WDBJ 7 morning news AM cutins for 12/22/00

[7-C'Burg-Standoff]

[ANCHOR=Kim]

[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=kwe]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=Standoff]

A standoff in Christiansburg ended peacefully last night.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Christiansburg]
According to authorities a 31 year old man walked into the Country Store off Route 11 at 6pm and put a gun to his head.
It took officials from the Montgomery County Sheriff's Department and Christiansburg Police Department four and a half hours to negotiate with the man to put the gun down.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 17:32]
[IN Q=we provided]
((LT. DONALD CROMER: WE PROVIDED A NEGOTIATOR AND TALKED TO HIM FOR A WHILE AND WE WERE ABLE TO MAKE PERSONNEL CONTACT WITH HIM AND TAKE THE GUN AWAY FROM HIM.))
[SUPER=01-Lt. Donald Cromer/Christiansburg Police Dept.]
[RUNS=11]
[OUT Q=away from him.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Police say the man was not a danger to anyone but himself. So far no charges have been filed against the man but police say they will get him counseling.
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[7-Transkrit]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=kwe]
[TAPE#=00-46 TC57:23]
[GRAPHIC=Layoffs]
Employees of one Roanoke company got some bad holiday news, they learned they'll be laid off in February.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

Workers at Transkrit say the company announced it will lay off some employees on February 19-th.
Many employees said they were not surprised by the announcement... because the company has been "down grading" the equipment for some time.
The company would not comment on on the lay-offs or say how many workers will be affected.
Transkrit makes business labels and mailing forms.
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[7-Wythe-Shooting]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=00-17 TC28:08]
[GRAPHIC=Shooting]

A Wythe County landlord will not face charges after reportedly shooting and killing one of his tenants.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Wythe Co./May 24;]

Prosecutor Roy Evans says it appears that 65-year-old landlord James Compton shot his 27-year-old tenant Darren Womack in self-defense.
Their ongoing battles turned violent last May, outside the home that Womack rented from Compton.
Compton said his tenant struck him in the head with a rock- so he shot him.
The special prosecutor says new physical evidence has confirmed the landlord's account of the shooting.
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[7-BWXT-Union]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=00-45 TC47:38]
[GRAPHIC=BWX Tech.]

- Just days after organizers announced a union is close to forming at B-W-X Technologies, some employees are rallying AGAINST the union plans.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Campbell Co./File Tape]

United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers announced Sunday they had a majority of BWX-T's workers interested in forming a union.
But other employees told News7 yesterday they doubt a majority of workers have signed up, and they are organizing an anti- union effort.
Spokesman Jeff Jamerson says he and others are worried that union organizers are misleading employees about the benefits of unionizing.
Jamerson says having a union would prevent workers from approaching management about potential problems.
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[7WEATHER]

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

Taking a break from the news now to check the Friday forecast...
Partly sunny, windy, and cold with highs near 25.

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[45-C'Burg-Standoff]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=kwe]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=Standoff]

A standoff ended peacefully in Christiansburg last night.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Christiansburg]
According to authorities a 31 year old man walked into the Country Store off Route 11 at 6pm and put a gun to his head.
It took officials from the Montgomery County Sheriff's Department and Christiansburg Police Department four and a half hours to negotiate with the man to put the gun down.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 17:32]
[IN Q=we provided]
((LT. DONALD CROMER: WE PROVIDED A NEGOTIATOR AND TALKED TO HIM FOR A WHILE AND WE WERE ABLE TO MAKE PERSONNEL CONTACT WITH HIM AND TAKE THE GUN AWAY FROM HIM.))
[SUPER=01-Lt. Donald Cromer/Christiansburg Police Dept.]
[RUNS=11]
[OUT Q=away from him.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Police say the man was not a danger to anyone but himself. So far no charges have been filed against the man but police say they will get him counseling.
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[45-Car-Tax]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=00-42 TC2:02:24]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Governor Jim Gilmore told Pulaski County officials to get in line with his car tax plan, or get out.
Marya Jones reports.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Russell Musgrove]
[SUPER=03-Pulaski; :00]
[SUPER=07-Russell Musgrove; :12]
[SUPER=01-Maynard Sayers/Pulaski Co. Rev. Commisioner; :45]
[SUPER=@Gilmore; 1:09]
[SUPER=@Marya1; 1:19]
[RUNS=1:36]
[OUT Q=MJN7, Blacksburg.]
(( Russell Musgrove was looking for a much-touted tax break this year when he opened his personal property bill.
Instead, he got an unwanted surprise.
Tax on his two cars and motorcycle went up 18 dollars.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 1:39:29 - :40]
((RUSSELL MUSGROVE: I HAVE THE SAME VEHICLES I DID LAST YEAR. WITH DEVALUATION OF THOSE AND WITH TAX RELIEF THIS YEAR, YOU'D THINK IT WOULD HAVE GONE DOWN.... DIDN'T HAPPEN. )) [RUNS:11]
Musgrove is one of nearly 27-thousand Pulaski County taxpayers making that discovery.
In July, the Board of Supervisors raised the property tax rate 25-percent... to two dollars' tax on every 100 dollars worth of property.
That has phones ringing at the Commissioner of Revenue's office.
He says raising the car tax is the right of all local governments and that this is the county's first property tax increase in 25 years.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 1:52:39 - :51]
((MAYNARD SAYERS/COMMISSIONER OF REVENUE: SEVERAL OF THE LOCALITIES I'VE SPOKEN TO HAVE INCREASED BECAUSE IT'S ONE OF THE FEW LOCAL RESOURCES FOR LOCAL REVENUE.)) [RUNS:12]
Board Chairman Joe Sheffey says the increase was the only option to fund school improvements and that it got little opposition in a public hearing in July.
Governor Gilmore is outraged at having his plans thwarted by the county.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 1:45:13 - :24]
((GOV. JAMES GILMORE: WE CAN'T CONTROL LOCALITIES. THEY GET TO DO WHAT THEY WANT TO DO, BUT IF I WERE THEM, I'D THROW OUT ALL THE SUPERVISORS THAT VOTED FOR AN INCREASE IN THE CAR TAX AFTER WE WORKED TO PHASE IT OUT.)) [RUNS:11])) ((MARYA JONES/NEWS7: OF COURSE, GILMORE KNEW THAT LOCAL GOVERNMENTS COULD RUIN HIS TAX BREAK. THAT'S WHAT STATE LEGISLATORS FEARED WHEN IT WAS PROPOSED IN 1998. BUT GILMORE SAYS ANYONE WHO MESSES WITH THE TAX BREAK SHOULD BE BOOTED OUT OF OFFICE, REGARDLESS OF THEIR POLITICAL PARTY. MJN7, BLACKSBURG.))

[45WEATHER]

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

Shifting gears now to weather--
Partly sunny and bitter cold today.
Highs only reaching the mid 20s.

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[8-Montvale-Zoning]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=00-50 TC36:06]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Officials in Bedford county are trying to get a new industrial park built off Route 460.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Montvale]

One possible site is a 240 acre farm next to B-P Amoco Storage and Distribution-
Pete Johnson and his wife have owned the land for 30 years and say they're too old to work the farm.
(///// SOT /////)
[2:54:28]
[SOT]
[IN Q=The profit just got]
[SUPER=01-Pete Johnson/Farm Owner]
[RUNS=18]
[OUT Q=in most cases]
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[VO-NAT]

Mary Eubank lives across the street and says if the industrial park is built, it will ruin the scenery-- not to mention the neighborhood.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[3:08:10]
[IN Q=I wouldn't like it]
[SUPER=01-Mary Eubank/Neighbor]
[RUNS=12]
[OUT Q=very quiet neighborhood]
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[VO-NAT]

Last night the county held a public hearing to hear what residents think.
The comments will be presented to the Bedford County planning commission when the property is reviewed for re-zoning.
It could be at least two months before any decisions are made.
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[8-Area-Code]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=jmc]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=434 Area Code]

Area Code 8-0-4 will soon be replaced for phone customers in central and southside Virginia.
(XXXXXXXX)
[TAKE MAP FULL]
Lynchburg, Danville, Charlottesville and the surrounding counties will start using the new area code 4-3-4 next June.
The eastern part of Bedford County will also use 4-3-4.
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[SS=804 Area Code]

The current 8-0-4 code will still work, until January of 2002.

[8-Forest-Band]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=00-38 TC1:46:32]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Some lucky students from Forest will get to spend New Year's in Merry Old England--
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Forest]

The Jefferson Forest High School marching band has been invited to march in London's New Year's Day parade.
Band director David Webb took part in the parade a few years ago.. he says it's a lot different from playing in front of a Friday night football crowd.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 10:05:40]
[IN Q=I've done the]
((DAVID WEBB/JFHS BAND DIRECTOR: I'VE DONE THE PARADE ONCE BEFORE AND WHEN YOU TURN THE CORNER AT TRAFALGAR SQUARE TO GO DOWN TO PICADILLY AND THE PEOPLE ARE SHOULDER TO SHOULDER A THOUSAND DEEP, IT'S AN AMAZING THING TO SEE. I TOLD THEM TO KEEP THEIR MIND ON WHAT THEY'RE DOING BUT TO ENJOY IT.))
[SUPER=01-David Webb/JFHS Band Director]
[RUNS=16]
[OUT Q=to enjoy it.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The parade attracts more than a million people each year.
Band members had to raise more than 16- hundred dollars each to pay for their trip.
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[8WEATHER]

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

Once again-- here's a peek ahead at your holiday weekend forecast.
Partly sunny, windy, and very cold today with highs in the 20s.

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