WDBJ 7 morning news AM cutins for 08/25/03

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[SUPER=@Kimberly1;]

[7Wx-Headline]
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=Cut-ins]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=Mornin' Report]
Good morning, I'm Kimberly McBroom. The heat and humidity will start returning to region today. Meteorologist Leo Hirsbrunner has your forecast details coming up right after the news.

[7-Verizon]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=tha]
[TAPE#=03-24 TC-1:46:11]
[GRAPHIC=Verizon]

There is no contract agreement yet, but Verizon and union negotiators may be getting closer.
(------------)
[VO-NAT 03-29 tc 1:16:51]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/Saturday; ]
Union employees have been working for more than three weeks without a contract. Local workers held a picket in Roanoke Saturday, saying talks with the company had slowed down. But that may have changed. According to the Associated Press, a spokesman for the union said quote " we have been working very hard over the weekend" but cautioned that several items still need to be resolved. The tone is a turnaround from last week, when both sides sparred over efforts to gain a P-R advantage.
(----------------)

[7-Unemployment-Benefits]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=rle]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=None]
The commonwealth is relaxing unemployment procedures for many people without jobs in Martinsville, and in Henry and Patrick counties.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=04-File Tape; ]
The Virginia Employment Commission is exempting workers in those areas from a requirement that people drawing unemployment must make at least one contact a week with a prospective employer. The changes only affect workers who filed for benefits at the V-E-C offices in Martinsville, Stuart, or Ridgeway. Last month's shutdown of the Pillowtex plant in Fieldale added nearly one- thousand unemployed workers to an area already hit hard by layoffs.
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[7-Henry-Schools]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM CutIn]
[WRITER=jus]
[TAPE#=03-34 TC-34:27]
[GRAPHIC=none]
Classes resume in many school districts today, and for one area system, the next year will bring plenty of changes.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Henry County is getting ready to close five schools and consolidate several others.
[SUPER=03-Henry Co./File Tape]

The re-configuration is still a year away but the school system is already getting prepared.
Committees will soon be formed to deal with the many issues and problems that may arise.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 11:33:36]
[IN Q=We have to deal]
((SHARON DODSON/SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT: WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH EVERYTHING FROM THE TRANSPORTATION ISSUES, FROM THE EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES, TO THE SPECIFIC CURRICULUM ISSUES. SOME SCHOOLS ARE VERY WELL KNOWN FOR CERTAIN CURRICULUM ASPECTS AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE IDENTITY AND THE SUCCESSES OF ALL OUR SCHOOLS GET REFLECTED IN OUR NEW SCHOOLS.))

[SUPER=01-Sharon Dodson/Henry Co. School Superintendent; :05]
[RUNS=:21]
[OUT Q=our new schools]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Students will be asked to be on the committees, which should be formed within a month.
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[7-Rke-Pools]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM CutIn]
[WRITER=jwi]
[TAPE#=03-30 TC-1:33:54]
[GRAPHIC=none]

And as schools open, Roanoke's public swimming pools are now closed.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]
Both Fallon and Washington Park pools called in a summer season last night. The pools are usually opened through the Labor Day holiday, but Parks and Recreation decided to close them early this year. A spokesman says many lifeguards are students who have to return to school and attendance this time of year is usually low.
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[7WEATHER]

[ANCHOR=Leo]
[NEWSCAST=cut -ins]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#none]
[GRAPHIC=none]

[LEO IN CHROMAKEY]

WEATHER PRO

[Desk 2-Shot=Kim and Leo]

(Good Bye!)

[7Goodbye]

[ANCHOR=KMC-LEO]
[NEWSCAST=cut-ins]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=none]

[Desk 2-Shot]

[SUPER=@Leo1;]

(AD-LIB Bye)

[SUPER=#4057; Copyright]

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[SUPER=@Kimberly1;]

[55-WXHeads]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=Cut-ins]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=Mornin' Report]
Good morning, I'm Kimberly McBroom.
The one-day break from summer heat is over, as higher temperatures return today.
Meteorologist Leo Hirsbrunner has your complete forecast in just a few minutes.

[55-Roanoke-Fire]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM CutIn]
[WRITER=dgr]
[TAPE#=03-25 TC-1:58:27]
[GRAPHIC=Fire Investigation]

Roanoke fire investigators call a weekend blaze "suspicious", and they say they have a suspect in mind.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/Saturday Night;]
Firefighters got the call Saturday night to 924 Ninth Street Southeast, near 9th and Murray. When they arrived, they found flames spreading from the back of the building into the attic. Investigators were brought in to help determine the cause.
They quickly learned the home was vacant and had apparently been so for some time. Yesterday, neighbors were looking at the damage and making sure their own homes were intact.
[SUPER=04-Yesterday;]
Officials estimate the loss at 25 - thousand dollars.
(------------)

[55-Salem-Phones]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM CutIn]
[WRITER=jwi]
[TAPE#=03-29 TC-1:17:57]
[GRAPHIC=None]

About 150 Verizon customers in Salem spent most of the weekend without phone service, but most, if not all now have it back.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Salem;]
Crews worked around the clock over the weekend to restore service to affected customers. A Verizon spokesman says the damage occurred when a car hit a pole on East Main Street, cutting a line. He says it was an older cable, which makes it harder to repair. Verizon hoped to have all service restored by midnight, but have not been able to confirm if that happened.
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[55-Civic-Center]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM CutIn]
[WRITER=jus]
[TAPE#=03-35 TC-22:21]
[GRAPHIC=none]
Roanoke's Civic Center should see steady improvements in coming years, but nothing all at once.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

Mina Boyd is the new director of facilities for the Roanoke Civic Center.
She began her job in late May after nearly four years at a similar position in Dallas.
Boyd says one of her top priorities is to the upgrade the Civic Center's facilities.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 24:03]
[IN Q=I know that]
((MINA BOYD/DIRECTOR OF CIVIC FACILITIES: I KNOW THAT MANY MANY CITIES HAVE HAD ECONOMIC PROBLEMS AND MANY TIMES DON'T HAVE THE FUNDS TO DO THE THINGS THAT YOU WANT SO WE HAVE DEVELOPED A PLAN WHERE WE WILL INCREMENTALLY IMPROVE THE FACILITY AND WE'VE STARTED THAT.))
[SUPER=01-Mina Boyd/Director of Civic Facilities; :05]
[RUNS=:20]
[OUT Q=we've started that]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Boyd says a better facility will eventually bring bigger acts and shows to the Roanoke Civic Center.
She also believes an aggressive marketing campaign will help to achieve that goal.
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[55-Flag-Repatriation]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM CutIn]
[WRITER=tha]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=none]
A Confederate flag will soon return to Fredericksburg, 141 years after it left. The partial "Stars and Bars" flag was seized by a member of the Fourth Michigan infantry during the Battle of Fredericksburg. A colors sergeant carried it home to Lansing, Michigan, but now his descendants say it's time to send it home. The flag will be returned next Sunday.

[55WEATHER]

[ANCHOR=Leo]
[NEWSCAST=cut -ins]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#none]
[GRAPHIC=none]

[LEO IN CHROMAKEY]

WEATHER PRO

[Desk 2-Shot=Kim and Leo]

(Good Bye!)

[55Goodbye]

[ANCHOR=KMC-LEO]
[NEWSCAST=cut-ins]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=none]

[Desk 2-Shot]

[SUPER=@Leo1;]

(AD-LIB Bye)

[SUPER=#4057; Copyright]

[cutopen]
[SUPER=@Kimberly1;]

[8Wx-Headline]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=Cut-ins]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=Mornin' Report]

Good morning, I'm Kimberly McBroom......
You'll want to stay in the airconditioning as much as possible today, as temperatures soar into the 80s with high humidity.
Metereologist Leo Hirsbrunner has details, up next in the Monday forecast.

[8-Unemployment-Benefits]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=rle]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=none]

A normal rule of the Virginia Employment Commission is being relaxed a bit for people who have recently lost their jobs in Martinsville and surrounding areas.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=04-File Tape; ]
The Virginia Employment Commission is exempting workers in those areas from a requirement that people drawing unemployment must make at least one contact a week with a prospective employer. The changes only affect workers who filed for benefits at the V-E-C offices in Martinsville, Stuart, or Ridgeway. Last month's shutdown of the Pillowtex plant in Fieldale added nearly one- thousand additional unemployed workers to an area already hit hard by layoffs.
(------------)

[8-Henry-Schools]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM CutIn]
[WRITER=jus]
[TAPE#=03-34 TC-34:27]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Students in Henry County are getting a real- life lesson on the importance of preparing early.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Henry County is getting ready to close five schools and consolidate several others.
[SUPER=03-Henry Co./File Tape]

The re-configuration is still a year away, but the school system is already preparing.
Committees will soon be formed to deal with the many issues and problems that may arise.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 11:33:36]
[IN Q=We have to deal]
((SHARON DODSON/SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT: WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH EVERYTHING FROM THE TRANSPORTATION ISSUES, FROM THE EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES, TO THE SPECIFIC CURRICULUM ISSUES. SOME SCHOOLS ARE VERY WELL KNOWN FOR CERTAIN CURRICULUM ASPECTS AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE IDENTITY AND THE SUCCESSES OF ALL OUR SCHOOLS GET REFLECTED IN OUR NEW SCHOOLS.))

[SUPER=01-Sharon Dodson/Henry Co. School Superintendent; :05]
[RUNS=:21]
[OUT Q=our new schools]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Students will be asked to be on the committees, which should be formed within a month.
(------------)

[8-Verizon]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=tha]
[TAPE#=03-24 TC-1:46:11]
[GRAPHIC=Verizon]

An agreement may soon be within reach for Verizon and its union.
(------------)
[VO-NAT 03-29 tc 1:16:51]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/Saturday; ]
Union employees have been working for more than three weeks without a contract. Local workers held a picket in Roanoke Saturday saying talks with the company had slowed down. But that may have changed. According to the Associated Press, a spokesman for the union said quote " we have been working very hard over the weekend" but cautioned that several items still need to be resolved. The tone is a turnaround from last week, when both sides sparred over efforts to gain a P-R advantage.
(----------------)

[8-Rke-Pools]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM CutIn]
[WRITER=jwi]
[TAPE#=03-30 TC-1:33:54]
[GRAPHIC=none]

It was the last dip of the season for patrons of Roanoke city public pools.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]
Both Fallon and Washington Park pools closed for the summer yesterday evening. The pools are usually opened through the Labor Day holiday, but Parks and Recreation decided to close them early this year. A spokesman says many lifeguards are students who have to return to school and attendance this time of year is usually low.
(------------)

[8WEATHER]

[ANCHOR=Leo]
[NEWSCAST=cut -ins]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#none]
[GRAPHIC=none]

[LEO IN CHROMAKEY]

WEATHER PRO

[Desk 2-Shot=Kim and Leo]

(Good Bye!)

[8Goodbye]

[ANCHOR=KMC-LEO]
[NEWSCAST=cut-ins]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=none]

[Desk 2-Shot]

[SUPER=@Leo1;]

(AD-LIB Bye)

[SUPER=#4057; Copyright]