[11Gun-Buyback]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=tha]
[TAPE#=00-12 TC1:21:10]
[GRAPHIC=None]

561 guns recently collected by Roanoke City police went down in flames yesterday.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]

The guns were collected last month as part of Roanoke's first "Gun Buyback Program."
Yesterday -- they were melted at Roanoke Electric Steel to mark the completion of the program.
For bringing in an unwanted gun-- residents were given a 50- dollar gift certificate.
Police say senior citizens were the biggest contributors.
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[SOT 01:00:30]
[IN Q=Several of ]
((SEVERAL OF THEM TOLD ME THAT THEY'D HAD GUNS LEFT THERE BY THEIR SPOUSES WHEN THEY DIED AND JUST DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DOW WITH THEM AND THEY FINALLY FOUND AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET RID OF THEM AND KNEW THEY WEREN'T GOING TO FALL IN THE WRONG HANDS.))
[SUPER=01-R. L. Arrington/Roanoke Police Department;]
[RUNS=13]
[OUT Q=wrong hands.]
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[VO-NAT]

Police say the program was a success.
But critics say it fell short in terms of getting guns out of the hands of hard-core criminals.
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[3-Sports]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=chr]
[TAPE#=sports cut in]
[GRAPHIC=Michael Vick]

In sports, Michael Vick put some Colorado Rockies rumors to rest......
Mike Stevens has the details....
Good Morning Mike.
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[SOT]
[IN Q=Good morning]
[RUNS=2:17]
[OUT Q=nice Thursday.]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
(weather toss)


[Local-Recap]
[SUPER=#4059;Local Recap]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

Now here's another look at today's top local stories:
The first man scheduled to die by electrocution in Virginia in years has been given a temporary reprieve.
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[PINNACLE]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

A little over an hour before Russel William Burket was set to die, the U-S Supreme Court said it needs more time to review a petition concerning Burket's plea and sentencing.
He was convicted in the 1993 murders of a woman and her child in Virginia Beach.
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[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

The D-Day foundation and contractors working on the D-Day Memorial in Bedford are warning the hundreds who visit the memorial daily - that it's still a construction site.
They say some visitors are venturing too close to the ongoing construction - and that's a safety AND security hazard.
The Memorial site has been vandalized in recent weeks with paintballs and graffiti.
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[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
Residents of the Roanoke area will soon be able to take a new, ORAL H-I-V test. But "Orasure" will only be available from the Roanoke AIDS Council, which will be visiting some local neighborhoods.
The oral test isn't as accurate as blood tests. And while it IS free, it is NOT anonymous.
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[ANCHOR=Andrew]
(Andrew mic hot)
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(Andrew ad lib weather)
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[2-SHOT]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

Now here's Keith Humphry with a preview of News 7 at Six.
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[SOT]
[IN Q=The election]
[RUNS=15]
[OUT Q=N7 at 6.]
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[2-Shot]
(ad lib bye)