WDBJ 7 morning news for 03/29/02

[11Tire-Fire]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

[NEWSCAST=Mornin']
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=02-09 TC51:57]
[GRAPHIC=Tire Fire]

The fire marshal says the massive tire fire in Roanoke County was arson.
(------------)
[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 train 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.
(------------)

[11EPA]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin']
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=02-07 TC51:50]
[GRAPHIC=HOLD]
The county could actually benefit from the fire, financially. Even though Roanoke 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 lot of money.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.]
Now the feds have stepped in and pledged a half 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.
(------------)

[11Henry-Board]

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

Henry County's administrator is suspended with pay as state police continue to look into the county's finances-

Yesterday, officials temporarily removed Sid Clower from his county administration job AND from 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.

[Mid-East]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=none]

In international news--
The gloves have come off in the Middle East.
Israeli tanks shelled the West Bank headquarters of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, and declared the area 'The Capital of Terror.'
Melissa McDermott reports.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=more than]
[SUPER=03-Ramallah, West Bank; :00]
[SUPER=01-Ariel Sharon/Israeli Prime Minister; :38 - QUICK]
[SUPER=01-Melissa McDermott/Reporting; 1:03]
[RUNS=1:16]
[OUT Q=McDermott, CBS News.]
(( SUPER: RAMALLAH, WEST BANK

(nats..tanks)

MORE THAN 30 TANKS ROLLED INTO RAMALLAH. TAKING AIM AT THE WEST BANK HEADQUARTERS OF PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT YASSER ARAFAT. TROOPS SMASHED THEIR WAY INTO HIS PRESIDENTIAL COMPOUND. INSIDE, ISRAELI SOLDIERS HAD A RUNNING GUN BATTLE WITH ARAFAT'S BODYGUARDS. CBS' KIMBERLY DOZIER WAS RIGHT OUTSIDE THE COMPOUND.

DOZIER/SOT ("We wait til' the tanks turn away from us before we move
down the road, we are the only thing moving down the road. Last time they moved into Ramallah, they went house to house looking for militants, it appears that's what they'll do this time.")

(nats..sharon)
PRIME MINISTER ARIEL SHARON PROMISED, THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING.

(SOT/SHARON - "Chairman Arafat is the enemy")
SUPER: ARIEL SHARON/ISRAEL'S PRIME MINISTER EBU-IBA material
CONVENING HIS CABINET IN EMERGENCY SESSION, SHARON BLAMED ARAFAT PERSONALLY FOR TWO BLOODY ATTACKS IN TWO DAYS. THE SUICIDE BOMBING THAT KILLED 20 GUESTS WEDNESDAY AT A PASSOVER DINNER. AND THE SHOOTING AT A JEWISH SETTLEMENT THURSDAY, IN WHICH FOUR ISRAELI'S DIED.

(nats... Arafat)
ARAFAT CONDEMNED THE RAID, SAYING THE PALESTINIANS WOULD NEVER GIVE UP THEIR FIGHT FOR AN INDEPENDENT STATE. ISRAEL IS JUST AS DEFIANT -- ORDERING UP MILITARY RESERVES, IN AN INTENSE EFFORT TO PURSUE THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY, AND ALL OF ITS TERRITORY. MELISSA MCDERMOTT, CBS NEWS.

))[Marketwatch]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=chr]
[TAPE#=NET]
[GRAPHIC=Business News]

In business news,
Stocks closed out the first quarter with a mixed performance in low volume ahead of the long holiday weekend.
Alexis Christoforous has that story and more in this morning's Marketwatch.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=No Action on]
[SUPER=01-Alexis Christoforous/Reporting; :00]
[RUNS=1:42]
[OUT Q=your local stocks]
((NO ACTION ON WALL STREET TODAY BECAUSE OF THE GOOD FRIDAY HOLIDAY..
BUT INVESTORS WILL LIKELY NEED THE LONG HOLIDAY WEEKEND TO GEAR UP FOR THE START OF FIRST QTR EARNINGS REPORTS NEXT WEEK.
IN THE FINAL TRADING SESSION OF THE WEEK AND THE QUARTER, STOCKS FINISHED MIXED IN VERY LIGHT TRADING.

(gr)
THE DOW FELL BACK NEARLY 23 POINTS

(gr)
BUT THE NASDAQ PULLED OUT A GAIN OF 18.

(gr)
THE PROPOSED MERGER BETWEEN HEWLETT PACKARD AND COMPAQ COMPUTER HAS HIT ANOTHER ROADBLOCK. WALTER HEWLETT IS SUING H-P ON BEHALF OF HIS FAMILY TRUST. HE'S ACCUSING H-P OF UNFAIRLY SOLICTING VOTES IN THE FINAL MINUTES OF THE PROXY FIGHT TO DECIDE THE FATE OF THE MERGER.

(gr)
KEEP YOUR EYE ON FEDERATED DEPT STORES IN THE NEXT SESSION, THE OWNER OF MACY'S AND BLOOMINDALE'S IS LOOKING TO SELL ITS FINGERHUT ASSETS AND FIRE 33-HUNDRED FINGERHUT EMPLOYEES.

(oc)
THE MARKETS MAY HAVE THE DAY OFF, BUT THERE IS STILL SOME ECONOMIC DATA.. LATER TODAY, WE GET NUMBERS ON FEBRUARY PERSONAL INCOME AND SPENDING...NEXT WEEK A FULL PLATE OF REPORTS INCLUDING CONSTRUCTION SPENDING, FACTORY ORDERS AND THE MARCH UNEMPLOYMENT RATE.

(oc)
IF YOU'RE LOOKING TO BUY A HOME OR REFINANCE, YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT MORTGAGE RATES ARE CREEPING HIGHER.

(gr)
THE AVERAGE RATE ON A 30 YER MORTAGE STANDS AT 7.18 PERCENT THIS WEEK, A YEAR AGO, RATES AVERAGED 6.91 PERCENT.

(oc)
AND PEPSI HAS SCORED A TOUCHDOWN WITH THE N-F-L. THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE HAS DROPPED COKE AND CHOSEN PEPSI AS LEAGUE'S OFFICIAL SOFT DRINK. EARLIER THIS WEEK, COORS BECAME THE OFFICIAL BEER OF THE N-F-L GAMES.

(gr)
TRACK ALL THE PRE-MARKET ACTION AT CBS.MW.COM ...

(oc)
AT THE NASDAQ I'M AC, NOW HERE'S A LOOK AT YOUR LOCAL STOCKS.))

(tape tosses to stocks)
[STOCKS] [COMM]

[11I-81]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin']
[WRITER=jus]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=I-81 Safety]
[ANCHOR TAG!!!!!]
It's an idea that's gaining speed.
A company called Star Solutions has come up with a proposal to widen Interstate 81.
But the project would take more than fifteen years, and many feel safety improvements are needed now.
That was the subject of a community forum held last night in Roanoke.
Justin McLeod has more.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.; :00]
[SUPER=01-Tim Shepard/Howell's Motor Freight; :16]
[SUPER=01-Jim Mills/Star Solutions; :37]
[SUPER=01-Charles Compton/Virginia State Police; 1:06]
[SUPER=@goodlatte; 1:23]
[SUPER=@justin2; :]
[RUNS=1:40]
[OUT Q=JM, News 7, Roanoke]
((((NAT SOUND OF CARS DRIVING BY ON I-81))
Most who have driven on I-81 agrees improvements are needed.
A company called Star Solutions believes separate lanes for cars and trucks is the answer.
But the trucking industry says not so fast.
[SOT 21:39:29; TAPE 1]
[IN Q=We do believe]
((TIM SHEPARD/HOWELL'S MOTOR FREIGHT: WE DO BELIEVE THE PROPOSED SOLUTION TO FIX 81 WILL ACTUALLY HAVE A DETRIMENTAL EFFECT ON THE SAFETY OF THAT ROADWAY.)) [Runs09]
[OUT Q=that roadway]

Truckers argue separate lanes would be unsafe because they would have to cross at least two lanes to exit the highway.
Star Solutions disagrees saying most truckers here in Virginia are just passing through.
[SOT 1:56:57; TAPE 2]
[IN Q=Right at the moment]
((JIM MILLS/STAR SOLUTIONS: RIGHT AT THE MOMENT, I AM NOT LOOKING AT MUCH IF ANY TRUCK WEAVES ACROSS THAT CAR TRAFFIC.)) [Runs06]
[OUT Q=that car traffic]

Regardless of who's right, the plan would take nearly twenty years to complete.
That's why the second half of this forum concentrated on ways to improve safety now.
V-Dot plans to install more guardrails and rumble strips along I-81.
The State Police will also add more patrols in the air and on the ground.
Increased patrols began in 1999 and troopers say it's already working.
[SOT 22:04:34; TAPE 1]
[IN Q=In just the saturated]
((CAPT. CHARLES COMPTON/VA STATE POLICE: IN JUST THE SATURATED PATROLS WE HAVE ISSUED OVER 78,000 SUMMONS AND ARRESTS.)) [Runs04]
[OUT Q=summons and arrests]

There's also another solution that is gathering steam.
Area politicians believe improving the railroad along I-81 will reduce the need for trucks on the roads.
[SOT 2:01:25]
[IN Q=If you got]
((REP. BOB GOODLATTE: IF YOU GOT TEN TO TWENTY PERCENT OF THE TRUCKS OFF OF INTERSTATE 81 IT WILL BE THAT MUCH SAFER FOR THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE TO USE IT.)) [Runs06]
[OUT Q=who have to use it]

And the people who use I-81 also have a responsibility.
State Police say motorists need to slow down and more need to use their seatbelts.
Justin McLeod, News 7, Roanoke.))
(-----------)
[ANCHOR =Kim]
[SS=hold]

As for when Star Solutions could begin widen I-81, that would come in 2004.
But first, V-Dot must approve the project. That decision is not expected until this summer.

[11Quilt]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin']
[WRITER=syo]
[TAPE#=02-10 TC27:29]
[GRAPHIC=America Responds]

A local quilter is using her talents to help mend the wound America suffered September eleventh.
(------------)
[VO-NAT :29]
[SUPER=03-Franklin Co.;]
Carol (MEE-simmer) Mesimer 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. (MEE-simmer) 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, (MEE-simmer) Mesimer says she'll probably just have to find more wall space to display the quilt in her home.
(------------)

[BUMP] [COMM]

[Billy-Wilder]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=NET]
[GRAPHIC=NONE]

Oscar- winning filmmaker Billy Wilder has died at the age of 95.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Wilder directed some of America's most famous films, including "Sunset Boulevard" and "Some Like It Hot"-- which the American Film Institute ranked as the funniest American movie ever made.
He received 20 Academy Award nominations and WON six Oscars.
Wilder died at his home in Beverly Hills late Wednesday night.
He'd been suffering from pneumonia.
Yesterday, flowers were placed near his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
(------------)

[1st-Business]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=ckor]
[TAPE#=NET]
[GRAPHIC=Business News]

In business news this morning,
The I-R-S is extending the deadline for charity -
Here's Trish McShane with a look at the morning's top business stories..
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Good Morning]
[SUPER=01-Trish McShane/Reporting; :00]
[RUNS=1:20]
[OUT Q=in Washington.]
(( GOOD MORNING THIS FRIDAY THE 29th OF MARCH.
HERE'S WHAT'S HAPPENING THIS MORNING.
--------------------------

IT'S NOT OVER UNTIL THE FOUNDER'S SON SINGS.
WALTER HEWLETT IS GOING TO COURT NOW... THE LATEST IN HIS BID TO STOP THE MERGER OF HEWLETT PACKARD AND COMPAQ.
SHAREHOLDERS OF BOTH COMPANIES SEEMED TO HAVE APPROVED THE MERGER LAST WEEK.. BUT BEFORE ALL THE VOTES ARE COUNTED AND THAT RESULT IS OFFICIAL... HEWLETT HAS STARTED A COURT CASE THAT COULD BRING ABOUT A SECOND VOTE. HE SAYS THE COMPANY ENGAGED IN A SERIES OF DECEPTIONS IN THEIR LOBBYING CAMPAIGN IN FAVOR OF THE MERGER.
THE COMPANY SAYS IT WILL FIGHT BACK, AND PRESS ON WITH MERGER PLANS, AWAITING THE OFFICIAL TALLY IN THE VALLEY.
--------------------------

ACCOUNTING GIANT ARTHUR ANDERSEN COULD BE DROPPING THE AX ON THOUSANDS OF JOBS.
NO NUMBERS YET- BUT SOME REPORTS SAY 6-THOUSAND COULD GO.
MEANWHILE, THERE ARE REPORTS THAT MOST OF ANDERSEN'S TOP BRASS SUPPORTS A TAKEOVER PLAN THAT WOULD CEDE CONTROL OF THE COMPANY TO FORMER TREASURY SECRETARY PAUL VOLCKER, THE COMPANY'S IN-HOUSE REFORMER CONSULTANT.
--------------------------

THE I-R-S IS CHANGING A DEADLINE BECAUSE OF ALL THE SUPPORT GIVEN AFTER 9-11.
YOU NOW HAVE UNTIL OCTOBER TO DOCUMENT YOUR CHARITABLE DEDUCTIONS... .
FILING DAY HOWEVER IS STILL ONLY 18 DAYS AWAY.
--------------------------

AND THAT'S YOUR FIRST BUSINESS CHECK ON THE MORNING'S TOP BUSINESS HAPPENINGS..
I'M TRISH MCSHANE IN WASHINGTON. ))

(tape tosses to stocks)
[STOCKS] [COMM]

[11Falwell]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin']
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=02-]
[GRAPHIC=Jerry Falwell]

The Reverend Jerry Falwell continues to challenge a centuries-old Virginia law that prohibits churches from incorporating.
(------------)
[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.
(------------)

[5-Cancer]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin']
[WRITER=jsu]
[TAPE#=502-04 2:25]
[GRAPHIC=Mornin' Health Check]
[ANCHOR TAG***] Students at James River High School are doing everything they can for a classmate in need.
As Health Check reporter Joy Sutton tells us, the kids are raising money by selling beef jerky and holding a dance-a-thon.
They're hoping to help Erastus Hylton pay for chemotherapy and other medications he needs to beat testicular cancer.

(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Erastus Hylton is still mister]
[SUPER=03-Buchanan;00]
[SUPER=01-Megan Bass/James River Student; :15]
[SUPER=01-Myra Bankert/James River Student; :24]
[SUPER=01-Erastus Hylton/James River Student; :42]
[SUPER=01-Dana McCaleb/Teacher; :55]
[RUNS=1:21]
[OUT Q=for N7 Mornin']
((
Erastus Hylton is still mister popularity at James River High School even though he hasn't been at school for the past few months.
That's because many of his classmates say he's an inspiration --a 16 year old whose battling cancer --without letting it get him down.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT1:53:04]
[IN Q=Everybody like, "Erastus"]
((MEGAN BASS: EVERYBODY IS LIKE "ERASTUS? THEY ALL WANT TO TALK TO HIM GIVE HIM A HUG AND SEE HOW HE'S DOING. HE GETS ASKED THE SAME QUESTIONS ABOUT 10 TIMES BUT HE STILL HAS A SMILE ON HIS FACE)) [RUNS09]
[OUT Q=smile on his face]
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT1:51:21]
[IN Q=He's going through a lot and]
((MYRA BANKERT:HE'S GOING THROUGH A LOT AND EVERYBODY SEES THIS AND IT'S JUST GREAT. THE WAY HE'S ACTED IT'S EXCELLENT)) [RUNS07]
[OUT Q=acted it's excellent]

And it's his courage that inspired the student body to start a fundraising campaign for him.
Over the past few months the students have raised 56-hundred dollars to help pay for his chemotherapy and other medical expenses.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT1:47:14]
[IN Q=It kind of took me off guard]
((ERASTUS HYLTON:IT KIND OF TOOK ME OFF GUARD. I KNEW SOME OF THEM WOULD DO SOMETHING BUT NOT TO THE EXTENT THEY'VE DONE SO FAR. ESPECIALLY RAISING ALL THE MONEY THEY DID THAT'S A LOT FOR A SMALL SCHOOL LIKE THIS)) [RUNS14]
[OUT Q=school like this]
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT1:55:02]
[IN Q=I just think it shows]
((I JUST THINK IT SHOWS HOW YOUNG PEOPLE REALLY DO CARE --YOU HEAR SO MANY NEGATIVE THINGS AND THIS IS VERY POSITIVE ))
[RUNS07]
[OUT Q=this is very positive]

Hylton still has one round of chemotherapy left and if everything goes well, he could be back at school this year.

(///// SOT /////)
[SOT1:46:05]
[IN Q=It really never set in that]
((IT REALLY NEVER SET IN THAT I HAD CANCER IN THE FIRST PLACE. SO SAYING I DON'T HAVE CANCER IS JUST DON'T MEAN THAT MUCH. I'LL BE GLAD TO GET IT OVER WITH AND COME BACK TO SCHOOL AND SEE EVERYBODY)) [RUNS11]
[OUT Q=and see everybody]
I'm Joy Sutton for News 7 Mornin'))
(--------------)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[graphic=none]

Students says they will continue to raise money for Hylton. Tonight there will be another dance at the Buchanan Moose Lodge.

[KIM TOSS TO STEVE][3-11Henry-Board]

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

Henry County's administrator is suspended with pay as state police continue to look into the county's finances-