[1-News-Head]
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]
Attorneys for a man accused of killing two women in a national park points the finger at someone else.
(------------)
[VO-NAT :05]
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]
And, frustrations are bubbling to the surface in a city with serious sewer issues.
(------------)
[Sports-Head]
[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]
Tonight on News 7 sports - the week 8 schedule for Friday Football Extra is ready to roll, as are the Cup cars at Martinsville,
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
and Pedro and the Sox try to take down the Yanks tonight in the Bronx.
(------------)
[WX-Head]
[ANCHOR=Robin]
[SS=None]
More clouds tomorrow but most areas will stay dry. Details on the forecast just ahead.
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Shannon 4-Shot]
News 7 is next.
[Video-Open]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=Video Open]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]
A new twist in the case against the man accused of murdering two Appalachian Trail hikers.
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]
Darrell David Rice's lawyers say new DNA evidence shows someone else may be responsible.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]
Good evening, I'm Shannon Young.
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]
And I'm Keith Humphry.
[Rice]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=03-41 TC30:30]
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]
Rice's trial is set to start Monday in a Charlottesville federal courtroom.
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]
Prosecutors say he committed a hate crime, murdering two women in the Shenandoah National Park seven years ago.
[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[SS=None]
But an 11th hour motion filed by his defense team implicates someone else ... a man who killed three girls in Virginia.
[DOUBLE BOXES=Shannon & Marya /Newsroom;]
Marya Jones is in the newsroom with more.
Shannon,
A motion filed yesterday by Rice's attorneys calls for a delay in the case AND a dismissal of the death penalty from Attorney General John Ashcroft.
[LIVE= Marya /FULL Newsroom]
[SUPER=@Marya1;]
That's because attorneys say new forensic evidence eliminates Rice -- but NOT serial killer Richard Evonitz -- as the possible killer.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Darrell David Rice]
[SUPER=03-Charlottesville/April 25, 2002; :00 QUICK!!!]
[SUPER=03-Shenandoah National Park/May 1996; :13]
[SUPER=03-Sarasota, FL/July 2002; :33]
[RUNS=:45]
[OUT Q=Kristen and Kati Lisk]
(( Darrell David Rice reportedly told investigators he murdered Laura Winans and Julie Williams because they were lesbians.
The two women were found murdered at their campsite in the Shenandoah National Park in 1996.
But a forensic test conducted by the F-B-I on hair samples AT the crime scene showed they didn't come from Rice OR either of the two victims.
The FBI ALSO compared the hairs to known serial killer Richard Evonitz.
It found that the hairs were microscopically similar to Evonitz's ... and that he could NOT be ruled out as the possible source.
Evonitz killed himself in Florida last summer, as police closed in on him.
Afterward, DNA linked him to the long-unsolved Spotsylvania County murders of Sofia Silva and sisters Kristen and Kati Lisk.))
(-------------)
[LIVE= Marya /FULL Newsroom]
Court documents ALSO show that Evonitz was on leave from work during the time period that Williams and Winans were killed.
There's still plenty to implicate Rice, including his alleged confession AND his arrest for abducting a woman in the Shenandoah National Park in 1998.
As of yet, there's no hearing scheduled on this latest motion.
[DOUBLE BOXES=Shannon & Marya /Newsroom;]
It could be taken up next Monday, before the trial begins in Charlottesville.
[Animal-Cruelty]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=jwi]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=none]
The case against an 11- year- old Vinton boy who allegedly strangled and then dipped a cat in anti- freeze is being taken under advisement.
The boy was charged with animal cruelty earlier this month for the August killing of a cat named Sandy.
Sandy's owner, Mark Palmer, went looking for his pet and found her dead with a rubber band around her neck and coat drenched in anti- freeze.
Today friends of the boy testified that he bragged to them about the killing, but he maintains he only *witnessed* the event and then petted the cat after it was already dead.
The 11- year- old did, however, say the rubber band around the cat's neck could have been one he discarded earlier.
The boy was transferred back to Coyner Springs Detention Center where he was detained earlier this month.
[Knox]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=03-32 TC1:53:27]
[GRAPHIC=Cecil Knox]
Doctor Cecil Knox says he saw close to two -thousand patients over the six years the federal indictment covers.
That's twice as many as the government estimated. The defense today tried to convince the jury that Doctor Knox did a lot to improve the quality of life for the vast majority of those two thousand people.
The indictment focuses on 31 of Knox's patients, eight of whom died.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/Yesterday]
Knox began his testimony yesterday and continued today. He said for about one third of his patients he prescribed no medication at all. Another third were straight-forward single opioid cases. The rest were more complicated, requiring a combination of therapy, braces and- -in some cases- -multiple drugs, such as OxyContin and Methadone.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[SS=HOLD]
Asked if he ever cut off a patient who'd abused narcotics, Knox said, yes, but "abandonment was never an option." If he had refused to see a patient he suspected was turning to street drugs, said Knox, meant "they would have no monitoring, supervision or guidance."
The Prosecutor will cross-examine Doctor Knox tomorrow.
[Merchant-Tax]
[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=myr]
[TAPE#=03-43 TC20:28]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Montgomery County's merchant tax is about to get lower, but some say it's still not low enough.
The county voted to cut the tax by one-fourth, rather than in half, as many business owners had hoped.
[DOUBLE BOXES=Myranda & Shannon/Microwave;]
Myranda Stephens joins us from our Blacksburg newsroom with more.
Shannon, the biggest opponents of the tax are many area car dealers,
[LIVE=Myranda/FULL]
[SUPER=@Myranda1;]
[SUPER=05-Blacksburg;]
like Shelor Automotive, which moves its cars out of the county, when the taxes are assessed.
And not getting the reduced rate they wanted only adds more fuel to the fire.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Montgomery Co.; :06]
[SUPER=01-Larry Shelor/Shelor Automotive; :12]
[SUPER=01-Nick Rush/Montgomery Co. Board of Supervisors Chair; 1:00]
[RUNS=1:10]
[OUT Q=MOVE THEIR MERCHANDISE ]
(([SOT 5834]
[RUNS02]
((THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT THEY WERE TRYING TO DO SOMETHING THAT DIDN'T HELP US 36))
Larry Shelor of Shelor Automotive calls the new tax "payback" for all the years his business has gotten around paying it.
[SOT 5941]
[RUNS09]
((LARRY SHELOR/SHELOR AUTOMOTIVE COMPANY: IT'S UNFORTUNATE THAT A CERTAIN GROUP ON THE BOARD THERE HAS TAKEN THIS THING PERSONALLY AND MAKING COMMENTS THAT CAR DEALERS AREN'T TO BE TRUSTED AND THAT THEY HOPE WE MOVE OUT THE COUNTY 50))
In addtion to lowering the tax from a dollar-21 per 100-dollars to 90-cents, the county also voted to assess the inventory twice a year -- New Year's day and again on August first.
The merchants would then pay the average of the two.
[SOT 5904]
[RUNS07]
((AND THAT WAS ANOTHER THING THAT THEY HAD HOPED WAS TO CREATE ENOUGH COST INTO THE MOVING PROCESS THAT WE WOULDN'T BE AS LIKELY TO MOVE OUR CARS.))
If so, it didn't work.
Shelor says now he'll just have to move his cars TWICE a year, instead of once.
But, county officials say the tax is NOT a shot at Shelor, but a fair compromise for all businesses, big and small.
[SOT 202]
[RUNS10]
((NICK RUSH/COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS CHAIR: 202 FOR THOSE WHO DO CHOOSE TO LEAVE THEIR MERCHANDISE IN THE COUNTY IT WILL LOWER THAT RATE AND HELP THOSE BUSINESSES COMPETE AGAINST THOSE BUSINESES THAT DECIDE TO MOVE THEIR MERCHANDISE 212.))))
(------------)
[LIVE=Myranda/FULL]
[SUPER=05-Blacksburg;]
This battle does NOT appear to be over.
[DOUBLE BOXES=Myranda & Shannon /Microwave;]
Shelor says he's going to fight this thing to the end, but he says with elections around the corner, the fight may not be that long.
[Tease#1]
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]
[SS=NONE]
A Virginia State Trooper is killed inside his own home.
The latest on the investigation when News 7 returns.
(---------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]
Plus divers are searching for a man who may have jumped from an area bridge.
(----------------)
[Parkway-Search]
[NEWSCAST=6 p.m.]
[WRITER=syo]
[TAPE#=03-46 TC08:08]
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]
Roanoke County Police are searching for the body of an apparent suicide victim.
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]
(------------)
[VO-NAT :15]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.;]
A woman driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway between 7:30 and 8 this morning reported seeing a man running on the Roanoke River Bridge.
As she passed him the man climbed over the railing and squatted down.
Nobody saw him fall but police believe he jumped.
(///// SOT at :15 /////)
[SOT 8:49:17-8:49:30]
[IN Q=We've got the person over the other side of the bridge...]
((SGT. JEFFREY HERRICK/ROANOKE COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT: WE'VE GOT THE PERSON OVER THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BRIDGE, OVER THE RAILING AND WHERE SHE LAST SPOTTED HIM THERE WAS A CELL PHONE THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO SHOW COMES BACK TO SOMEONE.))
[SUPER=01-Sgt. Jeffrey Herrick/Roanoke Co. Police Department;]
[RUNS=:13]
[OUT Q=to show comes back to someone.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT :13]
Police also found a suicide note and a wallet.
They have yet to release the man's name but say he was most likely a local resident.
Herrick said the Scruggs Dive Team was being called in to search for the body.
(------------)
[Trooper-Kill]
[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=6 PM]
[WRITER=jus]
[TAPE#=03-40 TC36:40]
[GRAPHIC=Shooting]
State Police are investigating the death of a state trooper shot and killed in his home near Richmond.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Caroline Co.]
First Sergeant Taylor Blanton was found this morning with a gunshot wound to the chest.
Blanton headed the Computer Evidence Recovery Unit of the state Bureau of Criminal Investigations.
Authorities are trying to figure out if the killing could have been related to an intruder's appearance at the home two days ago.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[SS=None]
Police say his wife was home at the time of the shooting and may have seen the shooter.
[Sinkhole]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=5pm]
[WRITER=jmc]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=Interstate 81]
A sinkhole has opened up on I-81 in Wythe County.
State Police say crews have closed one northbound lane and part of another at mile-marker 82, in the Fort Chiswell area.
The emergency shoulder is open to traffic.
Officials don't know how long it will take to repair the road.
[Covington-Sewer]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=rle]
[TAPE#=03-38 TC51:04]
[GRAPHIC=None]
It's a messy situation in Covington, where residents of one neighborhood want the city to replace sewer lines that frequently back up into basements.
City leaders say they have already done everything they can.
Richard Lesko has the story.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Covington; :11]
[SUPER=01-Eric Mercer/Covington Resident; :33]
[SUPER=@richard2; 1:10]
[RUNS=1:26]
[OUT Q=News 7, Covington.]
(((///// SOT /////)
[SOT - 11:52:32]
[IN Q=I don't want to live no more...]
((ERIC MERCER/COVINGTON RESIDENT; I DON'T WANT TO LIVE NO MORE IN FEAR, ARE WE GOING TO HAVE SEWER IN OUR BASEMENT. ARE WE GOING TO HAVE TO JERK EVERYTHING UPSTAIRS.))
[RUNS= 10]
[OUT Q=everything upstairs.]
5 years ago, Eric Mercer bought his dream house in the Parrish Court area of Covington.
He says he soon found out every time the city gets a hard rain, the sewers quickly back up into the basements all over the neighborhood.
Just in the past year, he estimates he's spent more than 5-thousand dollars to clean up.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT - 11:57:08]
[IN Q=I'd rather spend...]
((I'D RATHER SPEND IT ON MY KIDS, MY FAMILY. I WOULD RATHER LET THEM GO ON A FIELD TRIP. INSTEAD OF SAYING WE CAN'T WE'VE GOT SEWER CLEANUP. I'D RATHER HAVE CHRISTMAS.))
[RUNS= 12]
[OUT Q=rather have Christmas.]
When five residents filed for damages in recent months, the city's insurance carrier denied the claims, saying the flooding basements were an act of God.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT - 11:51:39]
[IN Q=God didn't ask...]
((GOD DIDN'T ASK PEOPLE TO HAVE A SEWER IN THEIR BASEMENTS. GOD ASKED FOR RAIN, SNOW, SLEET, ICE. BUT NOT SEWER IN PEOPLE'S BASEMENTS. ))
[RUNS= 8]
[OUT Q=in people's basements.]
City officials declined to speak on camera, but said they have already done all that they can. They say this is an isolated incident, and any repairs must be made by the landowners.
Residents throughout the neighborhood say they are having the same problem, and will air their grievances at a community meeting next Saturday.
Richard Lesko, News 7, Covington.))
[Stocks]
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=None]
A mixed day on Wall Street.
[TAKE DOW & NASDAQ PAGE]
[RUNS=:30]
[SUPER=x5000;]
[SUPER=440-y/11.33/9791.72/x/11.04/1950.14;]
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]
The DOW fell 11 points.
NASDAQ gained 11.
(-------------)
[VO]
[SUPER=271-i/1.11/74.89/i/0.20/44.95/h/0.05/29.55/h/0.70/71.95/i/0.13/81.93;]
[SUPER=272-i/0.09/36.77/h/0.20/15.84/i/0.03/7.42/h/0.10/62.20/h/0.17/29.02;]
[SUPER=273-i/0.03/7.00/h/0.32/37.99/i/0.09/18.71/h/0.24/18.96/h/0.04/7.179;]
[SUPER=274-h/0.13/9.99/h/0.29/63.47/h/0.05/32.22/h/0.53/44.82/h/0.32/59.39;]
[SUPER=#555; Reset]
[Clarke]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=03-34 TC1:44:28]
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]
The battle for the minority vote in Lynchburg heated up today.
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]
Democratic state senate hopeful Bob Clarke picked up some key endorsements of his own.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg/Monday; ]
Incumbent Republican Steve Newman surprised many people when he announced Monday three of Lynchburg's most vocal civil rights activists were supporting him.
[SUPER=04-Today; ]
Today, Clarke appeared with about a dozen well-known faces from the city's black community.. supporters who were shocked by their counterparts' willingness to back a Republican.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 12:22:51//12:18:15]
[IN Q=I think there's]
((WALTER FORE/LYNCHBURG VOTERS LEAGUE: I THINK THERE'S A SNAKE UP UNDER THE ROCK. AND IT HAS TO COME OUT FROM UNDER THE ROCK, AND IT'S AT A POINT RIGHT NOW WHERE THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE TO COME CLEAN WITH THE BLACK COMMUNITY AND JUSTIFY WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT. AND RIGHT NOW I DON'T SEE ANYTHING THAT THEY CAN DO TO JUSTIFY THIS KIND OF A MOVE.))
((BOB CLARKE/D-SENATE CANDIDATE: ALL THE VOTES ARE IMPORTANT FROM ALL THE FACTIONS IN OUR AREA. WE'D LIKE TO HAVE A BIG TURNOUT AND HAVE EVERYBODY VOTE, ALL VOTES ARE IMPORTANT.))
[SUPER=01-Walter Fore/Lynchburg Voters League; ]
[SUPER=01-Bob Clarke/(D) State Senate Candidate; ]
[RUNS=29]
[OUT Q=all votes are important.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Newman and Clarke are scheduled to debate tonight on Lynchburg's public access cable channel.
(------------)
[Sports Tease]
[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]
Coming up tonight on News 7 sports - the Yanks and Sox take off the gloves tonight for game seven.
The Martinsville race weekend is ready to roll,
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
and we'll unveil the schedule of games for week number 8 of Friday Football Extra.
(------------)
[S-MLB]
[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=SP-150 11645tc]
[GRAPHIC=REDSOX/YANKS]
Gotham City will be rocking tonight as the Yankees and Red Sox play for the American League Pennant inside the house that Ruth Built.
Their seven game series has come down to a 9 inning winner take all affair.
Plus, it's Pedro vs. Clemens adding to the high drama.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=BITE]
[SUPER=01-Jason Varitek/Red Sox Catcher; :00]
[SUPER=01-Joe Torre/Yankees Manager; :10]
[SUPER=01-Derek Jeter/Yankees Shortstop; :25]
[SUPER=01-Kevin Millar/Red Sox Infielder; :38]
[RUNS=1:04]
[OUT Q=...OR WATCH IT."]
(------------)
[ANCHOR=mike]
[GRAPHIC=hold matchup]
The first pitch flies tonight at 8:18.
[S-FFE]
[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=SP-156 5726TC]
[GRAPHIC=FFE]
The high school football season is evaporating quickly.
Tomorrow night marks week 8 of the regular season.
Here where teams in the Friday Football Extra area are playing tomorrow. As always - the home teams are on the bottom of the matchups.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=LOGO & AUDIO FULL]
[RUNS=1:02]
[OUT Q=...logo comes full."]
(-----------)
[S-Race]
[ANCHOR=mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=twe]
[TAPE#=SP-158 TC5624]
[GRAPHIC=Subway 500]
A big racing weekend is on tap starting tomorrow at the Martinsville Speedway with Truck Series qualifying at 1-30 followed by Winston Cup time trials at 3. The last short track stop of the season is one of the most demanding on the schedule in more ways than one.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=BITE]
[SUPER=01-Ward Burton/Last Race in Caterpillar Dodge; :07]
[RUNS=:17]
[OUT Q=anywhere we go."]
(----------------)
[vo nat con't]
[SUPER=03-Martinsville; :00]
Ryan Newman, who has a circuit high eight wins this season won the pole for the this very race last fall.
(--------------)
[S-Kyle]
[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=SP-160 10749TC]
[GRAPHIC=KYLE PETTY]
Kyle Petty's charity event tonight at the Salem Civic Center was hoping to attract a decent crowd.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Salem; :00]
It did that and more.
Thousands of fans turned out to see Kyle and some of NASCAR's finest and pick up a few autographs and auction items along the way.
All proceeds from the evening go to Victory Junction Gang camp for terminally ill children that is being built on Petty Property in Level Cross, North Carolina.
Travis Wells will have much more on the event tonight at 11.
(------------)
[Todd-Snider]
[NEWSCAST=Six]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=03-42 TC00:27]
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]
Todd Snider has come a long way since he first picked up a guitar.
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]
But the singer- songwriter says he's still enjoying the journey.
(///// SOT ////////)
[NAT SOUND OF MUSIC]
[IN Q=I got Willie, Waylon and Woody Guthrie]
[RUNS=:09]
[OUT Q=John Prine and more.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Known for his humorous songs, Snider sang about his record collection this afternoon.
He says he hasn't lost the love of touring that spurred him to make his own recordings.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=That is what I've always thought]
((TODD SNIDER: THAT IS WHAT I'VE ALWAYS THOUGHT OF MYSELF AS LIKE A TROUBADOUR, OR A GYPSY SONG MAN TYPE AND THEN I REMEMBER WHEN I MADE MY FIRST RECORD I WAS PLAYING MEMPHIS AND NASHVILLE AND ATLANTA, AND I THOUGHT IF A RECORD COMPANY LET'S ME MAKE A RECORD, I CAN ADD A FEW CITIES IN MISSISSIPPI AND THAT WOULD BE GREAT.))
[SUPER=01-Todd Snider]
[RUNS=:14]
[OUT Q=that would be great.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]
Today, his songs carry him around the country. Todd Snider will perform tonight at 8 at the Cinema Cafe in Roanoke.
(------------)