WDBJ 7 news at 6 for 05/02/02

[1-News-Head]

[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]

State leaders stack arms in the skirmish over a Confederate flag tag.
(------------)
[V/O-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]
And plans to displace Ferrum's Farm Museum with a supermarket meets mixed reaction.
(------------)

[Sports-Head]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]
Tonight on News 7 sports, the Express loses coach Mark Bernard, area fans haven't seen the past of JR.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
And the Scott Robertson committee hands out $10 thousand dollars in scholarship money this afternoon at the Roanoke Country Club.
(------------)

[WX-Head]
[ANCHOR=Robin]
[SS=None]

Another day filled with thunderstorms and wind damage. How long will this last. Details coming up.
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Keith 4-Shot]

News 7 at Six is next.
[Video-Open]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=Video Open]
[GRAPHIC=News7at6]

(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]

The sons of confederate veterans win the war over specialty license plates.
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]

The state decides not to appeal two federal court decisions.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]

Good evening, I'm Shannon Young.
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]

And I'm Keith Humphry.
[SCV-Plates]
[NEWSCAST=Six]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=02-05 TC2:01:34]
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]

Members of the group are celebrating the end of their fight for a license plate that bears a confederate flag logo.
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]

Today in Richmond, Governor Warner and Attorney General Jerry Kilgore said there was little chance the state would prevail. [***NEWS 7 @ 6 FS***]
[DOUBLE BOXES=Keith-Shannon & Meghan/Pulpit;]

Meghan Muldoon has been following the story for us, and is here tonight with more on this longstanding dispute...
[LIVE= Meghan /FULL]
[SUPER=@meghan1;]
[ANCHOR=Meghan]

Keith and Shannon, with monday's ruling from the federal appeals court, the group won the right to put the Confederate flag logo on their plates.
And today the Governor and the Attorney General said they will not appeal.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Richmond; :00]
[SUPER=01-Brag Bowling/Sons of Confederate Veterans; :13]
[SUPER=@Kilgore; :55]
[RUNS=1:05]
[OUT Q=eight thousand writs a year.]
((After a long court battle, the Sons of Confederate Veterans aren't wasting any more time.
They showed up today outside the Department of Motor Vehicles with 368 applications for the specialty tags.
[SOT 00:04:25]
[IN Q=THERE IS NO LEGITIMATE SCHOLAR]
((BRAG BOWLING/SONS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS: THERE IS NO LEGITIMATE SCHOLAR IN THIS COUNTRY WHO HAS SAID THAT THE STATE WOULD WIN THIS CASE. RIGHT FROM THE GET-GO THEY ADVISED THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND EVERYBODY ELSE THAT THIS STATE WOULD LOSE THIS CASE. INSTEAD IN ORDER TO APPEAL TO POLITICAL CORRECTNESS THEY TOOK TAXPAYER MONEY AND APPEALED IT AND WE HAD TO WAIT TWO YEARS BECAUSE OF THAT.)) [RUNS25]
[OUT Q=two years because of that.]

The General Assembly approved the plate three years ago, but refused to allow the groups logo which features a Confederate flag.
Two courts have now ruled that unconstitutional.
Kilgore conceded today that the cost of an appeal and the odds of winning it were not in the state's favor.
[SOT 00:11:19]
[IN Q=I THINK ITS TIME TO]
((ATTORNEY GENERAL JERRY KILGORE: I THINK IT'S TIME TO MOVE ON AT THIS POINT. THAT WE'RE NOT GOING TO WIN ON APPEAL. WE'RE NOT GOING TO GET TO THE SUPREME COURT THAT NOWS TAKING EIGHTY CASE OUT OF THE EIGHT THOUSAND WRITS A YEAR.)) [RUNS12]
[OUT Q=EIGHT THOUSAND WRITS A YEAR]))
(-------------)
[LIVE= Meghan /FULL]
[ANCHOR=Meghan]

Governor Warner says he supports taking a closer look at the process for granting these specialty tags.
[DOUBLE BOXES=Keith-SHannon & Meghan /Pulpit;]

So Keith and Shannon, we may hear more about this issue next year.
[NRV-Damage]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=rca]
[TAPE#=02-09 TC1:27:30]
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2- Shot]

The severe weather is causing problems in many areas.
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg;]
As the rain and wind moved through Blacksburg... a number of trees went down. Some residents are returning from work to find cars crushed and their homes damaged. Crews are already working to restore power in spots after lines fell from powerful winds. Police are setting up roadblocks in some residential areas to close off traffic.
(------------)

[Bedford-Tornado]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=02-06 TC1:40:10]
[GRAPHIC=None]

County, state and federal inspectors will assess damage from Sunday's tornado in Bedford County.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Bedford Co./Monday]

Emergency management officials will be touring damaged areas of the Route 460 corridor tomorrow between 10 a-m and 2 p-m.
They're asking home and business owners who suffered losses to be available during those hours to provide information about property value and insurance coverage.
The assessments will be used to help determine if a federal disaster declaration is warranted.
(------------)

[Ferrum-Development]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=02-07 TC1:29:29]
[GRAPHIC=None]

A historic farm museum at Ferrum College may have to make way for a grocery store.
That's one issue the college's Board of Trustees will take up in a retreat this weekend.
As Marya Jones reports, commercial developers are getting a chilly reception from many on the rural college campus.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Every year,]
[SUPER=03-Franklin Co.; :00]
[SUPER=01-Bev Fitzpatrick/Ferrum College; :24]
[SUPER=01-Jim Bier/Ferrum Professor; :51]
[SUPER=01-Moe Hamdan/Sophomore; 1:12]
[SUPER=01-Lindsay Musser/Freshman; 1:20]
[SUPER=@Marya1; 1:27]
[RUNS=1:42]
[OUT Q=MJN7 Franklin Co.]
(((///// SOT /////)
[NATS ON TAPE ] ((NATSOUND FARM MUSEUM)) [RUNS:02]
Every year, people visit the Blue Ridge Institute's Farm Museum to experience life on an old homestead.
But a plan being considered by Ferrum College's Board of Trustees could MOVE the museum... and replace it with a grocery store.
Administrators say it's part of a larger plan to raise money for the college AND give students more to do.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 5:12:53 - 5:13:06]
((BEV FITZPATRICK/FERRUM COLLEGE: A LOT OF KIDS... IN FACT, A MAJORITY OF KIDS, ARE LIVING IN URBAN AREAS AND WHEN THEY COME TO A PLACE LIKE THIS, THEY WANT TO FEEL LIKE THEY HAVE A PLACE THEY CAN GO TO ENTERTAIN THEMSELVES OTHER THAN JUST ON CAMPUS.)) [RUNS:12]
Nearly three years ago, the Board of Trustees developed a plan to sell or lease half of the college's land to developers.
The plan calls for a golf course, a medical facility, shops and subdivisions.
Chemistry professor Jim Bier says he's heard the interested grocery chain is Food Lion.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 5:19:53 - 5:20:10]
((JIM BIER/PROFESSOR: THE GOLF COURSE -- AND ESPECIALLY THE COMMERCIAL STRIP -- REPLACING THE FARM MUSEUM SEEMS TO MAKE THE AREA UGLY THAT THE COLLEGE IS NESTLED IN... AND I CAN'T SEE HOW THAT WOULD BE ATTRACTIVE TO ANYONE.)) [RUNS:17]
Students are split on the idea.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 5:27:01 - :09]
((MOE HAMDAN/SOPHOMORE: I THINK IT WOULD GIVE FERRUM MORE LIFE TO CAMPUS ... STUDENTS WOULD HAVE SOMEWHERE TO GO TO GRAB A QUICK BITE OR GO GROCERY SHOPPING.)) [RUNS:07]
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 5:27:50 - :58]
((LINDSAY MUSSER/FRESHMAN: IT'S A REALLY PRETTY CAMPUS... HAVING ALL THAT TRAFFIC COMING IN... IT WOULD BE MORE THAN WHAT WE WOULD WANT.)) [RUNS:08]
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 5:04:25 - :40]
((MARYA JONES/NEWS-7: FERRUM'S BOARD OF TRUSTEES WILL MEET FRIDAY AND SATURDAY IN CHARLOTTESVILLE TO DECIDE IF IT WANTS TO PURSUE NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE FOOD CHAIN. IF THE PROPOSAL GETS THE GO-AHEAD, SITE WORK COULD BEGIN ACROSS FROM THE COLLEGE BY THE END OF THE YEAR. MJN7, FRANKLIN COUNTY.)) [RUNS:15]))

[Tease#1]
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]
[SS=NONE]

The feds may be close to joining the eavesdropping investigation.
That's next on News 7 at Six.
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[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]

And a local businessman celebrates 45 years on the job.
(----------------)

[Eavesdropping]
[NEWSCAST=six]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=02-13 TC33:04]
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]

The Superintendent of State Police says he hopes to know in a matter of days, whether the feds will take over the probe of alleged eavesdropping in Richmond.
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-SHot]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Richmond]

The State Police were called in to investigate following reports that Republican officials listened in on Democratic conference calls.
Colonel Gerald Massengill says federal prosecutors are now reviewing the case.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=A Summary of the investigation]
((COL. GERALD MASSENGILL/STATE POLICE SUPERINTENDENT: A SUMMARY OF THE INVESTIGATION IS BEING REVIEWED BY THE U.S. ATTORNEY AND I'M SURE HE'LL GIVE US AN ANSWER ONCE HE'S COMFORTABLE WITH THE CASE AND THE PROSECUTIVE ELEMENTS HE WOULD LOOK FOR FOR FEDERAL INVOLVEMENT.))
[SUPER=01-Col. Gerald Massengill/State Police Superintendent]
[RUNS=:15]
[OUT Q=for federal involvement.]
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[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Massengill promises a thorough investigation, but says it is important to complete the probe as quickly as possible.

[B'burg-Mayor]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=rca]
[TAPE#=02-11 TC58:04]
[GRAPHIC=Campaign 2002]

Three candidates are vying for the top position in the Town of Blacksburg. While their ages and experience run the gammut - - they're all talking about the same issue, Blacksburg's growth. New River Valley Bureau Chief Rachel Cannon has more from the candidates.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=WELL I HAVEN'T]
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg; :00]
[SUPER=01-Roger Hedgepeth/Candidate for Mayor; :29]
[SUPER=01-Don Langrehr/Candidate for Mayor; 1:10]
[SUPER=01-Beau Correll/Candidate for Mayor; 1:45]
[RUNS=1:55]
[OUT Q=RC, News 7, Blacksburg.]
((NATS 25:50:28 "WELL I HAVEN'T HAD TIME TO DO THINGS" Roger Hedgepeth is in his 20th year sitting behind the mayor's desk. The 72-year-old says working with people is what has him running for the post once again. Hedgepeth says Blacksburg is entering the second phase of a downtown master plan....it's keeping the town growing in step with Virginia Tech. The Mayor says experience is what his campaign is all about.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 22:15:08 // 22:42:19]
[IN Q=YOU HAVE]
((ROGER HEDGEPETH/BLACKSBURG MAYOR; YOU HAVE TO KNOW THE MAKE UP OF THE COMMUNITY AND YOU HAVE TO KNOW THE ROLE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT RATHER PRECISELY AND THE POWERS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT. THE QUESTION BECOMES IF YOU'RE A CANDIDATE WHAT IF YOUR ELECTED, AND THEN YOU SAY OH, NOW WHAT DO I DO.))
[OUT Q=WHAT DO I DO.]
Mayoral candidate Don Lang-rare sees Blacksburg at a crossroads. The 44-year-old says too much growth can leave financial burdens and stress on the community. He would like to see Tech help ease the town's housing crunch by providing on-campus residences for graduate students.
Lang-rare works at Radford University as a reading specialist.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 10:09:23]
[IN Q=the same]
((DON LANGREHR/CANDIDATE FOR MAYOR; THE SAME SKILL CAN BE TRANSFERRED TO THE MAYOR'S ROLE IF THE MAYOR LISTENS INTENTLY TO NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERNS NEIGHBORHOOD ISSUES THEN HE CAN ACT APPROPRIATELY AND THAT'S WHAT I PLAN ON DOING.))
[OUT Q=ON DOING.]
19-year-old Beau Correll is also running for the job. The Virginia Tech sophomore and cadet wants to see more of his peers involved in local government. He says Blacksburg's growth rate proves the need for more affordable housing. While his age and experience may not the norm for the job - he's confident in his abilities.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 5:14:29 // 4:31:12 ]
[IN Q=i think]
((BEAU CORRELL/CANDIDATE FOR MAYOR; I THINK PASSION AND DRIVE GO A LONG WAY AND THAT'S WHAT I HAVE, AND I WISH TO REPRESENT THE TOWN IN THAT KIND OF MANNER. I'M DEFINITELY HERE FOR EVERYONE, ESPECIALLY THE MIDDLE CLASS.))
[OUT Q=THE MIDDLE CLASS.]
Rachel Cannon, News 7, Blacksburg.))

[Stocks]

[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=None]

A split decision on Wall Street today. [TAKE DOW & NASDAQ PAGE]
[RUNS=:30]
[SUPER=x5000;]
[SUPER=440-x/32.24/10091.81/y/32.66/1644.87;]
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]

The DOW gained 32 points.
NASDAQ fell 33.
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[VO]
[SUPER=271-i/0.20/58.90/h/0.06/45.74/h/1.31/73.55/h/0.17/20.60/h/0.15/7.80;]
[SUPER=272-h/0.55/66.30/h/0.38/57.38/i/0.10/31.60/h/0.64/22.95/i/0.78/47.01;]
[SUPER=273-i/0.07/22.90/h/0.06/21.46/i/0.04/0.72/h/0.61/55.99/h/0.30/16.35;]
[SUPER=274-h/0.89/68.87/h/0.79/104.30/i/0.04/41.50/h/0.33/38.18/i/0.15/56.65;]
[SUPER=#555; Reset]
[Eugenics]
[NEWSCAST=6 PM]
[WRITER=jus]
[TAPE#=02-18 TC14:27]
[GRAPHIC=None]
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]

Today is the 75th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision upholding Virginia's eugenics sterilization law.
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]

Governor Warner marked the occasion by officially apologizing for the state's policy that forcibly sterilized thousands of Virginians.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Eugenics was a social engineering plan to prevent people from reproducing if they had traits considered less than desirable.
The practice began in 1927 and didn't end until 1979.
Governor Warner today said that what happened in the past should be a lesson for the future.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 22:32]
[IN Q=As we deal with whole]
((MARK WARNER: AS WE DEAL WITH WHOLE NEW HOST OF ISSUES THAT GO TO THE HEART OF BIOETHICS MY HOPE IS THAT WE WILL BEAR IN MIND THE KIND OF MISTAKES THAT NOT ONLY IN THE COMMONWEALTH BUT SO MANY STATES ACROSS NATION MADE IN THE PAST.))
[SUPER=@markwarner]
[RUNS=:15]
[OUT Q=made in the past]
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[SS=None]

Virginia is the first of the 30 states that conducted the sterilizations to apologize.

[Sports Tease]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]
Coming up tonight on the Big 7, the Express loses a coach - the Scott Robertson hands out $10 thousand dollars worth of scholarship money today.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
And we'll take a look at the much talked about soft wall technology that is place for this month's racing action at Indianapolis.
(------------)

[S-Express]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=SP-116 14147TC]
[GRAPHIC=NONE]

Ever since the season ended with another first round playoff exit, there have been rumblings that the Express would make some changes.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/Last Season; :00]
Today highly regarded assistant coach Mark Bernard resigned his post after just one season with the team. Head coach Perry Florio's good friend says he wants to spend more time with his family. Before joining the Express, Bernard played professionally for a dozen seasons.
(------------)

[S-Scott]

[ANCHOR=mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=sma]
[TAPE#=SP-117 1:28:47]
[GRAPHIC=News 7 sports]

The Scott Robertson Memorial Golf tournament attracts some of the best junior golfers in the world. Steve Mason introduces us to the tournaments scholarship award winners, who are top golfers, but even better citizens.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke; :00]
[SUPER=01-Alan May/Eugene A. Hawthorne Grant Recipient; :18]
[SUPER=01-Jeff Ferguson/Scott Robertson Scholarship Winner; :30]
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg/2002 Spring Game; :45]
[SUPER=@Steve1; 1:22]
[RUNS=1:36]
[OUT Q=...News 7 sports"]
(----------------)
((The Roanoke Country Club steak lunch was only an appetizer for the media that would feast its eyes on two of the most promising young people in the Roanoke Valley. Salem's Jeff Ferguson and Glenvar's Alan May walked away with 10 thousand dollars in scholarship money. ((:)) ((:))
Ferguson wins the eight thousand dollar Scott Robertson Memorial that he will use in his continuing studies at Virginia Tech. He made the regionals in golf as a senior but he's trading in his clubs for a seat at lane stadium next football season. ((:))
May was the three rivers district player of the year. He will put his two thousand dollar Eugene A Hawthorne scholarship money towards his education at Roanoke College.)) ((:))

((:)) [S-Walls]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=SP-114 14943tc]
[GRAPHIC=NEWS 7 SPORTS]

Earlier this week race fans across the world celebrated what would have been Dale Earnhardt's 51st birthday. As we have discussed on many occasions since his death - improved safety will no doubt be his legacy to racing.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Indianapolis, IN; :00]
While NASCAR has refused to mandate any type of soft wall technology, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is moving to the forefront in this area. Indy is installing a total of 4 thousand, two hundred and 40 feet of what is being called SAFER walls. It is what it is, but SAFER stands for "Steel and Foam Energy Reduction." The technology will be used in practice and testing this month to find out its effectiveness.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=WE'LL HAVE...]
[SUPER=01-Tony George/Indianapolis President and CEO; :04]
[RUNS=:24]
[OUT Q=...PERFECT OPPORTUNITY."]
(------------)
[VO-NAT con't]
The energy absorbing barriers are constructed in 20 foot modules. Each has four rectangular steel tubes and bundles of polystyrene that work together to provide the cushion along the outside wall.
(------------)

[S-ODAC]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=sp-104 10215tc]
[GRAPHIC=NONE]

And finally tonight, J.R. Reynolds' departure yesterday had folks feeling like they had seen the past of him as a high school player, but there is word tonight that the Celtics and Oak Hill are going to meet this coming season on the hardwood.
(--------------)
[VO NAT ENG#]
This morning Catholic head coach Dick Wall and Oak Hill coach Steve Smith agreed to play each other next season at either the Salem or Roanoke Civic Center. The date and the time of the game is still being worked out. The two were supposed to play this past January, but the Sun Trust Classic was snowed out.
(--------------)

[Barber]
[NEWSCAST=]
[WRITER=jmi]
[TAPE#=02-14 TC46:43]
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-SHot]

He's one of the oldest kids on the block, but a local barber is still on the cutting edge.
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

Perry Cunningham celebrates his 45th year in business on Williamson Road today.
His family and neighbors threw him an anniversary bash, but Perry trimmed right through it.
In fact, Perry's worked through Roanoke's hardest economic times and managed to make his North East shop one of the oldest businesses on that long commercial thoroughfare.
Even after all that time, mistakes are bound to happen.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=I did give a kid]
((PERRY CUNNINGHAM: I DID GIVE A KID....NO ONE EVER NOTICED. HA HA HA))
[SUPER=01-Perry Cunningham/Local Barber]
[RUNS=20]
[OUT Q=ever noticed. ha ha ha.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Perry says his wife is pushing for him to retire, but he says he has too many good cuts left in him. (------------)