WDBJ 7 news at 6 for 05/20/03

[1-News-Head]

[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]

A meeting of Big East athletic directors goes into overtime.
We'll have a live report from Florida.
(------------)
[VO-NAT :06]
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]
And next time you enjoy the scenery at Virginia Beach, you'll know you ARE the view thanks to some special cameras.
(------------)

[Sports-head]

[ANCHOR=travis]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=twe]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]

Tonight in sports, the ACC baseball tournament is set to roll in Salem,
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

and Jack Baker will take over the reins of the Alleghany High School football program.
(------------)

[WX-Head]
[ANCHOR=Robin]
[SS=None]

WeatherSchool is stormy this week with the arrival of hurricane awareness week. The local forecast is stormy as well. Details ahead.
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Shannon 4-Shot]

News 7 at Six is next.
[Video-Open]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=Video Open]

(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]

The Big East meetings in Florida break up late today.
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]

The question remains... Will the conference break up too?
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]

Good evening, I'm Shannon Young.
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]

And I'm Keith Humphry.
[Big-East]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#15:28 on 03-25]
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]

The meetings to keep the Big East conference together went well past past their two o'clock schedule.
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]
[Double Boxes=Keith-Shannon and Mike/Starlink]

Mike Stevens is in Ponte Vedra, Florida. Mike, the meetings went three hours longer than expected. Does that mean we have a solution?
[Live=Mike Full/Starlink]
[SUPER=@mike1;]
[SUPER=05-Ponte Vedra, FL;]
( ad lib)
[***ROLLED FROM STARLINK***]
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Paul Dee/Miami Athletic Director]
[RUNS=:26]
[OUT Q=empty words.]
(-------------)
[Live=Mike Full/Starlink]
[SUPER=05-Ponte Vedra, FL;]
( ad lib)
[Double Boxes=Keith-Shannon and Mike/Starlink;]

[Terror-Alert]

[ANCHOR=KEith]
[NEWSCAST=Six]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=03-11 TC1:15:54]
[GRAPHIC=Terror Alert High]

Federal officials say they are concerned that terrorist attacks overseas will spread to U-S soil.
This afternoon, the Department of Homeland Security raised the national terror alert level from elevated to high.

(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

So far, the warning hasn't brought any apparent changes in security at the Roanoke Regional Airport.
Officials there say will act on directives from the Department of Homeland Security or the Transportation Security Administration, but this afternoon they had not received any instructions to alter their public security procedures.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[GRAPHIC=HOLD]

Roanoke Police received word of the heightened threat level through media reports, and a spokesman says officials have received no word on any specific concern or threat in the Roanoke area.

[Labor-Talks]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=rca]
[TAPE#=03-10 TC1:32:23]
[GRAPHIC=none]
Contract negotiations are underway in New York for General Electric workers around the country.
(------------)
[VO-NAT :21]
[SUPER=03-Salem/File Tape;]
[TAPE#=502-09 TC17:12 general video]
[TAPE#=03-02 TC06:05 strike video from January]
Hundreds of employees at Salem's G-E Plant are counting on a deal being reached. They walked the picket line in January to get some leverage in the current talks. The major issues are affordable health insurance and job security. The current labor contact expires next month. A local union president is in New York as a member of the bargaining committee.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 00:03:54]
[IN Q=hopefully]
((ROY ROGERS/IUE-CWA LOCAL PRESIDENT; HOPEFULLY WE CAN FIND SOME MIDDLE GROUND BUT YOU AS OF RIGHT NOW WE'RE KIND OF ON OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE TABLE AND HOPEFULLY WE CAN COME TOGETHER IN THE MIDDLE.))
[RUNS=:16]
[OUT Q=IN THE MIDDLE.]
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Danville/File Tape;]
[TAPE#=03-01 TC2:04:53 Goodyear File]
Contract talks are also underway for Goodyear employees in Danville. Day to day operations for the 2-thousand working at the plant remain normal while discussions continue in Cincinnati.

Local union officials say a negotiating committee has already rejected an initial offer made by Goodyear.
(------------)

[Suicide-Bridge]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=03-08 TC1:57:05]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Some call it the most dangerous spot in Lynchburg.
Over the years, more than a dozen people have jumped or tried to jump to their death off the Rivermont Bridge.
Now some local activists want the city to take action.
Steve Smallshaw reports.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Almost two years]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg; :00]
[SUPER=01-Robert Poignant/VA Organizing Project; :44]
[SUPER=01-Don Wilkerson/Father of Suicide Victim; :14]
[SUPER=@ssm2; 1:18]
[RUNS=1:23]
[OUT Q=News7, Lynchburg.]
(( Almost two years ago, 38-year-old Theresa Wilkerson jumped to her death off the Rivermont Bridge.
On Tuesday, Don Wilkerson stood near the spot where his daughter died to ask the city to prevent future tragedies from happening.
[SOT 12:50:14]
((DON WILKERSON/FATHER OF SUICIDE VICTIM: I'VE BEEN THROUGH A NIGHTMARE QUITE OFTEN, AND I'VE GOTTEN KIND OF HARDENED TO IT BUT YOU DON'T NEVER GET OVER IT.))
[RUNS= 06]
[OUT Q=get over it.]

Residents have been asking for years for the city to make the bridge safer.
[natsot 13:12:26]
(( AND YOU CAN SEE THAT'S AN EVEN GREATER SAFETY HAZARD..))
[RUNS= 03]

The existing railing is 42 inches high.. too low, some feel, to prevent a tragedy from occurring.
The Virginia Organizing Project figures it would cost about 226-thousand dollars to increase the height of the railing along the 900-foot bridge.
The money could come from general obligation bonds.
[SOT 12:48:57]
((ROBERT POIGNANT/VA ORGANIZING PROJECT: A QUARTER MILLION DOLLARS ALLOWING FOR SOME INFLATION IS PEANUTS COMPARED TO THE 13 MILLION DOLLARS THAT THEY'VE ALREADY TARGETED IN HERE, AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE LIABILITY IN CASE SOMEBODY SHOULD GO OFF THE BRIDGE IN THE FUTURE.))
[RUNS= 11]
[OUT Q=in the future.]

City leaders have balked at the cost before, saying that suicidal persons will simply find another place to jump.

Don Wilkerson disagrees.
[SOT 12:51:17]
((DON WILKERSON: SO IF A MENTALLY ILL PERSON COMMITS SUICIDE, JUMPS OFF THE BRIDGE, THERE'S NOTHING SAID. THEY'LL SAY WELL, THEY WERE MENTALLY ILL, THEY WERE GOING TO DO IT ANYHOW. BUT YOU WAIT AND LET SOME SMALL CHILD FALL OFF THERE, IT'S GOING TO BE A DIFFERENT STORY THEN.))
[RUNS= 15]
[OUT Q=story then.]

A story this group says never has to be told.
Steve Smallshaw, News7, Lynchburg. ))

[Tease#1]
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]
[SS=NONE]

He's gone from tossing pizzas to tossing ideas around a high school classroom.
More on Billy Tresky's hunger to teach when News 7 at Six returns.
(---------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]

Plus, see how one Virginia City is keeping an eye on beach-front visitors, and scanning them against a list of wanted criminals and runaways.
(----------------)

[2Eye-spy]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mmu]
[TAPE#=03-23 TC11:05]
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]

For vacationers in Virginia Beach, walking down the boardwalk is akin to standing in a police line-up.
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]

That's because Virginia Beach uses special cameras to compare the faces of tourists with mugshots of felons.
(+++++++)
[TAKE EYE SPY FS]
Meghan Muldoon joins us with more on this controversial new "eye spy" technology.
(------------)
[LIVE= Meghan /FULL State Microwave]
[SUPER=@Meghan1]
[SUPER=05-Richmond]
Keith and Shannon, Virginia Beach is one of only two cities in the country to use facial recognition cameras. Tampa Florida was the first.
Ever since the cameras went up, the focus has been on whether those out in public have a right to privacy.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=YOU MAY NOT NOTICE THESE SURVEILLANCE]
[SUPER=03-Virginia Beach; :00]
[SUPER=01-Sen. Ken Stolle/Former Va. Beach police officer; :27]
[SUPER=01-Kent Willis/ACLU of Virginia; :50]
[SUPER=01-Penny Duncan/Vacationing from New York; 1:25]
[RUNS=2:17]
[OUT Q=WE'RE GETTING VERY CLOSE TO THAT.]

((You may not notice these surveillance cameras lining the oceanfront in Virginia Beach, but the cameras and the police officer back at the station definitely see you.
Virginia Beach put up the cameras years ago but last July they added three digital cameras that employ facial recognition technology.
Those cameras scan every face on the boardwalk then compare the snapshots instantaneously to a database of wanted criminals, runaways and missing persons.
[SOT 17:06:23]
[IN Q=INSTEAD OF HAVING TO HAVE]
((SEN. KEN STOLLE/FORMER VA BEACH POLICE OFFICER: INSTEAD OF HAVING TO HAVE A POLICE OFFICER OUT THERE WITH A PHOTO LOOKING AT YOU AND LOOKING AT THE PHOTO TRYING IN THEIR OWN MIND WHICH IS VERY SUBJECTIVE TRYING TO THINK IF THAT'S YOU SO THEY CAN DETAIN YOU, YOU HAVE A CAMERA AND A COMPUTER DOING THE SAME THING BUT FAR MORE ACCURATELY.))
[RUNS= :17]
[OUT Q=BUT FAR MORE ACCURATELY.]

But the A-C-L-U says facial recognition cameras are an unacceptable invasion of privacy.
[SOT 02:52:03]
[IN Q=WHEN THE GOVERNMENT KNOWS]
((KENT WILLIS/ACLU OF VA: WHEN THE GOVERNMENT KNOWS EVERYTHING ABOUT US, WHEN IT HAS WHERE WE SHOP, WHERE WE ENTERTAIN OURSELVES, WHAT BOOKS WE READ, WHAT PRODUCTS WE BUY WE HAVE LOST A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT OF PRIVACY AND THAT'S RELATED TO OUR FREEDOM.))
[RUNS= :17]
[OUT Q=RELATED TO OUR FREEDOM.]

Fans of facial recognition say it keeps the beach safe and that there are enough safeguards in place to prevent its abuse.
Virginia Beach police say the electronic snapshots are not saved and that citizen groups have input into the program.
Still, vacationers were alarmed to hear that they are being watched.
[SOT 13:52:32 #2]
[IN Q=WE'RE GETTING SCANNED]
((PENNY DUNCAN/VACATIONING FROM NEW YORK: WE'RE GETTING SCANNED HERE SOMEWHERE, THEY'RE TAKING OUR PICTURE? I THINK PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT IT.))
[RUNS= :06]
[OUT Q=NOT KNOWING ABOUT IT.]

In spite of all the concerns, in nearly a year of use not one single match on the system has led to an arrest.
Supporters of the new technology concede there are still kinks to be worked out.
[SOT 17:07:35 STOLLE]
[IN Q=ARE THERE MISINDENTIFICATIONS]
((KEN STOLLE/STATE SENATOR AND FORMER VA BEACH POLICE OFFICER: ARE THERE MISIDENTIFICATIONS OR FALSE POSITIVES, YES, THERE ARE FALSE POSITIVES, DOES THAT DO ANY HARM, ABSOLUTELY NOT.))
[RUNS= :12]
[OUT Q=ABSOLUTELY NOT]

(STANDUP 11:28:09)But some say it is another example of government intrusion and that Americans are becoming too complacent about the loss of their privacy rights.
[SOT 13:52:46 PRISON HEALTH/PRIVACY]
[IN Q=YOUR PRIVACY GETS LOST USUALLY]
((KENT WILLIS/ACLU OF VA: YOUR PRIVACY GETS LOST USUALLY WITHOUT YOU EVEN KNOWING IT. AND SO THAT'S WHY PEOPLE DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT A LOT. BUT EVERYONE SHOULD THINK DO WE WANT TO BECOME A SOCIETY WHERE VIRTUALLY EVERY MOVE WE MAKE OUTSIDE OUR OWN HOMES IS TRACKED BY THE GOVERNMENT AND WE'RE GETTING VERY CLOSE TO THAT.))
[RUNS= :17]
[OUT Q=GETTING VERY CLOSE TO THAT.]))
(-------------)
[LIVE= Meghan /FULL State Microwave]
[SUPER=05-Richmond;]

In fact, the Pentagon is now working on radar that can identify people by the way they walk.
[DOUBLE BOXES=Keith-Shannon & Meghan /State Microwave;]

So as technology continues to develop, so will concerns about privacy.

[Silcott]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=None]

The man who molested two young Montgomery County girls will spend 18 years in prison.
In February, 29 year old Charles Silcott was convicted of sexually assaulting two girls, ages five and six.
He was sentenced to 60 years total yesterday, with all but 18 years suspended.
Silcott plans to appeal, and is seeking a new court-appointed lawyer.

[Stocks]

[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Stocks ended little changed in what turned out to be a choppy trading session. [TAKE DOW & NASDAQ PAGE]
[RUNS=:30]
[SUPER=x5000;]
[SUPER=440-y/2.03/8491.36/y/1.68/1491.09;]
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]

The DOW fell two points, as did the NASDAQ.
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[VO]
[SUPER=271-i/0.81/59.18/h/1.39/34.91/h/0.46/26.22/h/1.75/74.65/h/0.04/72.51;]
[SUPER=272-i/0.05/8.90/h/0.34/6.38/h/0.80/62.70/h/0.15/40.65/h/0.18/27.73;]
[SUPER=273-i/0.33/6.48/i/0.21/32.79/h/0.30/15.40/h/0.30/21.35/i/0.04/5.76;]
[SUPER=274-h/0.13/6.11/h/0.26/58.21/h/0.04/35.79/i/0.31/38.39/h/0.34/52.81;]
[SUPER=#555; Reset]
[Tresky]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=03-09 TC1:44:21]
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]
The Teacher of the Year at Cave Spring High School is a new guy.
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]
But he's not new to pizza lovers around Roanoke.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.; :05]
[SUPER=03-News 7 Mornin'/October, 1998; :18]
[SUPER=01-William Tresky/Cave Spring H. S. Teacher; ]
[SUPER=01-Katy Hamrick/Student; ]
[RUNS=1:48]
[OUT Q=it should be wonderful thing.]
(([17:11:42] ((WHAT HAPPENED TO THIS GUY? I'M NOT A CROOK, ALL RIGHT. WATERGATE.)) [RUNS:05] Billy Tresky's students have completed their S-O-L's, so he's supplementing the course work with a project on the final decades of the 20th century. 17:12:30 ((IF YOU HAVE THE 70'S YOU HAVE TO MENTION THE VILLAGE PEOPLE.)) [RUNS:03] Until last year, Billy Tresky was the Billy in Chico and Billy's. He and his partner sold the name and their joint interest in the pizza shops. And Billy returned to his first love, teaching.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 17:30:05]
[IN Q=]
((A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THE BUSINESS WORLD LOOKED AT ME LIKE I WAS CRAZY, BUT WHEN I LOOKED AT THE SCHOOL NEWSPAPER AND SAW I WAS TEACHER OF THE YEAR, IT MADE IT ALL WORTHWHILE.)) [RUNS13]
[OUT Q=]
His unconventional approach draws on humor, impressions of famous people. He'll even break into song. [17:11:15]
(singing: 99 RED BALLOONS... HA)
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 17:17:50]
[IN Q=]
((I'M THINKING HE'S ONE OF THE BEST TEACHERS I'VE EVER HAD. I'VE NEVER PASSED A HISTORY TEST. I'M PASSING WITH HIM. HE'S GOOD.)) [RUNS:08]
[OUT Q=]
"Teacher of the Year" is a test of a teacher's popularity among the students, and yet his colleagues speak highly of him, too.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 17:30:27]
[IN Q=]
((I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THAT, BUT I'D LIKE TO THINK THEY DO. Steep learning curving, step in to a classroom, it's overwhelming isn't? IT WAS SO OVERWHELMING I WANTED TO QUIT.)) [RUNS19]
[OUT Q=]
That lasted a couple of months, but he credits fellow Social Studies teacher Marilyn Hammes for keeping him going. He's a funny man, but takes teaching seriously.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 17:34:13]
[IN Q=]
((LEARNING SHOULDN'T BE A HORRIBLE THING. IT SHOULD BE WONDERFUL THING)) [RUNS:05]
[OUT Q=it should be wonderful thing.]))

[Sports tease]

[ANCHOR=travis]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=twe]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]

Coming up, the Big East meetings are winding down. We'll have a live report. Plus, Alleghany has a new head football coach, and
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Virginia gets ready for its ACC Baseball Tournament opener against N-C State.
(------------)

[S-Live]

[ANCHOR=Travis]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#1:24:45 on SP-145]
[GRAPHIC=ACC/BIG EAST]

The Big East Conference meetings have wrapped up at this hour at the Ponte Vedra Inn and Resort. Things went a little longer than expected though.
[Double Boxes=Travis and Mike/Starlink]

Mike Stevens is standing by live in Ponte Vedra. Mike, can we take any comfort in the fact that things went late this afternoon?
[Live=Mike Full/Starlink]
[SUPER=@mike1;]
[SUPER=05-Ponte Vedra, FL;]
( ad lib)
[***ROLLED FROM STARLINK***]
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Mike Tranghese/Big East Commissioner; :00]
[SUPER=01-Paul Dee/Miami Athletic Director; :40]
[RUNS=1:06]
[OUT Q=going to Disneyworld...**LAUGHTER**]
(-------------)
[Live=Mike Full/Starlink]
[SUPER=05-Ponte Vedra, FL;]
( ad lib)
[Double Boxes=Travis and Mike/Starlink;]

(trav ad libs out)

[S-Coach]

[ANCHOR=travis]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=sma]
[TAPE#=SP-136 1:53:19]
[GRAPHIC=FFE]

Alleghany high school has selected VMI assistant Jack Baker as the Mountaineers new head football coach.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Low Moor; :00]

Baker attended James River, played running back at VMI and has been an assistant coach for the Keydets since 1998.

(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Jack Baker/Alleghany Football Coach; :00]
[SUPER=01-Kenny Higgins/Alleghany Principal; :13]
[RUNS=:22]
[OUT Q=.....football program"]
(------------)

[S-ACC]

[ANCHOR=travis]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=sma]
[TAPE#=SP-141 1:30:16]
[GRAPHIC=ACC tournament]

Virginia battles N.C. State in the Cavaliers ACC baseball tournament championship first round tomorrow night at 8:30.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Salem; :00]

The Wahoos are 7 and 12 all time in the ACC baseball tournament and the Wolfpack took two of three from UVa during the regular season.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Dennis Womack/UVa Head Baseball Coach; :00]
[RUNS=:20]
[OUT Q=.....evenly matched game"]
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