WDBJ 7 morning news AM cutins for 08/05/03

[7-AM-Danville-Death]

[ANCHOR=Kim]

[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=tha]
[TAPE#=03-]
[GRAPHIC=none]
Authorities are investigating the suspicious deaths of two people in Danville. The bodies were discovered yesterday.
(-----------)
[vo-nat]
[super=03-Danville;]
Charlie Saunders Junior rented the house next to his own to 27 -year old David Duane Totten and his 20- year old girlfriend Davida Edmonds. Yesterday, Saunders found the couple dead inside the house. He says the two were lying on the floor and appeared to have been shot to death.
(////sot///)
[sot 00:32:32]
[in q= We've never had ]
(( CHARLIE SAUNDERS, JR./LANDLORD: WE'VE NEVER HAD NOTHING LIKE THIS HAPPEN ON THIS STREET BEFORE, IT'S QUIET AND PEACEFUL, MORE OR LESS ON THIS STREET YES. ))
[super=01-Charlie Saunders, Jr./Landlord; ]
[runs=07]
[out q=STREET, YES. ]
(--------)
[VO-NAT]
Danville police are treating the deaths as suspicious until autopsies determine whether the case is a homicide.
(----------------)

[7-11School-Safety]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=03-31 TC34:40]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Last night, members of Roanoke City Council asked that changes in the resource officer program be put on hold until a new study is completed.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

Former Resource officer Butch Lewis was in the audience yesterday afternoon.
Supporters spoke in favor of his return to Patrick Henry High School.
Council member Bill Bestpitch proposed the task force to develop recommendations by the end of the year.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 04:13:25]
[IN Q=I think this will give us]
((BILL BESTPITCH/ROANOKE CITY COUNCIL: I THINK THIS WILL GIVE US A MUCH BETTER PROCESS THAT WILL GIVE ALL THE PARENTS, STUDENTS, TEACHERS, OFFICERS, ANY CITIZEN OF ROANOKE WHO HAS A CONCERN ABOUT THIS ISSUE TO COME FORWARD, GET INVOLVED AND MAKE POSITIVE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE FUTURE, AND HELP US MOVE IN A BETTER DIRECTION.))
[SUPER=@Bestpitch; ]
[RUNS=:15]
[OUT Q=move in a better direction.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The resolution also asked the city manager to consider suspending changes related to school safety until the review can be completed.
(------------)

[7-6-Tax-amnesty]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=mmu]
[TAPE#=03-25 TC1:28:32]
[GRAPHIC=None]
The state is cutting a deal for the more than 400- thousand Virginians who are behind on their taxes this year.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Richmond]

Virginia will offer a tax amnesty program from September 2nd to November 3rd.
During that time, delinquent taxpayers can settle up with the state without paying a penalty.
And they will owe only half of the interest.
State officials say it's a chance for tax dodgers to come clean.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 01:01:44]
[IN Q=THEY'RE NOT GIVEN A BREAK]
((KEN THORSON/VA TAX COMMISSIONER: THEY'RE NOT GIVEN A BREAK ON TAXES. THEY HAVE TO PAY THAT BUT WE'LL GIVE THEM A BREAK ON THE PENALTY AND HALF THE INTEREST, HOPING THAT THEY WILL THEN BECOME CURRENT TAXPAYERS AND JOIN THE FOLD OF ALL THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE PAYING THEIR TAXES LIKE THEY SHOULD.))
[SUPER=01-Ken Thorson/Virginia Tax Commissioner]
[RUNS=:15]
[OUT Q=TAXES LIKE THEY SHOULD.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The program is expected to raise 41 million dollars for state coffers.
As extra incentive, delinquent taxpayers who don't take advantage of the deal will be assessed an additional 20 percent penalty.
(------------)

[45-11Verizon]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=jwi]
[TAPE#=03-20 TC1:52:33]
[graphic=verizon negotiations]

Contract talks between Verizon and union negotiators will resume in Washington this morning, and both sides are reporting progress.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]
Verizon's union employees decided not to walk out when their contract expired Saturday, but they ARE mobilizing. Yesterday, workers wore red and handed out sheets explaining what it means to work without a contract. Picket schedules have been ready for months.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 2:39:27]
[IN Q=Our members still]
((GUY ANGELL/CWA LOCAL 2204 PRESIDENT: OUR MEMBERS STILL WANT TO DO QUALITY SERVICE FOR THE PUBLIC. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THEIR PHONES WORK AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE REPAIRED IN A TIMELY MANOR. WE DON'T FEEL LIKE THAT IS ON THE TOP OF VERIZON'S LIST RIGHT NOW. ))
[SUPER=01-Guy Angell/CWA Local 2204 President;]
[RUNS=15]
[OUT Q=VERIZON'S LIST RIGHT NOW. ]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Verizon officials say the company can't be competitive without some changes in the union contract.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 13:49:09]
[IN Q=We're facing]
((PAUL MILLER/VERIZON SPOKESMAN: WE'RE FACING INTENSIVE COMPETITION FROM A LOT OF PLACES. OTHER PHONE COMPANIES, CABLE TV COMPANIES, CELLULAR COMPANIES. WHEN PEOPLE MAKE A CELL PHONE CALL WE LOOSE BUSINESS AND WE HAVE TO OPERATE COMPETITIVELY OR WE'RE SIMPLY NOT GOING TO SURVIVE.))
[SUPER=01-Paul Miller/Verizon Spokesman;]
[RUNS=15]
[OUT Q=NOT GOING TO SURVIVE.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
The company would also like the ability to lay off and transfer employees in extreme situations.

(------------)

[45-11Victory-Stadium]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=03-23 TC1:16:46]
[GRAPHIC=Victory Stadium]
Despite opposition, plans are moving forward to build a new stadium and ampitheater in Roanoke.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

Roanokers who favor the renovation of Victory Stadium have been working to derail construction of the new stadium and amphitheater, and they filled council chambers again yesterday afternoon.
Council considered a motion that would have stopped construction of the new multi-purpose facility, but Alfred Dowe cast the deciding vote to keep the project on course.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 04:12:04]
[IN Q=Sometimes the hardest thing]
((SOMETIMES THE HARDEST THING FOR CITIES TO COME TO GRIPS WITH IS THAT THEY ARE IN TRANSITION. WE ARE NOT A LARGE CITY MARKET ANY MORE. I THINK SALEM'S BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL IN RECOGNIZING YOU CAN GO AFTER SMALLER VENTURES AND DO THEM SUCCESSFULLY, AND THEN DO THEM CONSISTENTLY AND YOU'LL CONTINUE TO BE SUPPORTED.))
[SUPER=01-Alfred Dowe/Roanoke City Council;]
[RUNS=:18]
[OUT Q=you'll continue to be supported.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Construction of the new stadium amphitheater may ultimately seal the fate of Victory Stadium, but yesterday's vote did not address the future of the Roanoke landmark.
(------------)

[8-AM-Danville-Death]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=tha]
[TAPE#=03-]
[GRAPHIC=none]
Authorities are investigating the suspicious deaths of two people in Danville. Their bodies were discovered yesterday.
(-----------)
[vo-nat]
[super=03-Danville;]
Charlie Saunders Junior rented the house next to his own to 27 -year old David Duane Totten and his 20- year old girlfriend Davida Edmonds. Yesterday, Saunders found the couple dead inside the house. He says the two were lying on the floor and appeared to have been shot to death.
(////sot///)
[sot 00:32:32]
[in q= We've never had ]
(( CHARLIE SAUNDERS, JR./LANDLORD: WE'VE NEVER HAD NOTHING LIKE THIS HAPPEN ON THIS STREET BEFORE, IT'S QUIET AND PEACEFUL, MORE OR LESS ON THIS STREET YES. ))
[super=01-Charlie Saunders, Jr./Landlord; ]
[runs=07]
[out q=STREET, YES. ]
(--------)
[VO-NAT]
Danville police are treating the deaths as suspicious until autopsies determine whether the case is a homicide.
(----------------)

[8-11Sheltered-Industries]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=03-29 TC57:25]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Officials at Lynchburg Sheltered Industries say their workplace is safe and that friends, and relatives have no reason to fear for the safety of the clients working there.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg]

L-S-I recently settled a Department of Labor complaint about conditions inside the workshop.
The agency will pay a fine of two hundred dollars and undergo two years of safety consultations.
Officials say most of the violations were minor and that everything has been corrected.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 13:31:38]
[IN Q=We wanted to]
((DAVE TAYLOR/LYNCHBURG SHELTERED INDUSTRIES: WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT, AND STILL DO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PARENTS AND CAREGIVERS OF OUR EMPLOYEES ARE PERFECTLY COMFORTABLE WITH L-S-I BEING A SAFE WORK ENVIRONMENT FOR THEIR FAMILY MEMBER.))
[SUPER=01-Dave Taylor/Lynchburg Sheltered Industries]
[RUNS=13]
[OUT Q=for their family member.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The most serious complaint.. that workers at L-S-I had been exposed to asbestos.. was dropped in the final settlement.
Sheltered Industries employs about 100 physically and mentally handicapped adults.
(------------)

[8-11Aquatics-Program]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutin]
[WRITER=jus]
[TAPE#=03-21 TC1:24:34]
[GRAPHIC=None]

An aquatics program for kids with disabilities is keeping its head just above water.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/July 2002]

Kids Special Situations Program or KISS lost all state and local funding last summer.
The Y-W-C-A which runs the program has since raised four thousand dollars, and secured an additional seven thousand dollars in United Way funding.
But it costs nearly seventeen thousand dollars to run the program each year.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 20:46:49]
[IN Q=We are just trying]
((PAULA JONES/YWCA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: WE ARE JUST TRYING TO FIGURE WAYS MAKE UP THE DEFICIT. WE ARE STILL GOING TO HAVE THE PROGRAM. WE'RE GOING TO STILL OFFER AT THE SAME TIMES TWICE A WEEK, WEDNESDAYS AND SUNDAYS AND WE'RE JUST GOING TO DO BEST WE CAN AND HOPE WE DON'T HAVE TO RAISE FEES AT ANYTIME.))
[SUPER=01-Paula Jones/YWCA Executive Director]
[RUNS=:17]
[OUT Q=fees at anytime]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The program is for kids with mental and physical disabilities.
The pool allows them to sharpen their physical, as well as social skills. (------------)