WDBJ 7 news at 6 for 03/17/04

[1-News-Head]

[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]

The Senate agrees to back off on the gas tax; state Delegates say that's not enough to fuel a budget agreement.
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[ENG#=1]
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]
And what's it like to be attacked by a bobcat? A woman in Narrows has the harrowing tale for us.
(------------)

[Sports-Head]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]
[ENG#=2]
Tonight on News 7 sports - More choices for this year's March Madness. We'll check in with Roanoke native Steve Robinson -
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[VO-NAT]

and the Express welcomes a weary traveler to town tonight as it skates against Alaska at 7.
(------------)

[WX-Head]
[ANCHOR=Robin]
[SS=None]

Our Thursday forecast features more clouds and a chance for showers but it should also be the last chilly day of the week. Warmer weather in the weekend forecast.
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[ANCHOR=Keith 4-Shot]

News 7 is next.
[Video-Open]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=Video Open]

[ENG#=3]
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 05:15:40]
[IN Q=This is]
(( THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT CONCESSION TO US TO MOVE VIRTUALLY HALFWAY TO THE HOUSE.))
[RUNS=:03]
[OUT Q=halfway to the house.]
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[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]

Gas tax increases and new road money are out.
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]

The State Senate offers a compromise to end the budget stalemate.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]

Good evening, I'm Shannon Young.
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]

And I'm Keith Humphry.
[XGR-Budget]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mmu]
[TAPE#=57:45 on 04-05]
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]

In their first day of a special session, there is significant movement in the budget negotiations.
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]

Senate conferees say they are willing to give up some of their demands but that doesn't mean the House will give in.

[DOUBLE BOXES=Keith-Shannon & Meghan /Starlink;]

Richmond Bureau Chief Meghan Muldoon joins us with more from the State Capitol.
The Senate says they will drop their plans to raise over a billion dollars in new road money.
[LIVE=Meghan /FULL Starlink]
[SUPER=@Meghan1]
[SUPER=05-Richmond]

But they are still pressing for over two billion dollars in additional spending and the House isn't biting. [****ROLLED FROM STARLINK***]
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=DESPITE THE THREATS OF RECESS]
[SUPER=03-Richmond; :00]
[SUPER=@MarkWarner; :]
[SUPER=01-Sen. Ed Houck/(D) Spotsylvania Co.; :]
[SUPER=@Griffith; :]
[RUNS=:00]
[OUT Q=TO BE DAMAGED THAT BADLY.]
(( Despite the threats of recess, lawmakers sat down for the state's first special budget session to hammer out a spending plan.
[SOT 10:57:57]
((GOVERNOR MARK WARNER: I KNOW THE TENSIONS HAVE BEEN HIGH BUT I STILL REMAIN VERY OPTIMISTIC.)) [RUNS:07]
Playing to that sense of hope, late in the afternoon, the Senate said they would eliminate all of the new funding for transportation in their budget.
That move takes the gas tax increase off the table and cuts their budget by one-point-six- billion dollars.
But while granting the compromise the Senators also indicated that it's as far as they are willing to go.
[SOT 05:05:26]
((SENATOR ED HOUCK/D-SPOTSYLVANIA: I'LL SACRIFICE THE TRANSPORTATION FUNDING BUT I HOPE THE SENATE WILL RESIST AT ALL COST ANY FURTHER SACRIFICE OF OUR MONEY FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION.)) [RUNS:13]

[SOT 05:18:05]
((SENATOR JOHN CHICHESTER/R-FREDERICKSBURG: THERE'S NOTHING ELSE TO GIVE UP, VERY LITTLE, VERY LITTLE.)) [RUNS:02]
But with the sales and income tax increases still in the Senate budget, House Republicans say the concession doesn't go far enough
[SOT :36:12]
((DELEGATE MORGAN GRIFFITH/R-SALEM: THE BOTTOM LINE IS THEIR TAX INCREASES ARE STILL HUGE AND WILL BE GREATLY DAMAGING TO VIRGINIA'S FAMILIES. THE HOUSE WON'T ALLOW VIRGINIA FAMILIES TO BE DAMAGED THAT BADLY.)) [RUNS:10]))
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[LIVE=Meghan /FULL Starlink]
[SUPER=05-Richmond;]
(adlib)
[DOUBLE BOXES=Keith-Shannon & Meghan/Starlink]

[Bank-Robbery]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=04-11 TC13:30]
[GRAPHIC=None]
[ENG#=1]

A man who robbed a Bedford County bank at gunpoint this morning remains at large.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Bedford Co.]

Authorities say the suspect was armed with a sawed-off shotgun or rifle when he entered the Suntrust Bank on Graves Mill Road and robbed several tellers.
He escaped on foot and police spent most of the day searching for him.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 11:18:52]
[IN Q=He was on foot]
((MIKE BROWN/BEDFORD CO. SHERIFF: HE WAS ON FOOT TO A CERTAIN POINT AND THAT WAS JUST ABOUT HERE, I THINK EVERYBODY IS IN AGREEANCE THAT THIS INTERSECTION HERE WAS THE LAST TIME ANYBODY SAW HIM AND HE WAS ON FOOT. ONCE HE GOT BEHIND THIS CENTER, WHICH WAY DID HE GO OR DID HE HAVE A VEHICLE, AT THIS POINT WE DON'T KNOW.))
[SUPER=01-Mike Brown/Bedford Co. Sheriff]
[RUNS=19]
[OUT Q=we don't know.]
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[VO-NAT]

These are bank surveillance photos of the suspect: he's a black male about 225 to 250 pounds, wearing a blue jacket with white lining and blue jeans.
Anyone with information should call their local police.
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[Hess]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=myr]
[TAPE#=04-03 TC46:55]
[GRAPHIC=Sentencing]
[ENG#=2]

A Henry County girl convicted of trying to set her grandparents on fire was sentenced today.
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[VO-NAT]
16-year-old Jessica Dawn Hess will spend the next five years in a juvenile detention home in Richmond.
[SUPER=03-Henry Co./December 3, 2002;]
She was convicted of attempted capital murder, arson and grand larceny, for setting fire to her grandparents' home in 2002 as they slept.
Her father was also inside, but all three got out safely.
A judge suspended Hess' 45-year sentence, pending probation.
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[Radford-Fire]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=rde]
[TAPE#=04-06 TC42:50]
[GRAPHIC=Fire]

Investigators believe a 2-year old started an apartment fire in Radford this morning.
The fire caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage and left four families homeless.
[DOUBLE BOXES=Shannon & Rachel /Microwave;]

New River Valley Bureau Chief Rachel DePompa is in Blacksburg.
Rachel how did the boy start the fire?
[LIVE= Rachel /FULL Microwave]
[SUPER=@Rachel1;]
[SUPER=05-Blacksburg;]

Shannon, Firefighters say he set a couch on fire while playing with a cigarette lighter.
Within minutes the entire building at Riverbend Apartments went up in flames.
[ENG#=3]
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[SOT]
[IN Q=Tonja Eaves]
[SUPER=03-Radford;:00]
[SUPER=01-Tonja Eaves/Fire Victim;:07]
[SUPER=01-Lee Simpkins/Radford Fire Chief;:23]
[RUNS=:51]
[OUT Q=minutes ago.]
((Tonja Eaves never dreamed she'd be woken out of bed by a fire around 8:00 in the morning.

(///// SOT /////)
[SOT:14:49:08:00 ]
[IN Q=We were asleep]
((TONJA EAVES:WE WERE ASLEEP AND MY DOORBELLS WERE RINGING, BUT I JUST THOUGHT IT WAS MY NEIGHBORS KIDS WANTING TO PLAY WITH MY LITTLE GIRL.)) [RUNS:08]
[OUT Q=my little girl]

Instead she had to run back into the burning apartment building to grab her daughter.

(///// SOT /////)
[SOT:14:49:44:00 ]
[IN Q=I'm glad]
((TONJA EAVES:I'M GLAD EVERYBODY IS SAFE THEN AGAIN I'M LOOKING AT MY HOUSE, MY HOME IS DESTROYED.)) [RUNS:05]
[OUT Q=is destroyed]

(///// SOT /////)
[SOT: 14:45:57:00 ]
[IN Q=I was the first]
((LEE SIMPKINS:I WAS THE FIRST ONE HERE AND IT WAS COMING OUT THE FRONT DOOR OUT OF APARTMENT B WHICH IS WHERE THE FIRE STARTED. IT WAS ROLLING OUT THE FRONT DOOR AND THE BACK WINDOWS AT THAT TIME.)) [RUNS:10]
[OUT Q=at that time.]

It took two fire departments and nearly 30 firefighters to put out the fire. Four families are now homeless and none of them had renter's insurance, but also... none of them were injured.. Including the pets.

(///// SOT /////)
[SOT:14:50:17:00 ]
[IN Q=My little girl]
((TONJA EAVES: MY LITTLE GIRL HAS A HAMSTER AND THEY GOT THE HAMSTER AND MY NEIGHBORS LITTLE BOY HAS A FROG WHO MADE IT, THEY BROUGHT HM OUT A FEW MINUTES AGO.)) [RUNS:08]
[OUT Q=minutes ago]))
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[LIVE= Rachel /FULL Microwave]
[SUPER=05-Blacksburg;]

You can call the Pulaski American Red Cross office if you'd like to help any of the families.
Damage is estimated at more than 200-thousand dollars.
[DOUBLE BOXES=Shannon & Rachel /Microwave;]

Shannon, the fire department is having a counselor meet with the 2-year old boy who started the fire.
So, far it looks like no charges are going to placed against the parents.

[Tease#1]
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]
[SS=NONE]
[ENG#=V10]

Still ahead, we'll talk to the woman attacked by a bobcat inside a Narrows home.
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[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]

Plus restoration work at a local museum is on track... and getting some national attention.
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[1st-Wx]
[Bobcat-Attack]
(MINI OPEN)
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=myr]
[TAPE#=03-53 TC1:40:17]
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]
It's the kind of story you'd expect to hear from a hunter or some outdoorsman.
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]
But, Kristy Hahn wasn't out hunting or even outside yesterday afternoon when she was attacked by a bobcat. [***BOBCAT ATTACK IN MONITOR***]
[TOSS ACROSS=Keith-Shannon & Myranda/BAM ;]
Myranda Stephens has the story. Keith and Shannon, Hahn was actually visiting her mother-in-law,
[LIVE=Myranda/FULL BAM]
[SUPER=@Myranda1;]
who lives the down the street from her own home in Narrows. Hahn went down to the basement to get dinner, but it was a bobcat that got the first bite.
[ENG#=1]
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[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Narrows; :00]
[SUPER=01-Kristy Hahn/Attacked by Bobcat; :20]
[RUNS=1:08]
[OUT Q=THAT'S WHERE YOU GET BIT ]
(([SOT 2310]
[RUNS=08]
((AND I HEARD A GROWL, DIDN'T PAY ANY ATTENTION, BECAUSE THE CATS ARE DOWN HERE AND SOMETIMES THEY FIGHT 15 AND I HEARD IT AGAIN AND I TURNED AROUND AND HE WAS STANDING THERE 18)) Behind her was a 25-pound bobcat, similar to the one seen here. Having grown up near the woods, Hahn knew immediately what it was.
[SOT 2526]
[RUNS10] ((I LIVED IN ATEHNS WVA FOR ALMOST 20-YEARS AND MY DAD LIVES ON AN BIG HUNDRED ACRE FARM AND I'VE SEEN ABOUT EVERY WILD ANIMAL JUST NOT THAT CLOSE 36)) Hahn says she started yelling for her husband when the cat lunged at her. It bit her on her neck, and scratched her back, arms and shoulders before her husband was able to save her.
[SOT 2334]
[RUNS06] ((AND HE PICKED UP A CAN OF VEGETABLES OFF THE SHELF AND HIT IT AND IT RAN UP IN THE CORNER 40)) Hahn and her husband then ran upstairs and called animal control. The officers found the cat tucked behind this mound, and shot and killed it. Hahn was later treated at the hospital for her wounds, but other than a little bruising, she says she's okay.
[SOT 28:44]
[RUNS09] ((I PLAYED IN THE WOODS WHEN I WAS LITTLE, PROBABLY SIX SEVEN YEARS OLD ALL BY MYSELF AND NOTHING EVER HAPPENED TO ME. AND MY GRANDMA SAID YOU MOVE TO THE CITY AND THAT'S WHERE YOU GET BIT 53))))
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[LIVE=Myranda /FULL BAM]
Hahn believes the cat got in through an opening used by the family's pet cats, perhaps it followed them in through there.
[TOSS ACROSS=Keith-Shannon & Myranda/BAM;]
Keith the bobcat is now being tested for rabies. Hahn says she expects to get the results this Friday.

[Roanoke-Mill]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=Six]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=04-12 TC04:38]
[GRAPHIC=None]
[ENG#=2]

Three years of negotiation have produced an agreement that should clear the way for construction in the new Riverside Centre for Research and Technology.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

The Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority and the owner of Roanoke City Mills have agreed on a purchase price of eight million dollars.
The building will be demolished once the mill constructs a new facility and relocates.
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[SOT 12:37:24]
[IN Q=I think obviously]
((I THINK OBVIOUSLY IT IS A MAJOR STEP FORWARD TO ALLOW US TO BEGIN DEVELOPMENT IN THE AREA FOR THE FIRST BUILDING THAT CARILION HAS PLANNED, ALSO HOPEFULLY PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE MILL TO MOVE FORWARD WITH ITS PLANS.))
[SUPER=01-John Baker/Roanoke Redevel. and Housing Authority]
[RUNS=:16]
[OUT Q=move forward with its plans.]
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[VO-NAT]

Roanoke City Mills has been a part of the cityscape for more than 80 years. The facility on Jefferson Street produces 500- thousand pounds of finished flour a day.
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[Blacks-House]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=rde]
[TAPE#=04-02 TC1:31:00]
[GRAPHIC=None]
[ENG#=3]

Plans to restore a Blacksburg landmark are moving forward.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg/December 2002]

The town has hired an award-winning national architectural firm to restore the Alexander Black House.
The Victorian home from the late 1800's is going to be the future home of the Blacksburg museum.
The town bought the building nearly two years ago and moved it to make room for a new parking garage.
Over the next few months the firm will begin creating designs for the renovations.
Blacksburg has set aside more than 400-thousand dollars for the project.
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[Stocks]

[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Stocks enjoyed a healthy advance thanks to news of low inflation in February. [TAKE DOW & NASDAQ PAGE]
[RUNS=:30]
[SUPER=x5000;]
[SUPER=440-x/115.63/10300.30/x/33.67/1976.76;]
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]

The DOW jumped 116 points.
NASDAQ rose 34.
[SUPER=271-h/0.19/39.91/h/0.81/54.78/h/0.30/33.90/h/0.04/89.94/h/0.34/80.45;]
[SUPER=272-h/0.22/36.63/h/0.32/19.79/h/0.05/7.15/h/0.49/64.86/h/0.26/30.76;]
[SUPER=273-h/0.14/7.98/h/0.85/42.10/h/0.22/16.71/h/0.33/21.15/h/0.06/5.67;]
[SUPER=274-i/0.14/13.11/h/0.12/70.65/h/0.09/37.34/h/0.04/47.93/h/0.51/58.35;]
[SUPER=#555; Reset]

[SPONSOR ANNOUNCE]
[COMMERCIAL]

[Stonewall-Country]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=rle]
[TAPE#=03-55 TC1:39:32]
[GRAPHIC=None]
[ENG#=1]
The longtime anchor of a local theater company's summer season will soon be cast aside.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Rockbridge Co./1994; ]
This summer will be the last time that Theater at Lime Kiln plans to produce the long-running musical "Stonewall Country". This season marks the 20th year that it has played the outdoor theater. Lime Kiln management says attendance at the production has dropped in recent years, and without full houses the play costs too much to produce. The final run of Stonewall Country opens June 9th, and closes July 3rd.
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[VA-Museum]

[ANCHOR=SHannon]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=sba]
[TAPE#=03-51 TC1:50:15]
[GRAPHIC=None]
[ENG#=2]
The Virginia Museum of Transportation is getting some old railcars back on track.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]
Museum officials are working on a number of projects, but their chief focus these days is 1916 executive and an old postal car. Restorations will cost nearly 18-thousand dollars and hundreds of man hours, but officials say it's worth it.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT@18:42:48:15]
[IN Q=The railroad..]
((BOB DILLS, VA MUSEUM OF TRANSPORTATION: THE RAILROAD IS THE BASIS OF ROANOKE'S HISTORY. IF YOU WERE IN TIDEWATER, VA, IT'D BE A WHOLE OTHER THING, AS IT RELATES TO SHIP BUILDING. BUT THIS IS WHY ROANOKE IS HERE, SO MUCH IS ARCHIVED IN THIS MUSEUM TELLING THE HISTORY OF THE RAILWAY.))
[SUPER=01-Bob Dills/VA Museum of Transportation]
[RUNS=:18]
[OUT Q=.. HISTORY OF THE RAILWAY.]
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[VO-NAT]
Last year 60-thousand people visited the museum. Now, thousands of others will get a chance to tour the facility when cable T-V channels such as H-G-T-V, A-and-E, and the History Channel feature the cars.
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[Sports Tease]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=None]
[ENG#=V10]
Coming up tonight on News 7 sports - the Express is home tonight - Liberty talks about not letting its guard down against St. Joe's,
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[VO-NAT]
and we'll get up to date with Roanoke's Steve Robinson as the Tarheels get ready for their NCAA opener tomorrow night.

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[S-Express]

[ANCHOR=mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=sma]
[TAPE#=SP-168 18:53]
[GRAPHIC=Express]
[ENG#=1]

The Express welcomes the Alaska Aces to the Round House tonight for a seven o'clock battle. The fact both teams are fighting for playoff spots is only one reason tonight's game should be exciting for fans.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Tony MacAulay/Express Head Coach; :00]
[RUNS=:22]
[OUT Q=......for the Alaska team"]
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[S-LU]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=SP-167 ]
[GRAPHIC=MEN'S FINAL FOUR]
The Liberty Flames open the NCAA tournament tomorrow afternoon here on WDBJ-7. The Flames game
(XXXXXXXXXX)
[GO TO PINNACLE 1010] with number one seed - St. Joe's gets underway at 2:45 from Buffalo. The Flames must find a way to stop the Hawks' guard tandem of Jameer Nelson and Delonte West.
[ENG#=2]
[WIPE TO ENG#]
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=BITE]
[SUPER=01-Randy Dunton/Liberty Head Coach; :00]
[SUPER=01-Ryan Mantlo/Liberty Senior Guard; :17]
[RUNS=:23]
[OUT Q=...POOR SHOOTING NIGHT."]
(xxxxxxxxxxxx)
[go to night pinnacle 1011] You can catch both Duke and Carolina in action tomorrow night.
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[S-WDBJ]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=SP-172 2009TC]
[GRAPHIC=MEN'S FINAL FOUR]
[ENG#=3]

Now believe it or not these are just a few of the games you can actually watch in the coming days - IF you are a Cox digital cable subscriber.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.; :00]
Starting tomorrow WDBJ-7 is teaming up with Cox Digital Cable and offering many additional choices. Besides the four Thursday games we just showed you - WDBJ-7's digital channels and Cox Cable Roanoke will give digital subscribers remote controls a real workout.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=BITE]
[SUPER=01-Mike Bell/WDBJ Program Director; 00]
[SUPER=01-Mike Pedelty/Cox Cable Spokesman; :11]
[RUNS=:19]
[OUT Q=...very unique."]
(XXXXXXXXXX)
[GO TO WEB SITE PINNACLE] You can get a complete list of the games that are being offered on the sports section of our web site at WDBJ-7 dot com.
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[S-Steve]

[ANCHOR=mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=twe]
[TAPE#=SP-165 TC12660]
[GRAPHIC=Men's Final Four]
[ENG#=4]

The North Carolina Tarheels are back in the NCAA Tourney after a two year absence, and there's a Roanoke tie to the UNC bench. As a player, Steve Robinson suited up at William Fleming, Ferrum College, and Radford University. Travis Wells has more on Robinson the coach.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Chapel Hill, NC; :00]
[SUPER=01-Steve Robinson/North Carolina Assistant Coach; :23]
[SUPER=@travis1; 1:29]
[RUNS=1:40]
[OUT Q=News 7 Sports."]
((His resume includes apprenticeships at Cornell and Kansas as well as stops at Tulsa and Florida State as Head Coach.

Now 45 year old Steve Robinson makes his home in Chapel Hill where he is in his 9th season of work with Roy Williams. Together they've begun the process of putting Carolina Basketball back on the map.
Steve:
With nearly two and half decades on the sidelines, Robinson is quick to point out the changes in the game and the players.
Steve:
Steve's parents, Alexander and Lizzie still reside in Northwest Roanoke. They'll be pulling loudly for the Heels against Air Force and the Falcons Princeton type offense on Thursday night.
Robinson isn't the only area coaching tie to the dance. Former Patrick Henry High School and Hampden-Sydney star Russe ll Turner is a member of Mike Montgomery's staff at Stanford. Travis Wells, News 7 Sports.))