[7-Shallenberger]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=ejo]
[TAPE#=03-]
[GRAPHIC=Sentence]
An admitted killer may learn his fate today.
(------------)
[VO-NAT from 03-33 00:51]
[SUPER=03-Pittsylvania Co./Wednesday;]

Matthew Shallenberger pled guilty earlier this week to two murders last year in Pittsylvania County.
His trial then moved to the sentencing phase, but that was interrupted Wednesday when storms knocked out power to the courthouse.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[GRAPHIC=Hold]
So the closing arguments are now scheduled to wrap up today. After that, Judge Charles Strauss is free to pronounce sentence at any time.




[7-114H-Investigation]


[ANCHOR=kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=03-29 TC19:49]
[GRAPHIC=4H Invest.]
Organizers of a 4-H camp in Franklin County are being forced to review how kids are being supervised after reports of staged fights at the camp.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Franklin Co.;]

Organizers say there were 22 adults and 52 teen leaders supervising last week's camp for 340 Bedford and Halifax County kids.
The Virginia Cooperative Extension is investigating why none of the adults noticed the kids' injuries ... and why teen counselors never reported the fights.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 15:42:54]
[IN Q=We've got to]
((CHARLIE STOTT/VIRGINIA COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SPOKESMAN; WE'VE GOT TO DETERMINE EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED IN THIS INSTANCE AND IF SOMETHING DID GO WRONG, WE'LL TAKE THE NECESSARY STEPS TO CORRECT THAT. ))
[SUPER=01-Charlie Stott/Virginia Cooperative Extension Spokesman;]
[RUNS=:08]
[OUT Q=to correct that.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

10-year-old D-J Rawls says counselors charged kids a dollar to watch his fistfights.
He says he was knocked unconscious and suffered a mild concussion.
An extension agent from Halifax County who was at the camp says only Bedford County kids and counselors were involved in the fights and there was NO rivalry between the counties.
Franklin County investigators are still interviewing kids.
(------------)


[7-6-Virginia-Cares]


[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=cda]
[TAPE#=03-24 TC43:23]
[GRAPHIC=None]
State budget cuts made for an uncertain future for "Virginia Cares". But now, thanks to federal funding, the program that helps former convicts in Virginia get back on their feet will be around for another year.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/File Tape;]
People were angry with the potential cutback of the program. Newly acquired federal money has given the program at least another year. The organization helps ex-offenders find jobs and places to live.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT-11:03-11:12]
[IN Q=Without a program in place]
((ANN FISHER/VIRGINIA CARES:WITHOUT A PROGRAM IN PLACE TO PROVIDE THESE SERVICES, YOU ARE NOT GIVING THEM AN ALTERNATIVE TO GOING BACK TO WHAT THEY KNEW, WHETHER IT BE BREAKING INTO YOUR HOME OR DEALING DRUGS ON YOUR STREET CORNER.))
[SUPER=01-Ann Fisher/Virginia Cares]
[RUNS=:13]
[OUT Q=on your street corner.]
(------------)
[ANCHOR= Kim]
[GRAPHIC=NONE]
Virginia Cares has been relying on private donations and money from sub-contracting agencies. The program's been in operation since 1980.

[45-11Patsel]


[ANCHOR=kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=03-05 TC36:37]
[GRAPHIC=Sentencing]

A Franklin County man is headed to prison for 23 years for sexually abusing five boys.
He will, however, be eligible for parole in three years under old sentencing guidelines.
(------------)
[VO]
56-year-old Danny Lee Patsel (PATE-sul) says he's sorry for molesting the boys and that he was a victim of sex abuse himself.
The abuse he's been convited of took place between 1980 and 1994, before the state abolished parole.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=kim]
[GRAPHIC=HOLD]

Prosecutors say he abused boys as young as six and as old as 14.
Patsel was friends with the boys' families and took them on camping and fishing trips, where the abuse occurred.

[45-11Thompson]


[ANCHOR=kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=03-17 TC1:31:36]
[GRAPHIC=None]

An alleged conspirator in last month's armed robbery of a Charlotte County bank now has an attorney and a new court date.
(XXXXXXXX)
[TAKE FULL SCREEN PINNACLE]
David B. Thompson was arrested the day after the bank in Phenix was robbed at gunpoint.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Campbell Co./June 27]

The gunman, 26-year-old Lonnie R. Russell, led police on a high-speed chase before dying in a shootout in Campbell County.
Authorities say Thompson was supposed to be Russell's get-away driver that day.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=kim]
[SS=None]

Charlotte County attorney Charles Crowder is representing Thompson who remains held without bond.
His preliminary hearing is set for September 25th.

[45-11Tire-Plant]


[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=rca]
[TAPE#=03-25 TC1:01:56]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Controversy over a proposed tire burning power plant in Martinsville is heating up.
(------------)
[VO-NAT :19.5]
[SUPER=03-Martinsville;]
Tire Energy Corp wants to build the facility on this parcel of land in the City's Industrial Park. The plant would burn tires at high temperatures to produce steam. It would be operated 24 hours a day and employ 12-people. But some residents are circulating petitions to stop the project saying it will hurt the environment.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 21:32:33 // 21:45:49]
[IN Q=IF YOUR]
((LINDA BATES/CONCERNED RESIDENT: IF YOUR ENVIRONMENT IS AT RISK AND YOU FEEL THAT YOUR AIR OR YOUR WATER OR YOUR EARTH MAY BE IN DANGER THAN I DON'T FEEL THAT WE NEED THIS HERE.)) ((LARRY MCDORMAN/TIRE ENERGY CORPORATION PRESIDENT: PEOPLE HAVE A VISION THEY'RE ARE GOING LOOK AT THIS PLANT AND THAT THERE IS GOING TO BLACK SMOKE BELCHING OUT THE DEQ WILL NEVER ALLOW THAT.))
[SUPER=01-Linda Bates/Concerned Resident; :00]
[SUPER=01-Larry McDorman/Tire Energy Corporation President; :09]
[RUNS=:14]
[OUT Q=NEVER ALLOW THAT]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Tire Energy needs an air permit from the Department of Environmental Quality before construction can start. A public hearing on it is being held at 7 p-m on Monday at the Henry Country Administration Building. This plant would be the first of its kind in Virginia and only the second in the country.
(------------)

[8-114H-Investigation]


[ANCHOR=kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=03-29 TC19:49]
[GRAPHIC=4H Invest.]
Organizers of a 4-H camp in Franklin County are being forced to take a closer look at how kids there are being supervised, after numerous reports of staged fights at the camp.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Franklin Co.;]

They say there were 22 adults and 52 teen leaders supervising last week's camp for 340 Bedford and Halifax County kids.
The Virginia Cooperative Extension is investigating why none of the adults noticed the kids' injuries ... and why teen counselors never reported the fights.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 15:42:54]
[IN Q=We've got to]
((CHARLIE STOTT/VIRGINIA COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SPOKESMAN; WE'VE GOT TO DETERMINE EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED IN THIS INSTANCE AND IF SOMETHING DID GO WRONG, WE'LL TAKE THE NECESSARY STEPS TO CORRECT THAT. ))
[SUPER=01-Charlie Stott/Virginia Cooperative Extension Spokesman;]
[RUNS=:08]
[OUT Q=to correct that.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

10-year-old D-J Rawls says counselors charged kids a dollar to watch his fistfights.
He says he was knocked unconscious and suffered a mild concussion.
An extension agent from Halifax County who was at the camp says only Bedford County kids and counselors were involved in the fights and there was NO rivalry between the counties.
Franklin County investigators are still interviewing kids.
(------------)


[8-11Fighters-Airport]


[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=03-23 TC52:56]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Two Navy fighters attracted a lot of attention after landing at the Roanoke Regional Airport.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

The F-18 fighters parked on the tarmac last night.
Incidentally, one of the pilots graduated from Virgnia Tech and is staying with family in Roanoke.
Plenty of people called, wondering why the planes were here.
The pilots actually called us and said they're on a training mission and will leave later this morning for Michigan.
(------------)

[8-11Downtown-Improvements]


[ANCHOR=kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=myr]
[TAPE#=03-19 TC1:14:08]
[GRAPHIC=None]

The streets of downtown Blacksburg may never look the same.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg;]
The Downtown Merchants of Blacksburg and the town kicked off its Campaign for Main drive this week. The goal is to raise 50-thousand dollars to make improvements to Main Street, including new streetlights, park benches and brick sidewalks. Organizers say they hope to complete the project by next Spring, in time for the opening of the Kent Square shopping plaza.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 3447]
[IN Q=kent square]
((JIM DYMOCK/"CAMPAIGN FOR MAIN" CHAIRMAN: KENT SQUARE IS GOING TO BE A GREAT ADDITION TO OUR DOWNTOWN AREA AND WE HOPE TO HAVE THAT AS WHAT WE CALL A GOOD MARRIAGE FOR THOSE OF US WHO ARE A LITTLE BIT MORE IN THE CENTER OF DOWNTOWN.))
[SUPER=01-Jim Dymock/"Campaign for Main" Chairman;]
[RUNS=13]
[OUT Q=center of downtown]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Dymock (Dehm-ick) says this is just the beginning. He says the ultimate goal is to raise an additional 100-thousand dollars over the next three years for more improvements. (------------)
by SS