WDBJ 7 morning news AM cutins for 04/30/02

[7-11CMI]

[ANCHOR=Kim]

[NEWSCAST=Am Cutins]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=02-13 TC31:41]
[GRAPHIC=none]
A new owner will be taking charge of the C-M-I Industries plant in Stuart, and the plant will remain in operation there.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Stuart/Sunday]

Late yesterday, the plant announced it had been bought by Narroflex Incorporated.
According to a company press release, work will continue un-interrupted at the Stuart plant, which will be known as the United Elastic Plant.
All of the 300-or-so current employees will be kept on.
Narroflex is a Canadian company with plants in Graham, North Carolina and Ontario.
(------------)

[7-11Campaign-Spending]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutin]
[WRITER=tha]
[TAPE#=02-15]
[GRAPHIC=None]
The latest campaign finance reports came in from eight Roanoke City Council candidates yesterday.
(-------------)
[VO-NAT]
Figures show Rupert Cutler is the biggest fundraiser and spender... having raised a little more than 33- thousand dollars. He's followed by Jack Parrott-- who's raised a little more than 27- thousand dollars. Alfred Dowe, Mark Hurley and Nelson Harris have each raised more than 12-thousand dollars. Steve Mabry, Don Hogan and write- in candidate Angela Norman round out the list. Norman has raised just 500- dollars-- but has spent nearly eight thousand dollars in her quest for election.
(------------)
[anchor=Kimberly]
[ss=None]
Doug Troutt missed yesterday's deadline to turn in his information.

[7-11Trigon]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutin]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=net]
[Graphic=None]
A big name among Virginia's health providers is being bought out by an Indiana company.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Anthem Incorporated will spend more than four Billion dollars to buy Trigon Healthcare.
Under the agreement, Trigon's shareholders will receive 30 dollars in cash and just over one share of Anthem common stock per Trigon share.
The merger would create the nation's fourth-largest managed-care health insurance company.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[SS=None]

Company officials say they hope to close the deal by October.
It must be approved by state and federal regulators and shareholders.

[7-11Seat-Belts]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutin]
[WRITER=rca]
[TAPE#=02-09 TC1:19:10]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Authorities in Virginia are warning citizens to Buckle Up Now.
(------------)
[VO-NAT :16]
[SUPER=03-Christiansburg;]
That's the name of a seat belt program happening in the month of May. Officers will be stepping up enforcement of safety belt laws and putting out educational messages on how buckling up can save lives. Over 20-jurisdictions along Interstate-81 are participating.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 10:30:48 // 10:29:08]
[IN Q=because on]
((DOUGLAS MARRS/MONTGOMERY CO. SHERIFF; BECAUSE ON INTERSTATE 81 YOU KNOW THE DANGERS THAT WE HAVE OUT THERE RIGHT NOW AND WITH THE TRAFFIC PROBLEMS WE CAN'T AFFORD NOT TO HAVE OUR CHILDREN IN SEAT BELTS I MEAN IN THE CHILD SAFETY SEATS AND THE PARENTS IN SEAT BELTS.)) ((BILL BROWN/BLACKSBURG POLICE CHIEF; PROBABLY 97-PERCENT OF THE PEOPLE THAT I'VE SEEN SERIOUSLY INJURED OR KILLED WOULD HAVE BEEN HERE TO DAY OR NOT HAVE SUCH SEVERE INJURIES IF THEY HAD THE SAFETY BELT ON.))
[SUPER=01-Douglas Marrs/Montgomery Co. Sheriff; :00]
[SUPER=01-Bill Brown/Blacksburg Police Chief; :14]
[RUNS=:20]
[OUT Q=SAFETY BELT ON.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Officials say 72-percent of Virginians use seat belts. They would like Buckle Up Now to increase that number to around 80-percent. Lynchburg launched a similar program in 2000 - officials say usage jumped more than 10-percent.
(------------)

[45-11Bedford-Storm]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutin]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=02-06 TC1:36:00]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Central Virginia is still cleaning up debris from Sunday's tornado.
It first hit the city of Bedford. The storm destroyed three businesses, damaged 58 other businesses and 25 homes.
But many in the city feel lucky that no one was killed or seriously injured.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Bedford]

Plunkett Street had the worst damage.
A warehouse was reduced to rubble. Several buildings lost their roofs. And a cinderblock wall in Bob McKinney's Auto Repair Shop crumbled a few minutes after he left the building.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 1:00:03]
[IN Q=I'm just thankful]
((BOB MCKINNEY/AUTO REPAIR SHOP OWNER; I'M JUST THANKFUL IT WAS MY BUSINESS AND NOT MY HOME. AND AS FAR AS WE KNOW, NOBODY WAS INJURED. WE'RE STILL HERE. WE'LL SCRATCH UP A DOLLAR, TWO NINETY EIGHT AND WE'LL FIX THE OLD JOINT BACK UP.))

[SUPER=01-Bob McKinney/Auto Repair Shop Owner;]
[RUNS=:13]
[OUT Q=fix the old joint back up.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Damage was widespread, though less serious in other parts of downtown Bedford.
Repairs are under way, but some businesses and homeowners will be feeling the impact of the storm for months to come.
(------------)

[45-11Red-Cross]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=Am Cutin]
[WRITER=ejo]
[TAPE#=none]
[SS=None]

The Bedford County Red Cross is offering help to the victims of Sunday tornadoes.
(+++++++)
[TAKE PINNACLE FS]
Anyone who needs assistance can call the Bedford County Chapter at 540-586-7792.
(------------)

[45-11L'burg-Storm]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutin]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=02-08 TC1:35:40]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Ten people were injured during the storm in Campbell County Sunday night, but none of the injuries was life threatening.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Campbell Co.]

Dozens more came through without a scratch.. even as their homes were falling down around them.
Jennifer Simonton was home with her sister and two children when the skies turned black.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 7:43:32]
[IN Q=We were in]
((JENNIFER SIMONTON/HOMEOWNER: WE WERE IN THE KITCHEN AND WE ALL RAN BACK HERE. AND BY THE TIME WE DID, THE ROOF IN THE LIVING ROOM STARTED COMING OFF AND WE ALL JUST SAT RIGHT HERE BY THE DOORWAY WHERE WE'D BE OUT OF THE WAY OF EVERYTHING.))
[SUPER=01-Jennifer Simonton/Homeowner]
[RUNS=17]
[OUT Q=way of everything.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Members of Simonton's church helped salvage what they could from the couple's home.
Down the road, the Lawyers Missionary Baptist Church was left with just two walls standing.. its congregation is vowing to rebuild.
(------------)

[45-11SCV-Plates]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=Am Cutins]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=02-10 TC58:33]
[GRAPHIC=None]
The Sons of Confederate Veterans are still trying to get their special license plates... complete with the Confederate flag logo.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
A U-S District judge from Danville last year rejected the General Assembly's restriction DIS-allowing the flag on the tag. Yesterday, the Court of Appeals affirmed Judge Jackson Kiser's view.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[SS=None]
The Sons said the purpose of the special plates was to allow individuals to express pride in their heritage. The D-M-V had argued the plates allow the government to express state- approved messages. The Court said they're both wrong; the program is designed to make money. Virginia reaps 4-and a half million dollars a year from special plates.

[8-Henry-Fatal]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cut ins]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=Fatal Accident]

A Henry man is dead following an accident last night. It happened on Route 606 in Henry County. State Police say 56 year old Aaron Allen Tyree, Junior was killed after his vehicle went off the right side of the road, overcorrected, and struck another vehicle. It then hit a tree and slid over the embankment.

The accident is under investigation.[8-11CMI]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=Am Cutin]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=02-13 TC31:41]
[GRAPHIC=none]
Instead of packing up and moving to another county - C-M-I Industries plant in Stuart will stay where it is, but with a NEW owner.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Stuart/Sunday]

Late yesterday, the plant announced it had been bought by Narroflex Incorporated.
According to a company press release, work will continue un-interrupted at the Stuart plant, which will be known as the United Elastic Plant.
All of the 300-or-so current employees will be kept on.
Narroflex is a Canadian company with plants in Graham, North Carolina and Ontario.
(------------)

[8-11Rice]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutin]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=02-05 TC1:58:19]
[GRAPHIC=Murder Invest.]

Authorities say a D-N-A sample taken from a man charged in the slayings of two female hikers is NOT a match with the evidence in the unsolved murders of three Spotsylvania County girls.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Charlottesville/Last Week]

David Darrell Rice was charged earlier this month in the 1996 slayings of two hikers in the Shenandoah National Park.
The FBI compared the D-N-A of Darrell David Rice with evidence in the slayings of 16-year-old Sofia Silva, 15-year-old Kristin Lisk, and her twelve-year-old sister, Kati Lisk.
Authorities believe Silva and the Lisk girls were all killed by the same person.
(------------)

[8-11County-Storm]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=02-07 TC1:21:21]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Residents in Bedford County are breathing a sigh of relief after the recent tornado ravaged many homes and businesses -- but spared LIVES.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Bedford Co.;]

Seven county homes were so severely damaged, they had to be condemned.
Winds of up to 200 miles-an-hour knocked them from their foundations, damaged roofs and uprooted trees.
Jim Hudgins will have to move into a new home.
He escaped his living room just seconds before the tornado hit his house.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 2:18:29 - :47]
[IN Q=All of a sudden,]
((JIM HUDGINS/HOMEOWNER: ALL OF A SUDDEN, ALL THE WINDOWS IN THAT ROOM BLEW OUT. I YELLED FOR MY WIFE, MARY. WE BOTH RAN INTO THE KITCHEN, LAID ON THE FLOOR. AND IN 5 SECONDS THE WHOLE THING WAS OVER.))
[SUPER=01-Jim Hudgins/Homeowner;]
[RUNS=:18]
[OUT Q=thing was over.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Contractors were already at work putting a new roof on Glen Hilbish's (HILL-BISH's) house -- after the tornado tore it off.
He says insurance will pay for it.
Bedford County estimates the damage to homes and businesses will be in the MILLIONS.
(------------)

[8-11Red-Cross]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutin]
[WRITER=ejo]
[TAPE#=none]
[SS=None]

The Bedford County Red Cross is offering assistance to the victims of Sunday storms.
(+++++++)
[TAKE PINNACLE FS]
Anyone who needs assistance can call the Bedford County Chapter at 540-586-7792. (------------)