WDBJ 7 morning news AM cutins for 03/29/02

[7-11Tire-Fire]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

[NEWSCAST=AM Cutin]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=02-09 TC51:57]
[GRAPHIC=Tire Fire]
Arson has been declared the cause of the tire fire in Roanoke County.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.;]

Fire investigators ruled out the possibility that a passing train sparked the fire because it started FAR from the railroad tracks. They believe the train passed through AFTER the fire started.
Fire Marshal Don Gillispie says fires were set in two separate spots along a gravel road.
It only took minutes for winds to blow the flames up the bank, over the the tire tracks and into a pile of tires.

(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 12:07:02 - :09]
[IN Q=We feel]
((DON GILLISPIE/FIRE MARSHAL: WE FEEL THAT THE FIRE WAS SET BY SOMEBODY THAT HAD VERY GOOD KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT THE FIRE WOULD DO AND WHAT IT WOULD DO AT THE POINT WHERE THEY SET IT.))
[SUPER=01-Don Gillispie/Roanoke Co. Fire Marshal;]
[RUNS=:07]
[OUT Q=where they set it.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Gillispie says he has NO suspects ... and he says no one saw who set the fire.
But he has NOT ruled out the tire dump's owner Willie Keeling.
Keeling told News-7 that he had nothing to do with it.
(------------)

[7-11EPA]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Am Cutin]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=02-07 TC51:50]
[GRAPHIC=HOLD]
Getting outside assistance to help fight the tire fire could be a financial blessing for Roanoke County. Roanoke County and the State Department of Environmental Quality had a deal with Keeling to clean up his property over the next couple of years.
But that would have come with a large pricetag.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.]
Now the feds have stepped in and pledged half a million dollars from the E-P-A Superfund to clean up the Keeling dump.
Federal funds may ultimately pay for the whole thing, since Keeling doesn't seem to have any money and we all know how thinly state and local budgets are being stretched.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 2:09:30]
[IN Q=Mr. Keeling has]
((PAUL MAHONEY/ROANOKE CO ATTORNEY; MR. KEELING HAS JUST GONE THROUGH BANKRUPTCY. HE DOES NOT HAVE ANY OTHER ASSETS THAT I'M AWARE OF, THAT THE BANKRUPTCY COURT IS AWARE OF. THE ONLY ASSET THAT'S LEFT IS THE LAND.))
[SUPER=01-Paul Mahoney/Roanoke Co. Attorney;]
[RUNS=07]
[OUT Q=that's left is the land.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
The federal government has the power to seize Keeling's property to help pay for the clean-up, though that's a slim prospect.
(------------)

[7-11Republican-Investigation]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutin]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=Republican Party]

State Police are investigating a high-ranking official within the Republican Party of Virginia.
The investigation surrounds alleged eaves-dropping and possible taping of a conference call between Democratic lawmakers and Governor Mark Warner.
The Attorney General's office confirmed it received information earlier this week about possible misconduct regarding the taping of a phone conversation.
It also said the investigation is being handled by the State Police and the Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney.
According to a government source, no charges have been placed and the Republican party is cooperating.
When reached for comment, a spokeswoman for Warner said the Governor has been informed of the investigation, but has no comment because it's a pending criminal matter.

[45-11Henry-Board]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutin]
[WRITER=jmi]
[TAPE#=02-18 TC07:44]
[GRAPHIC=None]

State police are continuing to investigate Henry County's finances - as the county administrator remains suspended with pay.
Yesterday, officials temporarily removed Sid Clower from both his county administration job AND his position as water authority director.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Henry Co.]

The Board of Supervisors and the Public Service Authority Board said their action was no reflection on Clower himself -- but was necessary for the county to carry on its day to day business.
Deputy administrator Benny Summerlin will stand in for Clower until they figure out whether county funds were embezzled.
The county says the decision to suspend Clower was difficult .
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=he's had a ]
((MIKE SEIDLE: HE'S HAD A PROFOUND IMPACT ON HENRY COUNTY, HIS LEADERSHIP HAS HELPED THE COUNTY TACKLE MANY COMPLEX ISSUES. HE IS ADMIRED BY ALL WHO WORKED WITH HIM AND IT IS MY PLEASURE TO BE IN WITH THAT GROUP.))
[SUPER=01-Mike Seidle/Henry Co. Supervisor]
[RUNS=14]
[OUT Q=that group.]
(------------)
[ANCHOR=KIM]
[SS=None]

Clower's assistant at the PSA -- Rosemary Pace -- was also suspended with pay.
She was in charge of billing, payroll and invoices for the last six years.

[45-11Quilt]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutin]
[WRITER=syo]
[TAPE#=02-10 TC27:29]
[GRAPHIC=America Responds]
A local woman is using her fingers to help ease the pain of families who lost their loved ones on September eleventh.

(------------)
[VO-NAT :29]
[SUPER=03-Franklin Co.;]
Carol Mesimer (MEE-simmer) says she was compelled to start work on a memorial quilt while watching the terrorist attacks unfold on television. "Remember Me" encompasses the Statue of Liberty, the New York city skyline, parts of the Pennsylvania landscape and ghost images of the World Trade Center Towers. A second panel complete with swatches labeled with the names of the more than 3-thousand victims, will be added to complete the quilt's pentagon shape. Mesimer hopes to finish the piece in a week or two.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 16:06:26-16:06:42]
[IN Q=What happens to the product when I'm done...]
((CAROL MESIMER/QUILTER: WHAT HAPPENS TO THE PRODUCT WHEN I'M DONE I'M NOT SO TERRIBLY CONCERNED ABOUT. I'VE GIVEN QUILTS AWAY TO CHARITIES AND FUNDRAISERS AND THINGS BUT... THAT'S NOT THE POINT.))
[SUPER=01-Carol Mesimer/Quilter;]
[RUNS=:16]
[OUT Q=that's not the point.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT :14]
Although she says she would like to see "Remember Me" hang at the International Quilt Show in Houston later this year, Mesimer says she'll probably just have to find more wall space to display the quilt in her home.
(------------)

[8-11EPA]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Am Cutin]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=02-07 TC51:50]
[GRAPHIC=TIRE FIRE]
The help of the federal government in fighting the tire fire could actually save Roanoke County a lot of money. Even though the County and the State Department of Environmental Quality had a deal with Keeling to clean up his property over the next three to six years- -it would have taken a huge sum of money.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.]
Now the feds have stepped in and pledged half a million dollars from the E-P-A Superfund to clean up the Keeling dump.
Federal funds may ultimately pay for the whole thing, since Keeling doesn't seem to have any money and we all know how thinly state and local budgets are being stretched.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 2:09:30]
[IN Q=Mr. Keeling has]
((PAUL MAHONEY/ROANOKE CO ATTORNEY; MR. KEELING HAS JUST GONE THROUGH BANKRUPTCY. HE DOES NOT HAVE ANY OTHER ASSETS THAT I'M AWARE OF, THAT THE BANKRUPTCY COURT IS AWARE OF. THE ONLY ASSET THAT'S LEFT IS THE LAND.))
[SUPER=01-Paul Mahoney/Roanoke Co. Attorney;]
[RUNS=07]
[OUT Q=that's left is the land.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
The federal government has the power to seize Keeling's property to help pay for the clean-up, though that's a slim prospect.
(------------)

[8-11Republican-Investigation]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutin]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=Republican Party]

State Police are investigating alleged misconduct of a high-ranking official within the Republican Party of Virginia.
The investigation surrounds alleged eaves-dropping and possible taping of a conference call between Democratic lawmakers and Governor Mark Warner.
The Attorney General's office confirmed it received information earlier this week about possible misconduct regarding the taping of a phone conversation.
It also said the investigation is being handled by the State Police and the Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney.
According to a government source, no charges have been placed and the Republican party is cooperating.
When reached for comment, a spokeswoman for Warner said the Governor has been informed of the investigation, but has no comment because it's a pending criminal matter.

[8-11Falwell]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutin]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=Jerry Falwell]
A law that prohibits churches from incorporating is being challenged by the Reverend Jerry Falwell.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg]

The State Corporation Commission recently denied Thomas Road Baptist Church's request to incorporate.. so Falwell is suing them, claiming the statute is unconstitutional.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 19:28:43]
[IN Q=The government]
((MATHEW STAVER/LIBERTY COUNSEL: THE GOVERNMENT CAN'T GIVE A RIGHT TO SOMEONE AND THEN SAY 'WE'RE NOT GOING TO GIVE THAT SAME RIGHT TO YOU BECAUSE OF YOUR RELIGION, WE'RE NOT GOING TO GIVE THAT SAME RIGHT TO YOU BECAUSE OF YOUR RACE OR BECAUSE OF YOUR GENDER'. THOSE KINDS OF CLASSIFICATIONS BASED ON RACE, RELIGION OR GENDER ARE BLATANTLY UNCONSTITUTIONAL.))
[SUPER=01-Mathew Staver/Liberty Counsel]
[RUNS=15]
[OUT Q=are blatantly unconstitutional.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Virginia and West Virginia are the only states in the country with such a law on the books.
Federal judge Norman K. Moon heard arguments in the case yesterday.
Moon says he'll issue an opinion fairly quickly. (------------)