WDBJ 7 news at 6 for 05/29/02

[1-News-Head]

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

Police say a 14-year old boy and a lighter are responsible for the fire at an illegal Roanoke County tire dump.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]
An even younger child is being blamed for a Memorial Day blaze.

[Sports-Head]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]
Tonight on the Big 7, details of the formation of the Roy Stanley Memorial Golf Tournament. RCR racing finds life after Earnhardt to be a disaster.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Plus, it's still May but folks are already getting ready for the Suggs and Jones Show -including the folks that print this magazine.
(------------)

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

Pleasant conditions ahead weather wise. Forecast details just ahead.
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Keith 4-Shot]

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

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

A teenage boy is charged with setting Roanoke County's massive tire fire.
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]

Police say another brush fire three weeks later helped lead them to the suspect.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]

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

And I'm Keith Humphry.
[Tire-Fire]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=02-12 TC1:33:18]
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]

Police arrested the teenager last night.
They say he lived near the illegal tire dump on Starlight Lane ... and has confessed to setting the fire.
[ANCHOR=SHannon 2-shot]

After it was out, authorities had a 3-million dollar cleanup on their hands and no suspects to blame it on. [***NEWS 7 @ 6 Graphic***]
[TOSS ACROSS=Keith-SHannon & Marya /Pulpit;]

Marya Jones is here to tell us HOW they came to charge a 14-year-old boy.
Keith and Shannon, It wasn't until about three weeks AFTER the tire fire that investigators got their big break.
[LIVE= Marya /FULL Pulpit]
[SUPER=@Marya1;]

ANOTHER brush fire was set on a property NEAR the tire dump.
Someone saw a group of local kids running away.
Among them was the 14-year-old boy now charged in the fire that burned the state's largest illegal tire dump.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.; :00]
[SUPER=04-March; :07]
[SUPER=01-Lt. Phil Patrone/Roanoke Co. Police; :22]
[SUPER=01-Elmer Hodge/County Administrator; :32]
[RUNS=:41]
[OUT Q=TO APPREHEND A PERSON]
(( Police say the boy confessed to starting the fire with a lighter.
It began on March 23rd, on a gravel road that borders Willie Keeling's property.
The fire quickly spread to more than one-thousand acres of brush and two-million tires.
Investigators received NO tips on their Crimeline ... and no one stepped forward to claim the 17-thousand dollar reward.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 20:21 - :30]
((LT. PHIL PATRONE/ROANOKE CO. POLICE: THE GUYS DID A TREMENDOUS JOB... INTERVIEWS, CANVASSING PEOPLE, LOOKING FOR INFO... REALLY THE HARD WAY TO GET IT DONE.)) [RUNS:09]
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 18:29 - :37]
((ELMER HODGE/COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR: IT'S REASSURING TO ME. I HOPE IT'S REASSURING TO THE PUBLIC THAT WE AGGRESSIVELY PURSUED THE FIRE AND THAT WE WERE ABLE TO APPREHEND A PERSON.)) [RUNS:08]))
(-------------)
[LIVE= Marya/FULL Pulpit]

Despite the fact that the tire fire will take months to clean up and cost millions of dollars, the boy faces only a MISDEMEANOR charge in connection with the fire.
That means he would face up to a year in jail and a fine of up to 25-hundred dollars.
But prosecutors say they could up the charges and he COULD be held liable for all costs of fighting the fire.
[TOSS ACROSS=Keith-Shannon & Marya /Pulpit]

He's being held in the juvenile detention center at Coyner Springs and his trial is set for June 13th.
Keith and Shannon?

[Whitney-fire]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=mmu]
[TAPE#=02-14 TC1:18:22]
[GRAPHIC=Fire Invest.]

A child playing with candles started the Memorial Day fire that destroyed an apartment duplex in northeast Roanoke.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/Monday]

Officials say the fire broke out in the living room of the Whitney Avenue apartment building.
That's where the seven-year old boy was playing.
Nobody was hurt in the blaze.
It did force five people to relocate and caused over 100 thousand dollars worth of damage.
(------------)

[Gray]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=02-08 TC2:00:11]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]
The surviving victim of a robbery and murder last year in Roanoke reported the incident to police. But it turns out he didn't tell them everything.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Ben Chastang said he'd been pistol- whipped and that his best friend, Ryan Fischer, had been killed.
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]
At a hearing for the trigger man today, Prosecutor Betty Jo Anthony, detailed what led up to the robbery and murder last July.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 126:02:15]
[IN Q=Although Mr. Chastang]
((BETTY JO ANTHONY/CHIEF ASSISTANT COMMONWEALTH'S ATTORNEY; ALTHOUGH MR. CHASTANG WAS NEVER VERY FORTHCOMING ABOUT THESE EVENTS, IT SEEMS THEY HAD SET UP A DRUG DEAL ON THE NIGHT PRIOR TO THIS AND THEN HAD ARRANGED THE SECOND DRUG DEAL ON THE NIGHT OF THE TRANSACTION.))
[SUPER=01-Betty Jo Anthony/Chief Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney; ]
[RUNS=16]
[OUT Q=the transaction.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Instead of completing another drug deal, Chastang and Fischer were robbed... only, Fischer took off running. Jamar Gray went after him and shot him in the back of the neck.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 15:47:15]
[IN Q=Sauer demonstrated]
((SAUER DEMONSTRATED THAT THE HANDGUN HAD BEEN HELD IN A SIDEWAYS POSITION WITH CONTACT TO THE VICTIM'S SKIN.))
[RUNS=08]
[OUT Q=victim's skin.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Gray was 18 days short of his 18th birthday at the time. He denies shooting Fischer, though he did not contest the murder and firearms charges in court today. He was sentenced to serve 23 years in prison.
(------------)

[Powers]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=mmu]
[TAPE#=02-09 TC1:51:26]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]

A former head coach to the Franklin County High School cheerleaders was acquitted today of embezzlement.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Rocky Mount/Thursday]

Jacqueline Powers had been accused of stealing 22-hundred dollars from her squad.
At the end of a three day trial, a judge in Rocky Mount cleared her on all counts.
Powers coached the Eagles' cheerleaders from 1991 to 2000.
A financial audit in 1999 determined some of the squad's money for new uniforms was missing.
But today the judge said prosecutors failed to prove that Powers was the one who took it.
(------------)

[Carilion]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=jsu]
[TAPE#=501-14 TC2:05:20]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Good news tonight, for the 120-thousand Trigon customers in Southwest, Virginia.
After weeks of negotiations, the insurance provider has reached a new agreement with Carilion Health System.
[DOUBLE BOXES=Joy & Shannon /Cave;]

Health Check Reporter Joy Sutton has details on what the deal will mean for Trigon customers.
Shannon, this means Trigon customers will not have to pay more for using Carilion Hospitals.
[LIVE= Joy /FULL Cave]
[SUPER=@joy1]

That's because Carilion will remain part of the Trigon Network for at least the next five years.
(------------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/File Tape]

Carilion says both sides gave a little bit to make this comprise happen.
However, Trigon will no longer get the biggest discount among insurance providers. Carilion will now give Trigon the same discount as four other preferred insurance companies.
Neither side is releasing details about the new agreement. But Carilion says it will keep hospital rate increases in the single digits for Trigon customers.
(----------------------)
[LIVE= Joy /FULL Cave]

The new network partnership will take effect October 1st..
Carilion says the community ultimately benefits from the new agreement because it evens the playing field with 5 providers now getting the same discount.
Joy Sutton, News 7.

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

Friends and family say goodbye to a Pulaski County honor student who died of a drug overdose.
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]

That story's next on News 7 at Six.
(XXXXXXXXX)
[LIVE=JoeD Full/Microwave]
[SUPER=@Joe1;]
[SUPER=05-Henry Co.;]
(Joe D adlibs Live Tease)
(----------------)

[Henry-Schools]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#02-10 TC01:30]
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]

Members of the Henry County school board are facing some tough decisions tonight.
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]

They're trying to figure out how to cut a million dollars from the school budget.
[Double Boxes=Keith-Shannon and JoeD/Microwave]

Joe Dashiell is at the County Administration building tonight, where the board has been meeting in closed session this afternoon.
[Live=JOeD Full/Microwave]
[SUPER=@JOe1;]
[SUPER=05-Henry Co.;]
( ad lib)
(Rollcue:V-F Imagewear.)
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[VO-NAT]
[*** JOE'S MIC HOT***]
[SUPER=03-Henry Co.]
[RUNS=:20]
[OUT Q=elimination of some programs.]
(-------------)
[Live=JoeD Full/Microwave]
[SUPER=05-Henry Co.;]
( ad lib)
[Double Boxes=Keith-Shannon and JoeD/Microwave]

[Pulaski-Death]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=rca]
[TAPE#=02-13 TC1:06:43]
[GRAPHIC=None]
In Pulaski today, family and friends remember a 16-year-old honor student who died from a drug overdose over the weekend.
(------------)
[VO-NAT :20]
[SUPER=03-Pulaski;]
Hundreds filled the First United Methodist Church for an hour long afternoon memorial service honoring (Gay-lynn) Gaelen Wood. Police say preliminary reports show the 11th grader died from a cocaine overdose early Saturday morning. Her mother says she was depressed. At today's service, Gaelen's friends spoke and sang in her honor.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 6:42:25]
[IN Q=my family]
((PAMLA WOOD/GAELEN'S AUNT; MY FAMILY IS DEVASTATED BY OUR LOSS THROUGH THE GRACE OF FAMILY FRIENDS AND EACH OTHER WE WILL MOVE FORWARD ALWAYS HURTING BUT NEVER FORGETTING OUR LOVE FOR GAELEN AS WELL AS HER LOVE FOR US ALL.))
[SUPER=01-Pamla Wood/Gaelen's Aunt;]
[RUNS=:15]
[OUT Q=LOVE FOR US ALL.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
31-year-old Edward Lee Carter is being charged with 2nd degree felony murder in connection with Gaelen's death. Police believe he sold her the drugs and under Virginia law he can be prosecuted for murder.
(------------)

[Black-Angus]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=02-19 TC24:59]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Last week's bust at the Black Angus Businessman's Club netted few arrests.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/May 23]
However, the return of the search warrant indicates police seized marijuana, syringes, smoking devices, drug paraphernalia and unknown pills, along with numerous containers of assorted alcoholic beverages. Police were LOOKING for evidence of ABC violations, drug trafficking and nude dancing. The club's owner denies the club sells drugs or alcohol and says the dancers are "independent contractors" and that it's up to each girl to decide what they want to do.
(------------)

[Orange-Accident]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=jmi]
[TAPE#=02-03 TC1:37:53]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Police say he stabbed a woman, jumped on his bike, then ran into a car.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/Last night]

Both the victim and the alleged assailant are upgraded from critical to stable condition.
It all happened last night around eight thirty -- the stabbing on Hanover Avenue and the bike wreck on Orange Avenue.
The victim is reportedly a 42-year-old woman who lived with the assailant.
Police say she was stabbed more than once.
No names have been released.
(------------)

[VA-Unemployment]

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

Virginia's unemployment rate dipped below four percent for the first time since before the terrorist attacks.
The state registered three-point-nine percent unemployment for the month of April, down from four-point-one percent the month before.
Martinsville had the highest unemployment in the Commonwealth at 18-point-three percent.

[Stocks]

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

Stocks lost more ground as questions about accounting and dismal outlooks weighed on investors. [TAKE DOW & NASDAQ PAGE]
[RUNS=:30]
[SUPER=x5000;]
[SUPER=440-y/58.54/9923.04/y/27.80/1624.37;]
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]

The DOW fell 58 and a half points.
NASDAQ dropped 28.
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[VO]
[SUPER=271-i/1.85/56.25/i/1.02/43.98/h/0.56/76.27/i/0.32/21.70/i/0.05/6.95;]
[SUPER=272-h/0.19/65.85/h/0.25/57.59/i/0.65/31.40/i/0.08/22.16/h/0.94/48.40;]
[SUPER=273-h/0.37/22.89/i/0.05/20.48/i/0.02/0.67/h/0.91/56.01/i/0.02/13.70;]
[SUPER=274-h/0.31/67.88/h/1.65/100.91/i/0.76/43.89/h/0.73/38.65/i/0.26/54.53;]
[SUPER=#555; Reset]
[Engine-Pull]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=kar]
[TAPE#=02-11 TC1:40:26]
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]

State troopers and Roanoke County Police are getting together to raise money for Special Olympics.
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.]

Teams from area police, fire and EMS departments will be competing in a Fire Truck Pull on June 29th.
Each team must pull a 40,000 pound fire truck a certain amount of feet in the shortest amount of time.
The event will immediately follow the 5-K Police Pursuit......a 5 kilometer run, open to all runners.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT - 25:53]
[IN Q=all the proceeds]
((SGT. TOM FOSTER/VIRGINIA STATE POLICE - ALL THE PROCEEDS FROM THE FIRE TRUCK PULL AND THE 5K POLICE PURSUIT FOR SPECIAL OLYMPICS GO TO SPECIAL OLYMPICS. WE DON'T KEEP ANY PERCENTAGE AT ALL. ONE HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE MONEY RAISED GOES TO CHARITY))
[SUPER=01-Sgt. Tom Foster/State Police]
[RUNS=13]
[OUT Q=goes to charity]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Both events will be held at Green Hill Park in Roanoke County.
Anyone interested is welcomed to compete or just come out and watch the competition.
(------------)

[Sports Tease]

[ANCHOR=mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]
Coming up tonight on News 7 sports, details of the Roy Stanley Memorial golf Tournament. Tech gets some print publicity early in the preseason.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
And Richard Childress Racing is shaking things up a bit after a dismal start to the 2002 season.
(------------)

[S-Roy]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=SP-121 630TC]
[GRAPHIC=ROY OBIT]

It has been 7 weeks since our good friend Roy Stanley passed away, and during that stretch, perhaps no one has missed his presence in the valley more than Roanoke's golfing community. Tonight it is Your Hometown Station's honor to announce that the formation of the first annual Roy Stanley Memorial Golf Tournament. The tournament will take place on Sunday August 18th at the Hanging Rock Golf Club in Salem.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=first audio]
[SUPER=01-Billy McBride/Hanging Rock Pro & Roy's Friend; :00]
[SUPER=03-Salem; :20]
[SUPER=01-Mike Bell/WDBJ Program Director; :39]
[SUPER=01-Paul McPherson/Western Va. Officials Association; 1:03]
[RUNS=1:59]
[OUT Q=...TO HIM THERE. HA HA!]
(------------)
((BILLY MCBRIDE/HANGING ROCK PRO & ROY'S FRIEND:)) (( Roy's love of the game isn't the only reason for the tournament. In fact it is simply a vehicle for achieving a much more meaningful goal. Along with Hanging Rock and WDBJ, the Western Virginia High School Football Officials Association hope to make Roy's memory live on forever in the form of two partial scholarships. ((MIKE BELL/WDBJ PROGRAM DIRECTOR:)) ((PAUL MCPHERSON/WESTERN VA. OFFICIALS ASSOCIATION:)) The Captain's Choice event will have two shotgun starts on August 18th with room for 240 to 300 players. The event's organizers say there also is room for additional sponsorship.)) ((BILLY MCBRIDE:))
(XXXXXXXXX)
[go to pinnacle]
[ANCHOR=Mike]
Along with the golf Tournament on that third Sunday in August - we also will have an auction on Thursday night August 15th at the Salem Civic Center. You can get more information on both events by checking out our web site at WDBJ7.com

(--------------)

[S-NASCAR]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=SP-115]
[GRAPHIC=NASCAR/CHILDRESS]

Richard Childress, long the envy of every other team in NASCAR - when Dale Earnhardt was still alive - is now in the midst of a serious slump and a big shake-up.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Welcome, NC; :00]
Team owner Richard Childress announced this afternoon that he is not just swapping crew chiefs but team members on two of his three race teams. Kevin Harvick's bunch is trading places with Robby Gordon's in an effort to improve performance on the track. Through last weekend's Coca-Cola 600, Harvick was buried back in 33rd in the points race, while Gordon wasn't much better at 29th.
(------------)

[S-NBDL]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=SP-116 20221TC]
[GRAPHIC=DAZZLE]
The Roanoke Dazzle's front office is keeping its fingers crosses that a member of the team from the recently completed inaugural season will make it back to the NBA.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/Last Season; :00]
Johnny Taylor began his three day tryout with the Philadelphia 76ers today in Philly. Taylor is one of 20 players the Sixers are checking out this week. He was the Southern Conference's player of the year his senior season and a number one pick, the 17th overall in the 1997 NBA draft.
(------------)

[S-Tech]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=sp-117 14957TC]
[GRAPHIC=TECH]

The Virginia Football season won't open for another three months, but already the preseason college football hype is starting to build.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
This is the cover of the brand new Athlon Sports, Eastern College football preview magazine. It is not yet June and this thing is ready to hit area newstands. Jerry Spangler of the Anderson News Agency that distributes these throughout the area says this magazine will be in stores one week from today. The best place to hunt one down next Wednesday will be Kroger and Wal-Mart. The magazine hails Tech as the next Running Back U. with Suggs and Jones. (------------)