WDBJ 7 morning news AM cutins for 09/05/03

[7Wx-Headline]

[ANCHOR=Kim]

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

Good morning, I'm Marya Jones in for Kimberly McBroom.
No need for an umbrella today with temperatures rising into the 80's, meteorologist Leo Hirsbrunner will have your detailed forecast coming up a little later.

[7-Verizon]

[ANCHOR=Marya]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=Verizon Contract Agreements]

Verizon and its unions have reached a five yaer tentative agreement.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/August;]

The deal affects about 78-thousand Verizon workers.
It comes more than a month after contracts expired and the unions threatened to strike.
Members of two unions still must approve the agreement.
Workers will receive immediate cash bonuses of three percent, or an average of 16-hundred dollars, upon approval.

The deal calls for a 2-percent increase in base wages annually.
(------------)

[7-11Missing-Couple]

[ANCHOR=Marya]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=jmc]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=None]

A missing Roanoke couple from an assisted living center has been located.
(XXXXXXXX)
[TAKE FULL SCREEN PICTURE]
Authorities say John and Sara Crow are O-K. The couple called their daughter yesterday from Sparta, Tennessee. She's going to pick them up later today.
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Marya]
[SS=None]
The Crows were last seen Wednesday night asking for directions at a store off Interstate 81 in Botetourt County. Authorities were concerned about their disappearance because they are both in in their 70's, and have health problems.

[7-2-11Holcomb]

[ANCHOR=Marya]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=myr]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=None]

A Giles County pastor is behind bars after charges of molesting a young girl.
(XXXXXXXX)
[TAKE FULL SCREEN PIC] 52-year-old Roger Holcomb of the Pembroke Church of God is charged with two counts of aggravated sexual battery on a juvenile. Investigators say the girl attended his church and the abuse went on for about six months before social services reported it to authorities.
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Marya]
[SS=None]
Holcomb has been pastor at the Pembroke Church of God for about a year and a half. He's being held without bond.

[7-2-11Airport-security]

[ANCHOR=Marya]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=mmu]
[TAPE#=03-40 TC00:18]
[GRAPHIC=Airport Security]

Despite efforts by authorities to crack down on airport security, officials say a record number of airline passengers are still packing guns, knives and sharp objects.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Richmond]

Since the Transportation Security Administration started screening passengers, over 8 million potential weapons have been intercepted at airport checkpoints.
That includes 15-hundred guns and two-and-a-half million knives.
Officials say they are concerned about the increase but don't think it signals a rise in terrorist activity.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=People are]
((CHRIS RHATIGAN/TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION: PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO TEST THE SYSTEM WHAT WE'RE SAYING IS DON'T TRY TO TEST THE SYSTEM USE THE AIRPLANES FOR TRAVEL AND TO DO YOUR BUSINESS BUT IF YOU DO TRY TO TEST THE SYSTEM YOU WILL BE ARRESTED.))
[SUPER=01-Chris Rhatigan/Transportation Security Administration; :00]
[RUNS=:12]
[OUT Q=SYSTEM YOU WILL BE ARRESTED.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT ]

What's done with all those items? T-S-A Officials say they're destroyed.
(------------)

[55-WXHeads]

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

Good morning, I'm Marya Jones, Kimberly McBroom is off today.
The rain is gone and the weekend is looking bright.

Meteorologist Leo Hirsbrunner will have your full weekend forecast coming up. [55-Verizon]

[ANCHOR=Marya]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]

Unions representing Verizon workers have reached a tentative five year agreement with the company.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/August;]

The deal affects about 78-thousand Verizon workers.
It comes more than a month after contracts expired and the unions threatened to strike.
Members of two unions still must approve the agreement.
Workers will receive immediate cash bonuses of three percent, or an average of 16-hundred dollars, upon approval.

The deal calls for a 2-percent increase in base wages annually.
(------------)

[55-11Missing-Couple]

[ANCHOR=Marya]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=jmc]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=None]

A Roanoke couple that was reported missing from an assisted living center has been found.
(XXXXXXXX)
[TAKE FULL SCREEN PICTURE]
Authorities say John and Sara Crow are O-K. The couple called their daughter yesterday from Sparta, Tennessee. She's going to pick them up later today.
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Marya]
[SS=None]
The Crows were last seen Wednesday night asking for directions at a store off Interstate 81 in Botetourt County. There was some concern about their disappearance because they are both in their 70's, and have health problems.

[55-11Warner-Education]

[ANCHOR=Marya]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=rle]
[TAPE#=03-28 TC1:13:46]
[GRAPHIC=Mark Warner]
Questions are being raised about Governor Mark Warner's plan to provide half a billion dollars for schools to pay for Standards of Quality regulations.
(------------)
[VO-NAT - :15]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]
A host of state and local leaders were there as Warner talked about it yesterday in Roanoke. Delegate Jim Shuler says the current General Assembly has favored increases in fees instead of taxes to raise funds, but now may have to take a look at something "more substantial."
(//////SOT/////)
[SOT - 51:31]
[INQ=If the members of...]
((DEL. JIM SHULER/(D) BLACKSBURG; IF THE MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, THEY WILL INDEED, ME INCLUDED, FIND A WAY TO MOVE VIRGINIA FORWARD. ))
[SUPER=@shuler;]
[RUNS=9]
[OUTQ=move Virginia forward.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT - :10]
Meanwhile, higher education officials say they are happy with Warner's commitment to education. But they wish Virginia's colleges had gotten a slice of the funding pie.
(//////SOT/////)
[SOT - 56:32]
[INQ=Ultimately, you get...]
((DOUGLAS COVINGTON/RADFORD UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT; ULTIMATELY YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. I THINKTHE GOVERNOR RECOGNIZES THAT, I HOPE THE CITIZENRY OF VIRGINIA WILL RECOGNIZE THAT AS WELL.))
[SUPER=01-Douglas Covington/Radford University President;]
[RUNS=10]
[OUTQ=recognize that as well.]
(-------------)
[VO-NAT - :10+]
Roanoke County is one of three areas serving as a test case for state auditors trying to figure out how to manage the issue.
(-------------)

[8Wx-Headline]

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

Good morning, I'm Marya Jones in for Kimberly McBroom.
The rain has moved out and sunshine has moved in.
Meteorologist Leo Hirsbrunner will have the forecast details after the news.

[8-Verizon]

[ANCHOR=Marya]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]

Verizon and its unions have agreed upon a tentative five-year contract.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/August;]

The deal affects about 78-thousand Verizon workers.
It comes more than a month after contracts expired and the unions threatened to strike.
Members of two unions still must approve the agreement.
Workers will receive immediate cash bonuses of three percent, or an average of 16-hundred dollars, upon approval.

The deal calls for a 2-percent increase in base wages annually.
(------------)

[8-6-Mastrapasqua]

[ANCHOR=Marya]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=03-35 TC25:20]
[GRAPHIC=None]

A former Lynchburg cop suspected of driving drunk during a motorcycle crash last spring has won a partial victory in court.
Bedford circuit court judge James Updike ruled yesterday that the blood alcohol tests for Chris Mastrapasqua (mass-truh-PASS-kwah) could NOT be used in court against him.
Updike said the investigating state trooper did not have enough probable cause to have blood drawn the night of the accident.
But prosecutors WILL have access to Mastrapasqua's hospital records, which could still help them prosecute the D-U-I charge.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 16:19:04]
[IN Q=For me to]
((RANDY KRANTZ/BEDFORD CO. PROSECUTOR: FOR ME TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS APPROPRIATELY I HAVE TO REVIEW THE EVIDENCE AND WHAT WE FOUGHT FOR TODAY WAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW THE EVIDENCE AND IT LOOKS LIKE WE'LL GET TO SEE THAT EVIDENCE.))
[SUPER=01-Randy Krantz/Bedford Co. Prosecutor]
[RUNS=09]
[OUT Q=see that evidence.]
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Marya]
[SS=None]

Mastrapasqua has since resigned from the Lynchburg police department.
His trial is set for November.

[8-11Tech-Computers]

[ANCHOR=Marya]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=myr]
[TAPE#=03-27 TC1:41:02]
[GRAPHIC=Virginia Tech]

Virginia Tech is hoping to take the area of research to the next level.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg;]
The university held an information session yesterday about its plans to build the world's largest supercomputing cluster at an academic institution.
[SUPER=04-Virginia Tech Video;]
Using more than one thousand of the world's fastest personal computers-- the Mac G-5s, engineers say the cluster will significantly enhance the university's research capabilities.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 1002]
[IN Q=it doesn't]
((GLENDA SCALES/VIRGINIA TECH DISTANT LEARNING & COMPUTERS: IT DOESN'T BRING A LOT TO VIRGINIA TECH JUST TO HAVE A THOUSAND COMPUTERS ALL IN ONE ROOM, IT'S THE SCIENCE AND THE RESEARCH THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO DO AS A RESULT OF HAVING THIS MAJOR RESOURCE AND THAT'S WHAT'S TRULY IMPORTANT.))
[SUPER=01-Glenda Scales/Va. Tech Distant Learning and Computers;]
[RUNS=13]
[OUT Q=truly important]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
The five-point-two million dollar project is being funded through grants. The first batch of computers is scheduled to arrive tomorrow. Engineers hope to have the system ready for full production by January First. (------------)