WDBJ 7 morning news AM cutins for 11/27/02

[7Wx-Headline]

[ANCHOR=Kim]

[NEWSCAST=Cut-ins]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=Mornin' Report]

Good morning, I'm Kimberly McBroom......
[SS=School Info]
We have one school closing to report this morning.
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[TAKE FS SCHOOL TOUCH] Students in Highland County are getting the day off because of winter weather. Schools there are closed today.
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[ANCHOR=Kim]
[SS=none]
Grab you winter coat if you are headed out this morning, and you are going to need it through out the day...Leo Hisbrunner has the complete forcast coming up.

[7-Water-Main]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]

Crews are working on a water main break in Roanoke.
Authorities say the 12- inch break is in the parking lot of J-B Rappaport Optometrists on Peters Creek Road.
It's affecting the 13- hundred block.
Officials say repairs should be finished between 10 and 11 this morning, and should NOT affect traffic.

[7-5-Pipe-Bomb]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=502-01 2:46:40]
[GRAPHIC=None]

They are not sure if this was a joke or an attempt to injure someone, but investigators are offering a reward to find the person responsible for the pipe bomb that exploded in a Roanoke County family's mailbox.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.;]

Last Friday night, someone blew up Kim Sydnor's mailbox with a pipe bomb.
The whole neighborhood heard the blast, but no one realized what had happened until the next morning, when pieces of the mailbox turned up all over.
No one was injured...
But investigators are offering a reward of up to 100-thousand dollars for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
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[SOT 19:45]
[IN Q=There's been]
((BRETT BRUMBAUGH/POSTAL SERVICE INVESTIGATOR: THERE'S BEEN SOME PEOPLE WHO SAID THERE WERE CARS IN AND OUT OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD JUST PRIOR TO AND AFTER THEY HEARD THE EXPLOSION, SO WE'RE ASKING FOR NEIGHBORS OR PEOPLE TO COME FORWARD WITH THOSE VEHICLES IF THEY'VE SEEN OR HEARD ANYTHING. AND ALSO IF PEOPLE HAVE BEEN BRAGGING ABOUT IT OR CLAIMED THAT THEY'RE INVOLVED, WE'D LIKE TO KNOW WHO THEY ARE SO THAT WE CAN INCLUDE THEM IN THE INVESTIGATION. ))
[SUPER=01-Brett Brumbaugh/U. S. Postal Service Inspector;]
[RUNS=:22]
[OUT Q=in the investigation.]
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[VO-NAT]

Sydnor thinks it was probably a prank ...
But his neighbors think it may have been done by the same person who's been stealing items from cars on the street.
The postal inspector says he's following up leads on some cars that were seen in the area that night.
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[7-11NS-Layoffs]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=rca]
[TAPE#=02-43 TC1:25:34]
[GRAPHIC=NS Layoffs]

Norfolk Southern says it will furlough workers through Christmas.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/File Tape;]
Officials say 81-employees will be temporarily out of work starting December first and lasting at least through the end of the year. The move is blamed on a downturn in business during the holiday season. Roanoke's East End Shops have been building and rebuilding rail cars and engines for years, but a decline in coal exports has slowed down that work considerably. Workers at the railroad's Pennsylvania car shop are also facing furloughs. Officials say they will reevaluate the labor situation in January.
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[45-Water-Main]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]

A water main break in Roanoke is affecting service in the Peters Creek Road area.
Authorities say the 12- inch break is in the parking lot of J-B Rappaport Optometrists in the 13- hundred block of Peters Creek.
Officials say repairs should be finished between 10 and 11 this morning, and should NOT affect traffic.

[45-11NS-Layoffs]

[45-11Monty-Budget]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=myr]
[TAPE#=02-]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Montogmery county is doing what it can to keep from laying off employees.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Christiansburg;]

Monday night, the Board of Supervisors voted to absorb the cuts passed down from the state to the county's four constitutional offices.
Those being the county treasurer, commonwealth's attorney, clerk of the circuit courts and commissioner of revenue.
The cuts would have totaled over 100-thousand dollars for the remainder of the fiscal year...forcing salary reductions and the elimination of at least nine-positions.
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[SOT 38:56]
[IN Q=we can afford]
((MARY BIGGS/MONTGOMERY CO. SUPERVISORS CHAIRPERSON: WE CAN AFFORD TO DO THIS AS FAR AS THIS ONE TIME, BUT, WE DON'T WANT TO MAKE IT A MATTER OF PRACTICE, BECAUSE THE STATE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THESE CUTS AND THE STATE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR BEING ABLE TO RAISE REVENUES TO COVER THIS 39:13))
[SUPER=01-Mary Biggs/Montgomery Co. Supervisors Chairperson;]
[RUNS=:17]
[OUT Q=to cover this]
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[ANCHOR=Kim]
[SS=none]

Also at the meeting...the board said it will consider passing a new ordinance that would prevent people from scalping ticktets at certain events.
The idea stems partly from a recent ticket scam at Virginia Tech.

[8-Water-Main]

[8-6-Lewis]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=02-38 TC1:56:44]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]

The trial of a Roanoke police officer involved in a shooting nearly three years ago has ended in his favor.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]
There was never any dispute that officer William Boucher (boo-SHAY) shot Wilbert Wesley Lewis during a traffic stop.

What was in contention was whether Lewis was shot in the stomach, or shot in the back. The federal jury deliberated just 25 minutes before coming back with a verdict in favor of Officer Boucher.
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[SOT]
[IN Q=We placed ourselves]
[SUPER=01-Ted Farmer/Jury Foreman; :00]
[SUPER=01-William Boucher/Roanoke Police Officer; :05]
[SUPER=01-Wilbert Wesley Lewis/Plaintiff; :15]
[RUNS=29]
[OUT Q=say so on Boucher.]
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[VO-NAT]

Lewis had sought 13 million dollars in his civil suit against the city, the Police chief and the City of Roanoke. The chief and the city were dismissed as defendants early on, leaving Boucher to defend his actions. Boucher and eye witnesses testified that the officer repeatedly told Lewis to get down on the ground and to show his hands. Lewis said he was putting his hands on top of the car when Boucher shot him.
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[8-11VA-Unemployment]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=Business News]

Martinsville is no longer struggling with the state's highest unemployment rate.
Another community in Southwest Virignia ranked higher in October.
Temporary factory furloughs sent Galax's jobless rate to 14-point-3 percent last month.
Martinsville's rate FELLl just below 12 percent.
Statewide, unemployment fell to 3-point-8 percent, its lowest level in 14-months.
[Mornin' Promo] [ANCHOR-Kim] [Animation]
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((Tomorrow on News 7 Mornin'.))
[RUNS=03]
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[Kim on Camera] We'll have your cold Thanksgiving Day forecast.... And....Steve Pardon talks with some people who are giving their time to help others this holiday. Get your Turkey Day started with us
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Tomorrow on News 7 Mornin'.[Animation full]