WDBJ 7 news at 6 for 04/02/04

[1-News-Head]

[ANCHOR=Keith]

If not an income or sales tax hike, how about bringing back the car tax. That proposal from a REPUBLICAN.
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[TAKE MICROWAVE SHOT LIVE] And the lights are on, but not everybody's happy. We're live at Hidden Valley High School.
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[Sports-Head]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]
[ENG#=2]
Tonight on News 7 sports - the Express faces a must win situation against the Checkers. The Cup cars are in Roanoke, Texas,

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[VO-NAT]
and the Alamo Dome is all set for tomorrow night's Final Four here on WDBJ-7.
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[WX-Head]
[ANCHOR=Brent]
[SS=None]

The gloomy week ends, as some sunshine and warmer temperatures move in for Saturday. It won't last long. The full forecast is coming up.
[Open]
[SUPER=#4054; News 7 at Six Headline Banner]
[SUPER=@Keith1;]
[SUPER=@Mike1;]
[SUPER=@Brent1;]
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[Video-Open]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=Video Open]
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[ENG#=3]
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[SOT 12:38:25]
[IN Q=WE GOT MOODY'S BREATHING DOWN OUR NECK]
((DELEGATE BOB MCDONNELL: WE GOT MOODY'S BREATHING DOWN OUR NECK, WE'VE GOT THE PUBLIC BASICALLY SAYING DO SOMETHING JUST GET THE JOB DONE.))
[RUNS=:07]
[OUT Q=JUST GET THE JOB DONE.]
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[VO-NAT]

State legislators are starting to feel the heat from the budget meltdown....
And that may be softening their opposition to raising taxes.
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[ANCHOR=Keith]
[GRAPHIC=News 7 at 6]

Good evening, I'm Keith Humphry. Shannon is off tonight.

[Bell-plan]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mmu]
[TAPE#=04-02 TC-1:54:48]
[GRAPHIC=Va Budget]
[ENG=4]

After 80 days without a budget agreement, the anti-tax block in the House is showing signs of cracking.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Richmond]

Some House Republicans are now saying they are willing to consider a half cent hike in the sales tax.
Legislators say they have been getting an earful from constituents who want the stalemate to end.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 12:38:35]
[IN Q=IN BOTH THE HOUSE AND SENATE]
((DELEGATE BOB MCDONNELL/R-VIRGINIA BEACH: IN BOTH THE HOUSE AND SENATE THERE'S AN INCREASING SENSE OF URGENCY TO SAY YOU ALL HAVE TO GET THIS PROBLEM FIXED.))
[SUPER=01-Del. Bob McDonnell/(R) Virginia Beach; :]
[RUNS=:06]
[OUT Q=YOU ALL HAVE TO GET THIS PROBLEM FIXED.]
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[VO-NAT]

The House leadership is still vowing to oppose any tax increases.
In the meantime, a Roanoke legislator is offering his own solution to breaking the impasse.
Senator Brandon Bell introduced a bill today that would allow localities to bring back the full amount of the car tax.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 12:29:20]
[IN Q=IT'S KINDA THE LESSER OF THE EVILS.]
((SENATOR BRANDON BELL: IT'S KINDA THE LESSER OF THE EVILS. PEOPLE ARE SAYING IF YOU GOT TO DO SOMETHING WE'D RATHER PAY WHAT WE'RE USED TO BE PAYING ON CAR TAX RATHER THAN HAVE OUR INCOME TAX OR OUR SALES TAX INCREASED.))
[SUPER=@Bell; :]
[RUNS=:09]
[OUT Q=OUR INCOME TAX OR OUR SALES TAX INCREASED.]
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[VO-NAT]

Both the House and the Senate return to work on Tuesday.
That day will mark the beginning of the FOURTH week of the General Assembly's special budget session.
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[Pot-Bust]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=cja]
[TAPE#=04-08 TC-1:05:55]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]
[ENG#=1]

Henry county police found more than they'd expected in a horse trailer this morning.
Police arrived on Conway Drive around two this morning, after a citizen called, to report someone was stealing horses nearby.
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[VO-NAT]

Instead, police found 14-hundred pounds of marijuana in a secret compartment and scattered on the ground.
34-year-old Joseph Preston Souther, and 24-year-old Clemente Sanchez Junior were arrested on the spot. Two other suspects got away.
Police say the men were apparently transferring the pot to other vehicles when they were interrupted.
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[SOT 15:14:02]
[IN Q=I guess the]
((FRANK CASSELL/SHERIFF: I GUESS THE MORAL OF THIS STORY IS IF YOU ARE GOING TO HAUL DOPE IN A HORSE TRAILER, DON'T UNLOAD IT IN FRONT OF A PASTURE.))
[SUPER=01-Frank Cassell/Henry Co. Sheriff]
[RUNS=:06]
[OUT Q=of a pasture]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]

Police say the marijuana is valued at more than one million dollars. The case is still under investigation.

[Radford-Police]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=rde]
[TAPE#=04-01 TC-1:35:49]
[GRAPHIC=none]
[ENG#=2]

Radford is a little closer to finding a new police chief.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Radford;]

The city has selected five finalists from about 30 applications.
All five are from Southwest Virginia and Eastern Tennessee.
The city fired former chief Wes Terry in January, after he and two officers were indicted on misdemeanor charges in connection with an apartment search.
Last month a special prosecutor dropped all charges, and in return Terry agreed not to sue the city over his firing.
City officials plan to hold job interviews in the next few weeks.
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[Soccer-Lights]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=rle]
[TAPE#=04-07 TC-55:28]
[GRAPHIC=none]
Some nearby residents say they can't live with them, but the school system says they can't live without them.
Tonight Hidden Valley high school unveiled a controversial solution to its athletic field problem.
[DOUBLE BOXES=Keith / Justin Microwave;]
Justin McLeod joins us from the school now, Justin?
[LIVE= /FULL]
[SUPER=@justin1;]
[SUPER=05-Roanoke Co.;]

((ROLLCUE:...flipped the switch just a few minutes ago.))

[ENG#=3]

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[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.; :00]
[SUPER=01-Dennis Layman/Hidden Valley Athletic Director; :25]
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[OUT Q=on the facility at all.]

[LIVE=Justin/FULL]
[SUPER=05-Roanoke Co.;]

[DOUBLE BOXES=Keith/Justin Microwave;]

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

Still ahead on News 7 at 6, We'll hear from a box-office legend on everything from his ex-wives to his career that dates back to the 1920's.
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[VO-NAT]
and a little later, goats are reknowned for their inclination to eat almost anything, now that trait is being used to unearth the history of a local graveyard.
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[1st-Wx] [First-Wx]
[ANCHOR=Brent]

[SS=NONE]WEATHER CENTER Position #1

[WXPRO/FULL]WEATHER MAP TOMORROW FORECAST
[COMMERCIAL]
[Cheney-Visit]

(MINI OPEN)

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=rde]
[TAPE#=03-55 TC-2:02:17]
[GRAPHIC=Cheney]
[ENG#=1]
Vice-President Dick Cheney is scheduled to come back to Roanoke this month.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Wytheville/September 2003; :00]
Republican party sources say he's going to be campaigning for Republican congressional candidate Kevin Triplett.
Triplett is running against Democrat Rick Boucher this November for the ninth district seat. According to sources, Cheney will be in Roanoke on Monday April 19th for a fundraiser. The exact time and location are not being released for security reasons.
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/September 2003; ]
Cheney visted Roanoke last September for a similar type of fundraiser but the event was closed to the public and the media.
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[Rooney]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=04-06 TC-58:27]
[GRAPHIC=none]
[!!ANCHOR TAG!!]
[ENG#=3]
Mickey Rooney's made so many movies he can't remember them all... 350 films, he says. It's a motion picture career that spans more than 80 years.
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[SOT]
[IN Q=Mickey Rooney is]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke; :00]
[SUPER=07-Mickey Rooney; :15]
[SUPER=04-Warner Brothers - 1944; :30]
[SUPER=04-MGM-United Artists - 1979; :54]
[SUPER=01-Jan Chamberlin/Rooney's Wife; 1:14]
[SUPER=04-Paramount Pictures - 1961; 1:30]
[RUNS=1:59]
[OUT Q=the Bronze Star.]
(( Mickey Rooney's in Roanoke this weekend headlining the Blue Ridge Film Festival. At 83, he strides into the room, ready to talk about most anything, including his legendary list of ex-wives. [13:44:45] ((How many people do we know who've been married 8 times? WELL, I THINK, ELIZABETH TAYLOR USED TO SAY SHE'S BEEN MARRIED 9. Are you going to top that? NO.))
[RUNS= :10]
Rooney's eighth wife, Jan, reminds us that Elizabeth Taylor actually married the same man twice. So Taylor and Rooney are even. The two child actors were never married to each other, though they appeared together sixty years ago in a film called "National Velvet."
[NAT SOT from movie]

[13:48:33] ((I DID IT WITH ELIZABETH TAYLOR. Is it on your list of favorites? WELL, I'VE GOT NEWS FOR YOU. HOW CAN IT BE A FAVORITE, WHEN YOU'VE MADE 350. I'M PROUD TO HAVE BEEN IN THAT, BUT I'M ALSO PROUD TO HAVE BEEN IN "BOYS' TOWN" WITH SPENCER TRACY.))
[RUNS= :14]

[NAT SOT from Black Stallion -Rooney giving jockey pointers]
It was late in Rooney's career, and yet 25 years ago, that he landed the part of trainer Henry Dailey in film "The Black Stallion." On the heels of "Black Stallion" Jan says she came up with the idea of re-telling the story of Seabiscuit. She figured Mickey could play the role of trainer Tom Smith. [3:47:15] ((I GOT THE RIGHTS FROM MRS. HOWARD TO DO SEABISUCIT FOR MICKEY ROONEY. HE TURNED IT DOWN. Your husband turned it down? YES.)) When asked what he thought of last year's Universal Pictures version of Seabiscuit, Rooney says, "it's all right." Along the way, he appeared with Audrey Hepburn and Patricia Neal in "Breakfast at Tiffany's." Neal makes a return appearance at this year's film festival in Roanoke. Mickey Rooney was nominated four times for an Academy Award, has two Emmys and a Peabody. [13:51:50] ((I'VE HAD A LOT OF AWARDS, BUT THE AWARD I TREASURE MOST, I'M A VETERAN OF FOREIGN WARS. I WAS IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR . I WAS OVERSEAS FOUR YEARS. I WAS PRESENTED THE BRONZE STAR.))
[RUNS= :14]))
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[GRAPHIC=none]
Rooney will be honored at the D-Day Memorial in Bedford Sunday.

[Stocks]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Stocks ended the week on a positive note, on the strength of better-than-expected employment figures. [TAKE DOW & NASDAQ PAGE]
[RUNS=:30]
[SUPER=x5000;]
[SUPER=440-x/97.26/10470.59/x/42.16/2057.17;]
The Dow gained 97 points. Nasdaq up 42.
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[SUPER=274-h/0.40/14.40/i/0.42/69.60/h/0.34/37.24/i/0.84/46.42/h/0.25/58.60;]
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[SPONSOR ANNOUNCE]
[COMMERCIAL]

[Park-Caboose]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=04-04 TC-1:11:33]
[GRAPHIC=none]
[ENG#=1]

They took out the trash, made their beds and did lots of things to earn a little extra money... and today dozens of kids in central Virginia saw their hard work rewarded.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg]

Students at Boonsboro Elementary have spent the past few months raising money to help restore the old caboose in Lynchburg's Riverside Park.
It's part of an old steam train that was placed in the park in 1962, but has since fallen into severe disrepair.
Teacher GiGi (jee-jee) Sweeney says her own little boy noticed the problem several years ago.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 12:11:14//12:33:28]
[IN Q=When you're little]
((GIGI SWEENEY/BOONSBORO E.S. TEACHER: WHEN THEY'RE LITTLE AND YOU'RE TEACHING THEM ABOUT RESPONSIBILITY AND HOW YOU NEED TO CARE FOR YOUR THINGS AND YOUR TOYS, AND HE SAID 'WELL, MOM, NOBODY CARES FOR THE TRAIN'. AND THAT SENTENCE HAS STUCK WITH ME FOR A LONG TIME.)) ((KAY FRAZIER/LYNCHBURG PARKS AND REC DIRECTOR: RIGHT NOW THE PARK IS PRETTY BUSY ON WEEKENDS BUT I SEE A MAJOR DRAW IN BEING ABLE TO MARKET IT TO THE TOURISTS AND REALLY TO PEOPLE WANTING TO COME JUST TO SEE THE TRAIN.))
[SUPER=01-GiGi Sweeney/Boonsboro E.S. Teacher; :00]
[SUPER=01-Kay Frazier/Lynchburg Parks & Rec Director; :11]
[RUNS=19]
[OUT Q=to see the train.]
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[VO-NAT]

The students were treated to a picnic in the park today for raising 53-hundred dollars towards the caboose's restoration.
The local Kiwanis club is spearheading a 130-thousand dollar effort to save the entire train and re-open it to the public.
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[Cemetery-Goats]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=04-05 TC-1:15:02]
[GRAPHIC=none]
[ENG#=2]

In the face of a twelve-million dollar budget shortfall, the city of Lynchburg can't afford to hire any new employees or take on new public works projects.
But one of its bigger tourist attractions.. the Old City Cemetery.. is doing just that.
Steve Smallshaw shows us how.
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[SOT]
[IN Q=You can call]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg; :00]
[SUPER=01-Jane White/Old City Cemetery; :22]
[SUPER=@ssm2; 1:08]
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[OUT Q=News7, Lynchburg.]

(( You can call them maintenance workers, grave gardeners or even amateur archaeologists.
Just don't call them late to dinner.
[natsot 13:31:10 eating]
[RUNS= 02]

For the past month, these seven Alpine billy goats have been munching their way through the thickest brambles and overgrowth in Lynchburg's Old City Cemetery.
They've cleared about an acre so far and seem hungry for more.
[SOT 14:09:38]
((JANE WHITE/OLD CITY CEMETERY: THEY ARE HARD WORKERS, THEY SEEM TO BE VERY HAPPY DOING WHAT GOATS DO BEST. THIS IS AN AREA WHERE WE COULD NEVER EXPECT PEOPLE TO COME IN AND CLEAN OUT. I DON'T THINK WE COULD PAY THEM ENOUGH TO COME IN AND DO THAT AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE.))
[RUNS= 20]
[OUT Q=to be done.]

The goats' work has helped uncover a 19th-century wall that White and others didn't think still existed.
She also expects to find grave markers on this steep hillside.. that have remained hidden for decades.
[SOT 14:09:22]
((WHITE: I DON'T KNOW THAT WE'LL EVER REALLY KNOW JUST LIKE WE DON'T THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE CEMETERY, THE EXACT NUMBERS OF PEOPLE BURIED HERE AND WHERE, BUT IT SHOULD GIVE US SOME GOOD INDICATIONS.))
[RUNS= 12]
[OUT Q=some good indications.]
[natsot 13:41:25 walking]
[RUNS= 02]

The goats are on loan from a Nelson County farm.. volunteer labor and donations have provided them with a fenced-in area and a comfortable home.
And they continue to earn their keep.. goat manure goes on sale soon.. the proceeds benefitting the cemetery.
Steve Smallshaw, News7, Lynchburg. ))

[Sports Tease]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]
[ENG#=V10]
Coming up tonight on News 7 sports the Express hopes to avoid getting crowned by the Checkers tonight - we'll check qualifying from Texas,
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[VO-NAT]
and the Dookies make their final comments before tomorrow night's final four. We'll hear from J.J. in just a moment.
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[S-Express]

[ANCHOR=mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=sma]
[TAPE#=SP-161 ]
[GRAPHIC=Express]

[ENG#=1]

The Charlotte Checkers represent the first of two final obstacles between the Roanoke Express and the playoffs and tonight at 7:30 the two face it off at the Round House.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke; :00]

The Express has a seven game winning streak and while the team has won three of the five meetings with the Checkers, Roanoke still considers Charlotte dangerous.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Tony MacAulay/Express Head Coach; :00]
[SUPER=01-Dave Belitski/Express Goalie; :19]
[SUPER=01-Rick Kowalsky/Express Right Wing; :38]
[RUNS=1:04]
[OUT Q=......winning the game"]
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[S-Qualify]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=NASCAR NEXTEL]
The Nextel Cup cars are out in Roanoke, Texas for this coming Sunday's Samsung-Radio Shack 500. Time trials just wrapped up a few moments ago and appropriately enough - a Texan won the pole. [GO TO CHYRON BOARDS]
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[GO TO QUALIFYING BOARDS]
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[SUPER=0107-1. Bobby Labonte//2. Bill Elliott//3. Kasey Kahne//4. Greg Biffle//5. Joe Nemechek//;]
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[SUPER=0107-6. Casey Mears//7. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.//8. Jimmie Johnson//9. Jeff Gordon//10. Rusty Wallace//;]
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[SUPER=0107-11. Dale Jarrett//12. Kurt Busch//13. Brian Vickers//14. Sterling Marlin//15. Ryan Newman//;]
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[SUPER=0107-16. Brendan Gaughan//17. Tony Stewart//18. Robbie Gordon//19. Elliott Sadler//20. Dave Blaney//;]
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[SUPER=0107-21. Jeremy Mayfield//22. Kevin Harvick//23. Jeff Burton//24. Scott Riggs//25. Matt Kenseth//;]
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[OUT Q=.....last driver."]
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[S-NCAA]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=sp-170 3026TC]
[GRAPHIC=men's final four]

[ENG#=3]

The Men's Final Four tips off on your Hometown Station tomorrow night.
(xxxxxxxxx)
[go to pinnacle 12999] Coverage begins at four, Oklahoma State and Ga. Tech tip things off at six, and then Duke takes on U-Conn. This may not be your Daddy's Duke - but it is theonly number one seed to make it to the Final Four.
[WIPE TO ENG#]
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[SOT]
[IN Q=BITE]
[SUPER=01-J.J. Redick/Duke Sophomore Guard; :00]
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[OUT Q=...DEFENSE AND REBOUNDING."]
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-San Antonio, TX;]
The Alamo Dome is proving fans of this year's Final Four will all the comforts and conveniences they could want. But Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton has team on lock down
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[SOT]
[IN Q=BITE]
[SUPER=01-John Lucas, Jr./Oklahoma State Guard; :00]
[RUNS=:09]
[OUT Q=...HOW WE IN JAIL."]
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[S-Gillen]

[ANCHOR=mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=sma]
[TAPE#=SP-168 31:40]
[GRAPHIC=final four]

[ENG#=4]

UVa head men's basketball coach Pete Gillen spoke to the media from San Antonio. In addition to stating he is happy to still have a job he indicated there might be changes in store for the program.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[RUNS=:29]
[OUT Q=,,,,,for the school"]
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[WEATHER] [6PM WEATHER] [@CDATE] [SS NONE]
[WEATHERNET/FULL]CLIMATE STATS
[MUSIC UNDER] [COMMERCIAL]
[CK/SKYTRACKER]RADAR ANALYSIS
[CK/WXPRO]WEATHER MAPS FORECASTS EXTENDED FORECAST

[Close]

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(Weekday 6 only)
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SUPER=x4030; e-mail/Copyright/WEEKENDS
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[AM-6Promo]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=News 7 @ 6]
[ENG#=None]

Two area athletes take their Olympic dreams to Las Vegas this week. Keno Shepherd and Israel Gilbert will grapple in the U.S. Freestyle Championships, and it if they place high enough, they move on to the Olympic team trials next month.
Both pin their hopes on a strong showing. Their story tonight on News 7 at 6.