WDBJ 7 morning news for 12/30/03

[Terrorism]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Terror Alert High]
[ENG#=1]

With the nation on high alert for a possible terrorist attack, the Bush administration has enacted new measures to keep the skies safe.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=04-File Tape;]

A new emergency order from the Department of Homeland Security requires foreign countries to put armed officers on flights to, from, or over the U-S when asked.
If international carriers don't, the U-S might NOT let them land.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=These directives]
((TOM RIDGE/HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: THESE DIRECTIVES EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, ARE PART OF OUR ONGOING EFFORT TO MAKE AIR TRAVEL SAFE FOR AMERICAN AND VISITORS ALIKE. ))
[SUPER=01-Tom Ridge/Homeland Security Secretary;]
[RUNS=:08] (estimated runs time)
[OUT Q=and visitors alike.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

There will also be additional flight restrictions just for New Year's Eve.
The Las Vegas Strip will be a no- fly zone for private planes, and the federal government will also provide helicopters to insure security in Times Square when the ball drops.
(------------)

[AM-Election-Problems]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=Tues-AM]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Election 2003 4463]
[ENG#=2]

A close vote in two Bedford County elections and the discovery that some people voted in the wrong precinct have lead to a challenge of the November results.
And last night, the Bedford County Supervisors decided to delay their first meeting in January to give a three judge panel time to sort out the situation.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Bedford/Last Night; ]

Five board members attended the special session.
With the results from the Big Island district in dispute, and judges urging the board to postpone its January 12th meeting, the supervisors unanimously agreed.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Do you feel]
((DO YOU FEEL THAT THIS WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO. OH I THINK IT IS. AND I HOPE EVERYTHING WORKS OUT WELL AND I'M SURE IT WILL.)) ((WE ARE MEETING THE JUDGES HALF WAY AND I THINK SURELY THEY WILL MAKE A DECISION ON THE 14TH, BECAUSE WE ARE PRESSED FOR TIME IN OUR BUDGET WORK SESSIONS AND WE REALLY NEED TO GET ON WITH THE COUNTY BUSINESS.))
[SUPER=01-Lucille Boggess/Bedford Co. Supervisor; :00]
[SUPER=01-Bobby Pollard/Board Vice-Chairman; :09]
[RUNS=:22]
[OUT Q=get on with county business.]
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[GRAPHIC=HOLD]

The three judge panel will meet January 14th to decide if the Big Island school board and board of supervisors election results should stand.

The supervisors now plan to hold their organizational meeting January 20th at 7:30pm.[11Tax-amnesty]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=mmu]
[TAPE#=03-41 TC1:49:56]
[GRAPHIC=None]
[ENG#=3]

Virginia's first tax amnesty program in 13 years has paid off for the state.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Richmond]

The nine week program collected 98-point-three million dollars in back taxes.
That's more than double the program's initial goal.
Close to 100-thousand delinquent taxpayers settled up with the state.
[SUPER=04-Virginia Dept. of Taxation Video; ]

State tax officials are crediting the program's success to the public relations campaign featuring Tax Letterman.
Despite the higher than expected collections, the state's tax commissioner say it will be a long time before the state offers amnesty again.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 13:38:46]
[IN Q=IF YOU RUN TAX AMNESTIES TOO OFTEN]
((KEN THORSON/VIRGINIA TAX COMMISSIONER: IF YOU RUN TAX AMNESTIES TOO OFTEN PEOPLE GET USED TO IT THEY DON'T PAY MUCH ATTENTION TO IT THEY FIGURE I GOT BY THIS FAR I'LL WAIT UNTIL THE NEXT ONE SO YOU REMEMBER THAT THE LAST ONE WAS THIRTEEN YEARS AGO. I DOUBT THERE WILL BE ANOTHER ONE ANY SOONER THAN THAT.))
[SUPER=01-Ken Thorson/Virginia Tax Commissioner]
[RUNS=:16]
[OUT Q=BE ANOTHER ONE ANY SOONER THAN THAT.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Delinquent taxpayers who did not take advantage of amnesty now owe an additional twenty percent penalty.
(------------)

[11Paige]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=jmc]
[TAPE#=03-43 TC1:47:17]
[GRAPHIC=Murder Invest]
[ENG#=4]

Roanoke police hope new technology will help solve an old murder case.
They've enhanced the suspect's original photo to show what he may look like 14 years later.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/May 1989]

Thomas Paige, Junior is accused of killing two women and wounding two other people in an apartment on Staunton Avenue.
A few weeks after the shootings, Paige was indicted on capital murder and other charges, and police released this picture.
The new photo uses computer progression to add some age and weight.
Over the years, people have reported seeing Paige in Atlanta and Washington.
(------------)

[6-Hale]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=jmc]
[TAPE#=503-07 TC1:44:37]
[GRAPHIC=None]
[ENG#=1]

A man who got into a scuffle with a couple of Roanoke police officers has been caught.
This time they had no trouble arresting Willard Wayne Hale.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Police found him Monday just after midnight at a home in the 700 block of Montrose Avenue.
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/Friday]

They'd been looking for him since Friday night, when he fought with officers at a house on 14th Street southeast.

The officers had come to arrest him on a charge of stealing a firearm in Botetourt County.
During the struggle, a police officer's gun went off. No one was hit.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[SS=None]

Hale faces a variety of charges, including three counts of assault and battery.

[11Coaches-Lawsuit]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=LAwsuit]

Coaches for a high school girls' basketball team have settled a defamation lawsuit against the father of one player.
Roger Koehler (Kay-ler) apologized for repeatedly attacking their abilities and trying to get the coaches fired.
In a telephone interview Rockbridge County High School coach Mike Hamilton told The Associated Press that he was "sorry it got to this point.''
Hamilton and assistants James Clark and Stephanie Tyree each sought 1-point-3 million dollars in damages in a lawsuit they filed this fall against Koehler (Kay-ler).
Hamilton's lawyer would not talk about the settlement, or whether the coaches received any money.

[11Merchants-Tax]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=rde]
[TAPE#=03-]
[GRAPHIC=None]
[ENG#=1]

Despite a tax cut this year, a local auto dealership has its cars on the move.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Montgomery Co.]

This is the 6th straight year Shelor Automotive has moved its cars out of Montgomery County to beat the County's Merchant's Tax. That's a tax on all inventory at a business as of New Years Day.
Dealers have been complaining about it for years. So much that the county even lowered the tax by a fourth this year, but Shelor's owner says that wasn't enough.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT:21:29:00 ]
[IN Q=The price of]
((LARRY SHELOR/SHELOR AUTOMOTIVE: THE PRICE OF THE CARS HAVE GONE UP BY MORE THAN WHAT THEY JUST LOWERED THE TAX SO IT WASN'T A GOOD FAITH EFFORT ON THEIR PART TO FIND A SOLUTION ON THIS.))
[SUPER=01-Larry Shelor/Shelor Automotive;]
[RUNS=:10]
[OUT Q=solution on this.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

County officials were unavailable for an on-camera interview, but spokesperson Bobby Parker said by phone that the board "made a good faith effort to be responsive to the merchant's concerns by reducing the rate and eliminating the tax on a portion of the inventory for all merchants."
Inventory will be assessed again in August and the county will take an average of the two days.
Shelor says he may still move his cars again, but he's hoping for a better solution.
(------------)

[Marketwatch]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=chr]
[TAPE#=NET]
[GRAPHIC=Business News]
[ENG#=2]

In business news, Both the Dow and the Nasdaq posted big gains yesterday.
Jean Lee has that story and more in this morning's Marketwatch.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Jean Lee/Reporting; :00]
[RUNS=1:22]
[OUT Q=in New York.]
((We'll see if stocks continue to run higher, after the Santa-Claus rally was in full effect on Monday.
The Dow rallied 125 points While the Nasdaq jumped 33 points, soaring back above the 2-thousand mark for the first time in nearly 2 years!
Investors will digest a number of economic reports on Tuesday, including readings on November s existing home sales, December s consumer confidence numbers, and also the Chicago PMI index, which gauges employment in the area. Beef prices are could fall again, after cattle futures hit the lowest allowable drop levels Monday, on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Concerns over last week's discovery of a case of mad-cow disease, is taking its toll on prices. But Dow component McDonald's enjoyed gains, after J-P Morgan said that a recent drop in the stock price brought on by Mad Cow concerns, presents a good buying opportunity.
And chip stocks also gained momentum, after positive comments out of Wall St. regarding Advanced Micro Devices. Sanford Bernstein says the company s 4th quarter is "tracking above expectations," thanks to strength in both PC processor, and flash memory businesses. Finally, gold futures closed at their highest level in more than a decade, as the euro continued to gain ground against the Dollar.
Track all your stocks by logging onto our website. It s cbs.mw.com. I m jl cbs mw in ny.))

(tape tosses to stocks)
[STOCKS] [WOOD ROGERS SPONSOR BOARD 5185 ESSC] [COMM]

[Roanoke-Shooting]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=Shooting]
[ENG#=]

There was a shooting in Roanoke early this morning. It happened just before 3:30 at 1529 Loudon Avenue. Police say two people were involved. We'll have more information as soon it becomes available.

[CA-Flooding]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=none]
[ENG#=1]

Search crews in Southern California say they haven't given up looking for the last victim of the Christmas Day mudslides.
A 12-year-old boy is still missing.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-San Bernardino Co., CA;]

Meanwhile, more rain is hitting the region today and authorities warn it could trigger more flooding and mudslides.

Yesterday, searchers near San Bernardino found the body of an eight- month- old below a church camp devastated by the mudslides.
More than a dozen people have died in two separate mudslides.
(------------)

[Iran-Quake]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=none]
[ENG#=2]

A team of Boston-area doctors and medical workers are is setting up a mobile hospital in the earthquake- ravaged city of Bam, Iran.
At least 10- thousand people were injured in Friday's quake.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Bam, Iran;]

The city is enduring more aftershocks, as searchers dig through the rubble.
More than 25- thousand bodies have been recovered, and it's feared that thousands more have yet to be found.
Despite the devastation, there a few moments of hope.
Yesterday, rescuers pulled a baby out alive from the rubble.
(------------)

[11Heironimus]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=03-45 TC1:31:41]
[GRAPHIC=None]
[ENG#=3]
The company that owns Heironimus has told property managers in Virginia it intends to discontinue operations here. The parent company gave notice yesterday that it will not renew the lease at Spartan Square in Salem. Keith Humphry says the company has "no comment," so it's unclear whether Heironimus will close in February.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=I hadn't heard]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke; :00]
[SUPER=@keith1; :58]
[RUNS=1:47]
[OUT Q=Keith Humphry NEWS 7.]
(([16:51:38] ((I HADN'T HEARD THAT, BUT I WOULDN'T DOUBT IT. Why do you say that? SO MANY STORES ARE CLOSING, THE OLDER STORES.))

[RUNS:10] Heironimus is one of the oldest. Heironimus and Brugh opened the first store in Roanoke in 1890. The customer base has aged along with the company. Regulars will tell you they find a refuge here from the huge chain stores. [16:50:18] ((I THINK HEIRONIMUS HAS ALWAYS BEEN ORIENTED TOWARD THE OLDER GENERATION OF CUSTOMERS.)) [RUNS:08] In 1993, the Dunlap Company bought out Heironimus. Less than three years later Dunlap closed the store downtown and one in the New River Valley. Just this year the company consolidated two stores at Towers Mall into one. There are only four left... the two in Roanoke- -at Towers and Towne Square- -one in Salem, another in Lynchburg. [15:56:17 -Stand up @ Towers]
[IN Q=The President of]
[RUNS:12]
[OUT=handled in Texas.]
Dunlap operates 50 department stores in nine states under 18 different names. Yahoo Finance says the company lost 15 million dollars last year.
(CORRECTION. EDITOR'S NOTE: THIS CORRECTION APPEARED IN NEWSCASTS 12/31: "When NEWS 7 broke this story Monday we inco
rrectly reported that the Dunlap Company lost money last year. Revenues were off by 11-and-a half percent from the year before, according to Yahoo Finance, but not in the red.") [16:44:57] ((I ENJOY SHOPPING HERE, GOOD VALUES AND GOOD QUALITY CLOTHING. I'D MISS IT IF IT WAS GONE.)) [RUNS:06]
[16:47:05] ((I WOULD REALLY MISS THEM. A PART OF ROANOKE'S HISTORY, I THINK.)) [RUNS:05] Though Dunlap has given notice it will not renew its leases, there is a remote possibility the stores will not close.

Spartan Square owner Luke Waldrop says he will do his best to find a way to keep the Virginia stores open. Keith Humphry NEWS 7.))

[11Housing-Code]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=03-51 TC39:08]
[GRAPHIC=None]
[ENG#=4]

Trying to fight City Hall can make some people pitch a fit... instead, one Lynchburg man pitched a tent.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg]

David Johnson says he and his roommates were forced out of their Park Avenue home for what they say were mostly minor violations of the housing and fire codes.
So they've been living in this tent on his front lawn for about a week.. and letting the public know about their situation.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 14:19:13]
[IN Q=I understand that]
((DAVID JOHNSON/HOMEOWNER: I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S A NEED FOR REGULATIONS AND THINGS LIKE THAT BUT IT COULD HAVE BEEN SETTLED IN A MORE ACCOMMODATING MANNER I THINK.))
[SUPER=01-David Johnson/Homeowner]
[RUNS=11]
[OUT Q=manner I think.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Johnson says city inspectors made a surprise visit to the house while he was gone over Thanksgiving weekend and condemned the house.
He says he's fixed the problems and another inspection is scheduled today.
(------------)
(Kim toss to bump)
[BUMP]

[COMM] [11Back-Pain]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=jsu]
[TAPE#=03-50 TC1:10:42]
[GRAPHIC=None]
[ENG#=1]

There's a non-surgical option available to treat back pain that's caused by a herniated or bulging disk.
Everything is done with a needle.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

The procedure uses this device to remove a portion of the disc. It helps to relieve tension inside the bulging disk that's pushing against the nerve.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT12:15:30]
[IN Q=Some patients immediately]
((DR. SAM SAMARASINGHE/COMPREHENSIVE PAIN MANAGEMENT CTRS:SOME PATIENTS IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE PROCEDURE THEY SAY THE FEEL BETTER. I USUALLY TELL THEM IT'S LITTLE DISCOMFORT WITH THE NEEDLE AND PROCEDURE ITSELF AND MAY TAKE A COUPLE OF DAYS FOR THAT TO WEAR OFF))
[SUPER=01-Dr. Sam Samarasinghe/Comprehensive Pain Management Ctrs.]
[RUNS=13]
[OUT Q=for that to wear off]
(----------)
[VO-NAT]

Audrey Rickmond is hoping this procedure will offer long term relief.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT12:37:52]
[IN Q=If I'm on my legs a lot]
((AUDREY RICKMOND/PATIENT: IF I'M ON MY LEGS A LOT I HAVE A LOT OF PAIN. STRENUOUS TYPE OF WORK IT'S REAL SEVERE))
[SUPER=01-Audrey Rickmond/Patient]
[RUNS=07]
[OUT Q=it's real severe]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Doctors say the procedure works for more than half the patients who try it. For some, surgery may still be necessary.
(------------)

(Kim tosses to bump) [BUMP]

[COMM] [5-Goodlatte]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=503-01 1;44:00]
[GRAPHIC=mad cow]
[ENG#=2]
Agriculture officials have arrived in South Korea to discuss the emergence of mad cow disease in the United States. South Korea is one of more than 30 countries that have banned the import of U-S beef.
Sixth District Congressman Bob Goodlatte believes the U-S Department of Agriculture has done a good job responding to the discovery.
The Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee said yesterday he remains convinced that the meat supply in this country is very safe.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Goodlatte received a briefing from Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman on Christmas Eve, and says committee staff members are closely following developments in the mad cow investigation.
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]

Yesterda afternoon in Roanoke, Goodlatte praised the department's response.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=I think they're handling]
((I THINK THEY'RE HANDLING IT VERY WELL IN TWO RESPECTS. FIRST OF ALL IN GETTING THE INFORMATION OUT TO THE PUBLIC SO THEY KNOW EXACTLY WHAT'S GOING ON. THERE HASN'T BEEN ANY EFFORT TO KEEP ANY INFORMATION FORM THE PUBLIC. AND SECONDLY, I THINK THEY'RE DOING A GOOD JOB IN TERMS OF IDENTIFYING WHERE THIS COW MAY HAVE COME FROM, AND WHERE MEAT FROM IT MAY HAVE GONE TO.))
[SUPER=@Goodlatte]
[RUNS=:22]
[OUT Q=may have gone to.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Goodlatte says he expects the Agriculture Committee to hold hearings on the recent developments and the government's response to the mad cow disease problem.
He says one area of interest will be the efforts of federal officials and the beef industry to continue improving the system for tracing infected animals.
(------------)

[Biz-Brief]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Business News]
[ENG#=3]

In other business news, Boeing has another military contract. The company announced the nine points six billion dollar deal after the closing bell yesterday. Boeing will be building 210 F-A 18 Super Hornet fighter jets for the Navy. In other news, stocks closed higher yesterday. Stan Case has more in today's business brief.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Stan Case/Reporting; :]
[RUNS=1:15]
[OUT Q=I'm Stan Case.]

((THE NASDAQ CLOSED ABOVE THE TWO-THOUSAND MARK FOR THE FIRST TIME IN TWO YEARS ON MONDAY.

THE DOW WAS ALSO A BIG GAINER... UP 125-POINTS...TO A 21-MONTH HIGH...
THE NASDAQ'S GAIN TOTALED 33 POINTS.

PARMALAT'S FOUNDER HAS PLED GUILTY.
AN ATTORNEY FOR CALITO TANZI SAYS HIS CLIENT HAS ADMITTED TO DIVERTING 625-MILLION DOLLARS FROM THE FOOD COMPANY.
HE ALSO ADMITTED TO FALSIFYING COMPANY ACCOUNTS.
TANZI WAS ARRESTED ON SUNDAY FOR ALLEGED MARKET RIGGING AND FALSE AUDITING.
TANZI STEPPED DOWN AS PARMALAT'S CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE TWO-WEEKS AGO.

THE INVESTMENT BANK, LEHMAN BROTHERS MIGHT SOON OWN THE BRITISH HOTEL CHAIN, LE MERIDIEN.
REUTERS REPORTS THAT LEHMAN IS CLOSE TO WRAPPING UP A ONE-AND-A-QUARTER BILLION DOLLAR DEAL THAT INCLUDES ALL BUT ELEVEN OF MERIDIEN'S HOTELS.
LEHMAN IS TRYING TO TOP AN EARLIER OFFER FOR MERIDEN FROM INVESTMENTS COMPETITOR GOLDMAN SACHS.
MERIDIEN WENT IN SEARCH OF FINANCING AFTER RACKING UP A SERIES OF DEBTS TOTALING 750-MILLION-DOLLARS.

THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE HAS SUSPENDED TRADING OF FOOTSTAR INCORPORATED--THE OWNER OF FOOTACTION AND JUST FOR FEET STORES.
THE EXCHANGE STOPPED TRADING OF THE COMPANY'S COMMON STOCK AFTER FOOTSTAR CONTINUED TO DELAY EARNINGS RESTATEMENTS FOR 19-97 THOUGH 2002.
PAPERS HAVE ALSO BEEN FILED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION TO DE-LIST FOOTSTAR AND REMOVE IT FROM TRADING.

WITH THE BUSINESS BRIEF, I'M STAN CASE.))

[TAPE TOSS TO STOCKS] [STOCKS] [WOOD ROGERS SPONSOR BOARD 5185 ESSC] [COMM]

[2-Roanoke-Shooting]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=03-52 TC 39:20]
[GRAPHIC=Fatal Shooting]
[ENG#=4]

Roanoke police are investigating a fatal shooting.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/This Morning]
It happened just before 3:30 this morning. Police say one person was shot and killed on the street in front of 1529 Loudon Avenue. We'll pass along more information as soon as it becomes available.

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[3-headlines next]