WDBJ 7 morning news AM cutins for 09/14/00

[7Barnabei]

[ANCHOR=Kim]

[NEWSCAST=cut-ins]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Derek Barnabei is scheduled to die by lethal injection tonight at the Greensville Correctional Center.
(------------)
[VO-NAT 00-29 1:22:52]
[SUPER=03-Norfolk/File Tape]
Barnabei was convicted in Norfolk of raping and killing his girlfriend 17-year-old Old Dominion University student Sarah Wisnosky from Lynchburg. Barnabei claims he's innocent and that new D-N-A tests ordered by Governor Gilmore are based on tainted evidence that disappeared and then reappeared two weeks ago.
(------------)
[Anchor=Kim]
[ss=none]
Gilmore has denied a clemency plea, saying the tests helped prove Barnabei's guilt. Now a final Supreme Court appeal is all that stands between Barnabei and the execution.

[7-11Bird]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cut-ins]
[WRITER=tha]
[TAPE#=00-23 TC2:01:48]
[GRAPHIC=Murder Invest.]

Investigators in Myrtle Beach say they do NOT have any suspects in the stabbing death of a Roanoke man.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Myrtle Beach, SC/Yesterday;]

Housekeepers at the Poindexter Ocean Front Resort found the body of 50- year old John Milton Bird Tuesday morning.

A Dodge Stratus with Virginia license plates was later seized by police from the hotel's parking lot.
Investigators are hoping to locate three people who may have been with Bird in the hours before his death.
Witnesses told police two of the people may have gone by the names Jeremy Hackney and Chrissy and were possibly from Ohio.
Roanoke police are also assisting in the investigation.
They're trying to find out who may have traveled to South Carolina with Bird.
(------------)

[7-11Law]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cut-ins]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=00-35 TC1:35:37]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Amos Law says he's out of the moonshine making business....and that he "hasn't fooled with the stuff" since 1995. The government says he lied about it to a federal grand jury.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

But a trial jury believed Law... acquitting him yesterday on two counts of perjury.
The jury foreman thinks Law was confused about an investigation that goes back to 1991.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 13:45:45]
[IN Q=I think he felt]
((I THINK HE FELT LIKE THEY WERE QUESTIONING HIM ABOUT THAT INSTEAD OF THE '97 TO 2000.)) ((I'M VERY PLEASED. I HAD A VERY GOOD LAWYER AND I'M VERY PLEASED TO BE GOING BACK HOME TO MY FAMILY.))
[SUPER=01-Alfred Blankenship, Jr./Jury Foreman; :00]
[SUPER=01-Amos Law/Acquitted Perjury Suspect; :06]
[RUNS=17]
[OUT Q=to my family.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Law was convicted and pulled two years in prison the last time. Now he's a free man.
(------------)

[7-11Neely]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=cut ins]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=Keith Neely]

Incarcerated attorney Keith Neely made an appearance in federal court yesterday-- alleging the government had withheld explicit information that could have assisted in his defense. Convicted in 1993 of drug trafficking, Neely is hoping to win a new trial.
Judge Jackson Kiser said he found no evidence of "agency misconduct" on the part of the F-B-I, but he did not make a ruling on Neely's request for more information or on the motion for a new trial.

[7-6Taylor]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cut ins]
[WRITER=tte]
[TAPE#=00-33 TC40:28]
[GRAPHIC=Whitey Taylor]
The owner of the Franklin County speedway will have to pay 130-dollars for holding an illegal carnival.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Rocky Mount/October 1999;]
[TAPE#=00-30 TC48:38]
Whitey Taylor was convicted yesterday of holding a carnival without the proper permit. Taylor says he thinks he could win an appeal, but doesn't have the time.
(------------)

[45-11Bent-Mt-Ax]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=mce]
[TAPE#=00-]
[GRAPHIC=Fatal Accident]

An accident on Bent Mountain yesterday killed one person and hurt four others..
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.]
It happened on Route 221 near Tinsley Lane. Roanoke County police say 66-year-old Betty Arthur of Bedford turned into the path of this Jeep Cherokee. The Jeep hit the passenger side, killing Arthur's aunt, Fannie Hazen. A couple in the Jeep - Paul and Kathleen Slater from Floyd County - were also injured. Arthur and the Slaters are all in stable condition at Roanoke Memorial Hospital. Arthur's husband was treated at the scene. Charges are pending against Betty Arthur.
(------------)

[45-11Ax-Reax]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=mce]
[TAPE#=00-35]
[GRAPHIC=Fatal Accident]

The accident happened just YARDS from the Bent Mountain Rescue Squad building.
It was empty because the county moved Bent Mountain's three paid firefighters to Back Creek.
Some residents say the fatal wreck proved THAT was a bad decision.
Meredyth Censullo reports.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.;:00]
[SUPER=01-Carson King/Bent Mountain Fruit Market;:09]
[SUPER=01-Wayne Newman/Witness;:31]
[SUPER=@Meredyth2;1:07]
[RUNS=1:19]
[OUT Q=News 7 Roanoke Co.]
((The accident happened right in front of Carson King's Fruit Market. His wife called for help. That's when he says the wait began.

(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=My wife called..]
((CARSON KING: MY WIFE CALLED AS QUICK AS IT HAPPENED AND WHEN I CAME DOWN SHE SAID, "I DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY'RE AT, THEY HAVEN'T SHOWN UP YET.")) [RUNS:06]
[OUT Q=up yet.]

Roanoke County Fire Chief Rick Burch says the first rescue squad on the scene - from Back Creek - arrived in eight minutes. Residents at the scene say it took much longer. In fact they say the response time was unacceptable.

(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=There were..]
((THERE WERE SEVERE INJURIES HERE THAT I WITNESSED AND SAW AND FOR THE COUNTY TO THINK THEY CAN SERVICE BENT MOUNTAIN FROM BACK CREEK, THEY'RE MISTAKEN. IT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN.)) [RUNS:12]
[OUT Q=gonna happen.]

Residents say a speedy response COULD have happened. The Bent Mountain Fire and Rescue Squad is located mere yards from the crash site.

(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=If we had...]
((CARSON KING: IF WE HAD PAID FIREMEN, RESCUE SQUAD ON THE MOUNTAIN, THEY COULD RESPOND WITHIN 1 TO 2 MINUTES. )) [RUNS:06]
[OUT Q=minutes.]

(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Maybe the woman...]
((WAYNE NEWMAN: MAYBE THE WOMAN WOULD'VE STILL PASSED AWAY, BUT SOMEONE WOULD'VE BEEN HERE WHO WOULD'VE KNOWN WHAT TO DO, THAN JUST STAND THERE AND WATCH.)) [RUNS:06]
[OUT Q=and watch.]

Fire Chief Burch says in an ideal situation, both Bent Mountain and Back Creek would each have their own staff of paid firemen. But, he says, there's no way the county can afford that. Meredyth Censullo, News 7, Roanoke County.))

[45-11Runaway-Car]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=00-36 TC24:56]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Amazingly, no one was injured when a runaway car rolled hundreds of feet, hit two other vehicles, then plowed into an apartment complex.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.]

No one was in the S-U-V when it crashed into a building at the Pebble Creek Apartments around eight yesterday evening.
The car was parked in a lot at the neighboring Bent Tree Apartment complex when it started rolling.
It hit a motorcycle and an antique car, then kept rolling into the apartment.
No one was hurt.
(------------)

[8-Barnabei]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Tonight's scheduled execution is ON for condemned killer Derek Barnabei.
(------------)
[VO-NAT 00-29 1:22:52]
[SUPER=03-Norfolk/File Tape]
Barnabei was convicted in Norfolk of raping and killing his girlfriend 17-year-old Old Dominion University student Sarah Wisnosky from Lynchburg. Barnabei claims he's innocent and that new D-N-A tests ordered by Governor Gilmore are based on tainted evidence that disappeared and then reappeared two weeks ago.
(------------)
[Anchor=Kim]
[ss=none]
Gilmore has denied a clemency plea, saying the tests helped prove Barnabei's guilt. Now a final Supreme Court appeal is all that stands between Barnabei and the execution.

[8-11gas-pipeline]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=jmi]
[TAPE#=00-24 TC1:34:01]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Duke Energy will allow the proposed 55- mile gas pipeline to be built along its existing one.
But as Jennifer Miele reports, there are some conditions.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=A new gas]
[SUPER=01-John Williamson/Roanoke Gas Company; :42]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co./File Tape; 1:10]
[SUPER=@Jennifer1; 1:30]
[RUNS=1:39]
[OUT Q=JM News 7.]
(( A new gas pipeline running from Montgomery County to the Roanoke area is expected to affect 165 families in Montgomery County and 215 in Roanoke County.
Opponents say Virginia Gas should run the new pipeline along an existing one owned by Duke Energy.
Duke Energy has offered the following three options. [PRE-PRO]
Virginia Gas can share a pipeline with East Tennessee's existing one.
The lines can run 50 feet apart, but Virginia Gas would have to pay for any expansion.
OR, Virginia Gas can buy some of Duke Energy's existing property, creating a smaller right of way in between the lines. [END PRE-PRO]
John Williamson of Roanoke Gas Company says the proposals are only a short term solutions.
[SOT]
[IN Q=We've forcasted]
((JOHN WILLIAMSON/ROANOKE GAS COMPANY: WE'VE FORECASTED THAT WE NEED ADDITIONAL PIPELINE CAPACITY BY 2002-2003.))
[OUT Q= by 2002-2003.]
[RUNS08]
Williamson is urging Virginia Gas to build the new line using a new easement. [PRE-PRO page 2]
He says one pipeline will meet Roanoke's needs only until 2006. An expansion of co-located pipelines would be two expensive for Virginia Gas. And a co-located right of way, as proposed by Duke Energy, would actually affect 100 more property owners. [END PREPRO]
With more choices, residents who are opposed to the new pipeline may now have more of a reason to fight against it.
Still, Williamson says he'll fight for it.
[SOT]
[IN Q=We've been in this]
((JOHN WILLIAMSON/ROANOKE GAS COMPANY: WE'VE BEEN IN THIS PLANNING MODE FOR A LONG TIME, AND FRANKLY WE THINK A SECOND PIPELINE IS THE BEST ALTERNATIVE. AND WE HOPE VIRGINIA GAS COMPANY GOES THROUGH WITH THE PROJECT.)) [RUNS11]
[OUT Q=with this project.]
[STAND UP] [TC: 1:45:15] ((JENNIFER MIELE: PROPERTY DAMAGE IS STILL AN ISSUE, AND THAT'S WHY RESIDENTS WHO OPPOSE THE PIPELINE ARE SCHEDULED TO PICKET ROANOKE GAS COMPANY ON FRIDAY. JENNIFER MIELE, NEWS 7.)) [RUNS10]))

[8-6Heilig-Myers]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cut-ins]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=Heilig-Myers Ch. 11]

Within a week, nearly 300 Heilig- Myers stores may begin closing.
A federal bankruptcy judge has okayed liquidation sales and closings at the stores, along with a new credit program.
Five stores in our area will close-- those in Radford, Martinsville, Christiansburg, Collinsville and Rainell, We st Virginia.