WDBJ 7 morning news AM cutins for 11/06/03

[7Wx-Headline]

[ANCHOR=Kim]

[NEWSCAST=Cut-ins]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=Mornin' Report]
Good morning, I'm Kimberly McBroom. You could come across a shower at any time today, ahead of cooler weather arriving tomorrow. Meteorologist Leo Hirsbrunner has your forecast details in just a few minutes.

[7-11Drunk-Drivers]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cut-Ins]
[WRITER=jus]
[TAPE#=03-]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Drunk driving convictions in Roanoke County may soon become much more costly.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co./File Tape;]

Currently, if you are convicted of a D-U-I in Roanoke County, you could face a 100 dollar fine in addition to any criminal penalties.
The county collects this fine to recover the expenses incurred for emergency response to accidents or incidents caused by impaired drivers.
State law allows localities to charge a flat fee of 100 dollars or a minute by minute accounting of the actual costs
incurred ---up to a thousand dollars.

The Board of Supervisors will soon decide whether it wants to change to that minute by minute accounting.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 7:57]
[IN Q=I think I just want]
((PAUL MAHONEY/ROANOKE CO. ATTORNEY: I THINK I JUST WANT THE BOARD TO BE AWARE THAT THERE ARE ADDITIONAL ADMINISTRATIVE AND STAFF COSTS THAT GO ALONG WITH A MINUTE BY A MINUTE ACCOUNTING, IT'S NOT A FREEBIE.))
[SUPER=01-Paul Mahoney/Roanoke Co. Attorney;]
[RUNS=:13]
[OUT Q=it's not a freebie]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

If the county decides to stay with the flat fee, it may then lobby the General Assembly to change the maximum fine from one hundred dollars to 500 or a thousand dollars.
(------------)

[7-11NS-Cuts]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=Norfolk Southern]

More than 500 Norfolk Southern workers system-wide have accepted a company severance offer and will leave their jobs. Along with severance pay, the employees will receive free health insurance for one year and job-hunting assistance.
The move will cost Norfolk Southern about 107 million dollars.

[7-11General-Assembly]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AM CutIns]
[WRITER=mmu]
[TAPE#=03-40 TC1:00:44]
[GRAPHIC=Election 2003]
Tax reform wasn't on the ballot anywhere in Virginia, but Governor Warner says he sees the outcome of Tuesday's elections as a vote to change the state's tax system.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=203-Richmond]

Democrats lost one state Senate seat but picked up three seats in the House of Delegates.
Warner says the success of Democrats against anti-tax candidates shows voters are willing to support major changes in the state's tax code.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 14:24]
[IN Q=I THINK IT WAS A CLEAR REJECTION]
((GOVERNOR MARK WARNER: I THINK IT WAS A CLEAR REJECTION OF THAT KIND OF YOU CAN HAVE IT ALL FOR NOTHING SOUNDBITE SLOGANS. ATTORNEY GENERAL JERRY KILGORE: WITH THE DELEGATES THAT I TALKED TO LAST NIGHT AND WITH THE SENATORS I'VE SPOKEN WITH SINCE THEY'RE JUST NOT GOING TO CONSIDER RAISING TAXES ON HARD-WORKING VIRGINIANS.))
[SUPER=201-Gov. Mark Warner; :00]
[SUPER=201-Jerry Kilgore/Virginia Attorney General; :07]
[RUNS=:19]
[OUT Q=RAISING TAXES ON HARD-WORKING VIRGINIANS.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Tax reform was a central campaign issue for Warner.
He is expected to release details of his tax restructuring plan later this month.
(------------)

[55-WXHeads]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=Cut-ins]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=Mornin' Report]
Good morning, I'm Kimberly McBroom. Today looks like a wet one off and on, with showers possible throughout the day. Meteorologist Leo Hirsbrunner has the damp details after the news.

[55-11Bedford-Supervisor]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=Am Cut-In]
[WRITER=jus]
[TAPE#=03-44 TC38:46]
[GRAPHIC=Morning Report]
There are plenty of people who want to become the next Bedford County Supervisor. The board will appoint someone for a one year team at its meeting next Thursday.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Bedford]
Supervisors met behind closed doors last night to begin interviewing fourteen candidates for the Smith Mountain Lake area seat.
[SUPER=04-File Tape]

It came open after Kirby Richardson resigned last month.
He is the supervisor who was indicted for allegedly forging V-Dot public documents.
The board interviewed seven candidates last night and will interview the other seven tonight.
(------------)

[55-11Vinton-Betting]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AM CutIn]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=03-38 TC1:19:38]
[GRAPHIC=Election 2003]

It looks the numbers will stand in Vinton -- a 20-vote approval for off-track betting.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=203-Roanoke Co.;]

Roanoke County Board of Election officials double-checked and certified the election results yesterday.
Local church leaders still haven't decided whether they want a recount.
They have 10 days to file a petition.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 1:20:17]
[IN Q=We're here to serve]
((RON ADKINS/ROANOKE CO. ELECTORAL BOARD: WE'RE HERE TO SERVE THE PUBLIC, SO WE'D WELCOME A RECOUNT. BUT SINCE WE'VE ALREADY CERTIFIED THE ELECTION, THE VOTES MORE OR LESS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES. I DON'T THINK THERE'D BE AN IOTA OF DIFFERENCE ON THE COUNT. ))
[SUPER=201-Ron Adkins/Roanoke Co. Electoral Board;]
[RUNS=:16]
[OUT Q=difference on the count.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=203-Alberta/File Tape;]

Colonial Downs is still shopping for a location, but says Vinton will have a horse betting parlor in six to eight months.
One potential site is an old Rite-Aid building on Hardy Road.
(------------)

[55-11School-Violence]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AM CutIns]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=03-35 TC1:42:50]
[GRAPHIC=None]
New numbers are in on school discipline in Roanoke City Schools. And Superintendent Wayne Harris says the report supports his contention that city schools are safe and orderly.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Officials recorded 12-hundred incidents of discipline during the first nine weeks of the school year, but Harris says most did not involve violence or physical abuse.
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

While it's difficult to compare the nine week report with previous years, Harris says it reflects well upon the safety of Roanoke City schools.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 21:05:21]
[IN Q=In total, when I look at]
((WAYNE HARRIS/ROANOKE CITY SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT; IN TOTAL WHEN I LOOK AT ALL INCIDENTS ACROSS ALL SCHOOLS FOR THE NUMBER OF DAYS WE'RE TALKING, I'M CONVINCED ALONG WITH HAVING VISITED THAT SCHOOLS ARE SAFE AND STUDENTS ARE ACHIEVING.))

[SUPER=01-Wayne Harris/Roanoke City School Superintendent;]
[RUNS=:11]
[OUT Q=and students are achieving.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The report says a new hotline has received just eight messages, and Harris says none of them involved student discipline or violence.
(------------)

[8Wx-Headline]

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

Good morning, I'm Kimberly McBroom......
Showers are likely off and on today, so don't leave home without the rain gear.
Metereologist Leo Hirsbrunner has your Thursday forecast, up next.

[8-11Keister-Morris]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cut-Ins]
[WRITER=myr]
[TAPE#=03-46 TC23:25]
[GRAPHIC=Election 2003]

50- votes are all that separates the two contenders for the Sixth district House of Delegates seat.
But there's still no official decision on whether incumbent Benny Keister will get to keep the job.
(XXXXXXX)
[TAKE PINNACLE 100]
When all the precints reported Tuesday night, Keister led by just 37 votes.
That lead over Republican Morgan Morris is now up to 50 votes.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=203-Giles Co.;]

Morris had already indicated he would ask for a recount if the margin of victory was within one percent. Morris believes once the votes are recounted, the final result will work in his favor.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 1348]
[IN Q=i sought]
((MORGAN MORRIS: I SOUGHT THIS NOMINATION TWO YEARS AGO, AND LOST BY ONE VOTE, SO I NEVER GAVE UP, AND I'M STILL NOT GIVEN UP. SO YOU KNOW I LIKE TO FIGHT I'M NOT AFRAID TO SCRAP, I DON'T BACK DOWN AND I DON'T GIVE UP, I NEVER QUIT.))
[SUPER=201-Morgan Morris/(R) House of Delegates Candidate;]
[RUNS=14]
[OUT Q=never quit]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=204-File Tape]
Benny Keister was not available yesterday for comment. If the numbers stick, this will be Keister's third term in the House of Delegates.
(------------)

[8-6-Pillowtex]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AM CutIns]
[WRITER=rde]
[TAPE#=03-41 TC43:23]
[GRAPHIC=Pillowtex Bankruptcy]

The deal to sell Pillowtex has been put to bed.
The sheet and towel maker officially closed on its agreement with G-G-S-T, a group of companies specializing in liquidation.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Henry Co./July]

Pillowtex closed its doors in July. It laid-off some 75-hundred employees, including about a thousand workers in Henry County.
G-G-S-T sealed the deal for 121-million dollars, buying textile equipment and buildings at some of Pillowtex's 16-facilities, including the Fieldale plant.
(------------)

[8-6City-Stadium]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AM CutIns]
[WRITER=syo]
[TAPE#=03-33 TC1:56:12]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Roanoke's stadium controversy is creating a lot of paperwork for the courts.
The group Citizens for a Sensible Stadium Desicion has filed a bill of complaint naming the City and City Manager, Darlene Burcham.
(-------------)
[VO-NAT :14]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]
The group alleges members of city council violated the Freedom of Information Act by discussing the future of Victory Stadium and the construction of a new stadium in closed sessions without letting the public know their intent.
(///// SOT at :14 /////)
[SOT 16:09:21-16:09:34]
[IN Q=We believe they did it...]
((BRIAN WISHNEFF/CITIZENS FOR A SENSIBLE STADIUM DECISION: WE BELIEVE THEY DID IT THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE PROCESS AND THAT'S WHY NO ONE EVER KNEW WHAT WAS GOING ON 'CAUSE THEY WERE HAVING ILLEGAL CONVERSATIONS. ))
[SUPER=01-Brian Wishneff/Citizens for a Sensible Stadium Decision;]
[RUNS=:13]
[OUT Q=having illegal conversations.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT :15]
Roanoke has 21 days to respond to the complaint.
[SUPER=04-October 22;]
Two weeks ago, two neighborhood groups announced their intention to sue over construction of a new stadium. That notice alleges Roanoke failed to adequately check the site for contamination. (------------)