[Headlines]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

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


A legendary railroad photographer has died.
O- Winston Link died yesterday in New York.
A tribute to his life and his career, coming up.
(----------------)
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]


And a Scottish court reaches a verdict in the murder trial of two Libyans accused in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.
[ANCHOR=Shannon]
(ad lib weather)
[ANCHOR=Steve]
(ad lib live tease)

[2-shot]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]


All that, coming up, on News 7 Mornin.

[1-Link]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=ejo]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=Link]


The man who immortalized steam railroading in 1950s Virginia is dead.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=04-File Tape]


Photographer O. Winston Link died yesterday afternoon in Westchester County, New York.
Link's business agent, Tom Garver, says Link died of a heart attack enroute to a doctor's office. Negotiations are underway to create a museum in Link's honor in Roanoke.
There is no word on what his death will mean to the project.
O. Winston Link was 86.
(------------)
[Anchor=Kimberly]
[SS=HOLD]


We'll have more on Link's life coming up later in the newscast.



[11ELF]


[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=tha]
[TAPE#=01-01]
[GRAPHIC=none]

The man who represents an environmental organization that uses violence to make its point brought his message to Virginia Tech. More than 300- people, both for and against the group's tactics, listened in last night. Teresa Hamilton has more on the Earth Liberation Front.
(//////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=About a dozen]
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg; :00]
[SUPER=01-Matt Dunlap/Lumber Industry Supporter; :13 quick]
[SUPER=01-Craig Rosebraugh/E.L.F. Spokesman; :37]
[SUPER=01-Talley Griffith/Lumber Industry Supporter; 1:13 quick]
[SUPER=@teresa2; 1:20]
[RUNS=1:35]
[OUT Q=Hamilton, NEWS 7, B'burg.]

(( About a dozen people who support or earn their livelihoods through the lumber industry carried signs outside Litton Reaves in protest. They say the Earth Liberation Front's message is nothing short of hatred and violence.
(///sot////)
[sot]
[in q=My ]

((MY FAMILY OWNS A LUMBER MILL AND IT'S THE LIVELIHOOD OF A LOT OF PEOPLE AND THE PEOPLE DON'T DESERVE HAVING IT DONE TO THEM.))
[RUNS= 07]
[out q= to them.]

Matt Dunlap is referring to the list of businesses and homes that the Earth Liberation Front says it's damaged or destroyed through firebombing to protect the environment. Craig Rosebraugh says the group targets those who go out of their way to harm the air, water and soil for profit.
[sot]
((////sot////))
[in q=I didn't ]

((CRAIG ROSEBRAUGH/E.L.F. SPOKESMAN; I DIDN'T USE TO BELIEVE IN THESE TACTICS AT ALL I THOUGH THEY WERE COMPLETELY WRONG, BUT TEN OR ELEVEN YEARS LATER I HAVE COME TO UNDERWAY WHY THESE PEOPLE COMMIT THESE ACTS.))
[OUT Q= these acts.]
[runs= 15]

Rosebraugh says he receives e-mail when someone or a group commits an act of violence claiming to do so as part of the E-L-F. He told the crowd he then relays the message to the media if he deems the claim to be legitimate. But he insists he's not paid by the group and doesn't know the persons behind the crimes. But some argue Rosebraugh's more than just a messenger.
(////sot//////)
[in q=As a spokesman]

((TALLEY GRIFFITH/LUMBER INDUSTRY SUPPORTER: AS A SPOKESMAN FOR THAT GROUP IT MAKES HIM A DEFACTO MEMBER OF THAT GROUP REGARDLESS OF WHAT HE SAYS.))
[runs= 10]
[out q= what he says.]

More than 300- people turned out to hear Rosebraugh speak. He was invited by student animal rights organization called NRV-Care. Virginia Tech says it does NOT endorse or condone that organization or E.L.F. Teresa Hamilton, NEWS 7, Blacksburg. ))


[11Heilig-Meyers]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=jmc/ejo]
[TAPE#=00-44 1:54:54]
[GRAPHIC=Heilig Meyers Store Closings]


Heilig-Meyers is closing its outlets in Covington, Galax and Pulaski.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Salem/August;]


Heilig Meyers is shutting down 116 stores nationwide in the next three months, and cutting more than a thousand jobs.
It filed for bankruptcy protection last summer and is still losing money.
(------------)



[Lockerbie-Verdict]


[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=none]


Making international headlines this morning--
About an hour ago, a Scottish court convicted one of two Libyan defendants of murder in the 19-88 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=04-File Tape;]


The second Libyan on trial was acquitted.
The bombing attack over Lockerbie, Scotland killed 270 people, many of them Americans.
The long- awaited verdict follows a 12-year murder investigation and nearly nine months of hearings at a Scottish court in the Netherlands.
The presiding judge says the verdicts from the Scottish tribunal were unanimous.
(------------)


[Bush-Cabinet]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Bush]


President Bush hosts his first Cabinet meeting this afternoon.
But several of his choices won't be there.
Health Secretary Tommy Thompson is giving a farewell speech in Wisconsin.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Washington, DC;]


Meanwhile, his nominees for trade representative and attorney general still need to win Senate confirmation.
Attorney General -Designate John Ashcroft now only needs a simple majority.
But it's been a rough ride since his nomination.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 3:20:41]
[IN Q=We have the most]

((SEN. PATRICK LEAHY/D- VERMONT:WE HAVE THE MOST DIVISIVE NOMINATION FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL THAT I CAN REMEMBER IN 26 YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN IN THE SENATE. ))
[SOT 3:20:39]

((BUSH: IT'S TIME FOR THE DELAYS TO END. IT'S TIME TO APPROVE OUR CABINET OFFICIALS))
[SUPER=01-Sen. Patrick Leahy/(D) Vermont;]
[RUNS=:12]
[OUT Q=cabinet officials.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]


Republicans are confident that Ashcroft will be approved by the end of the week.
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted yesterday 10 to 8 to send the nomination to the floor.
(------------)



[11XGR]


[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#=00-52 1:29:36]
[GRAPHIC=Back Street Cafe Shooting]



Gay rights supporters were hoping the deadly shooting at a Roanoke gay bar would help change a state law. But it won't happen this year.
Last September, one person was killed and six wounded at the Backstreet Cafe.
But the incident changed NO minds on the key committees in Richmond.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]


A bill to add sexual orientation to the hate crimes law was killed in the House Courts of Justice committee last night.
A similar bill died in a Senate committee two weeks ago.
In other action, a bill that would have certified midwives, allowing them to deliver babies at home, was also killed by a House committee.
But a bill mandating that every public school day in Virginia begin with the Pledge of Allegiance got final Senate approval.
(-----------)
[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[GRAPHIC=none]


And a bill to make women who want abortions wait 24 hours after seeing their doctors cleared a House committee.



[6Patrick-Hospital]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=jsu]
[TAPE#=00-45 TC1:45:49]
[GRAPHIC=None]


A healthy dose of new funding is on the way to Patrick County's only hospital.
That's after the hospital was granted a Critical Access Designation.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Stuart/File Tape]


The designation comes at time when R-J Reynolds Hospital is trying to get out of bankruptcy and is close to getting its reorganization plan approved by the bankruptcy court.
Hospital officials believe the new designation is another step towards getting the facility back on its feet.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT2:42:19]
[IN Q=That means it will become]

((CHIP MAGEE/HOSPITAL'S ATTORNEY: THAT MEANS IT WILL BE WILL BECOME A 25 BED ACUTE CARE HOSPITAL, AND IT WILL BE ABLE TO GROW SERVICES AND RECEIVE REIMBURSEMENTS FROM THE FED. GOVERNMENT THROUGH MEDICARE AND MEDICAID TO HAVE CRITICAL ACCESS CARE DESIGNATION))
[SUPER=01-Chip Magee/Hospital's Attorney]
[RUNS=12]
[OUT Q=designation]
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Kimberly ]
[GRAPHIC=None]


As part of the reorganization plan the hospital will cut the obstetrics unit and ambulance services as well as scale down the intensive care unit.
That's because those services were losing money.

[Health-Check]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=chr]
[TAPE#=NET]
[GRAPHIC=Mornin Health Check]


In medical news, mothers who breast feed may lower their risk of breast cancer.
Doctor Dave Hnida has that story and more in this morning's Health check.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Dr. Dave Hnida/Reporting; :00 ]
[RUNS=1:27]
[OUT Q=CBS News, New York.]


((Information: ON CAM THERES NO QUESTION BREAST FEEDING IS GOOD FOR BABIES, BUT TODAY COMES A NEW REASON TO BREAST FEED: AND THIS ONE BENEFITS THE MOTHER- A LOWER RISK OF BREAST CANCER.

VT=VO

A STUDY IN THE JOURNAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGY FINDS WOMEN WHO BREAST FEED THEIR INFANTS FOR UP TO 2 YEARS- CUT THEIR OWN RISK OF BREAST CANCER IN HALF. NOW MOST WOMEN IN AMERICA BREAST FEED FOR 6 MONTHS OR LESS- FEW CONTINUE TO THE RECOMMENDED ONE YEAR- AND JUST A MINUTE PERCENTAGE BREAST FEED FOR 2 YEARS- BUT IF YOU HAVE A STRONG FAMILY HISTORY OF BREAST CANCER-THIS IS CERTAINLY SOMETHING TO CONSIDER.
ON CAM IF YOU HAVE A STRONG FAMILY HISTORY OF HEART DISEASE- YOUR ARTERIES MAY BE CLOGGING UP- AND YOU MAY NOT EVEN KNOW IT. RESEARCH IN THE JOURNAL CIRCULATION FINDS ABOUT HALF OF PEOPLE IN THEIR 30'S AND 40'S WHO HAVE PARENT OR SIBLING WITH HEART DISEASE- ALREADY HAVE CHOLESTEROL BUILDUPS AS WELL-- AND THE KICKER- THESE FOLKS FEEL FINE. ITS A STUDY THAT MAKES A STRONG CASE FOR ROUTINE HEART SCREENING WHEN THERE'S HEART DISEASE IN THE FAMILY.

VT=VO

FINALLY TODAY- HEART SURGERY- WHO DOES IT BEST? ITS DR AESOP- BUT BEFORE YOU GO LOOKING FOR DR AESOPS NUMBER IN THE PHONE BOOK- YOU OUGHT TO KNOW DR AESOP IS A ROBOT. DOCTORS AT THE EAST CAROLINA SCHOOL OF MEDICINE SAY USING A ROBOT TO DO HEART BYPASS SURGERY MAKES FOR FEWER COMPLICATIONS AND QUICKER RECOVERY.
ON CAM THATS A LOOK AT SOME OF THE DAYS TOP HEALTH STORIES. IM DR DAVE HNIDA FOR CBS NEWS.))
(ad lib to weather)


[Link-Obit]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin']
[WRITER=tst]
[TAPE#=00-54 45:53]
[GRAPHIC=Link]


There may still be an O. Winston Link museum in Roanoke's future, but Link is now part of Roanoke's past.
The beloved photographer died yesterday afternoon, near his home in Westchester County, New York.
Ted Stone has a look back at Link and his work.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=NATSOUND ((train whistle))]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/1994; :26]
[SUPER=01-O. Winston Link/Photographer; :30]
[SUPER=@Ted2; 2:26]
[RUNS=2:42]
[OUT Q=Stone, News 7.]

((
Legions of skilled photographers took pictures of steam trains. But collectors around the world agree that probably no one took better pictures of them than O. Winston Link.
The native New Yorker spent years documenting the end of steam power on the Norfolk and Western Railway in the 1950s, paying for the project out of his own pocket.
The results so impressed the railroad brass that Link was allowed to stop and start trains while he got his lighting gear ready. ((O. WINSTON LINK/PHOTOGRAPHER: I COULDN'T GET THE BULBS CHANGED IN TIME. SO I CALLED THE DISPATCHER AND ASKED HIM IF HE COULD SLOW 64 AND HOLD 51. AND HE SAID "O.K., LET US KNOW WHEN YOU'RE READY." AND I WAS IN THE TELEPHONE BOOTH AND I LOOKED OUT THE WINDOW AND THERE THE FIREMAN WAS COMING UP THE STREET. BUT THE ENGINE WAS STILL WORKING. IT WAS KEPT MOVING, JUST A LITTLE BIT. IT JUST KEPT THAT MOMENTUM. HOW FAR AWAY IT WAS, I DON'T KNOW. I COULDN'T SEE ANYTHING. BUT I WAS SO HAPPY WHEN THAT FIREMAN CAME UP AND SAID THEY WERE HOLDING IT AND WAS I READY? AND I SAID "YES, LET IT GO." AND THEN HE CAME THROUGH, AND OH MAN, WHAT A PICTURE I GOT!))
Link shot most of his photographs at night, in order to have total control of the image. ((O. WINSTON LINK: AT NIGHT, YOU COULD KEEP OUT AND ELIMINATE THINGS YOU DIDN'T WANT TO SEE BY NOT LIGHTING THEM. IF YOU WANTED TO SEE IT, YOU COULD LIGHT IT. IF YOU DIDN'T WANT IT, YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO. BUT ALSO, THE MAIN THING WAS I COULD REGULATE THE LIGHT. AND DRAMATIZE IT.))
He dramatized his scenes with complex lighting set-ups that occasionally required more than 100 large flash bulbs.

The photographs are even more impressive when one considers that Link was entirely self-taught. ((O. WINSTON LINK: NEVER TOOK A COURSE IN PHOTOGRAPHY. I STUDIED ENGINEERING, AND GOT A DEGREE IN ENGINEERING. THE PHOTOGRAPHY I LEARNED ON MY OWN.))
Link's photographs now hang in collections around the world, and some of his prints sell for more than a thousand dollars apiece.
Yet despite the acclaim, his final years were haunted by one terrible mistake. In the 1980s, he married Conchita Mendoza. She turned out to be a thief, who stole his cameras, negatives, and more than a million dollars worth of his prints.
In 1996 she was sentenced to prison for the thefts, and she's still there. Most of the items she stole have never been returned.
Link died Tuesday afternoon near his home in Westchester County, New York. His business manager, Tom Garver, says the 86-year old photographer had a heart attack on the way to see a doctor.
Garver hopes it will still be possible to build a Winston Link museum in Roanoke.
For now, the steam trains are gone. And the photographer is gone. But the photographs -- they'll be around awhile, wherever they hang.
Ted Stone, News 7.)) [2-HEADLINES]
[2-shot=KMC/SYO]
[SUPER=#4049; Morning Headlines]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]


Here's a look at today's top stories.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]


A house committee in Richmond has killed several bills that would have halted or completely abolished capital punishment in the Commonwealth.
That's even after testimony from a Roanoke man who spent 13 years on death row for a crime he did NOT commit.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Shannon]


A panel of Scottish judges has returned with is long- awaited verdict in the case of two Libyans accused of bombing Pan Am Flight 103 12 years ago.
The verdict was unanimous.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]


And they're not your typical lobbyists-- But thousands of Virginia children have written letters to the General Assembly hoping to get back some funding for the Science Museum of Western Virginia.
(----------------)
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]


And that's what's making news on this Wednesday, January 31st .
[ANCHOR=Shannon]


News 7 Mornin' will be right back.



[11Death-Penalty]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#=00-55 57:02]
[GRAPHIC=VA Death Penalty]


A handful of bills that would have halted or completely abolished capital punishment in the Commonwealth have been killed by a house committee in Richmond.
That's even after testimony from a Roanoke man who spent 13 years on death row for a crime he did NOT commit.
Richmond Bureau Chief Ellen Qualls has more.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=92 Americans]
[SUPER=03-Louisiana/December 2000; :00]
[SUPER=01-Michael Ray Graham, Jr./Exonerated Inmate; :15 ]
[SUPER=@Ellen2; :37 QUICK!]
[SUPER=01-Rev. Joe Vogt/Former Chaplain; :53 ]
[SUPER=01-Del. Bob McDonnell/(R) Virginia Beach; 1:06]
[SUPER=01-Monty Tucker/Attorney General's Office; 1:41 ]
[RUNS=1:56]
[OUT Q=Qualls, News 7, Richmond.]


(( 92 Americans have been set free from death row in modern times-- proven innocent of their crimes before their execution date arrived.
Roanoke's Michael Graham was the 91st... set free from Louisiana's death row in December.
[sot 17:06:11]

((MICHAEL GRAHAM/EXONERATED INMATE: I WAS ONE OF THE LUCKY ONES ON DEATH ROW. I HAD GOOD LAWYERS... I WAS SENTENCED IN A STATE WITH FEW LIMITATIONS ON WHEN A DEATH ROW INMATE CAN PRESENT EVIDENCE OF ... DOES NOT WORK.))
[runs= 21 ]


The issue had new urgency this year, and new Republican sponsors, after Virginia found its own former death row inmate innocent: Earl Washington's still NOT been set free.
Lutheran Pastor Joe Vogt spent five years as a death row chaplain in Virginia.
[sot 16;55:27]

((JOE VOGT/FORMER DEATH ROW CHAPLAIN: AS A PERSON OF FAITH...NOTHING JUST OR REDEMPTIVE.. PANDERS TO THE VERY WORST OF OUR HUMAN INSTINCTS.))
[runs= 13 ]



[sot 16:59:10]

((DEL. BOB MCDONNELL: HOW DO YOU RECONCILE...THOSE SORTS OF CASES?))
[runs= 14]



[sot 17:00:00]

((JOE VOGT/FORMER DEATH ROW CHAPLAIN: YOU HAVE HEARD... SPOKE OUT FROM THE CROSS, FORGIVING HIS EXECUTIONERS.))
[runs= 14 ]


But the status quo was preserved.
The Attorney General's office went on record.
[sot 17:08:01]

((MONTY TUCKER/ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE: IN 1977, THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY ENACTED THE DEATH...FULL FORCE AND EFFECT.))


[runs= 12]


This committee agreed.
Ellen Qualls, News 7, Richmond.))


[2-Lockerbie-Verdict]


[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=none]


In international news--
One of the two Libyans on trial for the 19-88 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 was found guilty of murder this morning.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=04-File Tape;]


The Scottish court, meanwhile, acquitted the second Libyan.
The bombing attack over Lockerbie, Scotland killed 270 people, many of them Americans.
The long- awaited verdict follows a 12-year murder investigation and nearly nine months of hearings at a Scottish court in the Netherlands.
The presiding judge says the verdicts from the Scottish tribunal were unanimous.
(------------)


[Earthquake]


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


In India, authorities are almost positive that thousands of earthquake victims remain buried underneath the rubble.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Bhuj, India;]


Officials estimate the death toll between 15 and 100- thousand, based on fly- overs and previous quake sites they've seen.
Friday's seven-point-nine magnitude quake flattened two major towns in India.
Many residents who survived the quake are fleeing like refugees, for fear they could be killed by the powerful aftershocks.
Meanwhile, aid is pouring in from all over the world.
(------------)


[11VA-Unemployment]


[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=dse/ejo]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=VA Unemployment]


Back home in Virginia, Unemployment has never been so low in Roanoke or Danville.
Both metro areas recorded the lowest jobless rates on record last month.
(XXXXXXXXXX)

[TAKE FULL SCREEN BOARD]
Roanoke's rate fell to 1-point-4 percent. [ADD Danville]
Unemployment in Danville fell to 2-point-9 percent. [ADD Grayson]
Grayson County had the highest jobless rate in the state at 9-point-3 percent.
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[GRAPHIC=none]


Statewide, the jobless rate fell to 1-point-9 percent .. the lowest December figure in 48 years.

[11Big-Game]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=Big Game Big Payoff]


One lucky person is 107- million - dollars richer this morning.
Lottery officials say the winning ticket from last night's Big Game Lotto drawing was sold in Chesterfield, Michigan.
That despite the fact that plenty of North Carolina residents crossed the state line and dropped serious cash to play the Big Game here in Virginia.
We'll have the winning numbers in just a moment.

[School-Plot]


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


A 19- year- old community college student will appear in a California courtroom today.
He's behind bars after allegedly plotting to blow up his school.
Among the evidence police are looking at is a tape recording the suspect made.
Chris Lawrence reports.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Cupertino, CA; :00]
[SUPER=01-Mike Miceli/Deputy Police Chief; :05 QUICK]
[SUPER=01-Ron Gonzalez/San Jose Mayor; :31]
[SUPER=01-Chris Lawrence/Reporting; 1:15]
[RUNS=1:30]
[OUT Q=Chris Lawrence, CBS News, Cupertino, CA.]

((
It was a threat that reminded officials of the tragedy at Columbine High School.
(SOT: Mike Miceli/Deputy Police Chief)

"This was an elaborate plan for mass murder..."
Police arrested Al DeGuzman, a 19 year old student at De Anza College in Northern California.
A clerk at a photo lab called police when DeGuzman tried to develop photos which showed him holding guns and ammo.
The 16 year old clerk also stalled DeGuzman until police arrived.
Invesigators say he planned to open fire on student and teachers on Tuesday afternoon.

(SOT: Mayor Ron Gonzalez/San Jose)


It is clear the violent lessons of Columbine and Oklahoma City still echo through our nation.
Police say DeGuzman had an arsenal of weapons ready for his alleged attack, including 30 pipe bombs, 20 Molotov cocktails and other guns.
All were discovered at his home near Cupertino.

(NATS)


After the arrest, police closed the campus, and searched building to building for explosives.
Students were shaken at the news of the plot.

(MOS SOT)


Investigators say the evidence includes a chilling tape recording by the suspect.

(SOT: Miceli)


It was an apology to the American press, to his family, to his friends for what he was about to do.

(STANDUP)


))

[11Mascot]


[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=00-48 1:29:00]
[GRAPHIC=None]


An Indian will remain the mascot of Blacksburg High School, at least for now.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg;]


A Montgomery County school board member says if county policy does NOT prohibit a racially offensive mascot, she'll propose policy that WILL.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 1:03:46 - 1:04:02]
[IN Q=Montgomery County schools]

((PENNY FRANKLIN/SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER: MONTGOMERY CO. SCHOOLS DO NOT TOLERATE DISCRIMINATION AGAINST PEOPLE BECAUSE OF THEIR RACE. AND THIS IS A RACIAL ISSUE. WE HAVE A RACE OF PEOPLE WHO ARE BEING DEMEANED. SO, THEREFORE, WE HAVE POLICY IN MY OPINION THAT'S ALREADY IN PLACE THAT WILL STATE THAT.))
[SUPER=01-Penny Franklin/Montgomery Co. School Board;]
[RUNS=:16]
[OUT Q=will state that.]
(------------)


A school task force voted two-to-one to retain the embattled mascot, after three months of meetings.
Some task force members said they were influenced by surveys showing the majority of students, staff and community members in favor of the mascot.
Opponents of the mascot say if the school board does not do away with it, they'll take the matter to court.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[GRAPHIC=None]


The school board decided last night to take up the issue on February 20th.[6Science-Museum]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#=00-51 TC1:19:52]
[GRAPHIC=None]


Letters from more than four thousand children who love learning about science may have an impact on Virginia legislators.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Richmond;]


That's what a team of Roanokers is hoping.
They dropped off the letters in support of Science Museum of Western Virginia yesterday at the General Assembly.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 09:59:28]
[IN Q=Each year]

((SYDNEY NORDT/SCIENCE MUSEUM OF WESTERN VIRGINIA: EACH YEAR WE HAVE TO TRY TO HOLD ON THE LID AND KEEP PEOPLE ENTHUSIASTIC AND HOPEFUL. BECAUSE WE BELIEVE IN WHAT WE'RE DOING AND WE'RE DOING IT WELL. BUT THE VISISSITUDES OF FUNDING MEAN THAT WE'RE ALWAYS RUNNING SCARED THAT WE MIGHT GET CUT OFF.))
[sot 09:54:21]

((DEL. MORGAN GRIFFITH/R-SALEM: WELL I'D LIKE TO SEE US WORKING TOWARD A SYSTEM WHERE WE HAVE ONE LUMP SUM THAT COMES BACK TO THE ROANOKE VALLEY AND WE DECIDE WHICH MUSEUMS GET IT.))
[SUPER=01-Sydney Nordt/Museum Board; :00]
[SUPER=@Griffith; :13]
[RUNS=:18]
[OUT Q=get it.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]


But NO matter how earnest the museum supporters seem, politics is at play.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT house 19:42:14]
[IN Q=I can't]

((DEL. JACK REID/(R) RICHMOND: I CAN'T HELP BUT BE AMUSED... 90 PERCENT OF THE PEOPLE IN THIS STATE DON'T EVEN LIVE CLOSE ENOUGH TO TO VISIT.))
[SUPER=01-Del. Jack Reid/(R) Richmond; ]
[RUNS=:22]
[OUT Q=to visit.]
(-------------)
[TALENT=Kimberly]
[SS=None]


For the record, House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith supports the museum, but is NOT opposed to the car tax cut.


The Science Museum wants 725-thousand dollars that the Governor cut restored to its operating budget.
[Local-Recap]
[SUPER=#4059;Local Recap]
[2-Shot=Kmc/Syo]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]


We'll have a look at today's top stories in just a moment, but first we have one school announcement to pass along..

(+++++++)

[Take Schooltouch full]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]


Greenbank Elementary Middle School in Pochahontas County West Virginia will be closed today due to water problems.

(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Shannon]


The man who immortalized steam railroading in Virginia in the 1950's is dead.
Photographer O. Winston Link died yesterday afternoon in Westchester County, New York. Negotiations are underway to create a museum in Link's honor in Roanoke.
There is no word on what his death will mean to the project.

(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]


For now, Blacksburg High School remains the home of the Indians.
A school task force voted two-to-one to retain the embattled mascot.
Some task force members said they were influenced by surveys showing the majority of students, staff and community members in favor of the mascot.
Opponents of the mascot say if the school board does not do away with it, they'll take the matter to court.
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Shannon]
(Shannon mic hot)
(///////////////)
(Shannon ad lib weather)
(-------------)

[2-SHOT]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]


Now here's Keith Humphry with a preview of News 7 at Six.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Jerry Falwell]
[RUNS=22]
[OUT Q=on News 7 at 6.]
(-------------)
[Double Boxes=Kimberly/Shannon and Steve]
(toss)
[ANCHOR=Steve]
(live ad lib, tease tomorrow)

(ad lib bye) [Double Boxes=Kimberly/Shannon and Steve]

by SS