[7-11Rivera]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=01-05 TC1:48:48]
[GRAPHIC=None]

It was one persons word against another - and the decision was a matter of credibility. Yesterday a judge decided he believed the people who say they saw a 16-year old Lynchburg boy attack another man with a knife.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg/January 16]

It happened January 16th in the parking lot of Heritage High School.
Authorities say there had been bad blood between 16-year old Robert Michael Rivera and 20-year old Eric Beard.
Rivera claimed he acted in self- defense, but witnesses testified they watched him run at Beard and stab him in the stomach and arm.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 13:37:31]
[IN Q=I think the]
((MIKE DOUCETTE/PROSECUTOR: I THINK THE JUDGE LOOKED AT THE LACK OF BIAS ON THE PART OF THE WITNESSES FOR THE COMMONWEALTH, YOU HAD AN ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL TESTIFTY CONSISTENT WITH ALL THE OTHER COMMONWEALTH WITNESSES AND I THINK THAT WAS CERTAINLY A VERY COMPELLING PIECE OF THE EVIDENCE, WAS THE ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL AND WHAT HE HAD TO SAY.))
[SUPER=01-Mike Doucette/Prosecutor]
[RUNS=17]
[OUT Q=he had to say.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Rivera was found guilty of aggravated malicious wounding.
He'll be sentenced in June.
(------------)

[7-Liberty-Student]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=none]
Another Liberty High School student is behind bars for distributing OxyContin. Police charged a 15-year-old on Friday and a 16 year old earlier last week. Police say the two students distributed about 12 pills to four or five Liberty High School students. Authorities believe one of the teenagers got the pills from a friend's house.

[7-11Marijuana-Farm]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=jmi]
[TAPE#=01-04 TC1:22:23]
[GRAPHIC=none]
Police seized a 15 million dollar farm over the weekend -
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Rockingham Co., NC]

That's because authorities just across the state line in Rockingham County North Carolina discovered 10 thousand immature marijuana plants in the woods off of Highway 29.
A tip led deputies to find the plants- the estimated value is 15 million dollars.
The Rockingham County Sheriff says someone had quite an operation growing there... which included seeds, cultivated tracts, miracle-gro and insect killer.
No one's been arrested yet.
(------------)

[7-11Roanoke-Body]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=jmi]
[TAPE#=01-16 TC19:12]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Authorities now know the identity of the body that was found over the weekend near Campbell Avenue.
They say it is 33-year-old Billy Ray Green of Roanoke man.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/Sunday]

Police found Green's body Sunday morning in a cement canal in front of the Norfolk Southern Machine Shop.
He was lying face down in the water with a cut on his head.
Police say the cause of death will be determined after an autopsy today.
(------------)

[7-6-Foot-Mouth]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=none]
Virginians can once again buy horses from countries dealing with foot and mouth disease.
State officials say their decision was in response to new requirements set by the U-S Department of Agriculture.
The new federal guidelines require horses and personnel in quarantined areas to be groomed and disinfected before leaving, then disinfected again upon arrival in the United States.

[45-C'Burg-Fire]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=rca]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=Fire]

Fire damages a Christiansburg home.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Christiansburg;]

Just before 8:30 last night, Christiansburg Fire Department and rescue arrived to find the back of a two-story home burning.
The five-adults who rent the home were sleeping when it happened, a neighbor alerted the group to the flames.
There were no fire related injuries although a firefighter twisted his knee.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT-2:07:28]
[IN Q=A FAMILY]
((JIM EPPERLY/CHRISTIANSBURG FIRE CHIEF; A FAMILY HAD SOME TRASH OUTSIDE BEHIND THE HOUSE SOME CHARCOAL COALS WE THINK THAT CAUGHT ON FIRE EXTENDED INTO THE FIRE HAD A PRETTY GOOD LOSS. ))
[SUPER=01-Jim Epperly/Christiansburg Fire Chief;]
[RUNS=:12]
[OUT Q=]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The American Red Cross is helping the family with housing for the next few days.
(------------)

[45-11Enchanted-Castle]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=01-07 TC1:22:32]
[GRAPHIC=Enchanted Castle Fire]
The fire that destroyed a tourist attraction at Natural Bridge may not have been an accident.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Natural Bridge/Home Video;]

State police arson investigators are trying to determine how the Enchanted Castle caught fire around two yesterday morning.
Its owner, Mark Cline, says the building was a total loss.
For the last decade, it's been a workshop and showplace for fiberglass creatures that he sells to theme parks and restaurants worldwide.
Cline fears it was arson ... because of some hate mail he discovered in his mailbox.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 6:29:04 - :09]
[IN Q=I just want to]
((MARK CLINE/ENCHANTED CASTLE OWNER: I JUST WANT TO MAKE THE WORLD A BEAUTIFUL PLACE. IF I'VE GOT TO START AGAIN, I'VE GOT TO START AGAIN.))
[SUPER=01-Mark Cline/Enchanted Castle Owner;]
[RUNS=:05]
[OUT Q=to start again. DOUBLE OUT!!!!!]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Authorities are not releasing the fire's cause or origin, but Cline says it started in his office, which was unlocked.
He had planned to open the castle Memorial Day.
He hopes to rebuild it for next season.
(------------)

[45-Bedford-Budget]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=tha]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Bedford County supervisors are deciding whether or not to increase the county's tax rate to fund teacher pay raises. Superintendent
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Bedford/Last Night;]
Jim Blevins wants the county to increase the real-estate tax rate by eight-cents.
This would give teachers a ten-point-six percent pay raise.
Last night, Blevins told the board this would not only help keep current teachers, but make the county more competitive in hiring new ones.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=I've already]
[SUPER=01-Jim Blevins/Bedford Co. Superintendent;]
[RUNS=:16]
[OUT Q=us for ten years.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Under an eight cent increase, the starting salary for a teacher in Bedford County would be 28-thousand-500 dollars.
The board will vote on the tax issue Thursday.
(------------)

[45-11Verizon-Split]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=jmi]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=Verizon]
Several phone companies want to see Verizon downsized in Virginia.
Currently -Verizon controls 96 percent of all telephone lines in Virginia-- competitors say changing that could lead to lower prices for customers.
That's why the four companies are asking the state to separate Verizon's wholesale and retail businesses.
But Verizon says splitting the company in two would result in higher phone costs and increased confusion for customers.

[8-1181-Accident]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=01-19 TC11:08]
[GRAPHIC=81 accident]

An accident at the 5-81 interchange on Interstate 81 last night is still affecting the morning commute.
State police say ONE northbound lane is open now, while crews make repairs to the bridge and guard rail.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.]

It happened just before 10 last night, when a tractor-trailer driver headed Northbound lost control on an overpass.
The rig hit the guard-rail and bridge-- spilling diesel fuel.
The fuel caught fire and destroyed the truck.
Amazingly the driver escaped unharmed.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=KIMBERLY]
[GRAPHIC=]

State police expect work to continue on the interstate for the next couple of hours.

[8-Pearisburg-Fatal]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=]

An accident in a driveway claims the life of a Pearisburg woman.
State Police were called to the home of Victoria Crockett just after nine o-clock last night.
Details of the accident were not available.

[8-11Enchanted-Castle]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=01-07 TC1:22:32]
[GRAPHIC=Enchanted Castle Fire]

Arson may be to blame for the fire that destroyed a tourist attraction in Natural Bridge.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Natural Bridge/Home Video;]

State police arson investigators are trying to determine how the Enchanted Castle caught fire around two yesterday morning.
Its owner, Mark Cline, says the building was a total loss.
For the last decade, it's been a workshop and showplace for fiberglass creatures that he sells to theme parks and restaurants worldwide.
Cline fears it was arson ... because of some hate mail he discovered in his mailbox.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 6:29:04 - :09]
[IN Q=I just want to]
((MARK CLINE/ENCHANTED CASTLE OWNER: I JUST WANT TO MAKE THE WORLD A BEAUTIFUL PLACE. IF I'VE GOT TO START AGAIN, I'VE GOT TO START AGAIN.))
[SUPER=01-Mark Cline/Enchanted Castle Owner;]
[RUNS=:05]
[OUT Q=to start again. DOUBLE OUT!!!!!]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Authorities are not releasing the fire's cause or origin, but Cline says it started in his office, which was unlocked.
He had planned to open the castle Memorial Day.
He hopes to rebuild it for next season.
(------------)

[8-Bedford-Budget]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=tha]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Bedford county supervisors will decide later this week whether to raise the county's tax rate to fund teacher pay raises. Superintendent
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Bedford/Last Night;]
Jim Blevins wants the county to increase the real-estate tax rate by eight-cents.
This would give teachers a ten-point-six percent pay raise.
Last night, Blevins told the board this would not only help keep current teachers, but make the county more competitive in hiring new ones.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=I've already]
[SUPER=01-Jim Blevins/Bedford Co. Superintendent;]
[RUNS=:16]
[OUT Q=us for ten years.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Under an eight cent increase, the starting salary for a teacher in Bedford County would be 28-thousand-500 dollars.
The board will vote on the tax issue Thursday. (------------)
by SS