[1-News-Head]
[TALENT=Keith]
State college presidents are among those saying: "not so fast," Governor. The budget crisis isn't over for us. T
hat's our lead story tonight.
(------------)
[V/O-NAT]
And city council is content to keep Lynchburg P-D's canine unit.
(------------)
[WX-Head]
[TALENT=Robin]
[SS=None]
Warm winter weather hung over our region today and there's more to come for tomorrow. We'll have the forecast coming up.
[Video-Open]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#=Video Open]
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 09:07:51]
[IN Q=The budget may be balanced]
((THE BUDGET MAY BE BALANCED. BUT THE CRISIS IS FAR FROM OVER.))
[RUNS=:04 ]
[OUT Q=crisis is far from over.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
One day after Governor Jim Gilmore proclaims an end to the state budget crisis -- schoolteachers, college presidents, and advocates for the mentally ill call the price of NO car tax now everything from short-sighted to "bizarre."
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[GRAPHIC=News7at6]
Good evening, I'm Keith Humphry.
[State-Budget]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#=00-53 TC1:35:38]
[GRAPHIC=VA Budget]
215 million dollars in college construction projects underway or about to start are frozen.
Teacher pay raises will NOT come from the state.
Mental health advocates ask whether Jim Gilmore is really their friend.
But NO car tax remains on schedule.
Ellen Qualls has today's explosive reaction to yesterday's budget cuts from the Governor.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=I would]
[SUPER=01-Sen. Edd Houck/(D) Spotsylvania Co.; :00 ]
[SUPER=03-Richmond; :19]
[SUPER=01-Paul Trible/Christopher Newport Univ.; :25 ]
[SUPER=01-Jean Bankos/Virginia Education Assoc.; :43]
[SUPER=@Ellen2; :56 ]
[SUPER=01-Val Marsh/Alliance for the Mentally Ill; 1:04]
[RUNS=1:23]
[OUT Q=Qualls, News7, Richmond.]
(([sot 14:26:12]
((HOUCK: I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE...STOP THE MADNESS.))
[runs:09 ]
Spotsylvania state senator counted out 13 cents -- to show Virginia's college presidents how much NO car tax next year would save him each day over what the Senate's phase-out would have.
The college presidents described devastated morale over cuts as obvious as freezing the renovation of Radford's largest building.
[sot 13:41:07]
((TRIBLE: NOW RADFORD IS TOLD THAT NINE MILLION DOLLARS...WHAT IS GOING ON IN RICHMOND?))
[runs:17 ]
[sot 09:08:01 ]
((JEAN BANKOS/VIRGINIA EDUCATION: WE WANT LEGISLATORS TO COME BACK HERE ... ON AN INCREASE THAT IS BELOW THE COST OF INFLATION.))
[runs:13 ]
The Virginia teachers union Jean Bankos says NO state salary increases makes it hard to retain and recruit teachers already 31-hundred dollars below the national average pay.
[sot 09:23;41]
((VAL MARSH/ALLIANCE FOR THE MENTALLY ILL: THERE ISN'T ENOUGH INFORMATION ...CALLED SOMETHING ELSE BUT ARE CUTS.))
[runs:23 ]
The Governor's office had NO response to today's complaints.
Ellen Qualls, News 7, Richmond.))
[Bennett]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#=01-12 TC09:24]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Five term state Delegate Ted Bennett says he'd rather quit than see his house district carved up by Republicans trying to unseat him.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Richmond/File Tape]
Bennett represents Halifax and Charlotte Counties, and parts of Pittsylvania and Campbell Counties.
The Democrat says he will retire at the end of this year in the hopes that his district will NOT be made a political target.
Bennett publicly disclosed a battle with prostate cancer last year, but made NO mention of it in his retirement statement.
(------------)
[County-Supers]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=Six]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=01-05 TC1:03:34]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Where to assign 20 new fire and rescue employees continues to spark controversy in Roanoke County.
But today, officials said the plan they've developed provides the greatest benefit to the most people.
[DOUBLE BOXES=Keith and JoeD /Microwave;]
Joe Dashiell is at the County Administration center tonight with more on the controversial proposal.
[LIVE=JoeD FULL/Microwave]
[SUPER=@Joe1]
[SUPER=05-Roanoke Co.]
(adlib)
((ROLLCUE:...a fair and equitable first step.))
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=With a live]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.; :00]
[SUPER=01-Rick Burch/Fire and Rescue Chief; :18]
[SUPER=01-Mike Altizer/Mt. Pleasant Civic League; :47 ]
[RUNS=1:03]
[OUT Q=for the people of the county.]
(-------------)
[LIVE=JoeD FULL/Microwave]
[SUPER=05-Roanoke Co.;]
(adlib)
[DOUBLE BOXES=Keith and JoeD/Microwave;]
[AED]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=jsu]
[TAPE#=01-07 TC48:34]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Roanoke County will soon become the first community in the Roanoke Valley to place Automatic External Defibrillators inside government buildings.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.]
The Board of Supervisors approved funding for 20 A-E-D machines.
Fire and E-M-S crews will get A-E-D's inside their fire trucks and ambulances.
The County Administration building is one of the locations where an AED will be mounted.
The AED device is used to treat someone in cardiac arrest.
It shocks the heart -- to get it back to its normal rhythm.
The machines should be in place in April..
(------------)
[Tease#1]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[SS=NONE]
He led the charge to lower the D-U-I blood alcohol level in Virginia... today he was in court on DUI charges.
More on Tommy Norment's troubles coming up on News 7 at Six.
(---------------)
[VO-NAT]
And they've already cloned pigs and a cow.
Still ahead, hear what Blacksburg scientists have to say about cloning humans.
(----------------)
[Sunscape]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=01-14 TC01:17]
[GRAPHIC=]
Three children gave emergency workers in Roanoke County a scare tonight.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.;]
Dozens of rescue workers were called to a pond beside the Sunscape Apartments on Colonial Avenue.
A resident said she last saw three boys fishing in the pond before they disappeared.
But a few minutes after rescue crews began dredging the pond, the boys showed up.
They were unharmed and playing in the woods across the street.
(------------)
[K9-Unit]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=01-01 TC1:43:32]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Lynchburg's police K-9 unit still has the full support of city council, despite a severe attack on a police officer last month.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg/February 13]
Officer Rick Ruggieri was injured while handling one of the department's drug dogs, which ended up having to be put down.
It was the fourth attack by a police dog in two years.. but council members say they're satisfied with how the unit is being run and how police handled the incident.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 11:14:17//11:22:54]
[IN Q=Obviously the facts]
((STEWART HOBBS/LYNCHBURG COUNCIL MEMBER: OBVIOUSLY THE FACTS WERE THERE, OBVIOUSLY THERE WERE MISTAKES MADE AND THEY'VE BEEN ADDRESSED. I THINK THE ATTACK ON THE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S INTEGRITY IS UNCONSCIONABLE, SO.. WE'LL GO FORWARD.))
((COL. CHARLES BENNETT/LYNCHBURG POLICE CHIEF: I DON'T WANT TO MISLEAD ANYBODY AND SAY THAT THIS WILL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN, BECAUSE I'VE THINK WE'VE DONE EVERYTHING WE CAN REASONABLY DO TO ENSURE THAT IT DOESN'T HAPPEN AND WE CONTINUE TO REVIEW THAT REGULARLY TO SEE THAT WE HAVE THE VERY BEST POLICIES, TRAINING, EQUIPMENT, SUPERVISION IN PLACE.))
[SUPER=01-Stewart Hobbs/Lynchburg Council Member; :00]
[SUPER=01-Col. Charles Bennett/Lynchburg Police Chief; :14]
[RUNS=30]
[OUT Q=supervision in place.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
The K-9 unit has been re-organized and will operate with just three dogs instead of five.
Two citizens who were attacked by a police dog are still considering civil suits against the city.
(------------)
[L'burg-Budget]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=00-55 TC1:39:30]
[GRAPHIC=None]
City council also got its first look at Lynchburg's projected budget for the next fiscal year.. one that officials managed to balance without raising taxes.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Some of the highlights of the 114-million dollar proposal include: spending an extra 700- thousand dollars to operate the Blue Ridge Regional Jail...
A three percent merit pay raise for city employees with good job records..
Another half million to cover the rising cost of health care benefits for city workers..
And eight and a half million for school capital improvement projects.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 11:28:27]
[IN Q=It attempts to]
((KIMBALL PAYNE/LYNCHBURG CITY MANAGER: IT ATTEMPTS TO ADDRESS COUNCIL'S FEW BUDGET PRIORITIES THAT YOU IDENTIFIED IN NOVEMBER AND AT THE SAME TIME TO ADDRESS THE REALITIES OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE SUCH AS MANDATES FROM THE STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS.))
[SUPER=01-Kimball Payne/Lynchburg City Manager]
[RUNS=12]
[OUT Q=and federal governments.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
A public hearing on the budget is set for April 3rd.
(------------)
[Bassett-layoffs]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=jmi]
[TAPE#=01-09 TC22:13]
[GRAPHIC=Bassett Layoffs]
More restructuring at Bassett Furniture.
This time, 100 employees will be let go.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Henry Co./File Tape]
The company will combine its chair and table plants in Henry County.
The 160 remaining employees will be offered positions at the consolidated facility.
Bassett also predicts a 13 percent drop in sales this quarter, thanks in part to the bankruptcy of major buyer Montgomery Ward.
(------------)
[Altec]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=01-15 TC03:34]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Spectators watched Botetourt County's newest employer break ground on a plant today without ever touching the dirt.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Botetourt Co.;]
Altec Industries held a "virtual groundbreaking" for its new manufacturing plant at the Botetourt Center at Greenfield.
The company makes equipment for electric utility and telecommunications companies.
It chose the site to be close to customers like AEP and Norfolk Southern.
Altec hopes to employ 150 people within the next three years.
The company plans to finish construction and begin hiring electricians, welders and other workers this summer.
(------------)
[Optical-Cable]
[ANCHOR=Keit]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=jmi]
[TAPE#=00-54 TC1:39:11]
[GRAPHIC=None]
A local company is venturing toward overseas development.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]
At its annual shareholders meeting today, Optical Cable discussed product sales in China.
If all goes as planned, Optical Cable C-E-O Bob Kopstein says the company could secure a deal within the next few days.
Koptstein says marketing in China would double the company's workforce, sales, and may lead to the construction of a manufacturing facility there.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[tc 13:46:32]
[IN Q=Looking at teh amount]
((BOB KOPSTEIN/OPTICAL CABLE CEO: LOOKING AT THE AMOUNT OF POTENTIAL BUSINESS THERE'S PROBABLY THE OPPORTUNITY THAT WE COULD START A FACILITY THAT'S MULTIPLE OF THE FACILITIES WE HAVE HERE FROM DAY ONE.))
[SUPER=01-Bob Kopstein/Optical Cable CEO]
[RUNS=15]
[OUT Q=from day one.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Optical Cable expects its stock prices to remain strong despite the current market.
(------------)
[Stocks]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=NONE]
Bargain hunters gave Wall Street a bounce after yesterday's big losses.
[TAKE DOW & NASDAQ PAGE]
[RUNS=:30]
[SUPER=x5000;]
[SUPER=440-x/81.58/10289.83/x/91.43/2014.81;]
The DOW gained 82 points.
NASDAQ climed 91.
(-------------)
[VO]
[SUPER=271-i/0.74/45.72/h/0.67/23.34/h/2.63/54.25/i/0.09/19.25/i/0.55/8.17;]
[SUPER=272-i/1.20/64.00/h/1.64/32.69/i/0.43/43.42/h/2.73/42.33/i/0.40/36.70;]
[SUPER=273-i/0.71/24.02/i/0.99/16.35/h/0.13/9.69/i/0.10/49.50/h/0.25/11.25;]
[SUPER=274-h/1.60/65.15/i/0.97/54.93/h/1.72/49.18/h/1.37/61.60/h/0.49/48.80;]
[SUPER=#555; Reset]
[Norment]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#=01-11 TC22:12]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Virginia's senate floor leader made NO excuses and put up NO defense today.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Richmond;]
Williamsburg Republican Tommy Norment headed right back to Senate business today, after pleading GUILTY to driving under the influence during the General Assembly session in January.
Norment is the sponsor of the "point-0-8" blood alcohol limit in Virginia.
He says he will continue to sponsor drunk driving legislation.
(------------)
[TALENT=Keith]
[SS=Legal Scales]
Senator Norment paid a 350 dollar fine today in Henrico County.
He had a 30 day jail sentence suspended, and can only drive to and from work or the State Capitol for the next year.
[Hairston]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=jus]
[TAPE#=01-10 TC07:44]
[GRAPHIC=HOLD]
In Martinsville, the charge is murder, and the trial is underway.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Martinsville/March 2000]
Michael Hairston faces capital murder and first degree murder charges, for the shooting death of Evonne Hairston and her 16 year old daughter Melveena.
Prosecutors called several family members who testified Michael and Evonne were arguing just before the shooting.
The defense concedes Hairston had a gun and shots were fired but argues it was not premeditated murder.
Testimony continues tomorrow.
(------------)
[Glass]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=01-03 TC1:14:31]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Two young men experimenting with explosives. One of them died last November. The other was convicted today for his part in making the deadly device.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Fincastle]
Geoffrey Glass didn't mean for his friend, Mike Henry, to die.
Glass could have been charged with manslaughter- -even murder, though he and his friend were just fooling around with firecrackers and an old C-O-two cartridge.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 6:00]
[IN Q=Mr. Glass remembered]
((NELSON TOLLEY/BOTETOURT CO INVESTIGATOR; MR. GLASS REMEMBERED YOU COULD USE MASKING TAPE WITH POWDER TO MAKE A FUSE. THEY STUCK IT INSIDE THE CO2 CARTRIDGE ALONG WITH THE POWDER.))
[SUPER=01-Nelson Tolley/Botetourt Co Investigator]
[RUNS=14]
[OUT Q=CO-2 cartridge along with the powder.]
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[SS=None]
The "fuse" set off the device immediately, thrusting a piece of metal into Mike Henry's back, killing him.
Glass faces up to ten years in prison for building, possessing and transporting an explosive device.
[Cloning]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=rca]
[TAPE#=500-12 TC1:30:43]
[GRAPHIC=Cloning]
Scientists from around the world are condemning an Italian doctor's plan to clone a human being.
(-------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg;]
David (Air-s) Ayares is Vice-president of Research and Development for P-P-L Therapeutics, the company that successfully cloned pigs, cows and the famous sheep Dolly... but like many others in his field he does not support human cloning.
While the technology is there, he believes the procedure has safety and ethical issues.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT-23:20:02]
[IN Q=THE CLONING]
((DAVID AYARES/VP RESEARCH PPL THERAPEUTICS; THE CLONING PROCEDURE IS VERY INEFFICIENT NEEDS TO BE OPTIMIZED IT HAS BEEN OPTIMIZED FOR SHEEP AND PIGS BUT FOR HUMANS IT'S ALL UNKNOWN))
[SUPER=01-David Ayares/PPL Therapeutics]
[RUNS=:12]
[OUT Q=IT'S ALL UNKNOWN].
(------------------)
[VO-NAT]
Ayares believes that because of a lack of cloning regulation in other countries and infertile couples looking for ways to have children, human cloning will happen.
The Italian physician heading the human cloning effort says results may be seen in a year.
(-------------)
[Sports Tease]
[ANCHOR=mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]
Tonight on News 7 sports, baseball hilites from the Tech-Radford showdown this afternoon at dedmon Center Park.
Plus, the Express is finally back on its home ice tonight.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
And we'll head west and check in with UVa's first round NCAA opponent the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
(------------)
[S-Express]
[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=SP-90 11613TC]
[GRAPHIC=EXPRESS/TOLEDO]
The Roanoke Express - you may remember this team - it's a hockey club that plays some of its games inside the Roanoke Civic Center.
The problem is that the team hasn't had a home date since February 19th.
But tonight the team returns to battle the Toledo Storm a club that is battling for home ice in the upcoming Northern Conference playoffs with the Express.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=AT HOME...]
[SUPER=01-Adam Dewan/Express Left Winger; :00]
[SUPER=01-Perry Florio/Express Head Coach; :18]
[RUNS=:26]
[OUT Q=...I CAN GET THEM."]
(------------)
[TALENT=MIKE]
[GRAPHIC=EXPRESS/TOLEDO]
Tonight's game faces off at seven o'clock. We'll have the highlights on News 7 at 11.[S-NHL]
[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=SP-92 2913tc]
[GRAPHIC=NHL]
The NHL trading deadline passed this afternoon with the St. Louis Blues getting Keith Tkachuk the Coyotes captain.
[GRAPHIC=CAPS]
The Caps traded forwards Jan Bulis and Richard Zednik to Montreal in exchange for Trevor Linden, Dainius Zubrus and a second round pick.
They also get defenseman Jason Marshall from Anaheim.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=04-NHL; :00]
Eric Lindros never hit the block at all today as the Flyers refused to trade him.
As a result Lindros, who will not report to the Flyers because of an ongoing feud with general manager Bobby Clarke will not be able to play until next fall.
(------------)
[S-Gordon]
[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=SP-87 11617tc]
[GRAPHIC=NASCAR]
The NASCAR season is just 4 races old, but already enough has happened to fill a season.
Tomorrow another chapter will be added to the 2001 story
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Daytona Beach. FL/February; :00]
when the Abingdon based Morgan McCluer race team, which fields the Kodak Chevy, announces it is replacing driver Robby Gordon.
The former open-wheel driving star has needed provisionals to get in three of the first four events this season.
Rick Mast, Morgan Shepherd and Kenny Wallace are considered the front runners to take over the car.
(------------)
[S-Radford]
[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=Six]
[WRITER=dal]
[TAPE#=sp-89 tc 58:12]
[GRAPHIC=college baseball]
On the diamond, Virginia Tech hit the 500 mark and helped coached Chuck Hartman reach a milestone today.
The Hokies shalacked Radford 18 to nothing to up their record to seven and seven.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Radford/Highlanders vs. Hokies;]
The Highlanders dug deep into their bench looking for a slugger who could connect.
But Tech was the team that found the bat. Brad Bauder hits down the third baseline. Addison Bowman and Chris Hutchison score. The Hokies take an 11-nothing lead in the fourth.
Tech kept hammering at Radford. Ryan Murphy goes over the right centerfield wall for a round tripper.
[super=34-Virginia Tech/18/Radford/0;]
John West is up next for the Hokies. The breeze carries his hit to the river for another homerun and Tech beats Radford 18 to zero. It's Chuck Hartman's 800th win at Tech.
(------------)
[S-Gonzaga]
[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=SP-82 12442tc]
[GRAPHIC=NCAA MEN'S FINAL FOUR]
Virginia's opening round opponent in the NCAA tournament this Friday is seeded 7 spots behind the Cavs in the South Region. Yet, even the Virginia players believe they are the underdogs in this game.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Spokane, WA; :00]
Part of that outlook can be atttributed to the fact that Gonzaga is tournament tested.
The Bulldogs are one of just five teams in the entire nation to advance to at least the Sweet 16 each of the past two seasons.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=BITE]
((CASEY CALVARY:))
[SUPER=01-Casey Calvary/Gonzago Senior Forward; :00]
[RUNS=:13]
[OUT Q=...THE POSTSEASON."]
(------------)
[VO-NAT con't]
Gonzago, which is 24-and-6 won the West Coast Conference title way back on March 5th.
Despite that lay-off, the Zags insist they will be ready for UVa.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=BITE]
((ZACH GOURDE:))
[SUPER=01-Zach Gourde/Gonzago Sophomore Forward; :00]
[RUNS=:15]
[OUT Q=INTO PLACE."]
(------------)
[S-Winthrop]
[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=MENS FINAL FOUR]
The NCAA men's tournament begins tonight with the Big South's Winthrop Eagles coached by Cave Spring alum Gregg Marshall taking on Northwestern State University.
The game is being played in Dayton, Ohio with the winner getting the honor playing Illinois.
by SS