WDBJ 7 morning news AM cutins for 07/28/00

[7-11Pledge]

[ANCHOR=Kim]

[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=00-15 1:52:15]
[GRAPHIC=Pledge]
A Roanoke City Police officer is free on bond, after being indicted on racketeering and drug trafficking charges.

(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

Frederick Pledge spent nearly four days in jail. He was released yesterday when his girlfriend's father posted property in Martinsville, clearing the way for his release on 100-thousand dollars bond.
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.
(-------------)

[7-11NS-Shops]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=jmi]
[TAPE#=00-13 1:58:28]
[GRAPHIC=NS Layoffs]
More than 200 Norfolk Southern employees slated to be laid off will get a one week reprieve.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]
[TAPE#=00-16 48:26]

Next Friday was supposed to be the last day of work for 228 workers at the East End shops 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 workforce cutbacks.

(------------)[7-11AEP-Turbine]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=00-19 1:12:47]
[GRAPHIC=AEP]
AEP hopes to ride the wind, as a new source of energy for area customers.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Bedford Co.]

Crews for American Electric Power were in Forest yesterday, putting the finishing touches on the first wind turbine in the state of Virginia.
Wind spins the turbine blades, generating electrical energy which is then sent to a nearby substation.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 1:19:24]
[IN Q=Basically all we've]
((LARRY JACKSON/AEP DISTRICT MANAGER: BASICALLY, ALL WE'VE DONE IS JUST TIE IT IN TO OUR DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM, SO IT COULD HAVE GONE JUST ABOUT ANYWHERE. WE ALSO WANTED IT TO BE CLOSE TO A MAJOR HIGHWAY TO MAKE SURE FOLKS KNEW THAT WE HAD THIS WINDMILL, AND ON THE SIDE OF IT, THE TURBINE ITSELF, IT GIVES YOU THE WEBSITE WHERE YOU CAN PULL IT UP AND SEE IT.))
[SUPER=01-Larry Jackson/AEP District Manager]
[RUNS=19]
[OUT Q=and see it.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

By logging on to "aep-dot-com", customers can see just how much energy the wind turbines produce.
(------------)

[7WEATHER]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#none]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Turning your attention now to weather...
Expect a chance of showers today...

[SUPER=X5000; SET DISSOLVE]
[SUPER=314-40% Chance/of Showers/83-88/Partly/Cloudy/63-68;]
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[ESS C] (EXTENDED)[45-11Moonshine]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=500-05 1:40:16]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]
More -not- guilty pleas in a federal moonshining case.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

Four defendants were arraigned in Roanoke federal court yesterday 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
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[GRAPHIC=Hold]

Pleading not guilty were Jason Stanley, Leroy Marshall, Shirley Whitlow, and Kenny Cobler (COBB-luhr).
Two other defendants, Rodney Lee James and Autrey Lee Cooper also appeared in court, but they are not yet represen

ted by lawyers.[45-11-77-Chase]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=None]

State police say a traffic stop in Wythe County led to a two-hour foot chase.
Police say a trooper found crack cocaine, marijuana, and lots of money inside a car speeding along I-77.
That's when the driver allegedly took off into the woods.
He identified himself as Clifton Johnson after police nabbed him.

[45-11NS-Shops]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=jmi]
[TAPE#=00-13 1:58:28]
[GRAPHIC=NS Layoffs]

More than 200 Norfolk Southern employees slated to be laid off will work one more week.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]
[TAPE#=00-16 48:26]

Next Friday was supposed to be the last day of work for 228 workers at the East End shops 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 workforce cutbacks.

(------------)[45-11Lee-Hospital]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=00-24 29:22]
[GRAPHIC=None]
The Lee County Community Hospital is laying off more than twenty employees.
The hospital has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
(------------)
[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.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[GRAPHIC=None]

The acting administrator says the hospital will remain open while it reorganizes its finances and settles more than 5-million dollars in debt.

[45-11Extended-Care]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=00-22 1:11:00]
[GRAPHIC=Health Care]

Overcrowding is causing the Carilion New River Valley Medical Center to get rid of its eldercare program.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Montgomery Co.;]

The hospital is gradually doing away with the 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.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 2:33:14 - :30]
[IN Q=This area is]
((VIRGINIA OUSLEY/HOSPITAL DIRECTOR: THIS AREA IS AN AREA WE CAN EXPAND AND GROW INTO WITHOUT ANY LARGE CONSTRUCTION, MINIMAL CONVERSION DOLLARS...AND SO THAT ALSO LED TO THE DECISION WE HAD TO MAKE.))
[SUPER=01-Virginia Ousley/Hospital Director;]
[RUNS=:15]
[OUT Q=we had to make.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The hospital says NO jobs will be lost.
It's offering to help its elderly patients find new nursing homes.
(------------)

[45WEATHER]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#none]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Let's take a break from the news now to check your Friday forecast..
A chance of showers return to the forecast today...

[SUPER=X5000; SET DISSOLVE]
[SUPER=314-40% Chance/of Showers/83-88/Partly/Cloudy/63-68;]
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[ESS C] (EXTENDED)[8-11Pledge]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=00-15 1:52:15]
[GRAPHIC=Pledge]

The Roanoke police officer who was recently indicted, was freed from jail yesterday.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

Frederick Pledge spent nearly four days in jail. He was released when his girlfriend's father posted property in Martinsville, clearing the way for his release on 100-thousand dollars bond.
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.
(-------------)

[8-11Tech-Professor]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]

A former Virginia Tech professor is charged with putting 34- thousand dollars worth of personal expenses on his employee credit card.
George S. Libey was a professor in the Fisheries and Wildlife Science department.
Tech cancelled his contract after a Montgomery County Grand Jury handed up the indictment.

[8-11Moonshine]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=500-05 1:40:16]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]

More defendants in an alleged moonshining ring say they didn't do it--
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

Four defendants were arraigned in Roanoke federal court yesterday 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
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[GRAPHIC=Hold]

Pleading not guilty were Jason Stanley, Leroy Marshall, Shirley Whitlow, and Kenny Cobler (COBB-luhr).
Two other defendants, Rodney Lee James and Autrey Lee Cooper also appeared in court, but they are not yet represen

ted by lawyers.[8-11Lee-Hospital]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=00-24 29:22]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Layoffs are coming the Lee County Communicty Hospital after it filed Chapter 11--
More than 20 workers will be let go.
(------------)
[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.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[GRAPHIC=None]

The acting administrator says the hospital will remain open while it reorganizes its finances and settles more than 5-million dollars in debt.

[8WEATHER]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#none]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Before we wrap up this morning...here's another check on your forecast..
Expect clouds and scattered showers today...

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[SUPER=314-40% Chance/of Showers/83-88/Partly/Cloudy/63-68;]
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