WDBJ 7 morning news AM cutins for 05/30/03

[7-AM-Franklin-Murder]

[ANCHOR=Marya]

[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=Murder Invest.]

A Franklin County man is under arrest, charged with murdering his brother in law.
It happened between Ferrum and Callaway on Bridges Lane last night.
Sheriff Quint Overton says 37-year-old Joseph Bridges was arrested and charged after he surrendered at his home.
Investigators say Bridges shot his brother in law, 51-year-old Howell Scott in his car, right in front of his wife, daughters and grandchild.
Bridges is charged with murder... investigators don't know the motive.

[7-Franklin-Fatal]

[ANCHOR=marya]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=Fatal Accident]

A head-on collision in Franklin County killed one woman and injured another.
(XXXXXXXX) [++++TAKE FS MAP++++]
It happened yesterday near Smith Mountain Lake.
State police say their cars collided in the rain on Route 834, two miles south of Scruggs Road.
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[ANCHOR=marya]
[SS=HOLD]

64-year-old Lucille Moore of Wirtz was killed.
State police say she was not wearing a seatbelt.
20-year-old Meghan Ackert of Williamsburg WAS wearing hers.
She was taken to Roanoke Memorial Hospital. Her injuries are NOT believed to be life-threatening.
State police don't know what caused the crash. There were no witnesses and no signs either woman was speeding.

[7-11Porch-Collapse]

[ANCHOR=Marya]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=03-14 TC3:31:08]
[GRAPHIC=None]

A car slammed into a porch in Roanoke last night, causing it to collapse and trapping two people underneath.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

Firefighters say a 14 year old put a car in gear and ran into a side porch of this home on Ferdinand Avenue.
The roof fell on two adults.
They were taken to Roanoke Memorial Hospital with apparently minor injuries.
The porch was destroyed, but firefighters say the house itself appears to be in good condition.
Building inspectors will check it out to be sure.
A battalion chief says the teenager ran from the accident, and officials have not been able to find him.
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[7-6-Bed-Bath]

[ANCHOR=Marya]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=rca]
[TAPE#=03-15 TC3:19:15]
[GRAPHIC=Business News]

Bed, Bath and Beyond is setting up a home in Roanoke.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]
The store will open a new location at the Town Square shopping center in Roanoke. The company sells domestics merchandise and home furnishings. Lease papers were signed yesterday but there is no word yet on when it will open. Bed, Bath and Beyond operates more than 470-stores around the country with its headquarters in New Jersey.
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[45-11Conchita-Arrest]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=tst]
[TAPE#=03-17 TC33:57]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Photographer O. Winston Link's ex-wife could be headed back to prison.
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[VO-NAT]

Conchita Mendoza Link was arrested in Millerton, New York yesterday, and charged with conspiracy to sell stolen property.
Prosecutors say she was trying to sell photographs -- on e-Bay -- that she stole from Link.
The former Mrs. Link served five years in a New York state prison for stealing prints, cameras and audio tape from her husband.
She was released in the fall of 2001, and was still on parole when she was arrested on the new charges.
[SUPER=@file;]

Before his death two years ago, Winston Link said his ex-wife was waiting for him to die, so that she could sell off the stolen prints.
Most of the items she took are still missing. However, Link managed to save his most valuable work: the negatives he shot of Norfolk and Western steam trains in the 1950s.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=I have...]
((O. WINSTON LINK/PHOTOGRAPHER/OCTOBER, 1996; I HAVE ALL MY NORFOLK AND WESTERN NEGATIVES. ALL OF THOSE I TOOK OUT. THAT'S WHAT STARTED THE BIG WAR, THE MAJOR WAR. ONCE SHE SAW THOSE WERE GONE SHE STARTED STEALING EVERYTHING SHE COULD STEAL.))
[SUPER=10-O. Winston Link/Photographer/October 1996;]
[RUNS=:11]
[OUT Q=she could steal.]
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[ANCHOR=Kim]
[SS=None]

Conchita Mendoza Link was arrested with an alleged accomplice, Edward Hayes. The Associated Press reports they live together.
If convicted on the conspiracy charges, she and Hayes could be sentenced to up to four years behind bars.

[45-11Radford-Foundry]

[ANCHOR=Marya]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=myr]
[TAPE#=03-11 TC1:31:49]
[GRAPHIC=Layoffs]
One of Radford's largest employers will soon be shutting down, causing hundreds of people to lose their jobs.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Radford;]
Intermet Corporation announced yesterday it will shut-down its RADFORD Foundry in late September. The plant manufactures iron castings for automotive parts and employs 374 people. The facility is the oldest shell-molding plant in the company, which is why officials say it has to shut down.
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[SOT 333]
[IN Q=the demand]
((ALAN MILLER/INTERMET CORP. V.P.: THE DEMAND HAS BEEN MOVING AWAY. THE MARKET HAS BEEN MOVING AWAY FROM THE PROCESSES WE USE HERE AND THE MATERIALS WE USE HERE TO OTHER NEWER PROCESSERS THAT ARE MORE EFFICIENT.))
[SUPER=01-Alan Miller/Intermet Corporation Vice-President;]
[RUNS=13]
[OUT Q=more efficient]
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[VO-NAT]
The Radford Foundry lost a million dollars during its fourth quarter earnings this year, and has been operating at less than half of its capacity. Officials say they hope to transfer some of the jobs to the company's New River Foundry next door.
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[8-AM-Franklin-Murder]

[ANCHOR=Marya]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=Murder Invest.]

A Franklin County man is under arrest, charged with murdering his brother in law.
It happened between Ferrum and Callaway on Bridges Lane last night.
Sheriff Quint Overton says 37-year-old Joseph Bridges was arrested and charged after he surrendered at his home.
Investigators say Bridges shot his brother in law, 51-year-old Howell Scott in his car, right in front of his wife, daughters and grandchild.
Bridges is charged with murder. Investigators don't know the motive for the shooting.

[8-Fisher]

[ANCHOR=Marya]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Carilion Biomedical Institute has a new leader. Daniel Barchi has been chosen as the new President and C-E-O. He'll replace Dennis G. Fisher who is retiring July 1st.

[8-11Gaskins-Gangs]

[ANCHOR=maria]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=jwi]
[TAPE#=03-21 TC21:34]
[GRAPHIC=None]

The Attorney General says gang violence affects communities statewide, but Roanoke Police disagree.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]
City Police Chief Joe Gaskins says he doesn't think Roanoke has a specific gang problem.
[SUPER=03-Richmond/Wednesday;]
Wednesday, Attorney General Jerry Kilgore announced the creation of a task force to look into tougher punishments for gang activity. He wants to include anti- gang messages in school curriculums, and impose tougher punishments for gang involvement. Chief Gaskins says he welcomes help from the state when it comes to keeping streets safe, but chooses not to categorize crime.
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[SOT 28:58:09]
[IN Q=I tend to think that]
((JOE GASKINS/ROANOKE CITY POLICE CHIEF: I TEND TO THINK THAT WE HAVE PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY WHO COME TOGETHER IN GROUPS WHO COMMIT CRIME, BUT AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED THEY'RE CRIMINALS, WE TREAT THEM JUST AS WE DO ANYBODY ELSE.))
[SUPER=01-Joe Gaskins/Roanoke City Police Chief;]
[RUNS=08]
[OUT Q=do anybody else]
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[VO-NAT]
Gaskins says people who commit crimes are arrested and prosecuted as criminals whether they act alone or in a group.
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[8-11Mowing]

[ANCHOR=Marya]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=rca]
[TAPE#=03-12 TC1:14:38]
[GRAPHIC=None]
The recent rain has had a devastating effect on landscaping buinesses in the area.
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[VO-NAT :20]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]
It's too wet and muddy for employees at Horticultural Services Inc. to work outside. Owner Ed Staley says they stay busy by getting equipment ready for when the ground dries, but that they're down to part-time hours. Staley says he's at least two to three weeks behind schedule and that his clients are going to suffer.
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[SOT 00:17:51]
[IN Q=AT THIS]
((ED STALEY/HORTICULTURAL SERVICES, INC.: AT HIS POINT IF THE ROOT SYSTEMS DON'T START TRYING UP THEN YOU GET A LOT OF MOLD AND FUNGUS AND STUFF SOME THE GRASSES ARE STARTING THE SEEDS ARE ROTTING ON THE GROUND THAT WE PUT DOWN IN APRIL SO THEY WON'T GERMINATE THEY'RE ACTUALLY STARTING TO ROT SO THE SUN HAS TO COME OUT AND DRY THEM OUT ))
[SUPER=01-Ed Staley/Horticultural Services, Inc.;]
[RUNS=:14]
[OUT Q=DRY THEM OUT]
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Meantime, V-DOT officials say crews will start mowing in the rain to catch up with growth. They need to work on overgrown brush and medians that could become a safety hazard by affecting a driver's sight. (------------)