WDBJ 7 morning news AM cutins for 05/16/03

[7-AM-81-Wreck]

[ANCHOR=Kim]

[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=dgr]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=81-Accident]

An accident last night on Interstate 81 near Radford could impact your commute this morning.
Northbound traffic is reduced to one lane while crews cleanup an accident.
(XXXXXXXX)
[TAKE MAP FULL] State police say a northbound tractor trailer hit the guardrail and went over a bank near milemarker 110. The guardrail was pulled into both northbound lanes, blocking traffic.
(XXXXXXXX)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[SS=HOLD]
The trailer turned over and dumped cases of motor oil and lubricant. The right lane was kept closed overnight so the truck could be moved and it's contents could be cleaned up. There's now word on when the road will reopen.

[7-11Casstevens]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=rle]
[TAPE#=03-21 TC07:17]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]

A former wrestling coach at Alleghany County High School has been found guilty of assault and battery against a student.
(------------)
[VO-NAT - :13]
[SUPER=03-Covington;]
The judge ruled that there was enough convincing evidence that Mark Casstevens (CA-Stevens) kissed and groped an 18 year old female manager of the wrestling team on February 13th, even though the prosecution only called one witness.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT - 5:43]
[IN Q=This was a case...]
((DABNEY PASCO/DEFENSE ATTORNEY; THIS WAS A CASE OF ONE INDIVIDUAL MAKING A STATEMENT, IT'S A HE SAID, SHE SAID THING.
WE HAD A COURTROOM FULL OF PEOPLE IN SUPPORT OF MARK, FOR OBVIOUS REASONS WE'RE VERY DISAPPOINTED, WE FEEL VERY GOOD ABOUT OUR CHANCES OF PREVAILING IN THIS MATTER.))
[SUPER=01-Dabney Pasco/Defense Attorney;]
[RUNS=20]
[OUT Q=prevailing in this matter.]
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[GRAPHIC=HOLD]
Casstevens was sentenced to one month in jail, but his attorney has already filed paperwork for an appeal. He is currently free on his existing bond. Commonwealth's Attorney Chris Alderson declined to comment about the case.

[7-11Police-Memorial]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=03-22 TC04:29]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Area law enforcement officers honored their fallen comrades last night.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

Dozens of men and women from 10 Roanoke Valley departments gathered at High Street Baptist Church.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Where the wind]
((SINGING:WHERE THE WIND WILL BLOW, NO ONE EVER KNOWS THE TIME OR PLACE.))
[RUNS=:11]
[OUT Q=time or place]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The "roll of honor" includes 25 officers killed in the line of duty and dates back to 1892.
This is the fifth year officers have gathered to honor the fallen.
(------------)

[45-11Flooding-Cleanup]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=03-18 TC49:46]
[GRAPHIC=Flooding]
Yesterday's heavy rains brought flooding to downtown Roanoke. Though the water has already receded, some buisnesses still have a lot of cleaning up to do.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]

Three inches of rain fell over Roanoke's downtown in a short time -- and storm drains couldn't keep up.
The water was knee-deep in the city market. Campbell Avenue looked like a river.
Several businesses on the market had to shut down.
Others stayed open, while owners swept and pumped the water out of basements and ground floors.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 7:49:35]
[IN Q=We had a couple]
((TODD LANCASTER: WE HAD A COUPLE FEET OF WATER IN OUR BASEMENT. IT DIDN'T CAUSE US TO SHUT DOWN. IT WAS MORE OF AN INCONVENIENCE THAN ANYTHING ELSE.))
[SUPER=01-Todd Lancaster/Awful Arthur's Owner;]
[RUNS=:09]
[OUT Q=than anything else.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The floods came so quickly that some people had no time to move their cars before they were submerged.
Firefighters checked out several reports that lightning stuck downtown buildings, including one report at the Metro restaurant.
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[WIPE WIPE WIPE]

[45-11Vinton-Flooding]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=ejo]
[TAPE#=03-19 TC21:11]
[GRAPHIC=wipe]

[WIPE WIPE WIPE]

(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Vinton;]
In Vinton, police had to close Walnut Avenue two different times yesterday, after Glade Creek overflowed its banks not once but twice. Portions of several nearby streets were also barricaded, with Vinton police rerouting traffic. All of the streets in Vinton are open now.
(------------)

[WIPE WIPE WIPE]

[45-11Pitts-Fire]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=03-24 TC01:11]
[GRAPHIC=Fire]
A large fire at a junk yard near Danville is under investigation.
Crews say flames were shooting 50 to 75 feet into the air when they arrived.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Pittsylvania Co.]

The fire broke out just before five o-clock yesterday at Don's Auto Recycling.
It's in southern Pittsylvania County, just outside Danville on Fairy Road.
More than 75 firefighters from 8 departments worked more than an hour to contain the blaze.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 13:54:01]
[IN Q=We have a large pile]
[SUPER=01-Gary Toler/Riverbend Volunteer Fire Department]
[RUNS=13]
[OUT Q=in the pile.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Toler says the smoke did not cause a major health hazard, however the Department of Environmental Quality has been called to the site.
Firefighters remained there for most of the night, picking apart the fire vehicle by vehicle.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[SS=HOLD]

There's no word on what sparked the blaze.
The owner told investigators he was working on a pile of cars, when he noticed one of them was on fire.

[8-Apartment-Fire]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=fire]

Authorities are on the scene of a fire at an apartment building in Northwest Roanoke.
It's in the 51- hundred block of Hildebrand Road.
Authorities say the blaze is affecting several apartment units, and they add that there may be some injuries.
We'll have more information about the fire, as soon as it becomes available.

[8-AM-81-Wreck]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=dgr]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=81-Accident]

An accident last night on Interstate 81 near Radford could affect your morning commute.
Northbound traffic is reduced to one lane while crews cleanup an accident.
(XXXXXXXX)
[TAKE MAP FULL] State police say a northbound tractor trailer hit the guardrail and went over a bank near milemarker 110. The guardrail was pulled into both northbound lanes, blocking traffic.
(XXXXXXXX)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[SS=HOLD]
The trailer turned over and dumped cases of motor oil and lubricant. The right lane was kept closed overnight so the truck could be moved and it's contents could be cleaned up. There's now word on when the road will reopen.

[8-11Framatome]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=03-13 TC49:45]
[GRAPHIC=New Jobs]
The expansion of a large company in central Virginia will bring hundreds of new jobs to the area.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg]

Framatome Advanced Nuclear Power says it will spend 32 million dollars to expand its Lynchburg headquarters and plant in Campbell County.
Company officials say the move will create about 300 new jobs over the next three years.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 13:15:32]
[IN Q=Largely it's our]
((TOM CHRISTOPHER/FRAMATOME ANP: LARGELY IT'S OUR SUCCESS IN THE MARKETPLACE. WE'VE PROBABLY INCREASED OUR MARKETSHARE BY MAYBE TWENTY PERCENTAGE POINTS, SO OUR BUSINESS VOLUME HAS IMPROVED BY WELL OVER 200 MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR NOW IN THE LAST THREE YEARS.))
[SUPER=01-Tom Christopher/Framatome ANP President;]
[RUNS=12]
[OUT Q=in the last three years.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Framatome A-N-P is a leading supplier of services, fuel and components to nuclear power plants around the world.

It employs about 15-hundred people in the central Virginia area.
(------------)

[8-11Bedford-Flag]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=03-12 TC59:32]
[GRAPHIC=None]

140 years after it was captured in battle, and four months after it was restored, a Bedford Civil War flag is ready to be displayed again.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Bedford/July; :00]

This is what the banner of the Bedford Southside Dragoons looked like last summer.
[SUPER=04-Yesterday; :06]

Yesterday, the cracked paint has been restored and brightened and the flag is now framed and hanging in a climate-controlled room at the Bedford City-County museum.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 15:09:34]
[IN Q=This is very]
((ELLEN WANDREI/MUSEUM DIRECTOR: THIS IS VERY UNUSUAL TO HAVE THIS KIND OF PIECE IN YOUR COLLECTION AND TO HAVE IT ALL READY TO DISPLAY NOW. THE PEOPLE WHO HAD SEEN IT BEFORE REALIZE IT HAD HOLES IN IT, MAJOR HOLES, SO WE'RE DELIGHTED TO BE ABLE TO SHOW IT AGAIN.))
[SUPER=01-Ellen Wandrei/Museum Director]
[RUNS=18]
[OUT Q=to show it again.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Those who donated to the restoration fund got a sneak preview of the restored flag last night.
It will be available to the public starting today. (------------)