WDBJ 7 morning news AM cutins for 03/28/02

[7Wx-Headline]

[ANCHOR=Kim]

[NEWSCAST=Cut-ins]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=Mornin' Report]

Good morning, I'm Kimberly McBroom......
A chilly start this morning- but this afternoon, sunshine will warm temperatures up into the 50s.
Meterologist Leo Hirsbrunner has your forecast coming up in just a few minutes.

[7-VOB-Tire-Fire]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutin]
[WRITER=tha]
[TAPE#=02-]
[GRAPHIC=Tire Fire]
The tire dump fire is still going on in Roanoke County. Firefighters and the federal government are now working together to clean it up.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.;]
Yesterday the Environmental Protection Agency got a civil warrant that allows them on the property for the next 90- days to begin work. The owner of the tire dump says he won't keep the E-P-A off his land. Willie Keeling also says he did NOT set fire to his property.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=I'm some ]
(/////sot////)
[sot 00:05:24]
[IN Q= I'M 70]
((I'M 70-SOME YEARS OLD, I DONE HAD A HEART ATTACK AND THREE STROKES. I CAN'T EVEN WALK ON A STEEP BANK. HOW COULD I SET A FIRE? IF I SET A FIRE IT WOULD BURN ME UP BEFORE I COULD GET OUT OF THE WAY OF IT.))
[SUPER=01-Willie Keeling/Property Owner; :00]
[RUNS=17]
[OUT Q= way of it.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Fire officials say they may release the cause of the fire later today. In the meantime, the tire dump has been declared a Superfund site, which means it's eligible to receive federal funding to help with fire fighting and clean up efforts. The E-P-A has already pledged a half million dollars toward clean up.
(------------)

[7-11Church-Collapse]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=Am Cutin]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=02-13 TC05:35]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Campbell Avenue in Roanoke is safe for motorists again, and has re-opened.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

It had been closed between 8th and 9th Streets since last week.
That's when a basement wall inside Solid Rock Pentecostal Church collapsed.
City officials feared the church could fall into the street.
Workers finished demolishing the structure yesterday.
(------------)

[7-11Shuttle-America]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=Am Cutin]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=02-12 TC25:35]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Starting Monday - people who fly in central Virginia will once again be able to make quick connections to international flights after they leave Lynchburg.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Shuttle America will start providing three daily round trip flights between Philadelphia and the Hill City on April 1st.
The airline is a subsidiary of U-S Airways Express which will also add another daily flight to Pittsburgh.
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg]

It's a boost to an airport that lost its connection with Washington D.C. last year.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 13:56:16]
[IN Q=The loss of service]
((REX HAMMOND/LYNCHBURG CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: THE LOSS OF SERVICE TO DULLES AIRPORT REALLY HURT OUR COMMUNITY, PARTICULARLY OUR INDUSTRY BUSINESS TRAVELERS WHO CONNECT WITH NOT ONLY NATIONAL BUT INTERNATIONAL HUBS. AND AGAIN, THE CONNECTIVITY THAT WE CAN GAIN BY GOING TO PHILADELPHIA WILL HELP REPLACE A LARGE PORTION OF THAT. NOT TOTALLY, BUT WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO WORK TO CLOSE THAT GAP.))
[SUPER=01-Rex Hammond/Lynchburg Chamber of Commerce]
[RUNS=24]
[OUT Q=close that gap.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The new flights will increase Lynchburg's daily seat capacity by 43 percent.. bringing it to about the level it was before September 11th.
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[45-VOB-Tire-Fire]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Am Cutin]
[WRITER=tha]
[TAPE#=02-]
[GRAPHIC=Tire Fire]
The federal government has taken the necessary legal steps that allow them to join in the fire fighting efforts and clean up at the tire dump, which is still burning in Roanoke County.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.;]
Yesterday the Environmental Protection Agency got a civil warrant that allows them on the property for the next 90- days to begin work. The owner of the tire dump says he won't keep the E-P-A off his land. Willie Keeling also says he did NOT set fire to his property.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=I'm some ]
(/////sot////)
[sot 00:05:24]
[IN Q= I'M 70]
((I'M 70-SOME YEARS OLD, I DONE HAD A HEART ATTACK AND THREE STROKES. I CAN'T EVEN WALK ON A STEEP BANK. HOW COULD I SET A FIRE? IF I SET A FIRE IT WOULD BURN ME UP BEFORE I COULD GET OUT OF THE WAY OF IT.))
[SUPER=01-Willie Keeling/Property Owner; :00]
[RUNS=17]
[OUT Q= way of it.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Fire officials say they may release the cause of the fire later today. In the meantime, the tire dump has been declared a Superfund site, which means it's eligible to receive federal funding to help with fire fighting and clean up efforts. The E-P-A has already pledged a half million dollars toward clean up.
(------------)

[45-VA-Website]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutin]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=VA Seal]
There is a new website that Virginians should check out if they want to know more about the state government.
Governor Mark Warner has announced a new site called ``Report of the Secretary of the Commonwealth.'' Some of the things you'll find on the site are listings of elected officials, state agencies, local governments and general information about the state.
(++++++++++)
[TAKE FS WEBSITE INFO] The Web site can be found at www-dot-commonwealth-dot-state--dot-va-us-slash-report-dot-htm.
(++++++++++)

[45-11Framatome]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AM cutin]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=Framatome]
Lynchburg-based (FRAM- atome) Framatome is growing.
It has nearly a billion dollars in new business coming in, and now says it needs to train more workers in the high-tech field of nuclear maintenance.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg]

So the company's spending more than three million dollars to build a 27- thousand square foot training center at its Hill City plant.
The building will house classrooms, office space and full-scale mockups of equipment found in most nuclear power plants.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 9:40:25]
[IN Q=Our product is]
((TOM CHRISTOPHER/FRAMATOME PRESIDENT: OUR PRODUCT IS SKILLED PEOPLE IN THE FIELD. WE TAKE THE SHIPYARD TO THE SHIP, IF YOU WILL, WE GO TO THESE NUCLEAR PLANTS AND KIND OF TAKE OVER IN THE OUTAGE SEASONS, AND IF WE'RE GOING TO GROW THAT WAY, WE NEED THE SKILLED PEOPLE.))
[SUPER=01-Tom Christopher/Framatome President]
[RUNS=12]
[OUT Q=the skilled people.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Framatome is partnering with Central Virginia Community College to offer 30 annual scholarships to students who want to study and train in the nuclear maintenance field.
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[8-11Clower]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutin]
[WRITER=jmi]
[TAPE#=01-61 TC1:29:56]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Virginia State Police are investigating county officials in Henry County- they feel county funds may have been embezzled.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Henry Co.]

Investigators searched administrator Sid Clower's office Tuesday morning -- removing the hard drive from his computer, a copy of the county's budget and some miscellaneous files.
A hard drive from the Public Service Authority was also removed -- Clower ran that division from 1991 to 1996.
While State Police were searching his office, Henry County deputies found Clower in some woods behind the county administration building.
He was committed to a mental hospital after apparently threatening to kill himself with a handgun.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Budget process]
((TIM HALL/HENRY CO. SPOKESMAN: BUDGET PROCESS, IT ALWAYS IS DIFFICULT IN THE BEST OF TIMES. PEOPLE KNOW THE ECONOMIC SITUATION DOWN HERE. PLUS YOU THROW THIS INTO THE MIX.. IT'S GOING TO BE A TOUGH TIME.))
[SUPER=01-Tim Hall/Henry Co. Spokesman]
[RUNS=09]
[OUT Q=tough time.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Clower's wife issued this statement yesterday, "I would like to thank everyone for their prayers and expressions of concern for Sid and our family. Please continue to pray for us. The love and concern the community has shown us is greatly appreciated."
(------------)

[8-11Second-Harvest]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutin]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=02-]
[GRAPHIC=none]
A program that was designed to boost contributions to a local non-profit organization has now run into an unexpected outcome - as a result - the agency is now offering refunds to some of its donors.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

The Southwestern Virginia Second Harvest Food Bank had encouraged contributors to take advantage of the Virginia Neighborhood Assistance Program, a state initiative that offered individuals a tax credit of up to 200 dollars.
Officials say the response exceeded their expectations, and the food bank's 54- thousand dollar allotment. As a result, abut 200 contributors will not receive the tax break.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=We have no legal obligation]
((JIM PEARMAN/FOOD BANK CHAIRMAN: WE HAVE NO LEGAL OBLIGATION TO RETURN THE MONEY. IT WAS A DONATION. LEGALLY WE WOULD BE ENTITLED TO KEEP IT, BUT WE DIDN'T THINK THAT WOULD BE GOOD CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP, OR THE WAY WE WANT TO RUN THE FOOD BANK.))
[SUPER=01-Jim Pearman/Food Bank Chairman;]
[RUNS=:17]
[OUT Q=run the food bank.]
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Contributors can still receive a charitable deduction for their gifts, and Food Bank officials are hopeful that most will not request refunds.
Letters went out last week, and so far a handful of donors have asked the Food Bank to return the money.[8-VA-W

ebsite]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=Am Cutin]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=VA Seal]

Virginians who want to know more about state government can log onto a new website. Governor Mark Warner has announced a new internet site called ``Report of the Secretary of the Commonwealth.'' Among the things you'll find on the site are listings of elected officials, state agencies, local governments and general information about the state.
(++++++++++)
[TAKE FS WEBSITE INFO] The Web site can be found at www-dot-commonwealth-dot-state--dot-va-us-slash-report-dot-htm.
(++++++++++)