WDBJ 7 news at 6 for 08/21/01

[1-News-Head]

(------------)
[VO-NAT]
If you wait, they will come. That's what many Covington residents say about buyers for the Old City Hall.
(-----------)
[ANCHOR=Shannon]
Plus, charges against a Roanoke man suspected of murder are dropped for lack of evidence.

[Sports-Head]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]
Tonight on News 7 sports we'll examine some of the findings released in Atlanta this afternoon concerning the Earnhardt investigation. Plus, the Express has some new friends in the AHL and NHL.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
And UVa tears up Craig Littlepage's intern title and makes him the school's permanent athletic director.
(------------)
[WX-Head]
[ANCHOR=Robin]
[SS=None]

Starting the day with temperatures in the 50s was nice. But the readings start climbing again tomorrow. Chantal is also fading fast. Details coming up.
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Shannon 3-Shot]

News 7 at Six is next.

[Video-Open]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=Video Open]

(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=I'm looking after...]
((TEMPLE KESSINGER; I'M LOOKING AFTER THE TAXPAYERS OF COVINGTON. WE HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE ON FIXED INCOMES, WE HAVE GOOD PEOPLE, AND I DON'T THINK CITY COUNCIL SHOULD LAY THAT BURDEN ON THEM.))
[RUNS=:10]
[OUT Q=lay that burden on them.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Covington's City Council votes again for the demolition of the Old City Hall, despite citizens pleas for more time.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[GRAPHIC=News7at6]

Good evening, I'm Shannon Young. Keith is off tonight.

[Covington]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=rle]
[TAPE#=01-20 TC17:57]
[GRAPHIC=HOLD]
Today's vote is the latest in a string of 3-to-2 votes against the aging building. Now some Covington residents are trying to figure out how they'll keep the wrecking ball away. Richard Lesko has more...
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Covington; :00]
[SUPER=01-Temple Kessinger/Covington Mayor; :14]
[SUPER=01-Pat Linkous/Friends of Old City Hall; :36]
[SUPER=@Richard2; :49]
[RUNS=1:32]
[OUT Q=RL, News 7, Covington]
(( Covington Mayor Temple Kessinger delivered the final blow to the old city hall with his vote to appropriate money for the demolition of Old City Hall. He says the future of the building boils down to money, and not memories.
[SOT - 21:17:54]
[INQ=It's been offered]
((TEMPLE KESSINGER/COVINGTON MAYOR; IT'S BEEN OFFERED TO A NUMBER OF PEOPLE. NO ONE WOULD TAKE ON THE PROJECT BECAUSE OF THE EXPENSE, WE'VE HAD ESTIMATES OF 1.6 TO 2.5 MILLION DOLLARS. THE CITY OF COVINGTON CAN'T PUT THAT BURDEN ON ITS TAXPAYERS.))
[OUTQ=burden on its taxpayers.]
[RUNS= 12]
But opponents of the demolition say they just want more time to try to attract potential buyers, and city council has chosen to ignore potential investors in a rush to tear down the building.
[SOT - 21:24:40]
[INQ=We have not asked...]
((PAT LINKOUS/FRIENDS OF OLD CITY HALL; WE HAVE NOT ASKED THE COVINGTON TAXPAYERS TO LET THIS ON THEIR SHOULDERS. WE HAVE ASKED TO TRANSFER IT OVER AND LET US FIND VIABLE FINANCING FOR IT.))
[OUTQ=viable financing for it.]
[RUNS= 12]
However, Kessinger says the building's fate has been set since the new city hall was built, and the group Friends of Old City Hall hasn't been completely truthful about the prospects for the building.
[SOT - 21:19:06]
[INQ=The've tried...]
((TEMPLE KESSINGER/COVINGTON MAYOR; THEY'VE TRIED TO DUMP IT ON THE LIBRARY, ON HOUSING, ON A NUMBER OF OTHER PEOPLE. NOBODY WILL TAKE IT, SO AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED, THIS CHAPTER OF THE CITY OF COVINGTON IS OVER.))
[OUT=of Covington is over.]
[RUNS= 12]
[SOT=21:23:39]
[INQ=It's not as if we were...]
((Pat Linkous/Friends of Old City Hall;ITS NOT AS IF WE WERE TRYING TO OPEN SOME KIND OF TOPLESS BAR OR STRIP JOINT. WE'RE TRYING TO DO SOMETHING FOR THE DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT AND POSSIBLY FOR THE CULTURAL SIDE OF COVINGTON.))
[OUTQ=cultural side of covington.]
[RUNS= 12]

Members of Friends of Old City Hall say all they can do now is take the fight from City Hall to the courthouse. Richard Lesko, News 7, Covington.))

[Botetourt-Supervisors]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=01-51 TC08:42]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Botetourt County Supervisors agreed to hire a mediator to mend fences with the school board today.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Fincastle;]

The two boards have been bickering since the county adopted a budget that gave the schools less money than they requested.
Supervisors say it's because state contributions fell dramatically.
In response, the school board increased class sizes in the fourth and fifth grades and cut several programs.
Angry parents confronted supervisors with a petition signed by 257 people.
(///// SOT /////)
[BUMP SOTS]
[IN Q=We're asking]
[sot 10:52 - 11:01]
((GREG McCORMACK/PARENT: WE'RE ASKING TO HAVE OUR FOURTH AND FIFTH GRADE TEACHERS REINSTATED AND RETURN OUR CLASSES TO REASONABLE TEACHER TO STUDENT RATIONS. ))
[SOT 14:00 - :16]
((WILLIAM LOOPE/BOARD CHAIRMAN: IT'S A TOUGH JOB SITTING HERE AND TRYING TO PLEASE EVERYBODY AND WE JUST CAN'T DO IT. :07 WE ASKED THE SCH BD TO BE CONSERVATIVE, WE GAVE THEM A 5.4% INCREASE IN LOCAL FUNDS AND IT JUST WASN'T ENOUGH. ))
[SUPER=01-Greg McCormack/Parent;]
[SUPER=01-William Loope/Board of Supervisors Chairman]
[RUNS=:25]
[OUT Q=it just wasn't enough.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Mediated talks between the boards should be finished by the end of the year.
The county says taxes may be increased next year to help solve the impasse.
(------------)

[Democrats]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#=01-29 TC1:13:47]
[GRAPHIC=VA Budget]

Virginia Democrats say the Governor needs to come clean with the people.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Richmond/Yesterday]

Yesterday, Jim Gilmore told lawmakers Virginia has a 52 million dollar budget shortfall.
Minutes later, the Republican- led Senate Finance Committe said that hole could grow ten times larger by next summer.
[SUPER=04-Today]

Democrats say the Gilmore Administration needs to release more information.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 11:17:25]
[IN Q=Refusing to do so is]
((SEN. EMILY COURIC/D-CHARLOTTESVILLE: REFUSING TO DO SO IS REALLY CONDESCENDING TO US. IT'S ALMOST LIKE THEY'RE TREATING US LIKE WE FOURTH GRADERS... INSULTING TO ALL THOSE PEOPLE WE REPRESENT.))
[SUPER=01-Sen. Emily Couric/(D) Charlottesville;]
[RUNS=:18]
[OUT Q=all those people we represent.]
(-------------)
[Anchor=Shannon]
[SS=HOLD]

The Governor's spokeswoman says tonight: "Mark Warner and the other big-spending liberal Democrats always see 'holes' in the budget, because they always want government to spend more money."
She says the Governor will update the revenue picture in December, as usual.

[Smith]

[ANCHOR=Shan]
[NEWSCAST=6 p.m.]
[WRITER=syo]
[TAPE#=01-43 TC28:02]
[GRAPHIC=Murder Invest.]
A Roanoke man is off the hook for a fatal shooting in May... at least for now.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
18-year old Jonathan Martin Smith had been accused of killing Rashard "Ray-Ray" Bannister
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/May 23;:04]
at the intersection of Melrose Avenue and Forest Park Boulevard on May 22nd. Speaking through his attorney, Smith said he was being robbed by the 24-year old Bannister at the time of the shooting.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=SHannon]
[SS=HOLD]
Prosecutors admit there is some evidence to support that statement. They also say there's not ENOUGH evidence to present the case against Smith to a grand jury. Charges against Smith were dropped at a preliminary hearing this morning. Prosecutors say they hope two witnesses to the shooting will eventually offer information that will help the case go forward in the future.

[Angeline]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=rca]
[TAPE#=01-24 TC1:33:04]
[GRAPHIC=Betty Angeline]
The woman Grayson County prosecutors say killed two of her neighbors made an appearance in court today.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Grayson Co.;]
59-year-old Betty Jean Angeline waived her right to a preliminary hearing. The Independence woman faces first degree and capital murder charges for the shooting deaths of 59-year-old Linda McKnight and 62-year-old Glenda Jenkins. Both women were friends with Angeline and killed within a couple of months of each other earlier this year. A grand jury will now hear evidence and determine if there is enough for a trial.
(------------)

[Murder-Suspect]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=rca]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=Murder Invest.]
Authorities in Wythe County help nab a wanted man today.
(XXXXXXXX)
[TAKE FULL SCREEN PINNACLE] 21-year-old Roger Eric Broadway is charged with robbing and stabbing to death a 67-year-old woman in Tennessee. Wythe County Sheriff's Deputies and State Police arrested the New York native just after midnight this morning thanks to a tip from Tennessee officials.
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[SS=HOLD]
Authorities say they found Broadway aboard a Greyhound bus making a stop in Fort Chiswell. He was taken into custody and back to Tennessee this afternoon to face murder charges.

[Tease#1]
[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[SS=NONE]

After a series of textile and furniture industry layoffs, finally some good news for Franklin County.
(---------------)
[VO-NAT]

While just down the road in Henry County, more furniture jobs are headed overseas.
Those stories when News 7 returns.
(----------------)

[Bassett]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=ejo]
[TAPE#=01-38 TC50:14]
[GRAPHIC=Bassett]

Bassett Furniture will eliminate 250 to 300 jobs this fall, positions lost to foreign-built furniture.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Bassett/File Tape;]

The company says it will close its chair plant and associated rough mill in Bassett late this fall.
Bassett Furniture says it will import occasional chairs and tables now made in Henry County.
The company says its long-term health depends on shifting from just a maker of furniture .. to one that also imports and sells furniture items.
(------------)

[Franklin-Jobs]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=01-26 TC1:30:40]
[GRAPHIC=New Jobs]

Meanwhile, good news for Franklin County. More jobs are coming to Rocky Mount.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Rocky Mount]

The Franklin County Board of Supervisors just announced that 40 to 50 high tech jobs are on the way.
The County will announce the name of the company tonight.
The news follows another big announcement that came down just yesterday.
County officials say an additional 100 jobs will appear if enough resident express interest at a job fair this weekend.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=The county has]
[SUPER=01-Richard Huff/Franklin Co. Administrator;]
[RUNS=:14]
[OUT Q=very quickly.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The company is known as Miss Utility and helps contractors and homeowners locate underground utility lines.
The job fair will run from 9 a-m to noon Saturday at CATCE in Rocky Mount.
(------------)

[KB-Toys]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=jmi]
[TAPE#=01-37 35:39]
[GRAPHIC=KB Moving In]

K-B Toys in Pittsylvania County has doubled it's workforce in less than two weeks.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Blairs/August 10]

K-B took over the old e-Toys facility on August 10th.
A two-day job fair last week yielded nearly one thousand applications for jobs ranging from management to computer and technical assistants.
The distribution center hired 50 from that pool, and now has almost one hundred employees.
K-B will hire seventy more over the next two weeks.
The on-line toy retailer plans to start shipping toys from Blairs as early as next month.
(------------)

[Hudson]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=rca]
[TAPE#=01-33 TC48:40]
[GRAPHIC=None]
After 31-years in the automobile sales business, Bob Hudson no longer owns his Pulaski car dealership. Bank of America confirms it has seized and closed the business.
[DOUBLE BOXES=Rachel and Shannon /Microwave;]
Rachel Cannon joins us now from our Blacksburg newsroom with more on the story, Rachel?
[LIVE=Rachel /FULL Microwave]
[SUPER=@Rachel1;]
[SUPER=05-Blacksburg;]
Shannon, earlier this month Bob Hudson told me he was looking forward to getting out of the car business and selling his Pulaski dealership to Roanoke's Berglund car dealership owner Bruce Ferrell. He said it would take some time for the details to be worked out but we now know the deal fell through and Hudson's creditors stepped in.
(-------------)
[VO-NAT]
[*** RACHEL'S MIC HOT***]
[SUPER=03-Pulaski;]
A Bank of America spokesman says Hudson signed what is called a consent order to turn the property over to them last Friday. The lot is closed and the approximately 80-people who worked there are now unemployed. The employment commission's New River Valley office reports an influx of Hudson employees applying for benefits. The acting manager says many of them are shocked, upset and unsure if they will receive severance or vacation pay.
(-------------)
[LIVE=Rachel /FULL Microwave]
[SUPER=05-Blacksburg;]
Bob Hudson declined an interview and calls to Berglund were not returned.
[DOUBLE BOXES=Shannon & Rachel /Microwave;]
Shannon, some have said they hope Berglund will have a renewed interest in buying the Pulaski dealership now that Bank of America has possession.

[Stocks]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Stocks sank after the Fed cut interest rates by another quarter point but also suggested that an economic turnaround is not yet in sight. [TAKE DOW & NASDAQ PAGE]
[RUNS=:30]
[SUPER=x5000;]
[SUPER=440-y/145.93/10174.14/y/50.05/1831.30;]

The DOW plunged 146-points.
NASDAQ fell 50.
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[VO]
[SUPER=271-i/0.35/45.02/i/0.13/19.36/i/0.06/63.51/i/1.02/20.10/i/0.60/8.10;]
[SUPER=272-i/0.70/62.04/h/0.52/35.93/h/0.62/48.15/i/1.06/40.47/i/0.42/46.20;]
[SUPER=273-h/0.25/25.82/i/1.40/18.54/i/0.27/7.78/i/0.08/45.40/i/0.90/16.75;]
[SUPER=274-h/0.85/71.52/i/0.79/66.10//Unchg/53.30/h/1.10/72.10/i/1.65/49.94;]
[SUPER=#555; Reset]

[Debates]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#=01-30 TC1:20:15]
[GRAPHIC=Campaign 2001]

The negotiations are over, and it looks like W-D-B-J will be hosting Virginia's only statewide, televised debate in the race for governor.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=403-White Sulphur Spr., WV/July 14]

Mark Warner and Mark Earley have faced off once, in front of the Virginia Bar Association.
They have three more debates scheduled.
In September, they have agreed to meet in front of N-double-A-C-P and the Fairfax Chamber of Commerce -- both in northern Virginia.
W-D-B-J will host the final, October 7th debate at our studios here in Roanoke.
By telephone today, Mark Earley says he'd have preferred to have up to nine debates-- but Warner only agreed to three more.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 13 02 20 ]
[IN Q=People tune into debates]
((MARK EARLEY/R-CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR: PEOPLE TUNE INTO DEBATES. IT'S A CHANCE TO TAKE THE MEASURE OF A CANDIDATE IN TERMS OF THEIR POISE, THEIR VISION, THE WAY THEY ANSWER QUESTIONS. AND LOOK, I THINK WARNER GOT A LITTLE SHELL-SHOCKED DURING THE FIRST DEBATE. AND I THINK HE GOT COLD FEET. ))
[RUNS=:17]
[OUT Q=I think he got cold feet.]
(-------------)
[Anchor=Shannon]
[SS=HOLD]

The Warner campaign says that is NOT accurate.
It points out tthat it's agreed to more debates than Jim Gilmore and Don Beyer did in 1997 -- and the same number George Allen and Chuck Robb did last year.

[Boty-Sheriff]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=01-32 TC1:09:43]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Botetourt County is getting a new jail and sheriff's office.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Fincastle;]

The Board of Supervisors approved the purchase of a three acre site near the General District Court building in Fincastle today.
A family that lives on the land agreed to sell it for 240-thousand dollars.
The Sheriff says the jail, built in 1964, has been overcrowded and outdated for too long.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 55:58 - 56:10]
[IN Q=It was originally]
((RONNIE SPRINKLE/BOTETOURT CO. SHERIFF: IT WAS ORIGINALLY DESIGNED TO HOUSE 38 INMATES. WE HOUSE AN AVERAGE OF ABOUT 58 INMATES IN THIS JAIL. AND IT'S NOT UNCOMMON FOR US TO HAVE 70 TO 75 PEOPLE IN THIS JAIL AT ONCE. ))
[SUPER=01-Ronnie Sprinkle/Botetourt Co. Sheriff;]
[RUNS=:12]
[OUT Q=in that jail at once.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The Board of Supervisors says it considered moving the jail outside of Fincastle, but found the costs of transporting inmates to the courts would be too expensive.
Construction will start in two to three years.
(------------)

[Sports Tease]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]
Coming up tonight in sports, UVa has a new athletic director who isn't really new at all. And the Express has some new affiliations for the upcoming season.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
And we'll try to make some sense of the complicated Earnhardt Investigation findings that were announced this afternoon in Atlanta.
(------------)

[S-Dale]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=SP-103 3530TC]
[GRAPHIC=DALE INVESTIGATION]

It's been over 7 months since Dale Earnhardt died at Daytona. This afternoon NASCAR released its findings of a six month investigation that included everything from a re-creation of the crash to an explanation of the global positioning of Earnhardt's body in the car.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Atlanta, GA; :00]
A barrage of detailed and often too technical findings were presented during a news conference in Atlanta that lasted nearly two hours. During the question and answer session - one of the chief experts admitted that no one thing killed Dale Earnhardt.

(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q="it would certainly...]
[SUPER=01-Dr. James Raddin/NASCAR Investigation Principle; :00]
[RUNS=:13]
[OUT Q=...THIS RESULT]
(------------)
[VO-NAT CON'T]

Dr. Raddin and the others confirmed that Earnhardt's seat belt did break on impact with the wall and that his entire belt system was not installed the way the manufacturer recommended.
He concluded Earnhardt's life could have been spared - but ---
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=THERE IS...]
[RUNS=:13]
[OUT Q=...IN OTHER CRASHES."]
(------------)
[vo nat con't] As far as other crashes that will occur in the future - NASCAR says starting next year it will install black boxes inside the cars to collect crash data. NASCAR also will have a full-time doctor travel with the circuit, but not a full-time medical staff as the drivers had wanted. Also, NASCAR says it will NOT make head and neck restraint devices mandatory.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=THE...]
[SUPER=01-Mike Helton/NASCAR President; :03]
[RUNS=:14]
[OUT Q=...BAD OUTCOME TO IT."]
(--------------)
[ANCHOR=MIKE]
[GRAPHIC=DALE INVESTIGATE]
In short, it is a dangerous sport. And if you play with fire - sometime even the best will get burned.

[S-UVA]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=SP-104 3454TC]
[GRAPHIC=VIRGINIA]
In Charlottesville there was also a flurry of activity this afternoon.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Charlottesville; :00]
Craig Littlepage had the interim tag taken off of his job title as he was named the school's full-time athletic director. Littlepage, who is 50 years old, has been a part of the UVa athletic administration for over a decade, much of the time as Terry Holland's right hand man.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=I FEEL AS THOUGH...]
[SUPER=01-Craig Littlepage/Named UVa Athletic Director; :00]
[RUNS=:29]
[OUT Q=...THE UNIVERSITY."]
(------------)

[S-Express]

[ANCHOR=mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=sma]
[TAPE#=SP-99 33:40]
[GRAPHIC=Express]
This afternoon, the Express announced the franchise's new, AHL affiliation, a partnership that now links Roanoke to the Stanley cup. Steve Mason explains.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=first audio]
[SUPER=@Steve1; :00]
[SUPER=01-Perry Florio/Express Head Coach; :28]
[SUPER=01-Mike Lonchar/Express Owner; 1:10]
[RUNS=1:42]
[OUT Q=....news 7 sports"]
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