WDBJ 7 morning news AM cutins for 04/04/01

[7-11Redistricting]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#=01-08 TC50:05]
[GRAPHIC=VA Redistricting]
SEVEN southside and southwest Virginia Democrats are divided into THREE districts in a new House of Delegates map.
A state Senate map that takes Madison Marye's seat OUT of western Virginia entirely-- and puts it in Fairfax.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Richmond;]

Welcome to the redistricting session that begins Thursday.
The maps are finally out.
Bath County's Creigh Deeds is lumped in with Blacksburg's Jim Shuler.
Deeds calls the political payback "a failure of leadership" on the part of the Republican leaders from the western half of Virginia.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 14:26:51]
[IN Q=If you do the numbers]
((DEL. CREIGH DEEDS/D-BATH CO.: IF YOU DO THE NUMBERS...IT'S NOT -- UM -- IT'S VERY INTERESTING. ))
[SUPER=@Deeds;]
[RUNS=:24]
[OUT Q=It's not --um-- it's very interesting.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Dick Cranwell and Vic Thomas are mapped together in the Roanoke area.
Madison Marye's senate district is completely gone.
Harrisonburg Republican Kevin Miller drew those lines.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT tape two 14:37:16]
[IN Q=I hope everone understands]
((KEVIN MILLER/R-HARRISONBURG: I HOPE EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS THAT THERE'S JUST NOT THE PEOPLE. AND WE STARTED BACK HERE AND YOU START GATHERING 177 THOUSAND PEOPLE.))
[SUPER=01-Sen. Kevin Miller/(R) Harrisonburg; ]
[RUNS=:13]
[OUT Q=start gathering 177 thousand people.]
(-------------)
[TALENT=]
[SS=HOLD]

The biggest political score may be a district along Southside, that lumps Democrats Tom Jackson, Barnie Day, and Ward Armstrong together.
Carving Armstrong out of Martinsville creates a new district with NO incumbent.

[7-11Hickson]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=01-05 TC1:39:45]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]
A Bedford County woman faces a year in jail for the death of a little girl she was babysitting.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

13- month- old Frances Vermillion died in February, 1998 while in the care of Sonya Hickson.
[SUPER=03-Bedford]

A judge ruled Hickson killed Vermillion in a fit of anger by banging her head against a blunt object.
For five years after she leaves jail, Hickson must also visit the little girl's grave on the anniversary of her death.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 10:30:55]
[IN Q=I think it's]
((RANDY KRANTZ/PROSECUTOR: I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR THE FAMILY TO KNOW THAT FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, AT LEAST ONE TIME FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, SHE'S GOT TO GO AND NO ONE ELSE IS GOING TO BE THERE BUT HER AND FRAN, AND SHE'S GOT TO CONFRONT HERSELF AND WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IN THAT HOUSE THAT MORNING.))
[SUPER=01-Randy Krantz/Prosecutor]
[RUNS=16]
[OUT Q=that morning.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Hickson has consistently denied she did anything wrong.
Her lawyer may appeal the sentence.
(------------)

[45-Vistar]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=jsu]
[TAPE#=01-16 TC 11:23]
[GRAPHIC=None]

It took a three year legal battle, but Vistar Eye Center's independent eye surgery center is up and running.
Carilion Health System fought against the center because it said it would take away too much business.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Salem]

But in February, The Roanoke Valley Center for Sight won "Certificate of Need" approval from the state.
So far, the center performs about 60 surgical cases per week. The procedures include everything from cataract and glaucoma surgery to plastic surgery.
Doctor Frank Cotter says he considers Carilion a partner in eye care.
And he thinks the competition will only make service better and price lower for patients.
(------------)

[45-Night-VMI]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=tha]
[TAPE#=00-15 tc 9:35]
[GRAPHIC=VMI Prayer]
Like many things at Virginia Military Institute - prayer is tradition.
(----------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Lexington/Yesterday;]
Six days a week-- a student chaplain reads a prayer before the cadets sit down for dinner at six o'clock. But two cadets are challenging that tradition and have gained the support of the A-C-L-U.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 23:24:45]
[IN Q=If I chose]
((NEIL MELLEN/VMI CADET: IF I CHOOSE NOT TO PRAY IN THIS MANNER... WITH PEOPLE CURSING AT ME FOR NOT PARTICIPATING... THAT's WHAT I FIND OFFENSIVE.))
[SUPER=01-Neil Mellen/VMI Cadet; :00]
[runs=13]
[out q= find offensive.]
(---------)
[vo-nat] Last night-- we talked with nearly a dozen cadets. Everyone we spoke with said they didn't have a problem with evening prayer.
(///sot////)
[sot 00:40:10 00:39:27]
[in q= I don't]
((CHRIS JOHNSON/VMI CADET: I DON'T REALLY HAVE NO FEELINGS ABOUT IT, I DON'T NEED IT, I DON'T. SO, IF THEY WANT PRAYER THEY CAN PRAY IT'S UP TO THEM.)) ((PHILIP METZ/VMI CADET: MY OPINION IS THAT YOU KNOW IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT'S FORCED UPON SOMEONE. IT'S OPTIONAL. ))
[SUPER=01-Chris Johnson/VMI Cadet; :00 QUICK!!]
[SUPER=01-Philip Metz/VMI Cadet; :07]
[RUNS=12]
[OUT Q=it's up to them.]
(---------)
[vo-nat] The military school is letting the State Attorney General's office handle the issue. Mark Early says he intends to vigorously defend the Institute and the tradition.
(------------)

[45-11Circus-Protest]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=01-04 TC1:14:18]
[GRAPHIC=None]
An animal rights group protesting the Ringling Brothers Circus made quite a spectacle of itself in downtown Roanoke yesterday - and a local radio station got in on the act.
(---------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

Tarina (tuh-REE-nuh) Keene removed most of her clothing and climbed into a cage near the City Market Building.
While she was protesting the treatment of animals in the Ringling Brothers Circus.... Radio station WROV was serving up hot dogs across the street.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 06:11:03]
[IN Q=We've got a big crowd here today]
((WE'VE GOT A BIG CROWD HERE TODAY. WE PROBABLY LIKE THE EXTRA PUBLICITY THAT BROUGHT THIS OUT HERE, BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE THINKING ABOUT AN ISSUE THAT THEY NORMALLY DON'T THINK ABOUT.))
[SUPER=01-Tarina Keene/PETA Activist]
[RUNS=:08]
[OUT Q=normally don't think about.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

No one was arrested during the protest, but police did ask the demonstrators to move because they were blocking the sidewalk.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=]
[GRAPHIC=None]

In a news release, Feld Entertainment said the circus is committed to the highest standards of animal care. A spokesman described the PETA protest as an attempt to push an ideology that most Americans do not accept.

[8-Night-VMI]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=tha]
[TAPE#=01-15 tc 9:35]
[GRAPHIC=VMI Prayer]

Meal-time prayer is one of many traditions at Virginia Military Institute--
(----------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Lexington/Yesterday;]
Six days a week-- a student chaplain reads a prayer before the cadets sit down for dinner at six o'clock. But two cadets are challenging that tradition and have gained the support of the A-C-L-U.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 23:24:45]
[IN Q=If I chose]
((NEIL MELLEN/VMI CADET: IF I CHOOSE NOT TO PRAY IN THIS MANNER... WITH PEOPLE CURSING AT ME FOR NOT PARTICIPATING... THAT's WHAT I FIND OFFENSIVE.))
[SUPER=01-Neil Mellen/VMI Cadet; :00]
[runs=13]
[out q= find offensive.]
(---------)
[vo-nat] Last night-- we talked with nearly a dozen cadets. Everyone we spoke with said they didn't have a problem with evening prayer.
(///sot////)
[sot 00:40:10 00:39:27]
[in q= I don't]
((CHRIS JOHNSON/VMI CADET: I DON'T REALLY HAVE NO FEELINGS ABOUT IT, I DON'T NEED IT, I DON'T. SO, IF THEY WANT PRAYER THEY CAN PRAY IT'S UP TO THEM.)) ((PHILIP METZ/VMI CADET: MY OPINION IS THAT YOU KNOW IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT'S FORCED UPON SOMEONE. IT'S OPTIONAL. ))
[SUPER=01-Chris Johnson/VMI Cadet; :00 QUICK!!]
[SUPER=01-Philip Metz/VMI Cadet; :07]
[RUNS=12]
[OUT Q=it's up to them.]
(---------)
[vo-nat] The military school is letting the State Attorney General's office handle the issue. Mark Early says he intends to vigorously defend the Institute and the tradition.
(------------)

[8-11Rubatex]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=jmi]
[TAPE#=01-14 TC17:41]
[GRAPHIC=Rubatex Agreement]

With the stroke of SEVERAL pens, a new contract is worked out between Rubatex and its union.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Bedford/File Tape]

After a YEAR and a half of debate over forced overtime and benefits, Bedford's Steel Workers have signed a new contract.
The company signed on the dotted line yesterday.
The International Steelworker's union in Pittsburgh will finish with signatures over the next day or so.
Rubatex's parent company R-B-X is in the process of filing for bankruptcy.
New financing and a new labor agreement are expected to take pressure off the struggling Bedford facility.
(------------)

[8-11NS-Payments]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=01-13 tc 15:35]
[GRAPHIC=Norfolk Southern]

The whistle of a train may translate into the sound of money for residents who live near railroad tracks.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Troutville;]

Norfolk Southern is paying some towns for a possible increase in train traffic.
It's offering 10-thousand dollars for each house within 73-feet of its Shenandoah line.
The line runs from Front Royal to Roanoke.
If the railroad doesn't settle with local governments, it can pay the 63 affected homeowners.
The tracks are 30 feet from the home of Troutville residents Lowell and Alta (AL-tuh) Cole.
They say they'd use the money to repair cracks in their walls caused by the trains.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 11:57:38 - :44]
[IN Q=We think that]
((ALTA COLE/HOMEOWNER: WE FEEL LIKE THAT WE SHOULD BE COMPENSATED BECAUSE WE'RE THE MOST AFFECTED BY THE VIBRATIONS.))

[SUPER=01-Alta Cole/Troutville Homeowner;]
[RUNS=:06]
[OUT Q=by the vibrations]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The payments are part of the 1997 merger deal between Norfolk Southern and Conrail.
Like other communities, Troutville will decide whether the money should go to the town or directly to the residents after a public hearing later this month. (------------)