WDBJ 7 morning news AM cutins for 10/04/00

[7-EMS]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]

[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=mce]
[TAPE#=00-37]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Roanoke County's Fire and Rescue Chief says he has a plan to speed up emergency response times in the county.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Vinton]
Rick Burch says crews should respond to any call within the county in less than 6 minutes. Burch suggests dividing the county into four quadrants - each staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. He says the quadrant plan would be capable of providing Advanced Life Support response within 6 minutes to 80 percent of calls. The plan would require additional funding of 907-thousand dollars, adding 20 paramedics and firefighters.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[GRAPHIC=none]

A public meeting is planned for October 24th.[7-11One-Source]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tte]
[TAPE#=00-33 TC1:04:34]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Now that a Roanoke company has gone out of business, people in the Roanoke Valley could have no long distance service.

(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]
One Source provided pager, cell phone and long distance service but now its two Roanoke offices are suddenly locked.
[SUPER=04-January;]
Company vice president Mark Rhodes talked to us earlier this year about problems with the company but would not go on camera. He says One Source owners have started Infonet instead, which will be based in Roanoke and provide high speed data service only. Long distance customers will have to switch to a new plan.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 14:27:10]
[IN Q=Does your pager]
((JULIE WHEELER/BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU: DOES YOUR PHONE SITLL WORK? DOES YOUR PAGER STILL WORK? DO YOU HAVE SERVICE? YOU CAN BET YOU'LL GET A BILL AND YOU'LL FIND OUT IF YOUR CARRIER'S CHANGED.))
[SUPER=01-Julie Wheeler/Better Business Bureau;]
[RUNS=:08]
[OUT Q=carrier's changed]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
The Better Business Bureau says customers were never warned that One Source was closing -- and that cell phone or pager users should never pay for a year in advance in case the company closes.
(------------)

[7-11Train-station]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=00-31 TC1:00:56]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Roanoke's old passenger train station is getting a new life, but not with the railroad.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

Center in the Square bought the building yesterday for 131-thousand dollars.
The non- profit agency bought it after learning a commercial developer was negotiating a deal with Downtown Roanoke , Incorporated.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 18:11:50]
[IN Q=We were very]
((WE WERE VERY CONCERNED THAT THERE WAS A COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT COMPANY OUTSIDE OF VIRGINIA... BEST IN THE HANDS OF AN ORGANIZATION SUCH AS CENTER IN THE SQUARE.))
[SUPER=01-Jim Sears/Center in the Square]
[RUNS=19]
[OUT Q=in the Square.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The building will be restored to the way it looked after industrial designer Raymond Loewy (low-ee) renovated it in the 1940's.
It'll house a convention and visitor's bureau and part of the history museum.
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[7WEATHER]

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

[SUPER=X5000; SET DISSOLVE]
[SUPER=314-Sunny & Warm/SW Winds 5-10/83-85/Clear Evening/Calm Wind/57-59]
[Super=#555; RESET]

[45-11Washington]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#=00-27 TC1:35:55]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Former death row inmate Earl Washington, Jr. is still in prison for burglary and malicious wounding convictions, but he is off death row.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Richmond/File Tape]

His lawyers say thank you to Governor Jim Gilmore for Monday's absolute pardon in the Culpeper murder case.
But they say the time served on death row doesn't count toward the parole Washington might have been eligible for as early as 1988 -- and the Governor did nothing to fix that.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 14:57]
[IN Q=Governors make]
((GERALD ZERKIN/WASHINGTON'S ATTORNEY: GOVERNORS MAKE AND ARE EXPECTED TO MAKE POLITICAL DECISIONS... MOTIVATED BY POLITICS AND NOT WHAT I THINK WOULD BE FAIR AND JUST IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE.))
[SUPER=01-Gerald Zerkin/Washington's Attorney;]
[RUNS=:14]
[OUT Q=particular case.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

We asked Washington in a phone interview yesterday if he believes in the justice system.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 10:52:56 ]
[IN Q=(laughs)]
(( hahahaha. I DON'T THINK I WANT TO ANSWER THAT. hahaha. -- I MIGHT PUT MY FOOT IN MY MOUTH I DON'T WANT TO DO THAT.))
[RUNS=:08]
[OUT Q=to do that.]
(-------------)
[TALENT=Shannon]
[SS=None]

A Governor's spokesman says only that Washington's fate is now in the hands of the Parole Board.
And quoting now "We're NOT talking about a model citizen here."
The Department of Corrections says it is fast-tracking the process to see if Washington should be eligible for parole now.

[45-11Martha-Stewart]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=sch]
[TAPE#=00-28 TC2:01:30]
[GRAPHIC=None]

The latest Martha Stewart bedding products have arrived at K-Mart stores.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Danville]

The unique thing about that is Dan River Mills made the products.
The matching sheets, comforters and pillowcases just arrived in K-Mart stores across the country.
One store manager said customers were asking about the new items even before they arrived.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 37:30]
[IN Q=It's probably about]
((SHARON CARTER/KMART MANAGER: IT'S PROBABLY ABOUT 90 PERCENT FULL. IT WAS SLOW PROCESS GETTING IN BUT NOW ABOUT ALL OF IT IS HERE AND IT'S SOME PRETTY COLORS AND DESIGNS.))
[SUPER=01-Sharon Carter/KMart Manager;]
[RUNS=:10]
[OUT Q=colors and designs.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The new products are a result of a cooperative effort between Martha Stewart, Kmart and Dan River Mills.
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[45-BWX-Leak]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=AM cutins]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=none]

A 52-thousand-gallon water pool in Lynchburg that stores used nuclear fuel samples from commercial reactors is leaking. B-W-X Technologies reported the leak last month to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The company said the leak of about 250 gallons a day is being fixed, and there's no danger to the public or to workers at the site. Officials say contaminated water doesn't appear to have spread to the nearby James River.

[45WEATHER]

[8-EMS]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=mce]
[TAPE#=00-37]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Roanoke County's Fire and Rescue Chief says he has a plan that could speed up emergency response times in the county.

(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Vinton]
Rick Burch says crews should respond to any call within the county in less than 6 minutes. Burch suggests dividing the county into four quadrants - each staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. He says the quadrant plan would be capable of providing Advanced Life Support response within 6 minutes to 80 percent of calls. The plan would require additional funding of 907-thousand dollars, adding 20 paramedics and firefighters.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[GRAPHIC=none]

A public meeting is planned for October 24th.[8-Virginia-Gas]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=00-36 TC49:35]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Many homeowners who'll be affected by a new 55-mile gas pipeline are working to change the law that allows access to their property.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Montgomery Co.;]

Virginia Gas rejected a proposal to share an existing gas line corridor with its competitor, Duke Energy, this week.
That means residents like Stacy Snyder will be getting a new 50-foot wide clearing cut through their property.
Snyder built her dream house on a Montgomery County mountaintop last year because of the spectacular view.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 2:31:19 - :28]
[IN Q=Had I known]
((STACY SNYDER: HAD I KNOWN THERE WOULD BE AN ADDITIONAL PIPELINE PUT IN THROUGH HERE, I WOULD HAVE LOCATED MY HOUSE FARTHER AWAY FROM THIS EXISTING EASEMENT.))
[SUPER=01-Stacy Snyder/Pipeline Opponent;]
[RUNS=:09]
[OUT Q=this existing easement.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Virginia Gas says its chosen route affects the fewest residents, nature preserves and subdivisions.
It will pay residents the value of the property it uses.
Snyder and many of the other 282-homeowners affected say they will try to change the way easements are granted to utility companies.
(------------)

[8-11Oprah-Movie]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=sch]
[TAPE#=00-29 TC1:56:12]
[GRAPHIC=None]
The Schoolfield are of downtown Danville is headed for the small screen.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Danville]

Roads in the area were blocked for the taping of a made-for-television movie yesterday. The movie, which stars Elizabeth Shue and Hannah Hall, is being made by Oprah Winfrey's production company.
Crews blanketed part of Dan River Mills with fake snow made out of soap and water. Extras were dressed in 70's clothing.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 25:46]
[IN Q=It's been interesting]
((LOU WALL/DANVILLE RESIDENT: IT'S BEEN INTERESTING TO JUST DRIVE DOWN PARK AVENUE. ALL THE ROADS WERE BLOCKED AND ALL THE PEOPLE. IT'S REALLY NEAT.))
[SOT 26:10]
((RUBY CAMPBELL/DANVILLE RESIDENT: I WANT TO SEE THEM SHOW IT AND I WANT TO WATCH THEM FILM. IT'S THE BEST THING THAT HAS HAPPENED TO DANVILLE. IT'S THE FIRST TIME.))
[SUPER=01-Lou Wall/Danville Resident]
[SUPER=01-Ruby Campbell/Danville Resident; :11]
[RUNS=:20]
[OUT Q=the first time.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Crews say taping in Danville wrapped up yesterday and they will head back to Wilmington to finish the movie.
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