[cutopen]

[SUPER=@Kimberly1;]

[7-Gilmore-Budget]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=Gilmore]

Governor Jim Gilmore has instructed his cabinet to try to trim the state agency budget by as much as 15 percent. The governor is looking to trim 420 million dollars ... and he says he'll try to spare public education and services to the mentally ill and the elderly. The annoucement came right after the General Assembly adjourned without adopting a new budget in a stand-off over how to phase out the car tax. Lawmakers will reconvene in next month's special session to try to resolve the budget deadlock ... and prevent the cuts.

[7-Train-Ax]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=kwe]
[TAPE#=00-53 1:11:33]
[GRAPHIC=none]

A southwest virginia woman has been killed on a train trestle. The young woman was walking along the trestle with two others when she was struck and killed shortly before 11 yesterday morning. The accident happened on the trestle over Peak Creek in Pulaski. Kate Weidaw talked with the victim's brother and has the story.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Pulaski;:00]
[SUPER=01-Larry Welch/Victim's Brother;:19]
[SUPER=01-Barry Buckner/Pulaski Police Department;:50]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg/December 11;:56]
[SUPER=@Kate2;1:15]
[RUNS=1:26]
[OUT Q=kw news 7 Pulaski]


((18 year old (Kuh-tee-kuh) Katika Maria Welch along with her brother Larry, and her boyfriend, Steven Horton, decided to walk the tracks to take a puppy to a neighbors home. Larry says when he heard the train coming he ran off the trestle and jumped from the tracks... but witnessed his sister's death.

[SOT 2:32:33]
[INQ=]

((LARRY WELCH/VICTIM'S BROTHER: MY SISTER WAS WALKING PRETTY FAST AND SHE FELL AND TRIPPED AND THE TRAIN HIT HER, KILLED HER, AND IT HIM TO. HIS LEGS ARE BROKEN I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE REST OF HIS BODY IT'S A SAD THING.))
[OUTQ=]
[RUNS= 21]


Maria was killed instantly. Horton suffered two broken legs and was flown to Roanoke Memorial Hospital. Investigators say the Norfolk Southern engineer did all he could to stop the train.

[SOT 2:40:57]
[INQ=]

((LT. BARRY BUCKNER/PULASKI POLICE DEPT.: HE SAW IT AND THE WHISTLE WAS BLOWN AND THEY KNEW IT WAS COMING THEY JUST COULDN'T GET ACROSS IN TIME.))
[OUTQ=]
[RUNS= 5]


More than two months ago a similar accident occurred in Lynchburg, when two teenagers were killed while walking across a train trestle. Officials say it's against the law to walk on the tracks... and Sunday's accident could have been avoided.

[SOT 2:40:21]
[INQ=]

((LT. BARRY BUCKNER: THERE IS NO TRESPASSING ON RAILROAD PROPERTY SO THEY WERE TRESPASSING WHEN THEY WERE HIT.))
[OUTQ=]
[RUNS= 5]


Buckner says this isn't the first time some one has been hit by a train in Pulaski and it probably won't be the last. Maria was just days away from her 19-th birthday. Kate Weidaw News 7 Pulaski.))
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[graphic=None]

Katika Maria Welch's boyfriend, Steven Horton underwent surgery. There's no information on his condition this morning.

[7WEATHER]


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


Checking your Monday forecast now--
Sunny and breezy with mild high temperatures near 60.


[SUPER=X5000; SET DISSOLVE]
[SUPER=314-Sunny/Breezy/58-62/Mostly/Clear/30-35;]
[SUPER=#555;RESET]

[ESS C] (EXTENDED)
[7BIRTHDAYS!] 2/27/01
Tuesday:

[SUPER=130-7/Caleb Early/Blacksburg]



[SUPER=130-16/Chad Deisher/Salem]


Anniversary:
[SUPER=130-53rd/Maynard & Ava Wells/Floyd]


Anniversary:
[SUPER=130-50th/Chester & Edith Phillips/Copper Valley]



[SUPER=130-33/Charlotte Craig/Bassett]



[SUPER=130-41/Daniel Rader/Natural Bridge Station]



[SUPER=130-10/Drew Mullins/Rocky Mount]



[SUPER=130-6/Dillon Martin/Lexington]



[SUPER=130-2/Hunter Ruley/Lexington]



[SUPER=130-12/Lauren Cannon/Salem]


No Pictures:

[SUPER=131-36/Wylie Martin, Sr./Salem]



[SUPER=131-/Nana Carter/Roanoke]



[SUPER=131-/Teresa Thompson/Rocky Mount]



[SUPER=131-/Shell Craighead/Sontag]



[SUPER=131-/Michael Williamson/Rustburg]



[SUPER=131-/Henrietta Cooper/Snow Creek]



[cutopen]
[SUPER=@Kimberly1;]


[45-81-Ax]


[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cut Ins]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=00-]
[GRAPHIC=81 Accident 4869]


A tractor trailer driver was taken to the hospital this morning after he overturned his rig on Interstate 81.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[Super=03-Botetourt Co.]


The accident happened in the southbound lanes near Exit 173 in Botetourt County. State Police say the driver apparently fell asleep. He ran off the right shoulder. The truck then rolled over on its side. The driver was temporarily entraped, but he managed to get out by himself. He was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
(------------)
[Anchor=Kim]
[ss=HOLD]


The accident could have an impact on your morning commute. State Police say one southbound lane near Natural Bridge will be closed for the next several hours while crews try to remove the rig.

[45-Center-Square]


[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=kwe]
[TAPE#=00-51 1:47:12]
[GRAPHIC=Center in the Square]

The General Assembly session ended without a budget, leaving Roanoke Vallehy museums, parks, and cultural institutions in a budget crunch.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

At Roanoke's Center in the Square - the history museum will be losing 30 percent of its annual budget and that means two staff members will have to be cut. The director of the museum says he's disappointed and is planning for the impact the loss in funding will have.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 2:05:35]
[IN Q=the quality]

((KENT CHRISMAN: THE QUALITY AND QUANTITY FOR WHAT WE OFFER THE PUBLIC IS GOING TO BE DIMINISHED, THE NUMBER OF EXHIBITS WE HAVE ON VIEW AND ALSO THE AMOUNT OF MONEY AND THE QUALITY OF THE EXHIBITS THAT WE ARE ABLE TO BRING TO THE PUBLIC.))
[SUPER=01-Kent Chrisman/History Museum Exec. Director]
[RUNS=12]
[OUT Q=to the public.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The Art Museum of Western Virginia will also be losing 25 percent of its million dollar budget. So far cuts are NOT in the works. The director says she's hoping to make up the funds somehow.
(///////////SOT///////////)
[SOT 1:54:15]
[INQ=]

((JUDY LARSON/EX. DIR. ART MUSEUM: I'M HOPING WE DON'T HAVE TO CUT PROGRAMS AT LEAST NOT TO SEVERELY BUT ALL THESE THINGS ARE ON THE TABLE WE'LL JUST SEE WHAT HAPPENS.))
[SUPER=01-Judy Larson/Art Museum Executive Director; ]
[RUNS=6]
[OUTQ=see what happens.]
(-----------)
[VO-NAT]

Both museum directors are hoping Gilmore will allot funding during a special General Assembly session next month to balance the budget.
(------------)




[45-Church]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tha]
[TAPE#=01-03 49:32]
[GRAPHIC=Murder Investigation]

An unsolved triple-murder in Tazewell County has progressed with new indictments...
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Tazewell Co./File Tape;]

In December, a federal grand jury returned indictments against Walter "Pete" Church and Sam Ealy for their alleged role in the crime. Ealy was acquitted in state court some 10 years ago after arguing Church was the triggerman.
(---------)
[anchor=Kimberly]
[ss=none]

The two are accused of killing Robert and Una Mae Davis and her 14- year old son. Court papers say the men were hired to kill Robert Davis by a former West Virginia county official. That official, Charles Gilmore, was later convicted of drug-trafficking. Prosecutors say Davis was preparing to testify about Gilmore's crimes.







[45WEATHER]


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


Let's take a break from the news now and look at the forecast...
Sunshine and pleasant high temperatures today around 60.


[SUPER=X5000; SET DISSOLVE]
[SUPER=314-Sunny/Breezy/58-62/Mostly/Clear/30-35;]
[SUPER=#555;RESET]

[ESS C] (EXTENDED)
[cutopen]
[SUPER=@Kimberly1;]


[8-81-Ax]


[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cut Ins]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=00-]
[GRAPHIC=81 Accident 4869]

After overturning his rig on Interstate 81, a tractor trailer driver was taken to the hospital this morning...
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[Super=03-Botetourt Co.]


The accident happened in the southbound lanes near Exit 173 in Botetourt County. State Police say the driver apparently fell asleep. He ran off the right shoulder. The truck then rolled over on its side. The driver was temporarily entraped, but he managed to get out by himself. He was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
(------------)
[Anchor=Kim]
[ss=HOLD]


The accident could have an impact on your morning commute. State Police say one southbound lane near Natural Bridge will be closed for the next several hours while crews try to remove the rig.

[8-Train-Ax]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=kwe]
[TAPE#=00-53 1:11:33]
[GRAPHIC=none]


An 18- year- old woman is dead after she was struck and killed while walking along a train trestle. The accident happened yesterday morning on the trestle over Peek Creek in Pulaski. Kate Weidaw has the story.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Pulaski;:00]
[SUPER=01-Larry Welch/Victim's Brother;:19]
[SUPER=01-Barry Buckner/Pulaski Police Department;:50]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg/December 11;:56]
[SUPER=@Kate2;1:15]
[RUNS=1:26]
[OUT Q=kw news 7 Pulaski]


((18 year old (Kuh-tee-kuh) Katika Maria Welch along with her brother Larry, and her boyfriend, Steven Horton, decided to walk the tracks to take a puppy to a neighbors home. Larry says when he heard the train coming he ran off the trestle and jumped from the tracks... but witnessed his sister's death.

[SOT 2:32:33]
[INQ=]

((LARRY WELCH/VICTIM'S BROTHER: MY SISTER WAS WALKING PRETTY FAST AND SHE FELL AND TRIPPED AND THE TRAIN HIT HER, KILLED HER, AND IT HIM TO. HIS LEGS ARE BROKEN I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE REST OF HIS BODY IT'S A SAD THING.))
[OUTQ=]
[RUNS= 21]


Maria was killed instantly. Horton suffered two broken legs and was flown to Roanoke Memorial Hospital. Investigators say the Norfolk Southern engineer did all he could to stop the train.

[SOT 2:40:57]
[INQ=]

((LT. BARRY BUCKNER/PULASKI POLICE DEPT.: HE SAW IT AND THE WHISTLE WAS BLOWN AND THEY KNEW IT WAS COMING THEY JUST COULDN'T GET ACROSS IN TIME.))
[OUTQ=]
[RUNS= 5]


More than two months ago a similar accident occurred in Lynchburg, when two teenagers were killed while walking across a train trestle. Officials say it's against the law to walk on the tracks... and Sunday's accident could have been avoided.

[SOT 2:40:21]
[INQ=]

((LT. BARRY BUCKNER: THERE IS NO TRESPASSING ON RAILROAD PROPERTY SO THEY WERE TRESPASSING WHEN THEY WERE HIT.))
[OUTQ=]
[RUNS= 5]


Buckner says this isn't the first time some one has been hit by a train in Pulaski and it probably won't be the last. Maria was just days away from her 19-th birthday. Kate Weidaw News 7 Pulaski.))
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[graphic=None]

Katika Maria Welch's boyfriend, Steven Horton underwent surgery. There's no information on his condition this morning.

[8WEATHER]


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


Taking another look at the back-to-work forecast now...
Sunny, breezy, and mild today with a high near 60.

[SUPER=X5000; SET DISSOLVE]
[SUPER=314-Sunny/Breezy/58-62/Mostly/Clear/30-35;]
[SUPER=#555;RESET]

[ESS C] (EXTENDED)
by SS