WDBJ 7 morning news AM cutins for 04/30/03

[7-Fire]

[ANCHOR=Kim]

[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=03-]
[GRAPHIC=Fire Aftermath]

Firefighters extinguished an underground transformer fire in Roanoke last night.
But power was not restored to the area until just before 6 this morning.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/Last Night]

The fire broke out just before nine o-clock at the corner of Jefferson Street and Franklin Road.
Firefighters responded to reports of an explosion and arrived to find flames shooting up in the air.
They had to wait for A-E-P and the gas company to shut off the power and gas before they could put out the fire.
An A-E-P spokesperson says they are still trying to determine what caused the blaze.
They do know it started in an electrical vault. The resulting power outage affected 450 customers, including the Roanoke Times.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Chip Harris/Project Director]
[RUNS=:16]
[OUT Q=2 hour press run]
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[SS=HOLD]
Once the papers are printed, the Roanoke Times says today's edition will be delivered throughout the day.

[7-11Dublin-Church]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=myr]
[TAPE#=03-10 TC1:03:22]
[GRAPHIC=Fire]
A church fire in Dublin is now being investigated with the help of federal agents out of Washington.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Dublin;]
The Dublin United Methodist Church caught fire on Monday, for the second time this month. Officials say they've now called in arson specialists out of D-C to help with the investigation, although they say it's still too early to say whether either fires were in fact arson.
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[SOT 54:29]
[IN Q=IT'S STANDARD]
((RONNIE MCCLURE/DUBLIN FIRE CHIEF: IT'S STANDARD TO HAVE ATF INVESTIGATING CHURCH FIRES. COURSE THEY DO OTHER THINGS BUT MAINLY CHURCH FIRES. ))
[SUPER=01-Ronnie McClure/Dublin Fire Chief;]
[RUNS=13]
[OUT Q=CHURCH FIRES. 2nd Ref.]
(-------------)
[VO-NAT]
The area of the church that was destroyed dates back to the late 1800s. But, while a piece of history is gone, members of the church say their faith is not.
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[SOT 55:51]
[IN Q=TOLD SOME FOLKS]
((REV. MIKE TRAVIS: TOLD SOME FOLKS IN THE PARKING LOT LAST NIGHT THE CHURCH DIDN'T BURN, THE CHURCH WAS GATHERED UP IN THE PARKING LOT. ))
[SUPER=01-Mike Travis/Dublin United Methodist Church;]
[RUNS=08]
[OUT Q=PARKING LOT]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Travis says morning services will go on as usual this Sunday...inside the church picnic shelter.
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[7-11Shabazz]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=Murder Invest]
A murder and arson suspect facing the death penalty was in a Roanoke courtroom yesterday as his attorneys argued more than 50 pre-trial motions.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]
Askia Shabazz is charged with killing his girlfriend and her two young sons at their Hurt Park Apartment last May. His lawyers want to know whether federal officials intend to try Shabazz.
Witnesses have been called to appear before a federal grand jury in the case, but the state prosecutor says he doesn't know whether it'll end up in federal court. The defense wanted to question city police investigators under oath, but the judge said he would not allow it.
(------------)

[45-Fire]

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

Firefighters extinguished an underground transformer fire in Roanoke last night.
But power was not restored to the area until just before 6 this morning.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/Last Night]

The fire broke out just before nine o-clock at the corner of Jefferson Street and Franklin Road.
Firefighters responded to reports of an explosion and arrived to find flames shooting up in the air.
They had to wait for A-E-P and the gas company to shut off the power and gas before they could put out the fire.
An A-E-P spokesperson says it all began with equipment failure in an underground electrical vault.
The resulting power outage affected 450 customers, including the Roanoke Times, which is running behind schedule.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Chip Harris/Project Director]
[RUNS=:12]
[OUT Q=2 hour press run]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Once the papers are printed, the Roanoke Times says today's edition will be delivered throughout the day.

(---------------)[45-Jones]

[ANCHOR=kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=03-05 TC1:59:55]
[GRAPHIC=Guilty Plea]

A Lynchburg man faces up to three life terms in prison, after pleading guilty to murder yesterday in Campbell County.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Campbell Co./August 2002]

23-year-old Bryan Keith Jones was charged along with two others in the shooting death of 25-year-old Tony Stone last August.
Stone was shot to death inside his Lynch Station home during an apparent robbery, in which the suspects stole money and crack cocaine.
Authorities say Jones provided the guns and acted as a lookout, while a 16-year-old boy entered the home and shot Stone during a struggle.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Jean]
[SS=HOLD]

Jones pled guilty to seven charges including first degree murder, burglary and robbery.
He could get three life terms, plus 24 years when he's sentenced later this summer.

[45-11West-Nile]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=jsu]
[TAPE#=03-17 TC02:54]
[GRAPHIC=West Nile]

The U-S-D-A says last year 35-percent of the horses that contracted the West Nile Virus and developed symptoms, either had to be euthanized or died from the disease.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.]

That's why veterinarians are encouraging pet owners to get their horses vaccinated.
The vaccine has to be administered in two doses three to six weeks apart.
And the horse needs a booster every year after that.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT1:28:45]
[IN Q=They found that the vaccine]
((DR. JOHN DASCANIO/VIRGINIA TECH VETERINARIAN; THEY FOUND THAT THE VACCINE EVEN AT A YEAR DURATION TENDS TO BE 90 TO 95 PERCENT PROTECTIVE. SO AS FAR AS EQUINE VACCINES GO IT'S A VERY GOOD VACCINE FOR US TO USE))
[SUPER=01-Dr. John Dascanio/Virginia Tech Veterinarian]
[RUNS=09]
[OUT Q=vaccine for us to use]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Infected mosquitos transfer the virus to horses.
Horses are very susceptible to it because they don't have a natural immunity to the virus like they do for some of the other equine diseases.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[GRAPHIC=HOLD]

Last year, 47 horses in Virginia were diagnosed with the West Nile virus.

[8-Fire]

(---------------)[8-11Monty-Courthouse]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=ejo]
[TAPE#=03-15 TC2:41:02]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Yesterday's water main break will leave the Montgomery County offices of the Clerk of Circuit Court closed. However, officials say they hope to re-open the County Courthouse and Jail for most regular business today.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Christiansburg]

The business was anything but regular yesterday afternoon, after a water main sprung a leak. All that water forced county officials to close down offices, shut down courts, and cancel jail visitation. The flooding caused substantial water damage -- but no apparent structural harm.
The greatest damage appears to be in Clerk of Circuit Court's basement offices. There is no word on when those offices will reopen.
(------------)

[8-11AOL-Spam]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=syo]
[TAPE#=03-11 TC46:06]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Virginia now has the toughest anti-spam law in the country.
(------------)
[VO-NAT :19]
[SUPER=03-Dulles/AOL Videotape;]
Yesterday, Governor Mark Warner joined Attorney General Jerry Kilgore and representatives from the internet industry in signing two bills that raise the penalty for sending junk e-mails in bulk. Hackers and spammers could face a felony sentence of one to five years in prison and a fine. They could also have their profits and property siezed.
(///// SOT at :19 /////)
[SOT 13:50:14-13:50:25]
[IN Q=That combination combined with...]
((GOV. MARK WARNER: THAT COMBINATION COMBINED WITH A FEW CONVICTIONS IS GOING TO DO MORE TO PUT AN END TO SPAM THAN ANYTHING THAT'S COME BEFORE.))
[SUPER=@markWarner;]
[RUNS=:11]
[OUT Q=than anything that's come before.]
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Of the 26 states that have laws against spam, Virginia's is the toughest. Half the internet traffic in the world passes through the Commonwealth.
One reason is that AOL is headquartered in Northern Viriginia. It's estimated spam accounts for 45 to 70-percent of all e-mail.