[7-Overstreet-Funeral]

[ANCHOR=kimberly]

[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=mce]
[TAPE#=00-37 TC31:01]
[GRAPHIC=Overstreet]
The memorial service for Danny Overstreet last night drew nearly a thousand people, gay and straight. He died Friday night after being gunned down at Roanoke's Backstreet Cafe. Meredyth Censullo reports.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Music...]
[SUPER=03-Vinton; :00]
[SUPER=01-Kathy Caldwell/Shooting Victim; :52]
[SUPER=01-Paul Holt/Overstreet's Friend; 1:12]
[RUNS=1:24]
[OUT Q=News 7 Vinton.]
((((NATS - 1:41:05 I'VE GOT JOY LIKE A RIVER...))
[RUNS= :05]

Singing accompanied sorrow, at what was called a celebration of Danny Overstreet's life. A celebration that drew hundreds. The crowd of mourners spilled into the parking lot - where their pain was comforted by prayer.

(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=But right now...]
((BUT RIGHT NOW WE PRAY FOR THE FAMILY OF DANNY, ALL THOSE THAT HAVE BEEN HURT BY THIS TRAGEDY AND WE ASK YOU SEND FORTH YOUR HEALING AND YOUR BLESSING. (YES)))
[RUNS= :09]
[OUT Q=your blessing (yes.)]

Inside, under a canopy of brightly colored balloons and flowers, he was remembered as "the laughing man." An animated figure who never met a stranger. Most who attended his funeral were in fact, just that. Kathy Caldwell met Overstreet for the first time Friday night - just minutes before both herself and Overstreet were gunned down.

(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=He was happy...]
((HE WAS HAPPY, LAUGHING, JOLLY, JOKING AROUND. HE WAS JUST A JOLLY, HE SEEMED LIKE A JOLLY HAPPY PERSON.))
[RUNS= :10]
[OUT Q=happy person.]

And that's exactly how Overstreet's friends say they'll remember him - They only wish everyone had a chance to experience his joy...

(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=If every]
((PAUL HOLT: IF EVERY PERSON WOULD'VE ONLY HAD TWO MINUTES OF DANNY IN THEIR LIFE, THEY WOULD'VE BEEN TRULY BLESSED.))


[RUNS= :07]
[OUT Q=blessed.]
Danny Overstreet will be laid to rest in a private ceremony. Meredyth Censullo, News7, Vinton.))

[7-11Gilmore]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=jmi]
[TAPE#=00-26 TC1:57:22]
[GRAPHIC=Jim Gilmore]
Just where is the money to eliminate the car tax coming from?
The Gilmore administration shifted 16-million dollars of public funds without legislative approval.
But now, budget writers are asking the state attorney general if the move was legal.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Lexington]

At Virginia Military Institute yesterday, Gilmore said transferring the money was a swift attempt to repay localities the revenue they lost from the no-car-tax.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=We don't see]
((GOV. JIM GILMORE: WE DON'T SEE ANYTHING THAT'S IMPROPER ABOUT IT, OTHER THAN THE FACT THAT WE WERE OBEYING THE LAW, GETTING THE TAX REBATE BACK TO THE PEOPLE OF VIRGINIA AT THE RIGHT MOMENT UNDER THE STATUTE.))
[SUPER=@gilmore]
[RUNS=11]
[OUT Q=under the statute.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

If the transfer is deemed legal, some say it will undermine the checks and balances between branches of government.

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

[45-11Senate-Race]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#=00-28 TC1:50:52]
[GRAPHIC=Geroge Allen]

Senate candidate George Allen and the Department of Environmental Quality are drawing fire for failing to regulate polluters and intimidating its own employees.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=203-Richmond;]

Those charges, made during Allen's tenure as governor, were renewed yesterday in a news conference organized by the Sierra Club.
Four former D-E-Q environmental engineers told horror stories of an agency paralyzed by Allen Cabinet Secretary Becky Norton Dunlop.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT TAPE ONE 11:33:23]
[IN Q=When Governor]
((EILEEN ROWAN/FORMER DEQ SCIENTIST: WHEN GOVERNOR ALLEN WAS SWORN IN, HIS SECRETARY OF NATURAL RESOURCES, BECKY NORTON DUNLOP, BEGAN TIGHTLY MANAGING OUR OPERATIONS TO AN UNPRECEDENTED DEGREE. OVERNIGHT, WE WERE SMOTHERED BY A BLANKET OF POLITICAL CORRECTNESS. FIRINGS, THREATENED FIRINGS AND FORCED MOVES BECAME CONSTANT. GAG ORDERS CUT US OFF FROM THE PUBLIC AND THE LEGISLATURE.))
[SOT TAPE TWO 11:47:47]
((DAVID SLIGH/FORMER DEQ SCIENTIST: WE'RE NOT CRACKPOTS. WE'RE PEOPLE WHO COULDN'T PUT UP WITH THE CORRUPTION OF THE SYSTEM.))
[SUPER=201-Eileen Rowan/Former DEQ Scientist; :00 ]
[SUPER=201-David Sligh/Former DEQ Scientist; :23 ]
[RUNS=:27]
[OUT Q=of the system.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Allen's own policy advisor on natural resources works for his campaign now, and sat in on the news conference.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 12:03:25]
[IN Q=Well I think]
((BERNIE MCNAMEE/ALLEN CAMPAIGN: WELL I THINK IT WAS CLEAR FROM THE COMMENTS THAT THEY MADE THAT THE THING THAT THEY WERE MOST UPSET ABOUT IS THAT AFTER THEY WERE RUNNING DEQ, OR SO THEY PERCEIVED, FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS, THAT SOMEBODY ELSE SAID THERE'S A DIFFERENT WAY TO DO THINGS, A BETTER WAY TO DO IT, THAT WE CAN BOTH HAVE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONS AND HELP COMPANIES PROVIDE NEW JOBS FOR VIRGINIANS.))
[SUPER=201-Bernie McNamee/Allen Campaign;]
[RUNS=:19]
[OUT Q=for Virginians.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The former D-E-Q workers say they all felt pressured by managers to hide evidence of pollution during Allen's tenure.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[SS=none]

Allen did pick up the endorsement of the U-S Chamber of Commerce yesterday.
Chamber leaders praised Allen for slashing state business regulations by 70 percent as governor.

[45-11Boty-Shooting]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tte]
[TAPE#=00-35 TC39:22]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Investigators say it was an argument over caring for their mother that led a Botetourt County man to killing his brother.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Barry Etzler is charged with murdering his brother Hugh and wounding his 18-year-old nephew Brad. The two men lived with their mother and frequently fought,
[SUPER=03-Botetourt Co.;]
investigators say, because the victim spent time in Roanoke and did not help with the bills.
(------------)

[45-6-Chapman-Fatal]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=jmc]
[TAPE#=1:26:29]
[GRAPHIC=None]

A man found dead in northwest Roanoke died of natural causes.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

60-year-old Ronnie D. Muller was found next to his bicycle on Chapman Avenue Tuesday.
The medical examiner's office says Muller had a heart attack.
(------------)

[8-11Funeral-Protest]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=00-24 TC1:53:17]
[GRAPHIC=Overstreet]

Shooting victim Danny Overstreet's life ended in violence, but his funeral was peaceful.
That's after Kansas minister Fred Phelps failed to follow through with his promise of a major anti- gay demonstration.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Vinton]

Vinton Police were stationed at the funeral home, and officers from other departments were standing by, but they weren't needed.
The large crowd that lingered outside the chapel was peaceful and positive... focused on Danny Overstreet and his family.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=The service was helpful]
((NORMA POHAN/CO-WORKER: THE SERVICE WAS HELPFUL. IT BROUGHT PEOPLE TOGETHER, DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS, HIS CO-WORKERS, HIS FRIENDS. HIS FAMILY. IT WAS NEEDED.)) ((SYLVIA JOURNIETTE/CO-WORKER: I FELT COMPELLED TO BE HERE JUST TO FIGHT THE HATRED FOR ONE THING AND JUST TO BE TOGETHER WITH HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS AND SUPPORT THE FAMILY AND LET THEM KNOW THAT DANNY WAS WELL-LOVED.))
[SUPER=01-Norma Pohan/Co-Worker; :00]
[SUPER=01-Sylvia Journiette/Co-Worker; :11]
[RUNS=:20]
[OUT Q=Danny was well-loved.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The only note of discord came when a car passed by carrying a sign that read "Ronnie Gay for President." Gay is the man charged with Overstreet's murder.
Still, there was relief that the funeral did not produce any angry confrontations with demonstrators.
(///// SOT //////////)
[SOT 18:57:08]
[IN Q=I believe that prayer works]
((I BELIEVE THAT PRAYER WORKS, FOR WHATEVER REASONS, WHATEVER HIS REASONS WERE FOR NOT COMING. IN MY HEART PRAYER WORKS.))
[SUPER=01-Rev. Catherine Houchins/Metropolitan Community Church;]
[RUNS=:10]
[OUT Q=prayer works.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Phelps complained in a fax that he feared police would not protect his safety and first amendment rights, but last night there was no indication why he did not show.
(-------------)

[8-11Optical-Cable]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tte]
[TAPE#=00-25 TC2:03:09]
[GRAPHIC=Optical Cable]

A federal lawsuit alleges that Optical Cable in Roanoke discriminates against blacks and women.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/March;]
The company makes fiber optic cable for video and audio communications. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says Optical Cable waited 11 years to hire its first black and still does not hire enough minorities. It also says the cable company keeps women in low-paying jobs. Optical Cable denies this -- saying half of the top paid hourly employees are women and eleven percent of its workforce is black.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 13:16:41]
[IN Q=This case arose]
((ROBERT KOPSTEIN/OPTICAL CABLE: THIS CASE AROSE OUT OF A CHARGE FILED BY A SINGLE INDIVIDUAL, WHO SAID HE WAS DISCHARGED BECAUSE OF HIS RACE. THE EMPLOYEE HAS BEEN OFFERED HIS JOB BACK.))
[SUPER=01-Robert Kopstein/Optical Cable;]
[RUNS=:11]
[OUT Q=his job back]
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[SS=none]
Douglas Bonds brought this complaint to the E-E-O-C. He worked at Optical Cable for a month as a machine operator and says the company poorly trained him then fired him because he was black. He has not responded to the company's job offer and did not want to appear on camera.
by SS