WDBJ 7 news at 6 for 05/20/02

[1-News-Head]

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[VO-NAT]
As a suspect is arraigned in the murder of a sheriff's deputy, we'll hear from those who knew and appreciated Pittsylvania County sheriff's deputy Frankie Betterton.
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[ANCHOR=Keith]
And we'll hear both sides of the debate over blocking city streets in the Roanoke Market area for open-air dining.

[Sports-Head]

[ANCHOR=mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]
Tonight on News 7 sports - Kobe needs some Maalox - the Avs are off tonight - but we'll take a look at a hard working bunch from top to bottom in that organization.
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[VO-NAT]
And the Lady Rattlers of St. Mary's University in San Antonio is crowned this year's division two national champion.
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[WX-Head]
[ANCHOR=Patrick]
[SS=None]
(Patrick Headline here)
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[ANCHOR=Keith 3-SHot]

NEws 7 is next.
[Video-Open]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=Video Open]

(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 12:29:23]
[IN Q=But to describe]
((BUT TO DESCRIBE HIM, I WOULD SIMPLY SAY THAT FRANKIE HAD A DELIGHTFUL SENSE OF THE ABSURD, HE WAS QUICK TO LAUGH, QUICK TO ENJOY PEOPLE OF ALL KINDS AND MET PEOPLE WELL.))
[RUNS=10]
[OUT Q=met people well.]
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[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Keith]

A Pittsylvania County community prepares to honor and remember a fallen officer.
The man charged with gunning him down faces a judge for the first time.
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[ANCHOR=Keith]
[GRAPHIC=News7at6]

Good evening, I'm Keith Humphry. Shannon Young has the night off.

[Inge]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=02-07 TC1:57:52]
[GRAPHIC=News 7 @ 6]

Friends say Pittsylvania County sheriff's deputy Frankie Betterton was a man who like to laugh, who loved practical jokes and who cared deeply about his job and his community.
Betterton will be laid to rest Wednesday.
Meanwhile, his alleged killer made his first court appearance today.
Steve Smallshaw has the story.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Pittsylvania Co.; :00]
[SUPER=01-Rev. Dave Rochford/Brosville United Methodist Church;]
[SUPER=@ssm1;]
[SUPER=03-Chatham]
[RUNS=1:26]
[OUT Q=SS, News 7, Chatham]

[Robertson]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=tha]
[TAPE#=02-17 TC48:32]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]
A 19- year old charged with killing a Martinsville high school athlete made his first court appearance today.
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[VO-NAT]
Curtis Orlando Robertson, Junior told the judge he would hire his own attorney... and a June 10th arraignment date has now been set.
[SUPER=03-Martinsville/Last Week; ]
Robertson is accused in a fatal drive-by shooting that left 19- year old Delvin Hairston dead with a single gunshot wound to the chest. Robertson turned himself in to authorities yesterday. A 17- year old suspect was arrested on Thursday at his home in Axton. Both teenagers face first degree murder charges.
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[City-Council]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=jmi]
[TAPE#=02-11 TC1:27:48]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Roanoke City council gave the go-ahead today to close off streets around market square for outside diners.
It's a decision visitors are salivating over... but one that restaurateurs say needs some added ingredients. [***NEWS 7 @ 6 MONITOR GRAPHIC***]
[TOSS ACROSS=Keith & Jennifer /Pulpit;]

Jennifer Miele was at the council meeting, she's got the details.
Keith, Restaurant owners say its a big idea that needs a little work.
[LIVE= Jennifer/FULL Pulpit]
[SUPER=@jennifer1]

They're concerned about the cost of set-up and tear-down every time they want to serve outdoors.
So they'd like to close-off streets four days a week during the summer months.
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[SOT]
[IN Q=In an effort to]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;:00]
[SUPER=01-Kimberly Amos/Market Square Visitor;:21]
[SUPER=01-Roger Lamm/Tavern on the Market Owner;:43]
[RUNS=1:15]
[OUT Q=menu for the market.]
(( In an effort to add more flavor to Roanoke's night life -- the city says it's OK to block off streets around market square for outside diners.
Restaurateurs can apply for permits that would let them set up tables and chairs between 6:30 pm and 3:00 am on requested days.
Those who frequent downtown say the market could use a little spice.
[SOT]
[TC:02:31:48] ((KIMBERLY AMOS/MARKET SQUARE VISITOR: I THINK IT WOULD BE NICE TO SIT OUTSIDE AND EAT WHEN YOU HAVE A SHORT LUNCH BREAK, I USED TO EAT OUTSIDE WHEN THEY HAD TABLES OUT THERE.)) [RUNS08]
But to set up and tear down every day may cost restaurant owners more than it profits them.
Roger Lamm owns Tavern on the Market.
He'd like to see the city close off the streets four days a week so that he could leave his tables up.
[SOT]
((IT'S NOT FEASIBLE FOR ME TO BRING THE FURNITURE IN AND OUT EVERYDAY. IF THEY DID IT FOUR DAYS A WEEK... I COULD HANDLE ON TIME A WEEK BUT NOT EVERY DAY.)) [RUNS10]
Lamm is one of several dozen business owners on Wall Street, Market Street, and streets around market square who would have to pay for set up and tear down everyday.
And by the time set up IS complete and visitors are actually served -- Rodger says it could be as late as eight o'clock.
Still visitors say they're just glad there's something different on the menu for the market.))
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[LIVE= Jennifer /FULL Pulpit]

City Council believes the permits are a step in the right direction, and Rodger Lamm agrees.
[TOSS ACROSS=Keith & Jennifer /Pulpit;]

He plans to approach council next year with his four-day a week plan.

[Post-Office]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=02-20 TC1:21:21]
[GRAPHIC=Fire Invest.]

A fire over the weekend did not keep Rocky Mount's Post Office from opening on time this morning.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Rocky Mount;]

Employees were still busy dusting off the soot left behind by Saturday night's electrical fire.
They spent Sunday working to get the post office opened on time.
About 100 pieces of mail were destroyed.
Several hundred had smoke or water damage but will STILL be delivered.
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[SOT 5:01:20 - :35]
[IN Q=Most of the damage]
((ED SCHABEN/USPS: MOST OF THE DAMAGE WAS SMOKE DAMAGE. WE HAD A LITTLE MAIL THAT WAS BURNED ... MOSTLY 2ND CLASS... A LOT LESS THAN WE THOUGHT.))
[SUPER=01-Ed Schaben/U. S. Postal Service;]
[RUNS=:15]
[OUT Q=less than we thought.]
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[VO-NAT]

Employees believe the fire started in an electrical outlet.
Business will go on as usual, as workers re-paint, re-plaster and fix the electrical problem.
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[Tease#1]
[ANCHOR=Keith ]
[SS=NONE]

More than 200 new jobs could be on the way to Southwest Virginia.
That's just one of the stories still ahead on News 7 at Six.\
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[VO-NAT]

And it's been a long time coming...
The Long Way Home returns to the stage this summer... though it won't be under the stars.
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[Inmate-death]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=mmu]
[TAPE#=02-18 TC31:24]
[GRAPHIC=None]

A prisoner died over the weekend at Red Onion State Prison.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Wise Co./File Tape]

Twenty-nine-year-old inmate, Kenneth Boothe Junior, was found dead early yesterday morning by guards at the super maximum security prison in Wise County.
The Department of Corrections is investigating the death.
Department spokesman Larry Traylor says it's unclear how Boothe died.
The body has been brought to Roanoke for an autopsy.
Boothe had served almost six years of a 17- and-a-half-year sentence for assault, arson and forcible sodomy in Smyth County.
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[Sex-Offenders]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]

States that keep tabs on sex offenders will be paying close attention to a case coming before the U-S Supreme Court.
The justices will hear a challenge to Connecticut's registry which is very similar to Virginia's system.
All states require some kind of list of sex criminals... Some are based on an evaluation of whether the offender is likely to repeat.
But in Connecticut, the notification is based on the person's record.
The question is whether it violates the constitutional rights of past offenders by putting their names on the list without giving them a chance to show they're no longer a danger to society.

[Bedford-Fatal]

[ANCHOR=Jean]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=kar]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=None]

A Bedford County toddler was run over by the family car in his own driveway.
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[Take Map FS]
It happened yesterday afternoon along Cottontown Road in Forest.
Authorities say two year old Chad Jacobs was struck and killed by a car his father was driving.
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[ANCHOR=Keith]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Chad's father, Shane Jacobs, was pulling his car forward.
He did not see the boy come from behind a tree and step onto the driveway.
No charges are being filed.
Chad would have turned three on Wednesday.

[Pepsi]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=rca]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=New Jobs]

The Town of Wytheville is trying to negotiate a sweet deal with the Pepsi Bottling Company. The soft drink maker is considering developing a plant in the area. Officials say it would create 235-jobs and mean a 65-million dollar investment in buildings and equipment. Both Wytheville Town Council and Wythe County Board of Supervisors are taking steps to help ease the purchase of land for the deal. A final decision from Pepsi is expected at the end of the month or early June.

[Stocks]

[ANCHOR=KEith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=None]

A disappointing Index of Leading Economic Indicators report and some profit taking sent Wall Street lower today.
[TAKE DOW & NASDAQ PAGE]
[RUNS=:30]
[SUPER=x5000;]
[SUPER=440-y/123.58/10229.50/y/39.79/1701.60;]

The DOW dropped 123 and a half points.
NASDAQ fell 40.
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[SUPER=#555; Reset]

[Long-Way]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=rca]
[TAPE#=02-08 TC1:54:52]
[GRAPHIC=None]

For 30-years, the City of Radford has hosted the historic outdoor drama The Long Way Home. It's the story of Mary Draper Ingles, a frontierwoman who walks back to the New River Valley after being captured by Indians. The curtain has been closed on the play for two summers. Organizers blame a lack of leadership, outdated facilities, and a fire last summer. But New River Valley Bureau Chief Rachel Cannon explains, this summer, the show will go on.
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[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Radford; :00]
[SUPER=01-Gail Collins/Long Way Home Board Chairman; :14]
[SUPER=04-July 1998; :23]
[SUPER=@Rachel1; :48]
[RUNS=1:24]
[OUT Q=RC, News 7, Radford.]
((NATS This season of the Long Way Home is full of firsts. For the first time it will be held indoors. The Radford High School stage will hold a cast of 30 acting out a finely tuned, shorter script.
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[SOT 1:45:07]
[IN Q=IT SEATS]
((GAIL COLLINS/LONG WAY HOME BOARD CHAIRMAN; IT SEATS APPROXIMATELY 5-HUNDRED PEOPLE SO WE HAVE PLENTY OF ROOM RAIN CAN'T KEEP YOU AWAY.))
[OUT Q=AWAY.]
A four week run begins July 12th with evening shows on Friday and Saturday...a matinee on Sunday. And for the first time, admission is free.
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[SOT 1:43:55 /// 1:35:20]
[IN Q=this is]
((GAIL COLLINS/LONG WAY HOME BOARD CHAIRMAN; THIS IS OUR WAY OF GIVING SOMETHING TO THE COMMUNITY AND SHOWING THEM OUR TRUE COMMITMENT TO MAKING THIS PERFORMANCE THE BEST THAT IT CAN BE. WE HAVE A WHOLE NEW BOARD THERE ARE NINE OF US AND WE HAVE A LOT OF PLANS AND GOALS FOR THE LONG WAY HOME))
[OUT Q=CAN BE.]
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[SOT 2:00:36]
[IN Q=ORGANIZERS]
((RACHEL CANNON/RCANNON@WDBJ7.COM; ORGANIZERS DO WANT TO GET THE OUTDOOR DRAMA BACK OUTSIDE, THEY HAVE A COUPLE OPTIONS. ONE THEY COULD RENOVATE THIS, IT'S ORIGINAL SPOT IT'S GOING TO COST OVER 50-THOUSAND DOLLARS OR THEY'RE LOOKING INTO BUILDING A BRAND NEW AMPHITHEATER, COLLINS SAYS THAT COULD BE A REALITY IN ABOUT 3-YEARS.))
[OUT Q=THREE YEARS.]
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[SOT 1:47:28]
[IN Q=A TREMENDOUS]
((A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF MONEY WILL BE INVESTED INTO AN AMPHITHEATER SO WE NEED TO GIVE THE CITIZENS OF RADFORD AS MUCH FOR THEIR MONEY AS WE POSSIBLY CAN.))
[OUT Q=CAN]
Collins says the recent hiring of a consultant for promotion and advertising will help. She says the future for The Long Way Home is a profitable business and a first class performance for the city of Radford. Rachel Cannon, News 7, Radford.))

[Sports Tease]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]
Coming up tonight on News 7 Sports - the Division Two softball champ is finally crowned in Salem. The Dazzle is about to get recognized for being a winner off the court.
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[VO-NAT]
And the Salem Avalanche is off tonight, but not really. Steve Mason checks in with what is a true "team" trying to defend its title.
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[S-Softball]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=sma]
[TAPE#=SP-121 00:25]
[GRAPHIC=D-II softball]

The Division II softball national championship was decided today on the Moyer Sports complex diamond as Texas's St. Mary's University - the largest and oldest Catholic college in Texas hammered Michigan's Grand Valley State.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Salem/Division II National Championship;]

The tourney came down to the 15th and final game of the double elimination event and it was a rematch of last night's game that Grand Valley State won 1 to nothing.
But the Rattlers would not be foiled at the plate two days in a row as St. Mary's would score four runs in this one. Here in the top of the sixth, Ashley Boedeker connects on the base hit and that brings in Kristin Simmons form third.
[SUPER=34-St. Mary's/4/Grand Valley/0;]

St. Mary's, the eighth ranked team in the country coming in to the tourney, wins the Division II national championship 4-0.
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[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Donna Fields/St. Mary's Head Coach; :00]
[SUPER=01-Kym Kling/Tournament's Most Valuable Player; :17]
[RUNS=:25]
[OUT Q=.....fence or over"]
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[ANCHOR=mike]
[graphic=d2 softball]
This is the second ever national title for the Lady Rattlers who finish the season with 58 wins.

[S-Team]

[ANCHOR=mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=sma]
[TAPE#=SP-120 1:29:01]
[GRAPHIC=Avalanche]
The Salem Avalanche has the day off and it is well deserved. The team has spent lots of time a top the Carolina League Southern Division this season. Steve Mason says this organization is re-defining teamwork.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=first audio]
[SUPER=03-Salem; :00]
[SUPER=01-Stan Macko/Avalanche General Manager; :16]
[SUPER=01-Brad Hawpe/Carolina League Batting Leader; :30]
[SUPER=01-Kip Bouknight/Avalanche Pitcher; :46]
[SUPER=01-Stu Cole/Avalanche Manager; 1:18]
[SUPER=@Steve1; 1:38]
[RUNS=2:09]
[OUT Q=...News 7 sports"]
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((Do not adjust your television set, that is indeed Avalanche General Manager Stan Macko working and getting dirty right along side the grounds crew and NOT sitting back with his feet kicked up in an air conditioned office like most G.M.'s ((:))
Macko's blue collar work ethic has been infectious with the front office and the players. The team has hovered around first place most of the year. ((:)) ((:)) First baseman Brad Hawpe has been inspired. He has 12 homeruns and there are still 27 games left before the all star break. An amazing pace considering the Salem Avalanche franchise record for homers in a SEASON is 18. ((:)) ((:)) ((:))
The Avalanche pitching staff has climbed from second to last in the league to the middle of the pack. Steve Mason News 7 sports.))

[S-Kobe]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=sp-117]
[GRAPHIC=NBA]

The Los Angeles Lakers appear destined for their third straight NBA title, but it is uncertain right now if the team will have the services of guard Kobe Bryant tonight in game two of the western conference final against Sacramento

Bryant has food poisoning and he was too sick this afternoon to take part in the team's shoot around.
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[vo nat eng#]
[super=03-Charlotte, NC;]
In one other NBA note - the Charlotte Hornets are headed to New Orleans - but the Queen City may get another pro team in the near future. Basketball Hall of Famer Larry Bird and his former teammate ML Carr have sent a letter to league Commissioner David Stern saying they plan to apply for team ownership in Charlotte. Of course once again - all bets are off if the city doesn't build a new arena.
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[S-Dazzle]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=sp-115 14644tc]
[GRAPHIC=BASKETBALL]

The Roanoke Dazzle wasn't a big hit in the NBDL standings, nor was a record breaking in attendance.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/]
But off the court the Dazzle was - well dazzling. Tonight the team is being honored for its volunteerism to Roanoke City Schools. The Dazzle will receive the City Schools' volunteer award as the "Business Partner with the Greatest Involvement Per Capita." The team's front office, coaches and players reached more than 4,000 students in Read to Achieve, School Assembly and Student Achiever programs promoted by the NBDL team. (------------)