WDBJ 7 news at 5 for 03/12/04

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[SOT 16:41]
[IN Q=It's a special day for me]
((GERALD WILLIS: IT'S A SPECIAL DAY FOR ME AND I FEEL PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN.))
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[VO-NAT :05]
A Roanoke man witnesses the fruits of his generosity at the D- Day Memorial.
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[5-Schools-DDay]

[ANCHOR=Jean]
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It's been more than a year since a Roanoke man started his campaign to send all area students on a field trip to the D- Day Memorial. Today his dream came true.
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Jennifer Wishon was there and joins us with the story. Jean, Gerald Willis says he never thought one person could make a difference,
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but now says he's living proof of what a little love and dedication can achieve.
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[IN Q=More than 150]
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[SUPER=01-Gerald Willis/Robert Willis D-Day Memorial Fund; :10]
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[SUPER=01-Marcus Yancey/Student; 1:19]
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((((NATS OF STUDENTS EXITING THE BUS)) More than 150 Woodrow Wilson Middle Schoolers stepped onto the soil of the National D- Day Memorial today - many for the first time.
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[IN Q=I've been waiting for this]
((GERALD WILLIS: I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS DAY FOR A YEAR NOW, MORE THAN A YEAR SO IT MADE ME FEEL SPECIAL AND IT'S PROBABLY ABOUT THE THIRD BEST DAY OF MY LIFE.))
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For students and teachers, the trip fulfills a requirement of the standards of learning, but for Willis it's a dream come true. His father, Robert, was a D- Day veteran who passed away more than a year ago. Willis now heads a campaign that all began with a chance encounter.
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[IN Q=One day Willis]
((JENNIFER WISHON/JWISHON@WDBJ7.COM: ONE DAY GERALD WILLIS WAS AT A STORE WEARING A D-DAY DEDICATION HAT. A LITTLE GIRL LOOKED UP AND ASKED 'WHAT'S D-DAY' AND IT WAS RIGHT THEN AND THERE HE DECIDED EVERY CHILD IN THE AREA SHOULD GET TO COME TO THE MEMORIAL AND LEARN ABOUT THE DAY THAT CHANGED THE LIVES OF SO MANY AMERICANS.))
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[OUT Q=so many Americans]

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[IN Q=So far I've given ]
((GERALD WILLIS: SO FAR I'VE GIVEN 5,000 DOLLARS OF MY DADDY'S INHERITANCE MONEY TO THE CITY OF ROANOKE. SINCE THEN I'VE RAISED 4,000 DOLLARS GIVING 2,500 TO ROANOKE COUNTY, A THOUSAND TO SALEM, BUT I'VE GOT A LOT OF WORK TO DO.))
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[OUT Q=of work to do]
He hopes to one day add other localities to his list, but in the meantime, Roanoke City students are gaining a better appreciation of what American troops experienced.
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[IN Q=It's just devestating]
((MARCUS YANCEY/STUDENT: IT'S JUST DEVASTATING HOW BAD THIS TOWN SUFFERED AND HOW IT WAS DESTROYED BY SO MANY SOLDIERS DYING.))
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For veterans, Willis' gift is breathing new life into their legacy.
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[IN Q=The 2400 Americans that died]
((ROY STEVENS: THE 24- HUNDRED AMERICANS THAT DIED ON D-DAY - THEY PAID THE PRICE THAT WE MAY BE HERE TODAY TO BE ABLE TO CELEBRATE OR TALK ABOUT IT.))
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[OUT Q=or talk about it]))
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School officials say many students would not have been able to go on today's field trip without Willis' donation.
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Jean, donations to the Robert Willis D-Day Memorial Fund can be made at any Member One Credit Union.

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The construction worker who fell down an elevator shaft yesterday has died from his injuries.
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[VO-NAT]
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Virginia Tech officials identify him as Robert Muller. He was an employee of Thyssen-Krupp (Thigh-son Krup) Elevator Company, which is installing the elevator at the new Career Services Building. Officials say Muller fell 15 to 20 feet yesterday afternoon and died last night at Roanoke Memorial Hospital.
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A hoax led to the evacuation of Hidden Valley High School today.
For the second time in two weeks, someone found a bomb threat scrawled on the door of a bathroom stall.
The school called police and sent students home.
A search turned up nothing.

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Up next on the newscast, Actor and Comedian Lewis Black is in Roanoke tonight, and our Brent Watts is with him at the Jefferson Center.

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He's often considered "America's Foremost Commentator on Everything." And tonight Lewis Black is performing at the Jefferson Center in Roanoke.
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He joins our Brent Watts this afternoon. Many viewers may recognize him from the daily show.
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[5-Pallas-Cat]

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A new addition to Mill Mountain Zoo might give you "paws" IF it ever goes on display.
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Katya (caughtcha) is a nearly one year old Asian Pallas (palace) cat the zoo acquired from the Cincinatti Zoo. At 8 or 9 pounds she's almost full size. Her most distinctive characteristics are her apparent "grin" and the twitchy way she moves.
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[IN Q=Living on the rocks...]
[SUPER=01-Dave Wood/Mill Mountain Zoo;]
((DAVE WOOD/MILL MOUNTAIN ZOO: LIVING ON THE ROCKS AND THE TERRAIN THEY COME FROM THEY MOVE DIFFERENTLY FROM CATS ON OPEN PLAINS THAT HAVE TO RUN DOWN THEIR PREY. PALLAS CARS MOSTLY HUNT BY AMBUSH.))
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[OUT Q=mostly hunt by ambush.]
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[VO-NAT :17]
Katya's being kept in quarantine until the zoo can build her a special enclosure designed to keep her from contracting a parasitic infection. Pallas cats are endangered - Katya's one of fewer than 120 in the world. The zoo hopes to welcome a male Pallas cat sometime this fall and breed the two.
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