WDBJ 7 news at 6 for 08/20/02

[1-News-Head]

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[V/O-NAT] The family issues an emotional plea for the release of 9-year old Jennifer Short.
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[ANCHOR=Keith]
And several sides sound off in the ever- tightening state budget crisis.

[Sports-head]

[ANCHOR=steve]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=sma]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]

Tonight in sports, the Wood Brothers sign Ricky Rudd for next season, a look at ODAC football power Bridgewater,
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[VO-NAT]

and Lane Stadium's face lift is just about ready for Hokie fans.
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[WX-Head]
[ANCHOR=Robin]
[SS=None]

The weather headline calls for lower humidity and a dry outlook until the weekend. Details just ahead.
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[ANCHOR=Keith 3-Shot]

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

(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=I'm here to plead]
[RUNS=:09 ]
[OUT Q=please release her so she can come home.]
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[VO-NAT]

Little progress in the search for nine year old Jennifer Short, even as members of her family make a public appeal for her safe return.
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[ANCHOR=Keith]
[GRAPHIC=News7at6]

Good evening, I'm Keith Humphry. Shannon is off tonight.

[Short-Family]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#-02-27 TC56:00]
[GRAPHIC=Jennifer Short]

Authorities continue to come up empty in their search for Jennifer Short.
Today members of her family stepped forward with the hope that a direct appeal might have an impact on the investigation.
Henry County Sheriff Frank Cassell briefed reporters just a few moments ago.
[Double Boxes=Keith and JoeD/Microwave]

Joe Dashiell joins us with more on that.
[Live=JoeD Full/Microwave]
[SUPER=@Joe1;]
[SUPER=05-Henry Co.;]
( ad lib)
(Rollcue: an emotional plea for her safe return.)
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=I beg you]
[SUPER=01-Ruby Young/Jennifer's Aunt; :00]
[SUPER=03-Henry Co.; :25]
[RUNS=:00]
[OUT Q=that they have done already.]
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[Live=JoeD Full/Microwave]
[SUPER=05-Henry Co.;]
( ad lib)
[Double Boxes=Keith and JoeD/Microwave]

[Missing-Girl]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=02-33 TC22:40]
[GRAPHIC=HOLD]

Community support is pouring in for the Short family.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Henry Co.]

Citizens are putting up posters and yellow ribbons for Jennifer around Henry County.
And a childhood friend of Michael Short is starting a fund for the family.
Sheila Davis says she wants to raise money for funeral expenses, search efforts and a reward for finding Jennifer.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=She was just]
[SUPER=01-Sheila Davis/Short Family Friend]
[RUNS=16]
[OUT Q=this tragic to happen]
(XXXXXXXX)
[WIPE TO FS PINNACLE]
If you'd like to make a contribution to the Jennifer Renee Short Family Fund, you can send it to Post Office Box 207, Boones Mill Virginia 24068.
Or you can drop it off at the First National Bank of Boones Mill.
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[Campbell-Murder]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=02-19 TC2:01:12]
[GRAPHIC=Murder Invest.]

Police are now searching for another suspect in the murder of a Campbell County man last week.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Campbell Co./Last Week]

25-year-old Tony Stone was shot to death inside his Lynch Station home early Wednesday morning.
Authorities arrested Adrian Dawson of Lynchburg last week and charged him with murder.
(XXXXXXX)
[WIPE TO PINNACLE FULL]
They're now looking for 23-year-old Brian Keith Jones.
He's six feet tall, 190 pounds and has the word "psycho" tattooed on his neck.
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[Clower]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=netK]
[GRAPHIC=Sid Clower]

Former Henry County Administrator Sid Clower may not have heard the last of the criminal charges against him. An embezzlement case against was settled with a plea bargain just three weeks ago, but now FEDERAL investigators are looking into the matter.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Henry Co./Last Month]
The state court judge ordered Clower to pay back nearly 680-thousand dollars to the Henry County Public Service Authority.
Clower could still face charges of tax fraud stemming from his theft of more than 800-thousand dollars... and the alleged failure to pay taxes on his ill-gotten gains.
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[Tease#1]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[SS=NONE]

Governor Warner says more layoffs and budget cuts are coming... news state employees and teachers were hoping not to hear.
That's next on News 7 at Six.
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[VO-NAT]

And later, Virginia Tech botanists have a smelly situation on their hands... and they couldn't be happier

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[State-budget]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mmu]
[TAPE#=02-21 TC1:40:30]
[SS=None]

Governor Mark Warner is putting the state on a fiscal diet but many say it's already too thin.
[DOUBLE BOXES=Keith and Meghan/State Microwave]

Meghan Muldoon has reaction on the governor's latest round of budget cuts.
[LIVE= Meghan /FULL State Microwave]
[SUPER=@Meghan1]
[SUPER=05-Richmond]

Keith, Warner says he's got to trim the fat from state government in order to cover the budget shortfall.
That means further cuts, more layoffs and a lot of concern.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=IN ANNOUNCING HIS PLAN TO DEAL.]
[SUPER=03-Richmond; :00]
[SUPER=@MarkWarner; :07]
[SUPER=01-Jean Bankos/Va. Education Assoc.; :26]
[SUPER=01-Joan Dent/Va. Governmental Employee Assoc.; 1:06]
[RUNS=1:16]
[OUT Q=MORALE IS PRETTY LOW RIGHT NOW.]
(( In announcing his plan to deal with the state's one and a half billion dollar deficit, Governor Warner made it perfectly clear.
[SOT 10:17:33-38]
[IN Q=EVERYONE SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT NO AGENCY]
[RUNS:05]
[OUT Q=WILL BE TOTALLY EXEMPT FROM REDUCTIONS.]

That means public education isn't immune to cuts although many think it should be.
Educators say additional cuts mean teachers won't be getting their promised pay raise and students may be getting shortchanged in the classroom.

[SOT 13:44:05-16]
[IN Q=CHILDREN ARE ONLY CHILDREN ONCE]
[RUNS:11]
[OUT Q=THAT IS HAPPENING.]

Education groups point out that while Warner has a constitutional duty to balance the budget the state also has a responsibility to provide quality education to its children.

[SOT 13:46:50]
[IN Q=DO WE THINK THE PUBLIC REALLY IS WILLING]
[RUNS:07]
[OUT Q=FOR A BALANCED BUDGET?]

Another group feeling stretched to the limit are state employees.

[SOT 10:30:41-45]
[IN Q=THIS IS GOING TO BE A VERY CHALLENGING TIME.]
[RUNS:04]
[OUT Q=WE'RE GOING TO ASK THEM TO DO MORE WITH LESS.]

A state employee representative says agencies are already strapped for manpower.
[SOT 14:13:03-10]
[IN Q=AGENCIES ARE PRETTY SHORT-STAFFED RIGHT NOW.]
((JOAN DENT/VIRGINIA GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION: AGENCIES ARE PRETTY SHORT-STAFFED RIGHT NOW BECAUSE THIS IS JUST THE LAST IN A SERIES OF CUTS THAT HAVE ALREADY OCCURRED.))
[SOT 14:12:53-56]
((DENT: MORALE IS PRETTY LOW RIGHT NOW.)) [RUNS:13]
[OUT Q=PRETTY LOW RIGHT NOW.]))
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[LIVE= Meghan /FULL State Microwave]
[SUPER=05-Richmond;]

State agencies have until September 20th to submit their budget cutting plans to the governor.
[DOUBLE BOXES=Keith & Meghan /State Microwave;]

There may be a lot of groaning out there, most

[College-Budget]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=myr]
[TAPE#=02-23 TC1:22:52]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Virginia Tech officials say continuing quality education will be their main focus...in spite of the need to make significant budget cuts.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg;]

State higher education will face an additional loss this year in appropriations...from anywhere between five to 15-percent.
Not shocking news to officials at Virginia Tech, who say the school's already lost about 40-million from their budget as a result of last year's cuts.
(////SOT////)
[IN Q=regardless though]
[SUPER=01-Larry Hincker/VA Tech University Relations]
[RUNS=:13]
[OUT Q=would lose]
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[VO-NAT]

Officials from both Virginia Tech and Radford Univesity say it is still too early to tell what areas will be affected by the cuts, but, have begun looking at various cost-reduction strategies.
Each school will have until September 20th to develop a budget reduction plan and submit it to the Governor's office for approval.
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[Stocks]

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

The bulls took a break on Wall Street as investors took profits after two weeks of market gains. [TAKE DOW & NASDAQ PAGE]
[RUNS=:30]
[SUPER=x5000;]
[SUPER=440-y/118.72/8872.07/y/17.95/1376.59;]

The DOW dropped 119 points.
NASDAQ fell 18.
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[VO]
[SUPER=271-i/0.25/53.30/h/0.80/33.28/h/0.53/62.52/i/1.09/69.01/i/0.03/16.83;]
[SUPER=272-i/0.12/6.28/i/0.25/63.51/i/0.82/38.68/i/0.64/32.25/i/0.40/14.10;]
[SUPER=273-i/0.45/45.27//Unchg/20.35/i/0.10/21.01/h/0.11/3.41/i/0.15/51.70;]
[SUPER=274-i/0.37/11.52/i/1.58/66.68/i/1.79/31.80/i/0.62/36.38/i/0.91/53.78;]
[SUPER=#555; Reset]

[Stuttering]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=jsu]
[TAPE#=02-25 TC1:28:51]
[GRAPHIC=None]

For the millions of stutters a new device soon to hit the market could offer new hope in achieving normal fluency.

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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.]

Hollins Communications Research Institute has developed an improved version of its fluency master.
It alters the way a stutterer hears himself. The Institute is based on the belief that stuttering is the result of a person's inability to hear themselves correctly.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT15:55:34]
[IN Q=It appears as if the scull is filtering]
((DR. RONALD WEBSTER/HOLLINS COMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH INSTITUTE; IT APPEARS AS IF THE SKULL IS FILTERING OUT VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION IN THE FREQUENCY OF REGIONS THAT ARE CRITICAL TO THE DETECTION AND UNDERSTANDING OF SPEECH))
[SUPER=01-Dr. Ronald Webster/Hollins Communications Research Institute]
[RUNS=09]
[OUT Q=understanding of speech]
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[VO-NAT]
While the current version is only effective for about 25 to 30 percent of people --- the new model could work for as
many as 90-percent of stutterers.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT16:08:39]
[IN Q=You get to use to it]
((GARE LECOMPTE; YOU GET USE TO IT VERY VERY FAST. ONCE IT'S ON YOU CAN FUNCTION WITH IT WITHIN A FEW MINUTES))
[SUPER=07-Gare Lecompte]
[RUNS=12]
[OUT Q=within a few minutes]
(+++++++++)
[WIPE TO FS PINNACLE]
If you would like more information on the Fluency Master, Contact the Hollins Communications Research Institute at 540-265-5666.
The device costs around 25-hundred dollars.
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[Sports tease]

[ANCHOR=steve]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=sma]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]

The Virginia tech Hokies and their stadium prepare for the season opener, the Bridgewater Eagles look to soar after the 2001 Stagg Bowl
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[VO-NAT]

and Ricky Rudd signs on with the Wood Brothers.
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[S-Hokies]

[ANCHOR=Steve]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=SP-131 2157TC]
[GRAPHIC=TECH]
The Hokies season opener with Arkansas State is now just 5 days away. And Mike Stevens says the south endzone expansion isn't the only new thing fans will see at the field this coming Sunday.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=FIRST AUDIO]
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg; :00]
[SUPER=01-Frank Beamer/149 Career Wins; :24]
[SUPER=01-Lee Suggs/VT Pre-Season All-American; :46]
[SUPER=01-Tom Gabbard/VT Athletic Director for Internal Affairs; 1:27]
[SUPER=@mike1; :1:37]
[RUNS=1:55]
[OUT Q=...NEWS 7 SPORTS."]
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[S-Eagles]

[ANCHOR=steve]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=sma]
[TAPE#=SP-127 34:55 ]
[GRAPHIC=ncaa]

ODAC power Bridgewater's football program experienced a growth spurt after nearly winning the NCAA Division III Stagg Bowl last season.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Bridgewater; :00]
160 players are trying out which has prompting head coach Mike Clark to start a JV program.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Mike Clark/Bridgewater Head Coach; :00]
[RUNS=:14]
[OUT Q=......in 2002"]
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[VO-NAT]

Seven starters are back on defense while six return on offense. Clark must replace All-American running back Davon Cruz and quarterback Jason Lutz.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[RUNS=:20]
[OUT Q=......a complete mystery"]
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[S-Rudd]

[ANCHOR=steve]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=sma]
[TAPE#=SP-128]
[GRAPHIC=NASCAR]

A major move in Winston Cup racing today when Len and Eddie Wood announced that Ricky Rudd will drive their number 21 Wood brothers Motrocraft Ford beginning in 2003.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Daytona Beach, FL; :00]
The 45 year old Rudd is a prime catch for the Woods. Rudd has 23 career Cup victories, 28 Bud Poles and 185 top five finishes in 754 starts. Rudd is also an iron man, his streak of 667 straight starts is the best in the series 54 year history. Rudd has finished in the top five in Cup points the last two seasons under Robert Yates. He replaces Elliott Sadler, who will drive for Yates.
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[S-Race]

[ANCHOR=steve]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=sma]
[TAPE#=SP-124]
[GRAPHIC=Nacar]

The New River valley Speedway late model stock car season is winding down and the points race is coming down to the wire.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-]

Eric Sartin is your points leader, 14 up on Chad Harris and 18 points a head of third place Tink Reedy.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Tink Reedy/New River Valley Points Leader; :00]
[RUNS=:17]
[OUT Q=..im telling ya"]
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[S-Danville]

[ANCHOR=steve]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=sma]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=baseball]

American Legion National World Series baseball is coming to Virginia. The series will take place at Dan Daniel Memorial Park in Danville. The event is being hosted by American legion Post six Rocky Mount, Post 8 South Boston and Post 325 Danville. The series runs from August 23rd through the 27th. The old timers game tomorrow night at seven pits major league baseball alumni against the American legion all star team. Former players like Tug McGraw, Graig Nettles, Al Holland, Jim Bibby and Gaylord Perry will play.

[Tech-Flower]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=myr]
[TAPE#=02-24 TC1:20:01]
[GRAPHIC=None]

It has a smell that'll turn your stomach...and yet it somehow manages to attract people by the thousands.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg;]

Now, the Department of Botany at Virginia Tech is one of the few to own the Indonesian native A-Titanus (Ty-tuh-nuhs) flower.
Nicknamed the corpse flower, the plant produces a rotten, fish-like smell upon blooming and can use the scent to attract pollenators from 50 feet away.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 32:12]
[IN Q=so it has]
[SUPER=01-Khider Hilu/VA Tech Botany Professor]
[RUNS=:08]
[OUT Q=particular plant]
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[VO-NAT]

Hilu (Hee-lu) says he expects the plant to begin blooming in a matter of days... only the 20th time that's happened since the plant was first introduced to the U-S in 1937.
If you'd like to get a whiff of the smelly plant, you can go down to the Virginia Tech greenhouse this Saturday between one and four-p-m. (------------)