WDBJ 7 morning news AM cutins for 05/13/03

[7-AM-Hylton-Funeral]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=ejo]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Scott Hylton]
Scott Hylton will be laid to rest today.
(------------)
[VO-NAT from 03-18 33:25]
[SUPER=03-Christiansburg/Friday;]
The Christiansburg police officer was killed in the line of duty early Friday morning, after responding to a shoplifting call. [From 03-14 3:10:26]
[SUPER=03-Floyd Co.;/Saturday]
Funeral services are scheduled to begin at 11:00 AM, at the Topeco (toe-PEA-koh) Church of the Brethren in Floyd County.
(------------)

[7-11Warner-Transportation]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=jus]
[TAPE#=03-]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Governor Warner will sign new transportation legislation today. Included in the bill will be stiffer fines for those who speed on certain roads.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.]

The new law creates Highway Safety Corridors on certain highways throughout the state.
Portions of Interstate 81 are expected to meet the criteria and it is believed I-81 will in fact become the first designated corridor.
If you're caught speeding or charged with any moving violation within this corridor, you will face heftier fines.
It could even be double what you pay now.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 51:05]
[IN Q=I think it can be helpful]
((GOVERNOR MARK WARNER: I THINK IT CAN BE HELPFUL. IT'S BEEN TRIED IN OTHER STATES IN PENNSYLVANIA AND CALIFORNIA I BELIEVE AND IT LOOKS LIKE IT HAS DECREASED THE NUMBER OF ACCIDENTS ANYTHING WE CAN END UP DOING TO DECREASE THE NUMBER OF ACCIDENTS ON OUR HIGHWAYS PARTICULARLY I-81, I THINK IT IS A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.))
[SUPER=@markwarner]
[RUNS=:16]
[OUT Q=in the right direction]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Before an area can be designated a highway safety corridor it must meet several criteria.
State officials will have to review crash data, accident reports, as well as the type and volume of vehicle traffic.

(------------)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[SS=none]

The Governor points out that localities will have a say, and in fact can veto whether an area becomes a highway safety corridor.

[7-11SOLs]

[ANCHOR=kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=jus]
[TAPE#=03-20 TC17:23]
[GRAPHIC=Mark Warner]
Governor Warner also brought a serious message to the state's top educators.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

The governor spoke at the Virginia Association of School Superintendents meeting at the Hotel Roanoke.
He reminded the crowd that beginning next year high school students have to pass six tests including at least two SOL exams in order to graduate.
Governor Warner says that deadline must be met and area school systems say they're ready.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 52:02]
[IN Q=We support the higher]
((WAYNE HARRIS/ROANOKE SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT: WE SUPPORT THE HIGHER STANDARDS AND WE HAVE PREPARED TO MEET THE STRINGENT REQUIREMENTS OF THE STANDARDS OF LEARNING TESTS. WE WILL WORK TO MAKE SURE OUR STUDENTS ARE PREPARED AND WE WILL HAVE INTERVENTION IN PLACE FOR THOSE STUDENTS WHO MAY STUMBLE A LITTLE BIT.))
[SUPER=01-Wayne Harris/Roanoke School Superintendent; ]
[RUNS=:14]
[OUT Q=a little bit]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The next big deadline for the S-O-L's comes in 2007.
That is when all schools in Virginia must be fully accredited.
Currently, 115 schools in the state are accredited with warning.
(------------)

[45-11Brathwaite]

[ANCHOR=kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=03-12 TC52:53]
[GRAPHIC=Shooting]

The sole survivor of a shooting rampage last month, identified her attacker to police.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/April 4]
A police officer was there when the little girl told nurses at Roanoke Memorial Hospital that it was her mother's boyfriend, Clinton Andrew Brathwaite, who shot her. Though her mother, two sisters and a brother had been killed, Kierra Arrington lived to tell her story. The medical examiner testified that the bullet that hit Kierra's mother was fired from "intermediate" range.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 16:08]
[IN Q=Which is less]
((BETTY JO ANTHONY/CHIEF ASSISTANT COMMONWEALTH'S ATTORNEY; WHICH IS LESS THAN 2 FEET... IN THE FACE, WITH THE PROJECTILE GOING THROUGH THE FACE AND ENDED UP IN THE BRAIN STEM, INSTANTANEOUSLY KILLING HER. THAT'S WHAT HE TESTIFIED.))
[SUPER=01-Betty Jo Anthony/Chief Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney]
[RUNS=:13]
[OUT Q=what he testified.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
The first degree murder case certified yesterday has already been replaced by CAPITAL murder charges against Brathwaite.
(------------)

[45-11Amelia-storm]

[ANCHOR=kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=mmu]
[TAPE#=03-08 TC1:42:40]
[GRAPHIC=Tornado Aftermath]
The clean-up of the aftermath from Friday's tornado continues in Amelia County.
(------------)
[VO-NAT :26]
[SUPER=03-Amelia Co.]

Classes were cancelled yesterday and many businesses remain closed.
Several thousand residents were without power through the weekend.
Insurance officials estimate the high winds and golf- ball- sized hail caused eight-to-ten million dollars worth of damage.
The most significant damage occurred at the Amelia County courthouse, where century- old trees were uprooted.
The historic square, now littered with debris, had just undergone a year-long renovation.
(------------)

[45-11City-Budget]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=03-09 TC1:33:47]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Six positions in the Roanoke Fire/EMS Department were a point of contention yesterday, as City Council approved a new budget.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/January 2001]

Council member Bill Carder defended the city manager's plan to leave the positions vacant.
And he tried unsuccessfully to reverse Thursday's vote that reinstated the funding.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=I just wanted]
((BILL CARDER/ROANOKE CITY COUNCIL: I JUST WANTED TO EXPRESS SUPPORT TO THE CHIEF AND HIS STAFF AND THE CITY MANAGEMENT WHO ARE TRYING TO MAKE THE BEST OF A HARD SITUATION WITH WHAT RICHMOND HAS DEALT US.))
[SUPER=@Carder;]
[RUNS=:11]
[OUT Q=with what Richmond has dealt us.]
(-------------)
[VO-NAT]

The Roanoke Firefighters Association and its supporters on council carried the day, but leaders of the group say they will fight any efforts to downsize the department.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=This day's over]
((RODNEY JORDAN/ROANOKE FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION: THIS DAY'S OVER. WE'LL MOVE ON, AND I'M SURE THAT WE WILL BE BACK HERE NEXT YEAR FIGHTING FOR THE SAME THING.))
[SUPER=01-Rodney Jordan/Roanoke Firefighters Association;]
[RUNS=:04]
[OUT Q=fighting for the same thing.]
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Despite that controversy, and complaints over a council pay raise... members approved the 204- million dollar spending plan.

[8-Danville-Fire]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=Fatal Fire]

One person died following a house fire in Danville.
Authorities say unattended cooking is to blame for the blaze.
They say the victim possibly fell asleep in the bedroom, became disoriented and couldn't find a way to escape the residence at 1609 Glenn Street.
Firefighters were using a thermal imaging camera when they found the victim in the living room.
Authorities say the home did not have a smoke detector.

[8-11PH-Lockdown]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=rca]
[TAPE#=03-13 TC45:29]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Reports of gunfire yesterday forced officials to place Patrick Henry High School under lock down.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]
For about an hour and a half, students were kept in their classrooms and no one was allowed on or off school grounds.

Police searched the woods behind the school but did not find anything. It was actually an unidentified person who reported hearing two gun shots coming from that area.
[TAPE#=03-17 TC13:01]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/Last Thursday;]
Last Thursday students at William Fleming High School were also locked-down while police looked for a reported gunman.
None was found that day either.
(------------)

[8-AM-University-Diversity]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=myr]
[TAPE#=03-19 14:52]
[GRAPHIC=University Diversity #4302]

Studies show African-Americans are more inclined to become teachers than engineers.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Radford;]
Affirmative action expert, Rosemary Watterson says in terms of areas of study, blacks tend to obtain their degrees in the arts, over math and science.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 1914]
[IN Q=MOST AFRICAN-AMERICANS]
((1914 MOST AFRICAN-AMERICANS DO TEND IF WE TALK ABOUT THE DOCTORATE LEVEL TO HAVE THEIR DEGREES AND IN MANY UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES FOCUS MORE ON EDUCATION OR THE LIBERAL ARTS 1927))
[SUPER=01-Rosemary Watterson, Ed.D./Affirmative Action Expert;]
[RUNS=13]
[OUT Q=or the Liberal Arts.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg;]
And offficials at Virginia Tech say this historical trend is just one of the reasons why they have a hard time recruiting African-American students.
(+++++++)
[Take University Diversity Promo FS #4391]
We'll take a look at some of the other reasons as we begin a series on Affirmative Action, called "University Diversity", tonight on News 7 at 6.
(------------)

[8-11VMI-Prayer]

[ANCHOR=kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=03-18 TC37:06]
[GRAPHIC=None]

State officials aren't ready to surrender in the fight over VMI's supper prayer.
(-------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SuPER=03-Lexington/April 2001]

Yesterday, VMI Superintendent Josiah Bunting and Attorney General Jerry Kilgore filed a petition to appeal last month's decision to the entire 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.
So far, a judge in Lynchburg and three appellate judges in Richmond have found the supper prayer unconstitutional.
In today's petition the state argues that those decisions jeopardize prayer in any governmental setting. (-------------)