WDBJ 7 news at 6 for 07/27/00

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The pros and cons of whether parents should be allowed to spank children in foster homes.
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[VO-NAT]

And we'll hear the judge's ruling on a Sports Camp that Roanoke County says is too big and too noisy.
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[Sports-Head]

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Tonight on News 7 sports, our NFL preseason reports continue as we check in with Steve Mason at the Panthers camp. Dot Bollins win the City-County title.
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[VO-NAT]
And Miami is the preseason pick to win the Big East football title this year.
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A return to the dog days of summer. The forecast features warmer conditions and the ever present chance of a thunderstorms. More, coming up. [open]
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[SOT 08:05]
[IN Q=I've been]
((SEN. EMMETT HANGER/R-AUGUSTA CO.: I'VE BEEN PINCHED ON THE CHEEK MYSELF. I'VE BEEN GRABBED BY THE EAR. I'VE BEEN SHAKEN.))
[sot 03:09]
((DEL. MITCH VAN YAHRES/D-CHARLOTTESVILLE: IT'S CRAZY! I MEAN IT'S RIDICULOUS.))
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[OUT Q=it's ridiculous.]
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[VO-NAT]

State lawmakers and foster parents are reacting to news of a temporarily derailed proposal .. to allow corporal punishment in foster homes.
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[ANCHOR=Keith]
Good evening, I'm Keith Humphry.

[Corporal-Punishment]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
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Most state lawmakers just heard in the past few days, as we've been reporting on a plan to allow corporal punishment of foster children.
It's NOT even allowed in juvenile prisons.
Yesterday, we told you the state social services commissioner had suspended her own proposal-- pending a public hearing.
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Ellen Qualls is in our Richmond newsroom with reaction.
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Keith, we reported last week that social services board members themselves were upset with how secret this proposal was kept until they voted on it in June-- the same day they first discussed it.
Now, some state legislators say it's a symptom of a state agency with an agenda.
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[SUPER=01-Jean Nicholson/Foster Care Mother; :18]
[SUPER=01-Del. Mitch Van Yahres/(D) Charlottesville; :34]
[SUPER=01-Sen. Emmett Hanger/(R) Augusta Co.; 1:00]
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[OUT Q=touching kind of thing.]

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((SHARE. SHARE.))
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Jean Nicholson says she's taken in more than 300 Virginia foster children over 24 years.
Spanking, shaking, pinching, and binding -- all allowed by the proposed regulations -- are NOT used Nicholson.
[sot 14:09;20]
((JEAN NICHOLSON/FOSTER CARE MOTHER: THE MORE ABUSIVE YOU ARE WITH KIDS WHO'VE ALREADY BEEN THROUGH ABUSE AND THINGS, THE MORE THEY REACT TO YOU IN A NEGATIVE MANNER.))
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One of the Assembly's leading experts on early childhood development calls the proposal a crazy idea, snuck into public policy.
[sot 04:39]
((DEL. MITCH VAN YAHRES/D-CHARLOTTESVILLE: AFTER ALL, WHO'S GONNA DEFINE ABUSIVE? THEY DEFINE IT IN THE REGULATIONS AS LEAVING PHYSICAL MARKS, FOR INSTANCE. PHYSICAL INJURY. WELL, MY GOSH, YOU CAN DO AN AWFUL LOT WITHOUT SHOWING ANY MARKS WHATSOEVER. YOU CAN SMACK SOMEBODY AROUND PRETTY GOOD WITHOUT LEAVING A MARK.))
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But there are defenders of the policy among lawmakers.
One says we should take our cues from the animal world.
Augusta Senator Emmett Hanger relates it to a trip to the zoo.
[sot 06:50]
((SEN. EMMETT HANGER/R-AUGUSTA CO.: ONE HAPPENED TO BE A CHIMPANZEE, BUT HAD A LITTLE BABY. AND IT WAS OBVIOUS THAT THAT MOTHER CHIMPANZEE HAD A VERY LOVING ATTITUDE, BUT SHE ALSO HAD TO WHACK HIM AROUND A COUPLE TIMES. WE WERE WATCHING HIM. BUT THEN SHE WOULD ALSO PULL HIM TIGHT TO HER BREAST AND STROKE HIM GENTLY. YOU KNOW, IT WAS JUST KIND OF A TOUCHING KIND OF THING.))
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So there are wildly divergent views.
A September 5th public hearing at the General Assembly Building will be a forum for even more.
[Double Boxes=Keith & Ellen/Microwave]

Q&A KEITH: Has the Governor expressed a view?
ELLEN: His press office says he leaves such matters up to his appointed boards and agency heads. But Tuesday, after we called to inquire about the Governor's position, Social Services Commissioner Sonia Rivero suddenly reversed herself and temporarily suspended the policy.

[Pledge]

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Roanoke Police Officer Frederick Pledge was released on bond this evening.
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After nearly four days in jail, his girlfriend's father posted property in Martinsville, clearing the way for his release on 100-thousand dollars bond.
The 29-year old patrolman steadfastly refused to say anything as he left the clerk's office. When asked why he was so adamant about loudly pleading "NOT guilty" in court yesterday, Pledge said "because I'm innocent."
But he would not say even that much on camera.
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((YOU CAN SAY A PRAYER FOR ME, IF YOU WANT TO.))
[SUPER=01-Frederick Pledge/Roanoke Police Officer]
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[OUT Q=if you want to.]
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[VO-NAT]

Court papers filed by his attorney this week indicate Pledge has been cooperating with investigators, since they broke it to him on June 9th that he was a criminal suspect.
Pledge was indicted a week ago, accused of racketeering and drug trafficking.
His attorney says Pledge maintains his innocence.
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[Tech-Professor]

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Authorities allege that a former Virginia Tech professor charged more than 34-thousand dollars in personal expenses on his employee credit card.
George S. Libey -- a professor in the Fisheries and Wildlife Science department -- was indicted by a Montgomery County grand jury.
Investigators say he charged the school for work on his car, among other things.
Tech cancelled his contract after the allegations came out.

[Moonshine]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
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More defendants in a federal moonshining case were in court today... pleading not guilty to the charges they face.

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[VO-NAT]
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The four were arraigned in Roanoke federal court this morning. They will remain free on bond until their trial in September.
The indictments follow Operation Lightning Strike, a two- year investigation based in Franklin County. Twenty-seven people are now facing federal charges as a result of the investigation.
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[ANCHOR=Keith]
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Pleading not guilty were Jason Stanley, Leroy Marshall, Shirley Whitlow, and Kenny Cobbler.
Two other defendants, Rodney Lee James and Autrey Lee Cooper also appeared in court, but they are not yet represen

ted by lawyers.[Rising-Star]

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Roanoke County planners did not score points with young soccer players and adult athletes today.
The county sued a popular sports camp, saying it was too big and too commercial for an area zoned for agriculture.

[Double Boxes=Keith & Tina/Microwave]

Tina Tenret has the latest on the Rising Star Sports and Adventure Camp from the Roanoke County Courthouse.
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(rollcue... commercial day care.)
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The Norfolk Southern layoffs will wait another week. The reason why is still ahead on News 7 at 6.
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[Web Address Announce] [Pinnacle 4885ess]

[COMMERCIAL][AEP-Turbine]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
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Bedford County is now home to the first electricity-generating wind turbine in the state of Virginia.
Steve Smallshaw tells us how power company officials are looking to the skies for alternative energy sources.
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(( He's no Don Quixote, but Larry Jackson definitely has been tilting at windmills these days.
Actually, this is a wind turbine.. the newest source of energy for American Electric Power.
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((SO WE HAD THE PROPERTY AND WE HAD THE INTEREST HERE IN BRINGING IT, SO THAT'S HOW WE ENDED UP WITH IT.))
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[OUT Q=up with it.]

The 100- foot tower is located in a wide- open area just off Route 221 in Forest.
Winds sweeping down off the mountains spin the turbine's blades, generating electrical energy which is fed it to a nearby substation.
A-E-P has five wind turbine sites completed or under construction.. they include a spot along the shores of Lake Michigan; Fort Wayne, Indiana; Columbus, Ohio; Beckley, West Virginia and now Bedford County.
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((LARRY JACKSON/AEP DISTRICT MANAGER: THE IDEA HERE IS TO SEE IF IT'S FEASIBLE FOR THIS DISTRIBUTED GENERATOR TYPE OF A CONCEPT LIKE A WINDMILL IN THE EASTERN PART OF THE UNITED STATES.))
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[Standup 1:26:47] ((Power customers shouldn't expect to see a decrease in their bills any time soon. A wind turbine like this can generate up to ten kilowatts of energy.. enough to power just one home. A-E-P says the wind turbines are experimental, as they look for new ways to supplement their traditional sources of energy.))
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((JACKSON: AS THE TIMES CHANGE AND WE ALL GET MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS, YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT ALL YOUR OPTIONS AND THIS IS JUST ONE OF THEM.. JUST LIKE SMITH MOUNTAIN WAS ONE OF THE OPTIONS, AND WE'LL SEE IF IT WORKS.))
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[OUT Q=if it works.]

The public can track its progress too, by logging onto the A-E-P website.

Steve Smallshaw, News, Bedford County.))[NS-Shops]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
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[GRAPHIC=NS Layoffs]

228 Norfolk Southern Employees scheduled for furlough are keeping their jobs for an extra five days.
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[VO-NAT]
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[TAPE#=00-16 48:26]

Employees at the East End shops were to be let go next Friday, but the railroad has changed that date to August ninth.
Coal exports are now on a rise ..... a possible cause of the furlough delay.
But it's only a delay .. the company cited a decline in the quantity of coal demanded as the reason for the cutbacks.
The price of coal has dropped more than a dollar per ton since last year.
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[Stocks]

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Blue chips advanced .. tech stocks took a dive. [TAKE DOW, NASDAQ & BLOOMBERG PAGE ]
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The Dow rose 70 points, but NASDAQ fell 146. The Bloomberg-News 7 Local Index was virtually unchanged.
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Lee County Community Hospital has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Pennington Gap]

Thanks, at least in part to embezzlement on the part of the hospital administrator, the facility is unable to pay its debts.
Bankruptcy Attorney Chip Magee says about 25 people may have to be laid off. The hospital has about 280 employees.
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[ANCHOR=Keith]
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The acting administrator says the hospital will remain open while it reorganizes and settled more than 5-million dollars in accounts payable debt.

[Extended-Care]

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The overcrowded Carilion New River Valley Medical Center says it has found a solution to the problem.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Montgomery Co.;]

The hospital is gradually doing away with its on-site nursing facility over the next year.
After that, the 27-bed space will be used to treat emergency care patients.
The year-old hospital has 97 beds.
During busy times, it's been forced to put two patients to a room.
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[IN Q=We have heard]
((VIRGINIA OUSLEY/HOSPITAL DIRECTOR: WE HAVE HEARD MANY TIMES FROM OUR PATIENTS THAT THEY DON'T LIKE BEING DOUBLED UP IN A ROOM AND WE'VE HAD TO DO THAT SOME OF OUR PEAK CENSUS TIMES, SO THIS WILL GIVE US THE OPPORTUNITY TO ACCOMMODATE THAT NEED FOR OUR PUBLIC.))
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[OUT Q=need for our public.]
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The hospital says NO jobs will be lost.
It's offering to help its elderly patients find new nursing homes.
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[77-Chase]

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A man stopped today for speeding on Interstate 77 in Wythe County led state police on a two-hour chase on foot before being captured.
State police say a trooper pulled the man -- who identified himself as Clifton Johnson -- over and got permission to search his car.
The trooper says he found crack, marijuana and lots of money.
But before he could arrest him, the man ran across the interstate and hid in the woods.
He was captured without injury.

[Sports Tease]

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Coming up tonight on News 7 sports, the Big East holds its annual media day and the Hokies get picked to finish second. Dot Bolling wins the city-county title again.
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[VO-NAT]
And Steve Mason checks in from the Panthers training camp in Spartanburg, South Carolina right after this quick break.

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[S-East]

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The Big East held its annual football media day at the Meadowlands today in New Jersey. And it was Miami that got the nod to win the conference crown.
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[wipe to pinnacle 1000] Media members from around the league gave the Hurricanes 15 of the 24 first place votes, while Tech got the other 9. Following the Canes and Hokies are Syracuse, Boston College, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Temple and Rutgers.
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[S-Camp]

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The Lions and the Panthers spend their respective seasons in Detroit and Charlotte, but Virginia is still home to several players on both teams.
Tonight Steve Mason and photographer Mark Hollandsworth begin their Panthers' training camp reports from Spartanburg.

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[S-Golf]

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Dot Bolling can add another city county championship to her golf resume.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.; :]

Bolling started today's final round with a six shot lead after shooting an opening round 72 at Ole Monterey.
She came in with a final round 76 on the tight course at Hunting Hills finishing the tournament at 148 for a 9 shot win over Nancy Snodgrass, who finished second at 157.
Up next for Bolling, and her husband caddy Jay is a trip to the Homestead for the Senior Amateur. Bolling won the amateur championship earlier this month.
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[IN Q="Hopefully...]
((DOT BOLLING/ROANOKE CITY COUNTY CHAMPION: HOPEFULLY HE'LL BE WITH ME NEXT WEEK WHEN I GO TRY TO WIN THE SENIOR STATE AMATEUR. IF I PLAY WELL I CAN WIN THAT ONE AND I'LL BE THE FIRST ONE TO EVER WIN BOTH OF EM.))
[SUPER=01-Dot Bolling/Roanoke City County Champion; :]
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[OUT Q=.....of em."]
[ANCHOR=Mike]
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Marilyn Bussey finished third at 159.
Hidden Valley won the Fran McCorkindale Trophy and the Evelyn Anderton Trophy goes to the Botetourt Country Club.
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[ANCHOR=Keith]
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Members of a Lexington church are praising firefighters for their work.
[Double Boxes=Keith/Jean Newsroom]

Jean Jadhon is in the newsroom- with a preview of what's coming up at Eleven.
[Live= Jean/Newsroom]
[SUPER=@Jean1]

Fire fighters call the fire at the Lexington Presbyterian Church the worst fire they have ever seen in that area.

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[VO-NAT 00-19 54:43]
Watching the church go up in flames was not only hard for the community but also for the men and women who were battling the blaze. Tonight they will be rewarded for their efforts.
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[Live= Jean/Newsroom]
On News 7 at 11 we'll hear from both church members and fire fighters about the moments during the fire
[Double Boxes=Keith/Jean Newsroom]
and now what is next for this historic building and its parish.

[Close]

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