WDBJ 7 morning news AM cutins for 02/21/03

[7-11Kids-Deaths]

[ANCHOR=Kim]

[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=jus]
[TAPE#=03-02 TC34:00]
[GRAPHIC=None]

The Virginia Department of Health is investigating five mysterious deaths involving children.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

This is one of the kids who died in the Tidewater area.
The children are all under the age of seven and the deaths ocurred within the past five days.
Four of the children are from the Tidewater area, and one is from the Richmond area.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 10:44]
[IN Q=From what I've been told]
((ROBERT STROUBE: FROM WHAT I'VE BEEN TOLD SO FAR MOST OF THEM HAD COLD LIKE SYMPTONS UPPER RESPIROTARY INFECT, SORE THROATS, OR EAR ACHE, NOTHING VERY SERIOUS, JUST THE NORMAL TYPE STUFF KIDS GET.))
[SUPER=01-Robert Stroube/State Health Commissioner;]
[RUNS=:11]
[OUT Q=stuff kids get]
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[SS=None]

But apparently it was serious since five children have died.
(Strew-bee) Stroube says however it is very unlikely that this is due to bioterrorism.
The state's medical examiner's office and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are investigating the deaths.

[7-Roanoke-Fire]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=03-]
[GRAPHIC=Fire]

Fire broke out in a vacant house this morning. Authorities are not sure what started the blaze.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/This Morning]

Firefighters were called to the 12-hundred block of Dale Avenue in Roanoke around 4 A-M. They were concerned that the blaze would spread to nearby houses, and one did suffer minor damage. No one was injured. Authorities are investigating.
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[7-11Bedford-DMV]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=02-53 TC57:27]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Bedford residents no longer have to drive to Lynchburg or Roanoke to take care of their D-M-V buisness-- the Bedford D-M-V re-opened yesterday.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Bedford]

The office was one of twelve in the state to close last fall because of state budget cuts.
But pressure from the public forced lawmakers to find the money to re-open the customer service centers.
People were lined up an hour early in Bedford this morning.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 22:59:19]
[IN Q=I'm really glad]
(( KATHY ORANGE-KING/DMV CUSTOMER: I'M REALLY GLAD THAT WE GOT THIS BACK HERE IN BEDFORD AND I'M SURE THAT ALL THE FOLKS HERE IN BEDFORD ARE AS GLAD AS I AM. I KNOW WHEN YOU'RE HAVING TO GO TO ROANOKE, THERE'S A LONG WAIT. SOME PEOPLE ARE WAITING AS LONG AS EIGHT HOURS JUST TO GET RENEWALS AND THAT'S A LONG WAIT FOR EVERYBODY. SO I'M REALLY PLEASED AND I'M SURE EVERYBODY HERE IN BEDFORD IS PLEASED TOO.))
[SUPER=01-Kathy Orange-King/DMV Customer]
[RUNS=18]
[OUT Q=is pleased too.]
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[VO-NAT]

Bedford's D-M-V hours will remain the same, but the office will be closed on Wednesdays.
Rocky Mount's office should re-open next month.
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[45-11Fertility-Clinic]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=jsu]
[TAPE#=02-51 TC1:34:48]
[GRAPHIC=Medical News]

Lewis-Gale Medical Center is starting an assisted fertility program in April to help couples who need medical assistance concieving a child.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=04-File Tape]

The program will offer couples all types of advanced treatments for male and female infertility, including in-vitro fertilization.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT12:11:04]
[IN Q=The technology is available]
((DR. MARWAN SHAYKH/FERTILITY SPECIALIST; THE TECHNOLOGY IS AVAILABLE, PATIENTS HAVE TO BE PERSISTENT AND IF THEY'RE PERSISTENT THEIR CHANCES FOR PREGNANCY IN GENERAL ARE VERY GOOD. BUT AGAIN THAT DEPENDS ON MANY FACTORS))
[SUPER=01-Dr. Marwan Shaykh/Fertility Specialist]
[RUNS=17]
[OUT Q=that depends on many factors]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Lewis-Gale Medical Center says it wanted to open a fertility clinic in the area because it found that dozens of couples were traveling hours away for the service.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT12:19:35]
[IN Q=We fit it was important to bring it here]
((BOB LINDSEY/LEWIS-GALE MEDICAL CENTER; WE FELT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO BRING IT HERE BECAUSE OF THE DRIVING DISTANCE. THIS IS A VERY EMOTIONAL ISSUE AND DRIVING IS JUST ANOTHER STRESS THAT THEY PLACE UPON A COUPLE))
[SUPER=01-Bob Lindsey/Lewis-Gale Medical Center]
[RUNS=13]
[OUT Q=UPON A COUPLE.]
(XXXXXXXX)
[TAKE LEWIS-GALE FS]
Lewis-Gale Medical Center is already accepting appointments for the assisted fertility program.
For more information, you can call 1-888-633-9944, or [TAKE WDBJ FS] you can find a link to the Medical Center's web page on our web site.
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[45-11Hollins-President]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=syo]
[TAPE#=02-50 TC1:31:20]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Former Attorney General Janet Reno says of the key to success is being yourself.
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[VO-NAT :18]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.;]
That was part of the message she delivered yesterday at the inauguration of Hollins University's tenth President, Nora Kizer Bell. Bell has held the top position since July. Reno who graduated with a co-ed Harvard class- drew upon her experience as the first female Attorney General for the speech.
(//////SOT/////)
[SOT 11:16:47-11:17:07]
[IN Q=Believe in themselves...]
((JANET RENO/FORMER U. S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: BELIEVE IN THEMSELVES, BE THEMSELVES, SEEK THE TRUTH, DO THE RIGHT THING, BE PREPARED, PROBLEM SOLVE AND IF YOU SEE SOMETHING WRONG TRY TO CORRECT IT. AND REMEMBER THE BIGGER PICTURE. WE OFTEN TIMES GET OUR OWN LITTLE PROBLEM SOLVED BUT WE DON'T SEE THE BIGGER PICTURE.))
[SUPER=01-Janet Reno/Former U. S. Attorney General;]
[RUNS=:20]
[OUT Q=but we don't see the bigger picture.]
(-------------)
[VO NAT :11] Hollins students also celebrated Founder's Day with a variety of musical performances and an annual processional to the Cocke Family Cemetery to lay at wreath at the grave of Charles Lewis Cocke.
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[8-Roanoke-Fire]

[8-6-NTelos-Jobs]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=rca]
[TAPE#=02-47 TC2:04:19]
[GRAPHIC=New Jobs]

The loss of jobs in the Tidewater area means more jobs in OUR region.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Daleville/April;]
[file tape @ 02-05 1:33:14] Phone and internet provider Ntelos says it will close one of its three call centers in Virginia. The Portsmouth location will shut down in June or July, eliminating 100 jobs.
Seventy of those jobs will be transferred to NTelos' Daleville location and thirty will go to Waynesboro. The company will hold a job fair February 28th and March 1st. A company spokesman says the move is an operational cost-saving measure.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[SS=None]
NTelos is struggling with debt and just this week missed scheduled annual interest payments totaling 24-point-6 million dollars.

[8-11Jail-Lawsuit]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=02-48 TC1:52:34]
[GRAPHIC=None]

A Campbell County woman is suing the Blue Ridge Regional Jail for 500-thousand dollars.
She says that memories of her daughter's murder destroyed her job at the facility.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg/File Tape]

The suit was filed yesterday in Lynchburg's federal court.
Cathy Hanna says she began suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder last year, the result of her daughter Stacey being murdered in Richmond six years ago.
Hanna was let go from her job as a jail officer last May.. a move she claims violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Jail officials say they had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment.
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[8-11Roadside-Memorials]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=02-49 TC1:45:49]
[GRAPHIC=Nnoe]

The state will begin paying for roadside markers to remember people who die on its highways this summer.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=04-File Tape;]

The markers are designed to replace crosses, stuffed animals, signs and sculptures that friends and relatives put on roads where loved ones have died.
The General Assembly says those memorials are a hazard, and wants V-DOT to regulate them.
The proposed three-foot markers would say "Drive safely in the memory of," followed by the deceased person's name.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[GRAPHIC=None]

VDOT says it will spend 250-dollars to make each sign, and leave them up for two years. After that, the sign could go to the victim's family.