke may see a rise in airfare as a result of the proposed U-S Airways and United merger.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]

Fewer airlines means limited choices for passengers.
If an airline lowers its fares in one city, the competing airline will frequently raise its fare in another city in retaliation.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=The smaller the]
((THE SMALLER THE NUMBER OF PLAYERS IN THE MARKET THE MORE LIKELY WE ARE TO HAVE THIS TYPE OF IMPLICIT INCLUSION, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE WORRIED ABOUT. THAT AS A RESULT OF THIS MERGER, THESE COMPANIES ARE GOING TO BE MORE INTERDEPENDENT. THE FAIRS ARE GOING TO GO UP FROM A COMPETITIVE STANDPOINT.))
[SUPER=01-Dr. Vijay Singal/Va. Tech Finance Professor]
[RUNS=:20]
[OUT Q=from a competitive standpoint.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

If the merger goes through, the airlines have promised to freeze rate hikes for two years until the joining is complete.
(------------)

[7-11Mitchell]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AMCutins]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=00-11 TC56:00:11]
[GRAPHIC=Legal scales]

A 91 year old man has been arrested in Salem. He is being charged with sexual battery.
(------------)
[V/O-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Salem]

Buck Mitchell is accused of fondling a woman- -though his family says it was accidental... because he was feeling his way along a hallway.
Mitchell's daughter-in-law helped us try to determine whether he understands the charge.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 56:24]
[IN Q=Yeah I know]
((YEAH, I KNOW I TOUCHED SOME OF THEM. DID YOU KNOW WHAT YOU WERE DOING? I COULDN'T TELL IF THEY WERE A WOMAN OR A MAN.))
[SUPER=01-Buck Mitchell/Sexual Battery Suspect; :00]
[SUPER=01-Barbara Mitchell/Suspect's Daughter-in-Law; :04]
[RUNS=14]
[OUT Q=woman or a man.]
(------------)
[V/O-NAT]
The prosecutor says this is not the first time Mitchell fondled a woman at the Salem Rehab Center.
The prosecutor says there have been eight other incidents.
The case has not been set for trial
(------------)

[7-11Tech-Money]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AMCutins]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=Sugar Bowl]

Virginia Tech's second-ranked football team is donating some of its Sugar Bowl earnings into academic programs.
The team is donating a quarter of a million dollars of the money it got for appearing in the nationally-televised game.
The bulk of the money will go toward improving library technology and providing minority and athletic scholarships.

[7Weather]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Cutins]
[WRITER=tar]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]

Taking a break from the news now to check the forecast...
Mostly sunny today and pleasant with highs around 80.
Turning partly cloudy overnight, with lows near 55.
Your holiday weekend forecast includes some clouds tomorrow...and a good chance of rain for Sunday.
[SUPER=X5000; SET DISSOLVE]
[SUPER=314-Mostly Sunny/Wind NW-10/75-85/Partly Cloudy/Light Winds/50-60;]
[SUPER=#555;RESET]

[45-11M'ville-murder]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AMCutins]
[WRITER=sch]
[TAPE#=00-07 TC1:42:12]
[GRAPHIC=Murder]

Crime scenes are becoming fairly common in Martinsville, with four murders in less than two months.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Martinsville;]

Two of them happened at the Rivermont Apartments, including one Wednesday night. The victim: 44-year old William Brady Newbill.
Bessie Kent is the apartment manager. A few days ago she started a petition for grant money that would bring a police substation and as many as three officers to the complex.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 5:36:08]
[IN Q=We'll atleast have someone]
((BESSIE KENT/RIVERMONT APARTMENTS MANAGER: WE'LL AT LEAST HAVE SOMEONE WALKING AROUND THE GROUNDS WHEN I CAN'T DO IT. THEN I WOULD HAVE SOME HELP TO WATCH.))
[SOT 5:25:07]
((LT. JIM MINTER/MARTINSVILLE POLICE DEPT. : WE'VE HAD DISCUSSIONS. THE ADMINISTRATION HAS IN THE PAST WITH THE MANAGEMENT OF RIVERMONT APARTMENTS. THEY'RE TALKING ABACK AND FORTH TO COME UP WITH IDEAS AND SOLUTION IN REFERENCE TO THE PROBLEMS. AND TRY TO ADDRESS IT AND MAKE IT A BETTER LIVING AREA AND A SAFER PLACE.))
[SUPER=01-Bessie Kent/Rivermont Apartments Manager; :00]
[SUPER=01-Lt. Jim Minter/Martinsville Police Dept.; :10]
[RUNS=:25]
[OUT Q=a safer place.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Seven state troopers have been brought in this month to fight crime in Martinsville-- some of them are helping out at Rivermont.
(------------)

[45-11Wythe-Shooting]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AMCutins]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=00-]
[GRAPHIC=Shooting]

The investigation continues into Wednesday's fatal shooting in Wythe county.
65- year- old landlord James Compton is still in the hospital with a concussion.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Wythe Co./Wednesday;]

Authorities say that Wednesday, Compton shot 27-year-old Darren Womack twice during a struggle in the front yard.

Autopsy results indicate that Womack died of gunshot wounds to the head and chest.
Compton's attorney says he had been trying to evict Womack for some time and had come to the house to check on his cattle.
No charges have been filed.
(------------)

[45-11Mitchell]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AMCutins]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=00-11 TC56:00:11]
[GRAPHIC=Legal scales]

A 91- year- old man was indicted on charges of sexual battery.
(------------)
[V/O-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Salem]

Buck Mitchell is accused of fondling a woman- -though his family says it was accidental... because he was feeling his way along a hallway.
Mitchell's daughter-in-law helped us try to determine whether he understands the charge.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 56:24]
[IN Q=Yeah I know]
((YEAH, I KNOW I TOUCHED SOME OF THEM. DID YOU KNOW WHAT YOU WERE DOING? I COULDN'T TELL IF THEY WERE A WOMAN OR A MAN.))
[SUPER=01-Buck Mitchell/Sexual Battery Suspect; :00]
[SUPER=01-Barbara Mitchell/Suspect's Daughter-in-Law; :04]
[RUNS=14]
[OUT Q=woman or a man.]
(------------)
[V/O-NAT]
The prosecutor says this is not the first time Mitchell fondled a woman at the Salem Rehab Center.
The prosecutor says there have been eight other incidents.
The case has not been set for trial
(------------)

[45-Downtown-Fire]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AMCutins]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=00-]
[GRAPHIC=Fire]

A downtown doctor's office caught fire last night.
No word yet on the cause.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

It happened around 11:45 P-M.
Authorities say a chiropractic office next door to the Downtown Sports Club caught fire filling the sports club with smoke. The fire was quickly brought under control.
Authorities say no one was inside at the time of the fire.
(------------)

[45Weather]

[8-County-Schools]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=amcutins]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=00-]
[GRAPHIC=Roanoke Co. School]

The Roanoke County School Board is in a dilemma over one board member... and they are turning to the State Attorney General for input.
The controversy stems from a questionnaire school board member Tom Leggette sent to parents soliciting information on the performance of a teacher.
Joe Dashiell has the story.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=OPENS ON NAT SOUND]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.; :06]
[SUPER=01-Doris Boitnott/Virginia Education Assoc.; :20]
[SUPER=01-Tom Leggette/School Board Member; :33]
[SUPER=@Joe1; :48]
[RUNS=1:00]
[OUT Q=JD News 7]
(([OPENS ON NAT SOUND]
[IN Q=When I get complaints]
((WHEN I GET COMPLAINTS, I CAN'T TURN MY BACK.)) [RUNS:05]
[OUT Q=turn my back.]

Leggette says it was his responsibility as a school board member to investigate and pass on parents complaints to administrators.
But representatives of the county's teachers and other school board members questioned Leggette's approach and asked if he had overstepped his authority.
[SOT]
[IN Q=He met with the teacher.]
(( )) [RUNS:26]
[OUT Q=help improve the system.]

Another issue we'll be hearing more about is the redistricting of attendance zones for the new south county high school. School Board members have decided to hold another public hearing June 20th, before voting on that controversial subject.
Joe Dashiell News 7 Roanoke County))

[8-Brzonkala]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AMCutins]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=Christy Brzonkala]

About 25 people rallied yesterday at Virginia Tech. They were gathering in protest of last week's Supreme Court ruling that rejected former student Christy Brzonkala's lawsuit against two former Tech football players. Brzonkala contends the players raped her, but they never faced criminal charges. At yesterday's rally, organizers urged support for a presidential candidate willing to appoint Supreme Court justices who'll uphold sanctions against gender-based violence.

[8-Greenfield]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AMCutins]
[WRITER=jsu]
[TAPE#=00-]
[GRAPHIC=Education]

The Botetourt County School Board has decided not to open Greenfield Elementary this fall, so that teachers can receive a pay raise.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Botetourt Co.]

Board members say the budget fell short almost 600-thousand dollars so they were forced to choose between the school or the pay increase.
The Board of Supervisors had recently offered to give the school board more than 257 thousand dollars to open Greenfield.
But school board members say that was not enough money.
In the end the voted 3 to 2 in favor of the salary increase.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 1:47:12]
[IN Q=We cut bus drivers]
((JIM RUHLAND/SCHOOL BOARD CHAIRMAN:WE CUT BUS DRIVERS, WE CUT OUT A BUS, WE CUT OUT TRAINERS FOR THE HIGH SCHOOL. SO WE'VE MADE CUTS ALREADY. WE JUST DON'T HAVE THE MONEY))
[SUPER=01-Jim Ruhland/School Board Chairman]
[RUNS=12]
[OUT Q=the money]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The board will need more than 535-thousand dollars in start-up cost to open Greenfield Elementary.

(------------)

[8Weather]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Cutins]
[WRITER=tar]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]

Before we wrap up this morning, here's another look at your Friday forecast.
Lots of sunshine expected today with highs around 80.
Partly cloudy by tonight, with lows around 55.
Your holiday weekend forecast includes some clouds tomorrow...and a good chance of rain for Sunday.
[SUPER=X5000; SET DISSOLVE]
[SUPER=314-Mostly Sunny/Wind NW-10/75-85/Partly Cloudy/Light Winds/50-60;]
[SUPER=#555;RESET]