WDBJ 7 news at Noon for 11/22/00

[HEADLINES]

[TALENT=Kimberly]

(----------------)
[VO-NAT]

On this Thanksgiving Eve, a house fire in Roanoke claims the life of a six- year- old girl.
Fire investigators are trying to determine its cause.
A live update, coming up.
(----------------)
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

And a health crisis adds to the the Presidential election confusion..
(/////////////)
[TALENT=Jacey]
[SS=None]

A sunny and cool afternoon on tap for today but tonight we are looking to set record low temperatures. The Thanksgiving forecast is next.
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[SS=None]

All that straight ahead on News 7 at noon.

[Tillet-Fire]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=00-55]
[GRAPHIC=Fatal Fire]

A house fire early this morning in Roanoke killed a 6 year old girl and injured her grandmother.

(XXXXXXXX)
[TAKE FS MAP]
It happened on Tillet Road in Southwest Roanoke. Investigators have spent the morning there searching for the cause.
(XXXXXXXX)
[DOUBLE BOXES=Kim / Joe Microwave;]

Joe Dashiell has been covering this story. Joe--what's the status of the investigation?
[LIVE=Joe /FULL]
[SUPER=@Joe1]
[SUPER=05-Roanoke]

((ROLLCUE:...still working on the cause.))
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Firefighters]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke; :00]
[SUPER=01-Audie Ferris/Battalion Chief; :09]
[SUPER=01-Anthony Wallace/Fire Investigator; :41]
[RUNS=:47]
[OUT Q=lead us to believe it's suspicious.]

[LIVE=Joe /FULL]
[SUPER=05-Roanoke;]

[DOUBLE BOXES=Kim /Joe Microwave;]

[SML-Zoning]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=tte]
[TAPE#=00-46]
[GRAPHIC=Smith Mt. Lake]

A 140-acre complex including a retirement home, shops, a golf course and a movie theater will be built at Smith Mountain Lake. Franklin County supervisors approved plans for the development last night. It's expected to produce 300-thousand-dollars in tax revenue every year. Tina Tenret reports.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=This pay dirt]
[SUPER=03-Franklin Co.; :00]
[SUPER=01-Ron Willard, Sr./Developer; :22]
[SUPER=01-Don Fink/Smith Mountain Lake Association; :49]
[SUPER=@Tina1; :56]
[RUNS=1:05]
[OUT Q=Tina Tenret News7]
(( This pay dirt near Westlake Corner holds the seeds of a 30 million dollar community. Picture a golf course, movie theater, condos, a shopping center, and a retirement home. Plus, the developer plans to give six acres to the sheriff's office, the YMCA, and the performing arts.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 17:04:13]
[IN Q=The job impact]
((RON WILLARD/DEVELOPER: THE JOB IMPACT ... ABOVE THEIR RETAIL OFFICE)) [RUNS:19]
[OUT Q=ABOVE THEIR RETAIL OFFICE]
The Smith Mountain Lake Association likes the look of this brick village, with its gardens, sidewalks and rotundas. It's not like the newer strip malls that members hate.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 20:04:31]
[IN Q=It shows]
((DON FINK/SML ASSOC: IT SHOWS PROMISE OF BLENDING BETTER WITH THE LOCAL ENVIRONMENT THAN SOME OF THE BUILDINGS RECENTLY ERECTED IN THIS AREA.)) [RUNS:06]
[OUT Q=erected in this area]
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
((TINA TENRET/NEWS7: THIS PROJECT IS JUST ABOUT A HALF MILE AWAY FROM THE BOOKER T-WASHINGTON MONUMENT, WITH FARMLAND IN BETWEEN. PARK SERVICE OFFICERS WORRY THAT POLLUTION WILL HURT WILDLIFE IN GILLS CREEK -- BUT AGREED TO WORK WITH THE DEVELOPER TO FILTER THE RUNOFF, IF IT CAUSES A PROBLEM. ))
[RUNS=]
[OUT Q=]))

[Robertson]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=tha]
[TAPE#=00-47 TC12:54]
[GRAPHIC=Carilion]
The new year will mean a new beginning for Carilion Health System.
That's because its getting a new C-E-O and President in January.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

Tom Robertson is retiring effective January 15th, after 32 years with the system.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT00:49]
[IN Q=IT'S JUST SEEMED LIKE THE]
((TOM ROBERTSON/CEO CARILION HEALTH SYSTEM: IT JUST SEEMED LIKE THE RIGHT TO TIME TO DO IT. WE HAVE A GOOD MANAGEMENT TEAM IN PLACE, THE SYSTEM IS IN VERY GOOD SHAPE. THERE ARE OTHER THINGS I WANT TO DO OUTSIDE OF BUSINESS INTERESTS AND I FEEL VERY COMFORTABLE THAT THE SYSTEM IS GOING TO GO ON TO A VERY BRIGHT FUTURE))
[SUPER=01-Tom Robertson/Carilion Health System CEO;]
[RUNS=17]
[OUT Q=very bright future]
(------------------)
[VO-NAT]

Dr. Edward G- Murphy will become Carilion's new president and C-E-O.
He says he'll have big shoes to fill, but he's confident about Carilion's future.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT10:03]
[IN Q=Medicine is changing on ]
((DR. EDWARD MURPHY: MEDICINE IS CHANGING ON A NATIONAL BASIS AND I THINK WE CAN DO SOME VERY EXCITING THINGS TO PROVIDE CONTINUALLY BETTER CARE FOR THE COMMUNITY))
[SUPER=07-Dr. Edward Murphy;]
[RUNS=09]
[OUT Q=for the community]
(---------------)
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[GRAPHIC=HOLD]

Robertson, meanwhile, will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Carilion Biomedical Institute.

[Mideast-Violence]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=none]

At least four people are reportedly dead and around 20 others injured after a bombing in central Israel.
Radio reports say a car bomb exploded near a bus this morning.
No one has claimed responsibility.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Psagot, West Bank;]

This comes after a night of fighting between Palestinian gunmen and Israeli forces in the West Bank.
[SUPER=03-Jerusalem;]

Meanwhile, U-S Secretary of Defense William Cohen met privately with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak in Jerusalem today.
Cohen told Barak it's time to end the violence with the Palestinians and head back to the bargaining table.
(------------)

[Tech-Football]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=00-36 TC2:03:15]
[GRAPHIC=Tech Graduation Rate]

A Virginia Tech football player is a star on the field and in the classroom.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg;]

Junior wide receiver Andre Davis has helped take the Hokies to victory... all while making the Dean's List and running track.
But a report on graduation rates from the N-C-Double-A suggests Davis is one of an elite minority.
In the last four years, half of all Division One scholarship football players graduated within six years.
At Virginia Tech, it was 45 percent.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 1:25:32 - :43]
[IN Q=Football is great.]
((ANDRE DAVIS/TECH WIDE RECEIVER: FOOTBALL IS GREAT, BUT IT'S NOT GOING TO BE THERE FOR YOU FOREVER. AND I REALLY THINK THAT YOU SHOULD CONCENTRATE ON GETTING YOUR DEGREE, BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN FOOTBALL MIGHT BE DONE.))
[SUPER=01-Andre Davis/Virginia Tech Wide Receiver;]
[RUNS=:11]
[OUT Q=might be done.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Coach Frank Beamer says his players' graduation rates were low last year because many transferred to other schools or are still working toward a degree.
The school has doubled its academic support staff to work with athletes... and aims to have THEIR graduation rates match Tech's average of 73 percent.
(------------)

[Snowshoe]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=00-34 TC1:46:12]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Skiers are hitting the slopes of The Snowshoe resort today. The first day of the season sets a record for the most terrain available on an opening day in the resort's history.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Snowshoe, WV]

The snowmaking equipment there has been operating around the clock for more than a week, and the latest wave of wintry weather added several inches of fresh powder.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Normally opening day]
((NORMALLY OPENING DAY IS JUST AN EXCITING DAY BECAUSE EVERYONE'S EXCITED ABOUT GETTING ON THE SNOW. IT'S USUALLY JUST A FEW TRAILS AND GRASS AROUND... AND YOU KNOW PEOPLE ARE STILL EXCITED BECAUSE THERE IS SNOW AND WE'RE ABLE TO SKI, BUT THIS IS, AS YOU CAN SEE, QUITE POSSIBLY JUST UNBELIEVABLE. IT'S GREAT.))
[SUPER=01-Blaine Daniel/Snowshoe Employee]
[RUNS=:17]
[OUT Q=It's great.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Snowshoe has opened earlier in the past, but rarely with this much snow.

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

[Sony-Robot]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=none]

The Sony Corporation has unveiled its first humanoid robot--
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Tokyo, Japan;]

It isn't quite ready to help with household chores, but it can kick a mean soccer ball.
The 20- inch, 10- pound SDR-3X or "Sony Dream Robot" is still a prototype.
Sony officials wouldn't give an exact price, but say just one of the prototypes costs as much as a car.
The robot has a camera inside its head, a microphone in each ear, and sensors to synchronize its joints to keep it balanced.
You can even have a short conversation with the robot. (------------) It recognizes about 20 words and speaks about 20 others...