[11Snow-Preps]

[ANCHOR=Kim]

[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=myr]
[TAPE#=02-52 TC1:22:25]
[SS=Winter Weather]

V-DOT crews are hoping to get a head start on whatever comes our way.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Christiansburg;]

The department says it brought in a full crew of maintenance employees at Midnight, to service and repair its equipment.
And even though the last few snowstorms have been keeping V-DOT workers busier than usual this winter, officials say up until three years ago, it was considered the norm.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 34:48]
[IN Q=AND THEN]
((DALE STANZEL/VDOT:AND THEN WE HAD TWO WARM WINTERS AND WE DIDN'T HAVE THE SNOW, AND NOW IT'S KIND OF GETTING BACK TO THE USUAL DECEMBER, JANUARY, FEBRUARY WINTER. AND THIS IS WHAT WE EXPECT THIS TIME OF THE YEAR 35:00))
[SUPER=01-Dale Stanzel/Virginia Department of Transportation;]
[RUNS=:12]
[OUT Q=OF THE YEAR]
(-------------)
[VO-NAT]

Stanzel says his department was out in full force Tuesday night, where parts of the New River Valley saw up to three inches of snow.
(-------------)

[11Missing-Woman]


[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=None]

In other news, Henry County authorities are asking for help in locating a missing woman.
(XXXXXXXX)
[*TAKE SNIPES PHOTO FS*]
54-year-old Sarah Ann Snipes of Martinsville was last seen on January 8th, walking away from her home.
She was on her way to visit a friend.
Her daughter reported her missing.
Authorities say Snipes requires medication for seizures.
(XXXXXXXX)
[*TAKE HENRY CO. SHERIFF'S DEPT. PINNACLE FS*]
If you've seen her, you can call the Henry County Sheriff's Department at 276 - 638 - 8751.
(-------------)

[Iraq]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Iraq]

The U-N's chief weapons inspector say he plans to tell Iraq that the situation is ``very dangerous," but that war can still be prevented if Iraq provides more evidence about its weapons program.
Hans Blix is due to arrive in Baghdad on Sunday.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=04-File Tape;]

Meanwhile, the United Nations will reportedly demand that Iraq hand over two key scientists for interviews.
U-S officials want the meetings to be done outside of Iraq.
Also, Iraqi exiles who want to help topple Saddam Hussein are headed to a military base in Hungary for boot camp- like training.
(------------)

[Malvo]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Malvo]

If convicted in the sniper shootings, 17- year- old suspect John Lee Malvo could get the death penalty.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Fairfax;]

A judge in Fairfax ruled yesterday that Malvo can be tried as an adult.
Prosecutors say evidence, including fingerprints on the murder weapon, connects Malvo to at least four sniper attacks, three of them fatal.
A key part of the prosecution's death penalty case includes allegations that Malvo tried to extort 10- million dollars from authorities.
Prosecutors say that qualifies Malvo to be charged under Virginia's new anti- terrorism statute.
(------------)

[11GE-Strike]


[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=rca]
[TAPE#=03-02 TC09:12]
[GRAPHIC=GE Strike]

In business news this morning, Union employees at Salem's General Electric plant will return to work today now that the two day strike against the company is over.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Salem;]
Earlier yesterday, they observed a moment of silence to honor the woman killed yesterday in Louisville, Kentucky while participating in the strike effort. She was hit by a police car in a dimly lit area. Local workers also wore black arm bands and held signs with black tape to show solidarity. More than 15-thousand G-E union workers around the country, including 400 from Salem, struck for affordable health care.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[GRAPHIC=HOLD]
National union contract negotiations start in May. Health care cost is expected to be a major issue. Local union officials say workers are prepared for another strike but they would prefer to negotiate with the company.

Now here's a look at your local stocks.
[STOCKS]
[COMM]

[11Blairs-Murder]


[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=Murder Invest.]

Another suspect has been arrested in connection with a double murder case.
25 year old Carlot Brown of Blairs was arrested yesterday.
Police charged Brown as an accessory after the fact in the murders of her neighbors Willie and Clara Belle Harston.
James Antonio (JEN-ah-RETT-tee) Generette is also charged in the case.

[11Brown]


[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=02-48 TC1:11:17]
[GRAPHIC=Murder Invest.]

A fifth person has been charged in the murder of a Henry County man last August.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Authorities are still looking for 33-year-old Michael Jason Brown, also known as "English."
[SUPER=03-Collinsville/August ;]

Investigators say he was one of five men involved in the murder of 22-year-old Michael Lanell Angelo Carter.
Carter was found shot to death in the home of an acquaintance on August 23rd.
There's a one-thousand-dollar reward for information leading to Brown's arrest.
(------------)

[Terror]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=none]

A Texas Tech professor who triggered a terrorism alert plan goes before a judge today.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Doctor Thomas Butler was arrested late yesterday.
[SUPER=03-Lubbock, TX;]

Authorities say Butler gave them false information when he reported 30 vials containing Bubonic Plague were missing, even though he had destroyed them himself.
The bacteria comes from the supply Texas Tech uses for research on treating the plague.
(------------)

[Columbia]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Security is tight today at Florida's Kennedy Space Center.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Kennedy Space Center, FL;]

NASA is preparing to send the first Israeli into space.
Ilan Ramon (ee-LAHN) (rah-MOHN) is the son of a Holocaust survivor, and will be taking along kosher meals for the trip.
He'll also observe the Jewish Sabbath, but says that won't keep him from working during the shuttle mission.
Meanwhile, NASA says the weather looks good for this morning's launch of Space Shuttle Columbia, which is set for 10- 39.
(------------)
(Kimberly tosses to bump)

[bump-chyron]

[comm #3]

[11Patel]


[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=02-50 TC40:51]
[GRAPHIC=None]
A settlement has been reached in the case of a nursing home resident who died after getting the wrong medication.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]
It happened at Brandon Oaks in the year 2001. A temporary nurse gave 12 or 13 drugs to Marie Ayers- -meds meant for her roommate. On the eve of trial, the nursing home admitted it had made a mistake, but insists it was a one-time deviation from standard procedure.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 4:13:25]
[IN Q=Because]
((WALT PEAKE/BRANDON OAK'S ATTORNEY; BECAUSE WE HAD A TEMPORARY NURSE WHO WAS NOT FAMILIAR WITH THAT POLICY, EVEN THOUGH THERE WAS AN ORIENTATION AND SHE WAS NOT FAMILIAR WITH MS AYERS, MS AYERS WAS MISIDENTIFIED AND SHE WAS GIVEN ANOTHER PATIENT'S MEDICATION, HER ROOMMATE'S MEDICATION.))
[SUPER=01-Walt Peake/Brandon Oak's Attorney;]
[RUNS=:13]
[OUT Q=her roommate's medication.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
The family says the temp didn't have enough training, maybe 20 minutes. Brandon Oaks says she's a good nurse who WAS sufficiently trained for 30 or 40 minutes.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[SS=None]
Terms of yesterday's settlement were not publicly disclosed.

[2-Columbia]


[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Heavy security today at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, as NASA prepares for the launch of Space Shuttle Columbia.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Kennedy Space Center, FL;]

NASA is sending the first Israeli into space.
Ilan Ramon (ee-LAHN) (rah-MOHN) is the son of a Holocaust survivor, and will be taking along kosher meals for the trip.
He'll also observe the Jewish Sabbath, but says that won't keep him from working during the shuttle mission.
Meanwhile, NASA says the weather looks good for this morning's launch, which is set for 10- 39.
(------------)


(Kim tosses to bump)

[BUMP] [COMM]
by SS