WDBJ 7 news at 6 for 09/19/02

[1-News-Head]

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[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]
What to do with I-81. V-DOT wants ideas from private contractors... how to pave it AND how to pay for it.
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[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]
And the hole in the state budget will not put an end to pomp and circumstance at Tech.

[Sports-head]

[ANCHOR=travis]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
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Tonight in sports, the Dazzle has a new assistant coach, we'll preview week four of the high school football season, plus
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[VO-NAT]

the Hokies leave for Texas tomorrow morning. We'll check the itinerary for the 1200 mile trip from Blacksburg to College Station.
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[WX-Head]
[ANCHOR=Robin]
[SS=None]

Showers overnight but not much during the day. Patchy fog will be the headline tonight. Details ahead.
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[ANCHOR=Shannon 4-Shot]

News 7 is next.
[Video-Open]
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[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]

Private companies are getting a crack at Virginia's longest interstate.
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]

V-DOT wants the business sector to show what it can do for Interstate 81.
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[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]

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

And I'm Keith Humphry.
[I-81]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=02-31 TC54:51]
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]

V-DOT is looking for the best and brightest to submit their plans to improve Interstate 81.
[ANCHOR=SHannon 2-Shot]

It's calling for proposals from private companies to keep cars and commercial trucks rolling along in harmony. [***NEwS 7 @ 6 MONITOR GRAPHIC***]
[TOSS ACROSS=Keith-Shannon & Marya /Pulpit;]

Marya Jones is here to explain what it means.
Keith and Shannon, V-DOT has had the authority to partner with private companies to build and maintain roads for seven years now ...
[LIVE= /FULL]
[SUPER=@Marya1;]

But this is the first time ANY state has asked the private sector to help it upgrade and run an interstate.
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[SOT]
[IN Q=NATS]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.; :00]
[SUPER=01-Laura Bullock/VDOT Spokesperson; :10]
[RUNS=:57]
[OUT Q=how to spend it.]
(((///// SOT /////)
[NATS] ((NATS: i-81 TRAFFIC.))
[RUNS= :01]

One of the nation's most scenic highways is congested with cars and trucks.
And V-Dot is looking to engineers and design firms to offer the solution.
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[SOT 2:31:12 - :22]
((LAURA BULLOCK: WE DON'T KNOW OF ANY OTHER STATE TRANSPORTATION DEPT. IN THE COUNTRY THAT'S SAID GIVE US YOUR BEST IDEAS FOR 325 MILES. WE THINK THIS IS PRETTY HISTORIC AND PRETTY SIGNIFICANT. ))
[RUNS= :10]

V-Dot is giving companies a little more than three months to come up with proposals.
It wants solutions that boost safety, economic development and technology on the I-81 corridor.
Some suggestions include separating trucks and cars, shifting commercial traffic to trains and linking 81 with major transportation hubs, like airports and railways.
And here's the catch: The companies have to figure out how to pay for it ... and share some fiscal responsibility with the state.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 2:32:34 - :43]
(( THERE'S GOT TO BE SOME RISK THAT IS TAKEN BY THE PROPOSERS, THERE'S GOT TO BE SOME RISK THAT'S SHARED WITH THE COMMONWEALTH. WE'RE NOT JUST SAYING, "HERE'S OUR POT OF MONEY, TELL US HOW TO SPEND IT." ))
[RUNS= :09]))
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[LIVE= Marya /FULL Pulpit]

Already, at least one group has announced it indends to compete.
Star Solutions says it will re-submit its bid to widen I-81 by charging trucks a toll.
[TOSS ACROSS=Keith-SHannon & Marya /Pulpit;]

The VDOT commissioner said he expected to have the final proposal selected and negotiated in a year's time.

[Drought]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
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The state is asking for more federal drought-related disaster declarations.
The Commonwealth has asked the U-S Agriculture Department to designate 14 more counties as federal disaster areas.

They include: Bedford, Bland, Floyd, Franklin and Wythe Counties.
Ten other counties have already been designated as primary disaster areas, with another 38 designated as contiguous disaster areas.
Agriculture losses now stand at about 120- million dollars and could reach as high as 200-million by the end of next season.

[Jefferson-Forest]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6 PM]
[WRITER=jus]
[TAPE#=02-32 TC1:48:22]
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They're ready to make a decision.
Tonight, the Bedford County School board is expected to vote on the future of Jefferson Forest High School.
[DOUBLE BOXES=Keith & Justin /Microwave;]

Justin McLeod is at the school administration building with a preview. Justin?
Keith, after years of debate we'll know tonight what's next for Jefferson Forest High.
[LIVE= Justin/FULL Microwave]
[SUPER=@Justin1;]
[SUPER=05-Bedford]

The school board will decide whether to renovate the school or build a new bigger facility in the Forest area of the county.
This issue has been controversial from the beginning and tonight's vote most likely won't be the end of it.
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[VO-NAT]
[***JUSTIN'S MIC HOT***]
[SUPER=03-Bedford Co./File Tape]

Everyone agrees something needs to be done, but they disagree on how to do it.
One proposal is to renovate Jefferson Forest which would cost about 30-million dollars.
Another is to construct a new school at a cost of 40-million.
School officials say tonight's decisions won't be easy.
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[SOT]
[IN Q=I think it ]
[SUPER=01-Jim Blevins/School Superintendent]
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[OUT Q=about their decision tonight.]
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[VO-NAT]

Blevins expects tonight's meeting to attract nearly five hundred people.
Because this is will be an emotional issue for a lot of people, the Sheriff's Department will be on hand to keep the peace.
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[LIVE= Justin/FULL Microwave]
[SUPER=05-Bedford;]

The meeting begins at 7:30 in the Bedford Science and Technology Center.
16 people are scheduled to speak before the school board votes.
[DOUBLE BOXES=Keith & Justin /Microwave;]

And Keith, we'll let you know what that vote is and reaction to it tonight at 11.

[Nickens]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
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Vinton Supervisor Harry Nickens says he will leave the Roanoke Valley with mixed emotions.
A 20- year veteran of the Roanoke County board, and a former president of the College of Health Sciences, Nickens is taking a position with a health system in Danville, Kentucky.
Tonight, Joe Dashiell has more on Nickens' decision and the search for his successor.
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[SOT]
[IN Q=Harry Nickens says]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/November 2001; :00]
[SUPER=@Nickens; :14]
[SUPER=@Church; :32]
[SUPER=@Joe2; :46]
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[OUT Q=JD News 7 Roanoke Co.]

((Harry Nickens says the Ephraim McDowell health system offered a challenging position and a good fit for his experience...
But after 30 years in the Roanoke Valley and 20 on the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors, the decision wasn't an easy one.
[SOT]
[IN Q=Mixed emotions]
((HARRY NICKENS: MIXED EMOTIONS AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, BUT I DO THINK IT'S A GOOD FIT FOR ME AND IT'S A QUALITY ORGANIZATION AND HOPEFULLY THROUGH THE YEARS I'VE MADE SOME CONTRIBUTIONS THAT WILL STILL YIELD DIVIDENDS IN THE ROANOKE AREA.))

[RUNS= :17]
[OUT Q=in the Roanoke area.]

Supervisors Chairman Butch Church says it will be difficult to replace Nickens experience'... but the remaining members must choose his replacement within 30 days of his departure.
And that person will serve until a special election in November of 2003.
[SOT 37:25]
[IN Q=It's sudden]
((JOE "BUTCH" CHURCH: IT'S SUDDEN. WE DON'T HAVE ANY PRECONCEIVED, I DON'T BELIEVE OUR BOARD DOES, IDEAS OR CRITERIA FOR ANYONE TO APPLY. WE JUST HOPE AND I THINK WE WILL GET SOME REALLY GOOD SOLID APPLICANTS THAT ARE WILLING TO COME FORWARD.))
[RUNS= :16]
[OUT Q=willing to come forward.]

Church says board members will discuss the selection process in more detail Tuesday night.
In the meantime, they're thanking Harry Nickens for his service to the county, and encouraging anyone who'd like to succeed him to put their interest in writing.
Joe Dashiel News 7 Roanoke County))

[Danville-Council]

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An executive at Dan River Incorporated is the newest member of Danville City Council.
Albert "Buddy" Rawley was picked to fill the vacancy created by the death of Charles Scott last month.
Many people had hoped city council would pick former mayor Seward Anderson to fill out Scott's term.
Anderson came close to winning a seat on council in the last election.

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

Still ahead on News 7 at six... find how the state's budget crisis almost sank graduation ceremonies at the area's biggest college.
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[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]

Plus see how this near-empty field could soon be the Woodstock of Western Virginia.
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[State-budget]
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[WRITER=mmu]
[TAPE#=02-34 TC33:36]
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]

Good news for taxpayers...lawmakers say they won't be raising taxes despite news that the state's budget deficit is growing.
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Richmond]

Secretary of Finance John Bennett told Senate lawmakers today that the state is nearly two billion dollars in the red.
In addition to a one-point-five billion dollar revenue shortfall, costs for programs such as the car tax rebate are running overbudget.
Bennett also says that the recent cuts proposed by Governor Warner won't be enough to cover the shortfall.
Still, Democrats and Republicans are saying that raising taxes to help balance the budget is out of the question.
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[SOT 10:28:07]
[IN Q=I DON'T THINK THAT'S]
[SUPER=01-John Bennett/Va. Sec. of Finance; ::00 QUICK]
[SUPER=@Hawkins; :04]
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[OUT Q=TRUMBO, TAX ME.]
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[VO-NAT]

Instead, lawmakers say they'll rely on cuts in state services to cover the current deficit.
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[Tech-Graduation]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=myr]
[TAPE#=02-23 TC1:39:56]
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]

It's back on.
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]

Virginia Tech officials say they will not be forced to cut Fall commencement afterall...thanks to some help from the local hotel community.
[DOUBLE BOXES=Myranda & Keith-Shannon /Microwave;]

New River Valley Bureau Chief Myranda Stephens is in Blacksburg tonight with the details.
That's right, Keith & Shannon, when the news came out that Tech may have to cut Fall commencement because of budget restraints...
[LIVE= Myranda /FULL]
[SUPER=@Myranda1;]
[SUPER=05-Blacksburg;]
it affected more than just the university and its students.
Local hotels and restaurants had a stake in it too.
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[SOT ]
[IN Q=just last week]
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg/File Tape; :00]
[SUPER=01-Jean Elliott/VA Tech College of Media & Relations; :20]
[SUPER=01-Jeremy Allen/AmeriSuites General Manager; :44]
[RUNS=1:22]
[OUT Q=BE USED FOR THAT ]
((Just last week, the university announced it was doing everything it could to scale back its budget in response to state cutbacks. That included cutting out Fall commencement, which would cost the school about 30-thousand dollars. Needless to say, the news didn't sit too well with students.
[SOT 2:28]
[RUNS :17]
(JEAN ELLIOTT/VA TECH COLLEGE OF MEDIA & RELATIONSTHAT'S UNDERSTANDABLE. THERE'S AN EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENT TO GRADUATION,
AND THEY'VE PAID THEIR DUES AND THEY WANT TO WALK AND I CAN CERTAINLY UNDERSTAND THAT, BUT, ALSO WHEN YOU'RE FACING A BUDGET CRUNCH OF ANOTHER 11 TO 33-MILLION THAT COULD BE REDUCED FROM YOU'RE BUDGET YOU HAVE TO PROTECT ACADEMIC INTEGRITY FIRST AND THIS IS ONE OF THE PROGRAMS THAT CAN FALL BY THE WAYSIDE.)) But, the news also didn't sit too well with local hotel managers, like Jeremy Allen, who say Fall commencement pulls in about a quarter of their revenue.
[SOT 25:20]
[RUNS :10] ((JEREMY ALLEN/AMERISUITES GENERAL MANAGER: DECEMBER'S BASICALLY A SLOW MONTH IN BLACKSBURG, SO, THE RESTAURANTS, THE MERCHANTS AND EVERYBODY WILL BENEFIT FROM THE COMMENCEMENT GOING THROUGH)) Allen ending up calling around to the other hotels in the area to pitch the idea of donating a portion of their room sales toward commencement. The idea worked...and commencement is back on.
[SOT 1:04]
[RUNS 04] [PLEASE COVER] ((WE'RE VERY FORTUNATE THAT OUR FRIENDS IN THE LOCAL HOTEL COMMUNITY STEPPED FORTH)) Elliott says right now, the university and the hotels haven't worked out just how much money will be donated, but, she says it will be balanced from the university's parents fund, which is money donated from parents of current and past students to help toward campus enhancements.
[SOT 1:58]
[RUNS :12]
(IT CAN GO FOR INTRAMURALS, CAMPUS LIGHTING, FOR SAFETY FOR CAREER PURPOSES AND THIS IS ONE OF THOSE THINGS IT WILL BE
USED FOR 2:05 AND I THINK FROM WHAT I HEAR THE PARENTS WILL BE HAPPY TO KNOW IT WILL BE USED FOR THAT ))
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[LIVE= Myranda /FULL]
[SUPER=05-Blacksburg;]

Now, officials say they may have been able to save this year's Fall commencement, but, next year's ceremony could still be cut.
[DOUBLE BOXES=Myranda/Shannon /Microwave;]

They say they will know by the end of next spring.
So, maybe the hotels will step up again...who knows.

[Franklin-Fatal]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
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[GRAPHIC=Fatal accident]

A Rocky Mount woman died after a single car accident yesterday.
State Police say 26- year- old Shannon Lee Parks ran off the left side of Route 220, overcorrected, ran off the right side of the road and hit a tree.
She died last night at Roanoke Memorial Hospital.

[Tax-Credits]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
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[WRITER=rca]
[TAPE#=netP]
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The moving vans are unloading at Roanoke's first luxury apartment complex.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=@file;]
Eight Jefferson Place is ready for tenants after working out the final financial stumbling block. A problem with federal historic tax credits had kept people from moving into their pre-leased apartments. Officials say the credits have been issued and occupancy paperwork completed. Eight Jefferson Place is a redevelopment project of the historic Norfolk and Western office building into up-scale apartments.
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[Stocks]

[ANCHOR=SHannon 2-Shot]
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[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Worries about third-quarter earnings are growing and sending stocks lower. [TAKE DOW & NASDAQ PAGE]
[RUNS=:30]
[SUPER=x5000;]
[SUPER=440-y/230.06/7942.39/y/35.69/1216.44;]
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]

The DOW plunged 230 points today, closing below eight-thousand for the first time since late July.
NASDAQ fell 36, for its lowest close of the year.
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[SUPER=273-i/0.78/46.20/i/0.15/15.15/h/0.09/21.09/i/0.14/2.05/i/2.37/44.70;]
[SUPER=274-i/0.24/10.31/i/2.11/61.58/i/0.75/29.43/i/1.99/32.14/i/0.68/53.70;]
[SUPER=#555; Reset]
[Floyd-Festival]
[NEWSCAST=6 p.m.]
[WRITER=syo]
[TAPE#=02-35 TC38:20]
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]

An open field near Floyd is undergoing a transformation.
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]
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[VO-NAT :18]
[SUPER=03-Floyd;]
The 50-acre parcel of land will be the site of the first ever Floyd World Music Festival next weekend. But there's lot of work to do before hundreds of performers and thousands of festival-goers can set up camp. Organizers says the community is pitching in above and beyond their expectations.
(///// SOT at : /////)
[SOT 24:07-24:23]
[IN Q=We've had three work days...]
((ERIKA JOHNSON/FLOYD WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL: WE'VE HAD THREE WORK DAYS WHEN ANYBODY WAS INVITED TO COME OUT AND HELP. WE HAD 200 AT THE LAST ONE. IT WAS REMARKABLE.))
[SUPER=01-Erika Johnson/Floyd World Music Festival;]
[RUNS=:16]
[OUT Q=it was remarkable.]
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[VO-NAT :11]
Johnson expects between 8 and 14-thousand people to attend the event. You can learn more about the festival and its featured performers during our Time Off segment this weekend.
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[Sports tease]

[ANCHOR=travis]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=twe]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]

Coming up in sports, a look at the Hokies roundabout route to College Station, a check on the week four FFE schedule, and
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[VO-NAT]

Tiger Woods gears up for the Ryder Cup with a sizzling first round at the American Express Championship.
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[S-Travel]

[ANCHOR=Travis]
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[WRITER=mst]
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[GRAPHIC=TEXAS A&M/VT]

Texas A&M is sure to present Virginia Tech with its biggest challenge of the season this Saturday afternoon. But Mike Stevens says playing the Aggies will actually be breeze compared to what it takes just to get the team to College Station.
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[SOT]
[IN Q=FIRST AUDIO]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke; :00]
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg; :09]
[SUPER=01-John Ballein/VT Director of Footbal Operations; :18]
[SUPER=@mike1; :59]
[RUNS=1:43]
[OUT Q=...NEWS 7 SPORTS."]
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(( Normally the Hokies travel to their away game destinations by boarding a Miami Air charter right here in Roanoke.
But due to the weight of some extra equipment the Hokies are carrying to the Lone Star state this is no normal trip.

((JOHN BALLEIN:)) The Hokies will bus three hours from Blacksburg to Greensboro - where they can fly with full tank of jet fuel non-stop to College Station, Texas. ((JOHN:)) ((STANDUP-MIKE STEVENS:)) ((JOHN BALLEIN:)) This is Tech's first road game of the season and 22 players are making their first trip away from Lane Stadium. Don't feel too bad for them - these guys had to drive - taking a truck load of equipment to College Station - on a 25 hour road trip. In Blacksburg, Mike Stevens News 7 sports.))

[S-FFE]

[ANCHOR=Travis]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=SP-125 5344TC]
[GRAPHIC=FFE]
Week number four of Friday Football Extra is coming up tomorrow night. Here's a look at the complete schedule of games in the area with the HOME team listed on the bottom of each matchup.

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[SOT]
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[OUT Q=...LOGO COMES FULL.]
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[S-Dazzle]

[ANCHOR=travis]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=twe]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=Roanoke Dazzle]

To the hardwood where the NBDL announced today that Mike Brown, an NBA veteran of 11 seasons has been named the Roanoke Dazzle's new assistant coach. The 39 year old Brown played in over 600 NBA games for the Bulls, Jazz, Timberwolves, Sixers, and Suns. He is a graduate of George Washington University where he led the Atlantic 10 in rebounding in 3 straight seasons from 1982 until 1985. The Dazzle will open its 2nd season on November 15th at the Civic Center.

[S-Tiger]

[ANCHOR=travis]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=twe]
[TAPE#=SP-132]
[GRAPHIC=Golf]

Tiger Woods changed clubs this week, going from Titleist to the new Nike forged irons. So far the move has paid off.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Thomastown, Ireland/ESPN; :00]

Woods fired a 7-under par 65 today for a new course record at the American Express Championships. Tiger nailed a 25 foot putt on the final hole to take a one shot lead over Steve Lowery and David Toms. None of the three had a bogey on the day. The five million dollar tournament is a tuneup for next week's Ryder Cup matches at the Belfry.
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[Close]

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