WDBJ 7 morning news AM cutins for 05/18/04

[7Wx-Headline]

[ANCHOR=Kim]

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

Good morning, I'm Kimberly McBroom.
A chance of showers and storms lingering again today.
Highs around 80.
Meteorologist Leo Hirsbrunner has the Tuesday forecast, coming up.

[7-11Picard]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=myr]
[TAPE#=04-17 TC06:05]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]

[ENG#=1]

The judge interrupted a motions hearing for accused murderer, Christopher Picard several times yesterday-- scolding both the prosecuting and defense attorneys for what he called inappropriate and "petty" behavior.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Franklin Co./File Tape;]
At one point, Picard's attorneys accused Commonwealth's Attorney Cliff Hapgood of being uncooperative, which Hapgood vehemently denied. The hour-long hearing ended with both sides agreeing to cooperate with each other and follow a gag-order. Christopher Picard was reindicted in February for the 2002 murder of Lori Metts Hodges Boyd. Picard's trial is set for June 28th.
(------------)

[7-5-Vick-Case]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=rde]
[TAPE#=504-05 40:49]
[GRAPHIC=Virginia Tech]

[ENG#=2]

According to Virginia Tech officials, quarterback Marcus Vick and two other Hokie Football players will be punished. This comes after all 3 were convicted of misdemeanors last week.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg;]
Vick, tailback Mike Imoh and Wide Reciever Brenden Hill were sentenced to jail for contributing to the delinquency of minors. The three encouraged 14 and 15 year old girls to drink during a late night party. Tech's Atheletic Director says, quote... Although these matters are on appeal, the Athletic Department remains disturbed and disappointed over these actions. Accordingly, I will levy sanctions this coming season. I will be monitoring the appeals process, but if there is no resolution before the season begins, disciplinary measures will be enforced. Sources say the punishment is likely to be suspensions from games. Marcus Vick's attorney filed an appeal to the verdict yesterday afternoon. Imoh and Hill are expected to do the same later this week.
(------------)

[7-VOB81-Signs]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=jus]
[TAPE#=04-14 TC 1:09:17]
[GRAPHIC=I-81 4036]

[ENG#=3]

Major traffic tie-ups from accidents on Interstate 81 may not be as bad as they were in the past.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Salem/Yesterday;]

V-Dot has started using new electronic signs.
They were put into service yesterday when a tractor trailer overturned on I-81 near Dixie Caverns, dumping 72-thousand bottles of soda.
The signs alerted motorists where the accident was located and which lane was closed.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 18:07:08]
[IN Q=Anytime there is a backup]
((LAURA BULLOCK/VDOT SPOKESPERSON: ANYTIME THERE IS A BACKUP ON A MAIN ROAD THE LIKELYHOOD OF SECONDARY ACCIDENTS GOES UP. WE WANT TO PREVENT THOSE SECONDARY ACCIDENTS SO IF WE GIVE PEOPLE THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A CHOICE ABOUT THEIR TRAVEL PATTERN MAYBE THEY WILL DECIDE TO WAIT MORE PATIENTLY OR MAYBE THEY'LL DECIDE ANOTHER WAY TO GET HOME.))
[SUPER=01-Laura Bullock/VDOT Spokesperson]
[RUNS=:17]
[OUT Q=another way to get home]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

There are 39 of these signs located in the Roanoke and New River Valleys.
They are placed on or roads leading up to the interstate.
All of them should be operational by the end of the month.
(------------)

[55-WXHeads]

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

Good morning, I'm Kimberly McBroom......
Partly cloudy with a chance of shower and storms, with highs in the lower 80s.
Meteorologist Leo Hirsbrunner has the seven day forecast, coming up.

[55-11Boty-Schools]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=sba]
[TAPE#=04-07TC2:03:43]
[GRAPHIC=None]

[ENG#=1]

One local school system found itself in an enviable position- having too much money.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Botetourt Co.]
Botetourt County schools are returning the one-point-two million dollars the county approved for them just weeks ago.

It seems with the new state budget- schools received more money than expected. Administrators and school officials say its a move that's long overdue.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT@1:11.00]
[IN Q=It's a tremendous..]
((GERALD BURGESS, BOTETOURT CO. ADMINISTRATOR: IT'S A TREMENDOUS BENEFIT, BUT IT'S ABOUT TIME- THE STATE HAS BEEN PUSHING THESE COSTS OFF ON THE LOCALITIES FOR YEARS AND YEARS. THERE HAVE BEEN MANY JLARC STUDIES THAT SAID THAT'S THE CASE, SO THIS SHOULDN'T BE A ONE TIME THING, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT SHOULD GO ON SEVERAL YEARS TO BRING IT INTO A PROPER BALANCE.))
[SUPER=01-Gerald Burgess/Botetourt Co. Administrator]
[RUNS=:18]
[OUT Q=... a proper balance.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Burgess says this money will help the county plan for the future and have extra money in case of emergencies. Meanwhile, the schools will be able to provide teacher and staff raises, new buses and building maintenance.
(------------)

[55-11Former-POW]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=syo]
[TAPE#=04-19 26:31]
[GRAPHIC=IRAQ]

[ENG#=2]

A former P-O-W discussed his new outlook on life when he spoke at a local conference.
(------------)
[VO-NAT :13]
[SUPER=04-March 2003;]
Chief Warrant Officer David Williams was flying an apache helicopter when he was shot down and captured in March of last year. He says he was beaten and emotionally tortured and learned to take nothing for granted.
(///// SOT AT :13 /////)
[SOT 23:56:08 - 23:56:22]
[IN Q=Sometimes in day to day life we get...]
((CW2 DAVID WILLIAMS/FORMER POW: SOMETIMES IN DAY TO DAY LIFE WE GET UPSET ABOUT TRAFFIC JAMS AND STUFF. THE LITTLE THINGS, I DON'T GET UPSET ABOUT..))
[SUPER=01-CW2 David Williams/Former POW;]
[RUNS=:14]
[OUT Q=The little things, I don't get upset about.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT :17]
[SUPER=03-Salem]
Williams declined to comment on the current allegations. We caught up with him while he was delivering the key-note address at the First Annual Project Lifesaver Conference in Salem. The program focuses on using state of the art technology to find Alzheimers patients who get lost.
(------------)

[55-11Brown-Board]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=04-09 TC1:21:14]
[GRAPHIC=None]

[ENG#=3]

Fifty years ago, students at one Farmville school made civil rights history. Yesterday, their actions were honored.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

In 1951, black students at the Moton (MOE-tun) School in Farmville staged a walkout to protest crowded conditions and lack of funding.
Their actions later became part of the famous Brown versus Board of Education ruling that led to the desegregation of America's schools.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 15:34:19]
[IN Q=Most people don't]
((M. BOYD JONES/FORMER MOTON SCHOOL PRINCIPAL: MOST PEOPLE DON'T KNOW THAT OUR OBJECTIVE WHEN WE WERE HERE WAS TO TEACH THESE YOUNGSTERS TO THINK FOR THEMSELVES AND TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES, AND THAT WAS THE BEGINNING OF THIS WHOLE OPERATION. THEY DID IT. THEY DID AND THEY KNEW I WAS BEHIND THEM.))
[SUPER=01-M. Boyd Jones/Former Moton School Principal]
[RUNS=18]
[OUT Q=I was behind them.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

More than a dozen of the students who took part in the walkout attended yesterday's ceremonies.
(------------)

[8Wx-Headline]

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

Good morning, I'm Kimberly McBroom.
Partly cloudy with rain possible again today.
Meteorologist Leo Hirsbrunner has the forecast, coming up next.

[8-11Picard]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=myr]
[TAPE#=04-17 TC06:05]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]

[ENG#=1]

Petty behavior plagued a motions hearing for accused murderer, Christopher Picard. The judge was forced to stop the trial several times to scold the attorneys on both sides of the case.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Franklin Co./File Tape;]
At one point, Picard's attorneys accused Commonwealth's Attorney Cliff Hapgood of being uncooperative, which Hapgood vehemently denied. The hour-long hearing ended with both sides agreeing to cooperate with each other and follow a gag-order. Christopher Picard was reindicted in February for the 2002 murder of Lori Metts Hodges Boyd. Picard's trial is set for June 28th.
(------------)

[8-11Methadone]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=04-12 TC55:49]
[GRAPHIC=None]

[ENG#=2]

Plans to open a methadone clinic in Roanoke are moving forward, but with strong opposition from local residents.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

C-R-C Health Corporation is seeking approval to open the clinic on Hershberger Road.
The company says it would consider a different site, but so far no one has suggested a viable alternative.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=The important thing to remember]
((JOE PRITCHARD/CRC HEALTH CORPORATION: THE IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER. IF WE OPEN NEAR HERSHBERGER ROAD, OR IF ANOTHER SITE COMES ALONG, THE KEY WORD IS TREATMENT. OUR GOAL IS TO PROVIDE A POSITIVE EFFECT FOR THE CITY OF ROANOKE.)) ((JEFF ARTIS/METHADONE CLINIC OPPONENT: ANY TYPE OF METHADONE CLINIC COMING INTO THIS TYPE OF ENVIRONMENT IS A DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN. WE'RE NOT GOING TO ALLOW IT TO HAPPEN.))
[SUPER=01-Jeff Artis/Methadone Clinic Opponent; :17]
[RUNS=:23]
[OUT Q=we're not going to allow it to happen.]
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[GRAPHIC=None]

C-R-C hopes to secure state approval in the next 90 days. Opponents say they will follow through on their plans to fight the clinic.

[8-Duke-Plant]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=ecu]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=None]

[ENG#=3]

After a long struggle, Duke Energy has pulled the plug on its controversial Wythe County power plant proposal.
(------------)
[VO-NAT Video from tape 02-50 57:55]
[SUPER=03-]
One of the most hotly-contested portions of the plan was the fact that it would have been bulit next to the New River Trail State Park. Environmental factors also contributed to the plan's opposition. The syphoning of water from a nearby abandoned mine raised concerns that pollutants from the mine could potentially be spread over the area.

(------------)

[8-11Echostar]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=myr]
[TAPE#=04-16 TC38:52]
[GRAPHIC=None]

[ENG#=4]

Rising technology demands have opened the doors to more jobs in the New River Valley
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Christiansburg/File Tape;]
EchoStar Communications has announced plans to hire 300 customer service representatives at its Christiansburg facility. The company says it needs more workers to handle the high demand for the DISH Network satellite- T-V. Officials hope to fill the new positions by the end of the year. (------------)