WDBJ 7 morning news AM cutins for 05/05/03

[7-Correction]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=rle]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=none]
A clarification to a story we aired last week at this time. We reported last Monday morning that the the Commonwealth spent more than 300-hundred thousand dollars of taxpayers' money for the Virginia Association of Counties conventionat the Homestead .. at a time when more than 18-hundred state workers were being laid off. The money spent did not actually come from state government. It came instead from the local governments that took part in the convention.

[7-VOB-Festival-Wrapup]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=jwi]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=Franklin Graham]

The thunder and rains held off yesterday, allowing the Southwest Virginia Festival with Franklin Graham to wrap up with a bang.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Salem;]
Nearly 18- thousand people attended the closing service making it the most attended event of the three- day festival.

Gospel singer Nicole C. Mullen was a big crowd pleaser, as was the fact that Saturday's rains did not return. Organizers say the festival wouldn't have been a success without all the support it received from the community.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 15:34:38]
[IN Q=Participation from area churches]
((SHERMAN BARNETTE/FESTIVAL ORGANIZER: PARTICIPATION FROM AREA CHURCHES HAS BEEN MORE THAN WE EXPECTED BECAUSE WE'VE HAD OVER 500 CHURCHES PARTICIPATING, OVER 53 DENOMINATIONS SO REALLY FOR AN AREA THIS SIZE THAT'S REALLY OVER THE TOP. ))
[SUPER=01-Sherman Barnette/Festival Organizer;]
[RUNS=18]
[OUT Q=really over the top]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Hundreds of local parishioners volunteered throughout the weekend providing security and other services. The price tag on the event was about one- million dollars. One- quarter of that will be paid for by the Graham Ministries and the rest will be made up of donations from local churches and businesses.
(------------)

[7-Church-Fire]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=jwi]
[TAPE#=03-14 TC-3:02:40]
[GRAPHIC=None]
An outdoor church service in Dublin had a big meaning yesterday.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Dublin;]
The congregation of Dublin United Methodist Church met outside at their picnic area. Their church has suffered two fires in the past month.
[SUPER=03-Dublin/Monday April 28;]
The latest blaze started Monday afternoon and took firefighters more than two hours to extinguish. It was the second fire to damage the oldest section of the building. Investigators don't think the fires were the work of an arsonist, but are still trying to determine the cause.
(------------)

[45-11Festival-Wrapup]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=jwi]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=Franklin Graham]
It was a big weekend in Salem, where Franklin Graham led the Southwest Virginia Festival.
As Jennifer Wishon reports, organizers say their months of planning really paid off.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Nats of Choir Singing]
[SUPER=03-Salem; :00]
[SUPER=01-Franklin Graham/Evangelist; :19]
[SUPER=01-Abbie Strickland/Children's Choir; :39]
[SUPER=01-Willie Aames/Bibleman; 1:01]
[SUPER=01-Sherman Barnette/Festival Organizer; 1:25]
[SUPER=01-Ralph Alfred/Festival Counselor; 1:36]
[SUPER=01-Josh Janney/Attended Festival; 1:45]
[RUNS=2:15]
[OUT Q=hang out with]
((((Nats of Choir 03-23 TC00:06)) A local choir made up of more than 2000- people got the festival started Friday. It was a night filled with praise and prayers. 500 churches from more than 50- denominations came together to help make the event possible, but it was those outside the church who were the target audience.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 15:28:23 Tape #4]
[IN Q=We are focusing]
((FRANKLIN GRAHAM/EVANGELIST: WE ARE FOCUSING ON AND REALLY DIRECTING THE ENTIRE WEEKEND TOWARDS PEOPLE THAT ARE UNCHURCHED. PEOPLE THAT WOULD COME OUT HERE TO HEAR YOU BUT WOULD NEVER STEP FOOT INTO A CHURCH.))
[RUNS= 14]
[OUT Q=into a church]
Saturday morning Franklin Graham took a break and children took over.
((Nats kids choir 01:08:17:11 #5))
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 1:16:44:28]
[IN Q=tell me about ]
((REPORTER: TELL ME ABOUT BIBLEMAN. ABBIE STRICKLAND: HE SAVES THE DAY AND HE'S A SUPERHERO.))
[RUNS= 06]
[OUT Q=he's a superhero]
He's a superhero who fought off evil using Bible verses. ((Nats from Bibleman Show)) Bibleman is played by actor Willie Aames who says he turned his life around while playing Buddy Lembeck in the television show Charles in Charge.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 01:25:28:27 #5]
[IN Q=I had really ]
((WILLIE AAMES/BIBLEMAN: I HAD REALLY GROWN DISILLUSIONED WITH THE WHOLE HOLLYWOOD SEX, DRUGS, ROCK AND ROLL, YOU KNOW, HAD MET TONS OF PEOPLE, DATED TONS OF PEOPLE, HAD MADE TONS OF MONEY AND I COULD JUST NEVER FIGURE OUT WHERE THE COMPASSION WAS IN THIS WORLD.))
[RUNS= 17]
[OUT Q=in this world]
Bibleman was a big hit with the kids until everyone started getting wet. The storm continued into the evening.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 15:31:44 #1]
[IN Q=Because of the]
((SHERMAN BARNETTE/FESTIVAL ORGANIZER: BECAUSE OF THE LIGHTNING WE DELAYED THE PROGRAM FOR AN HOUR.))
[RUNS= 03]
[OUT Q=for an hour]
But that didn't stop 15- thousand people from flocking to Salem stadium. Even though the heavens opened up, the message wasn't clouded.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 01:13:15:25 #5]
[IN Q=It's made some]
((RALPH ALFRED/FESTIVAL COUNSELOR: IT'S MADE SOME TREMENDOUS CHANGES IN MY LIFE, IT'S REALLY MADE ME FOCUS ON MY WALK WITH GOD AND IT'S JUST GREAT.))
[RUNS= 08]
[OUT Q=it's just great]
This young man says he became a Christian at one of the events and his decision has already changed his life.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 15:47:25 Tape #1]
[IN Q=I'm a better person]
((JOSH JANNEY/ATTENDED FESTIVAL: I'M A BETTER PERSON, I DON'T HANG OUT WITH THE CROWD I USED TO HANG OUT WITH.))
[RUNS= 04]
[OUT Q=hang out with]
The event cost about one- million dollars. A quarter of that will be paid for by the Graham Ministries and the rest will come from local churches and businesses.
It's too soon to know how the influx of thousands of people into Salem affected the local economy, but for Christians, both old and new, the event paid off. Jennifer Wishon, News 7, Salem.))

[8-Church-Fire]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=jwi]
[TAPE#=03-14 TC-3:02:40]
[GRAPHIC=None]
An outdoor church service in Dublin took on new meaning yesterday.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Dublin;]
The congregation of Dublin United Methodist Church met outside at their picnic area. Their church has suffered two fires in the past month.
[SUPER=03-Dublin/Monday April 28;]
The latest blaze started Monday afternoon and took firefighters more than two hours to extinguish. It was the second fire to damage the oldest section of the building. Investigators don't think the fires were the work of an arsonist, but are still trying to determine the cause.
(------------)

[8-Monticello]

[ANCHOR=kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=jsu]
[TAPE#=03-05 TC-2:05:18]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Descendants of one of Thomas Jefferson's slaves, Sally Hemings, have been trying for years to join the Monticello Association and attend the yearly family reunion.
But now they say they are tired of all the fighting, and have decided to hold their own reunions at Monticello.

(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Charlottesville/File Tape]

DNA tests have found a link between the Jefferson and Hemings families.
Some historians believe Hemings was Jefferson's mistress, while others think she was the mistress of his brother.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=kim]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Despite that, last year the Monticello Association formally excluded the Hemings from membership, and prohibited its members from allowing more than two Hemings guests at each reunion.
Hemings family members plan to hold their reunion in July.

[8-Ren-Festival]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=jsu]
[TAPE#=03-07 TC-1:59:39]
[GRAPHIC=none]
An era of rebirth in England's history was resurrected modern- day Virginia this weekend.
(///// SOT /////)
[NAT SOT 16:46:04]
[IN Q=huh, huh, oh this spainiard]
((NAT SOT: HUH, HUH, OH THIS SPANIARD KNOWS HOW TO FIGHT. SO YOU GIVE SPORT AFTER ALL. COME ON))
[RUNS=10]
[OUT Q=come on]
(------------)
[VO-NAT - 12.5]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.]

Performers dressed in 16th century costume for the 2nd annual Virginia Renaissance Faire Sunday at Green Hill Park.

And they re-enacted the happenings of this period as a history lesson for all ages.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT2:38:00]
[IN Q=When you become partof that time]
((WHEN YOU BECOME PART OF THAT TIME IT'S ALMOST MAGIC. IF YOU CAN LEARN TO HAVE FUN WITH YOUR HISTORY AND YOUR LITERATURE AND YOUR ARTS IN SUCH FASHION. YOU CAN DO IT WITH ANY TIME PERIOD IT DOESN'T' HAVE TO BE 1577 IT CAN BE ANY TIME))
[SUPER=01-Cornelia Rutherford/Virginia Renaissance Faire]
[RUNS=16]
[OUT Q=it can be any time]
(------------)
[VO-NAT - :10+]

The faire also included medieval crafts and food. Organizers say it's important to have these events in Virginia because the state was named in honor of Queen Elizabeth. (------------)