WDBJ 7 news at 6 for 07/27/04

[1-News-Head]

[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]

Vandals take aim at a Roanoke County Middle School, undaunted by nearby police.
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[ENG#=1]
[VO-NAT :07]
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]
And, should new voting machines inspire your vote of confidence? We'll see if they're tamper-proof.
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[Sports-Head]

[ANCHOR=steve]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=sma]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]
[ENG#=2]

In sports, the Redskins sign their top pick, the ACC preseason pick is Florida Satte and Bobby Bowden is not happy about it,
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[VO-NAT]

and Tech safety Vincent Fuller is back in the class room learning to hit soemthing other than a receiver.
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[WX-Head]
[ANCHOR=Robin]
[SS=None]
A Flood Watch and isolated soakers today but a short break may be on the way.
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[ANCHOR=Shannon 4-Shot]

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

[ENG#=3]
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 5:03:32]
[IN Q=It is real]
((R.G. CROSIER: IT IS REAL SURPRISING TO US ESPECIALLY THIS CLOSE TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.))
[RUNS=:03]
[OUT Q=the police department]
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[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]

Vandals strike again in Roanoke County.
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]

This time it is more serious.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]

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

And I'm Shannon Young.
[Northside-Windows]
[NEWSCAST=6 PM]
[WRITER=jus]
[TAPE#=04-29 TC23:06]
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]

More than 40 cars have already been hit and now vandals have set their sights on another target.
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]

Police do believe all the incidents are related.
[ENG#=]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.]

The latest one happened last night at Northside Middle School, right around the corner from the Roanoke County Police station.
Someone shot out 19 windows between 10 PM last night and seven o'clock this morning.
This follows an incident- -Sunday night- -where a brick was thrown through a window at the school.
Damage estimates approach 12-hundred dollars. Because of that, police say the charges are more serious.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 5:04:19]
[IN Q=Value estimate over]
((R.G. CROSIER/ROANOKE CO. POLICE DEPT.: VALUE ESTIMATED OVER A THOUSAND DOLLARS MADE IT A CLASS SIX FELONY WHICH COULD POSSIBLY LEAD TO A 1 TO FIVE YEARS IN PRISON, AND NO MORE THAN A TWENTY FIVE HUNDRED DOLLAR FINE. SO WHEREAS THE OTHERS HAVE BEEN MISDEMEANOR PROPERTY DAMAGE NOW IT IS ELEVATED TO A CLASS SIX FELONY.))
[SUPER=01-R. G. Crosier/Roanoke Co. Police Dept.; :]
[RUNS=:18]
[OUT Q=class six felony. (2nd Ref)]
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[VO-NAT]

Police believe the vandals are using a B-B gun.
If you have any information, you can call Roanoke County Police.
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[581-Ax]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=ejo]
[TAPE#=04-31 TC13:43]
[GRAPHIC=I-581]
[ENG#=3]

An accident on Interstate 581 is causing some big backups near downtown Roanoke at this hour.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]
The accident is blocking two southbound lanes near the Hotel Roanoke, backing up traffic to the Valley View Mall. At least two people have been taken to the hospital for what police describe as non life threatening injuries. State Police believe a stalled vehicle led to the accident.
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[Roanoke-Shooting]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=myr]
[TAPE#=04-24 TC1:00:13]
[GRAPHIC=Shooting]
[ENG#=1]

Roanoke police are searching for two suspects in a shooting this morning.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]
It happened around 11:45 at a home in the 13-hundred block of Lafayette Boulevard. Police say 37-year-old Millard Mahala, was working with a patient at the home, when he went outside and spotted two teenagers behind the residence. Officers say that's when one of them shot Mahala in the lower back. He was taken to Roanoke Memorial Hospital for non-life threatening injuries. Police are now searching for the suspects, two black males, between the ages of 15 and 19.
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[Minorities-Crime]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=6pm`]
[WRITER=sba]
[TAPE#=04-18 TC1:45:16]
[GRAPHIC=]
[ENG#=]
One group is working to keep violence like *this* from happening...
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]
Members of Governor Mark Warner's Preventing Crime in the Minority Communities Task Force are in Roanoke. The group has traveled across the Commonwealth listening to problems and solutions within each community. Suggestions include afterschool and mentoring programs, but the programs don't come cheap.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT@9:57:46.26]
[IN Q=That's the very difficult...]
((JUDGE DIANE STRICKLAND, TASK FORCE MEMBER: THAT'S THE VERY DIFFICULT CHALLENGE WE FACE BECAUSE WE'RE IN A TOUGH ECONOMIC PERIOD AND THAT'S NOT ONE THING READILY AVAILABLE. IT DIFFICULT TO OPERATE THESE PROGRAMS WITHOUT FUNDS, BUT THEY'VE BEEN PROVEN EFFECTIVE AND WE ARE RECOMMENDING THEM.))
[SUPER=01-Judge Diane Strickland/Task Force Member]
[RUNS=:16]
[OUT Q=... are recommending them.]
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[VO-NAT]
The second portion of the meeting is going on right now - from six to eight o'clock the community can air its concerns at the First Baptist Church on Jefferson Street in Roanoke. After compiling the information from the meeting - task force members will present a report to the Governor.
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[Kerry]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=5pm]
[WRITER=mmu]
[TAPE#=504-01 TC56:50]
[GRAPHIC=Kerry]
[ENG#=3]

Senator John Kerry was in Virginia today, wooing the state's vast veteran population.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Norfolk]

In a campaign appearance in Norfolk, home to the world's largest naval base, the presidential candidate endorsed the Nine-Eleven Commission's report.
Kerry also urged the president to act immediately on the Commission's recommendations.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 11:02:37]
[IN Q=YOU CAN'T TREAT THE COMMISSION'S REPORT AS]
((SENATOR JOHN KERRY/DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: YOU CAN'T TREAT THE COMMISSION'S REPORT AS SOMETHING THAT YOU HOPE WILL GO AWAY. YOU CAN'T TREAT THE COMMISSION'S REPORT AS SOMETHING THAT SORT OF REPRESENTS A THREAT TO AMERICA THAT WILL GO AWAY BECAUSE THIS THREAT WON'T GO AWAY AND THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMISSION MAKE SENSE AND THEY SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTED NOW.))
[SUPER=01-Sen. John Kerry/(D) Presidential Candidate]
[RUNS=:21]
[OUT Q=AND THEY SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTED NOW.]
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[VO-NAT]

The Nine-Eleven Commission is expected to disband next month.
But Kerry says he wants the panel to continue its work for another 18 months and provide periodic status reports.

The senator's next stop is Philadelphia.
Then, it is on to Boston.
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[Electronic-Voting]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=myr]
[TAPE#=04-28 TC39:18]
[GRAPHIC=Election 2004]
November will be here before you know it, but for some people, HOW they vote, may be just as big of a concern as choosing WHO they vote for. [***Elec. Voting in Monitor***]
[DOUBLE BOXES=Myranda & Keith /Newsroom;]
Myranda Stephens is here with more on the issue with electronic voting. Keith, we all remember the whole "hanging chad" ordeal.
[LIVE=Myranda/Keith/FULL]
[SUPER=@Myranda1;]
But, while election officials are trying to correct those problems with electronic voting, critics say they could be creating even more.
[ENG#=4]
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.;]
[SUPER=01-Diane Henson/Roanoke County Registrar;]
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg;]
[SUPER=01-Craig Brians/Virginia Tech Professor of Political Science;]
[RUNS=1:34]
[OUT Q=municipalities own their own.]
(( [NATS OF TYPING UP FULL @ 21:12:25] [RUNS03] There's no doubt computers have made our lives easier. From what we do in the office. [SHOT OF OFFICE @ 21:11:31] To who we elect into office. [SHOT OF BUSH]
[SOT 5233][COVER LAST PART OF BITE WITH SHOTS OF MACHINES!!!!]
[RUNS07] ((WELL THE MAIN ADVANTAGE IS IT'S FOR THE HANDICAPPED, HAVE NO PROBLEM USING IT. YOU CAN TAKE IT OUT AND PUT IT RIGHT ON THEIR LAP.)) Following the 2000 election debacle in Florida, Congress passed what is known as the Help America Vote Act, which provided each state funding to purchase electronic voting machines. Roanoke County was one of the first communities in OUR area to hop on board.
[SOT 55:11]
[RUNS11] ((THESE MACHINES ARE CHECKED AND DOUBLE CHECKED THEY HAVE SECURITY, THEY'RE NOT HOOKED UP TO ANY INTERNET, SO THERE'S NO WAY THAT PEOPLE TALK THEY CAN BE HACKED INTO THE INTERNET, IT'S NOT HOOKED UP TO ANY INTERNET.)) But critics say it's not just INTERNET hackers we should be worried about -- but the private companies that make the computer software as well.
[SOT 1519]
[RUNS11] ((EACH ONE OF THESE MAJOR COMPANIES THAT ARE CERTIFIED FOR USE IN VA AT THIS TIME, HAS PROPRIETARY SOFTWARE THAT THE COMPANIES WILL NOT ALLOW ANYBODY ELSE TO LOOK AT -- 30 NOT THE STATE, NOT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT .. )) Brians also points out that the state certified machines don't have a paper back up system -- possibly because they're more expensive. But, if its costs election officials are worried about, then Brians says wait until the computers need to be upgrade.
[SOT 2057]
[RUNS10] ((SO IF IN TEN YEARS IT TURNS OUT WE NEED TO REPLACE ALL OF THESE MACHINES BECAUSE THEY WON'T RUN A NEW VERSION OF SOFTWARE, THEN THE INDIVIDUAL MUNICIPALITIES ARE OWN THEY'RE OWN))))
(-------------)
[LIVE=Myranda /FULL Newsroom]
Roanoke County voters have already used the machines in some of its local elections-- and officials say they haven't had any problems.
[DOUBLE BOXES=Ketih & Myranda /Newsroom;]
However presidential elections tend to have a higher turnout than local ones, so the real test may come this November. Keith.

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

Still ahead on News 7, the growing problem with methamphetamine and what the Virginia's Attorney General plans to do about it.
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[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]

Plus we'll check in on the work in downtown Blacksburg and find out why it's slow-going.
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[Shell]
(MINI OPEN)
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=04-26 TC56:00]
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]
Professional photographer and murder suspect Bob Shell wants his pictures back.
[ENG#=1]
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Radford/File Tape]
Three weeks ago a state judge gave the Commonwealth's Attorney 21 days to account for computers and camera equipment police seized from Shell. Today Shell's attorney filed a copyright infringement claim against Radford Police in federal court. Among the photos Shell is seeking is at least one image of Marion Franklin, the woman he's accused of killing.
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[Drug-Court]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=04-22 TC1:13:38]
[GRAPHIC=Jerry Kilgore]
[ENG#=2]
The state attorney general wants retailers in Virginia to refuse to sell certain household items in bulk.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]
Jerry Kilgore points out Methampethamine is made from easily-acquired over-the-counter products. So he's asking retailers to limit the quantities of such things people can buy at one time.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 10:13:15]
[IN Q=You have no]
((YOU HAVE NO REASON TO BUY AN ENTIRE CASE OF ADVIL OR SOME OTHER COLD MEDICINE OR ALLERGY MEDICINE. YOU MAY NEED TWO OR THREE BOTTLES, BUT YOU DON'T NEED A CASE OF THE STUFF.))
[SUPER=@kilgore]
[RUNS=10]
[OUT Q=of the stuff.]
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[VO-NAT]
While the Attorney General told us methampethamine is replacing OxyContin as the drug abusers' choice, Kilgore did not mention the growing "meth" problem when he addressed graduates of the Roanoke Valley Drug Court today. Thirty people completed the program this time around, rather than face prison time for drug possession and, in some cases, distribution. Roanoke's Drug Court has graduated more than 200 probationers in less than a decade.
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[Resource-Officer]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=rde]
[TAPE#=04-25 TC55:16]
[GRAPHIC=None]
[ENG#=3]

After weeks of debate, Montgomery County has decided to hire extra protection in the middle schools.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Christiansburg/File Tape;]
The county will set aside 30-thousand dollars to fund a school resource officer at Auburn, Christiansburg and Shawsville middle schools. The county has already committed money for resource officers in the *high* schools. The positions will have to be renewed each year, and that concerns some supervisors. It's estimated that three years from now the positions will cost about 200-thousand dollars a year.
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[Stocks]

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

Good earnings news and a jump in consumer confidence gave stocks a big boost. [TAKE DOW & NASDAQ PAGE]
[RUNS=:30]
[SUPER=x5000;]
[SUPER=440-x/123.22/10085.14/x/30.08/1869.10;]
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]

The DOW jumped 123 points.
NASDAQ rose 30.
[SUPER=271-h/0.50/36.50/h/0.14/47.10/i/0.15/30.41/i/6.38/81.78/i/0.27/85.00;]
[SUPER=272-h/0.29/38.89/h/0.13/19.15/h/0.21/5.34/i/0.06/62.57/h/0.49/32.80;]
[SUPER=273-h/0.29/10.36/i/0.52/39.75/i/0.06/15.95/h/0.45/25.90/i/0.01/4.30;]
[SUPER=274-i/0.08/13.93/h/0.43/66.13/h/1.36/37.86/h/0.14/44.54/h/1.25/53.90;]
[SUPER=#555; Reset]

[SPONSOR ANNOUNCE]
[COMMERCIAL]

[Blacksburg-Construction]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=rde]
[TAPE#=04-19 TC1:37:22]
[GRAPHIC=None]
[ENG#=1]
Downtown Blacksburg is taking longer to spruce up than originally expected.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg;]
Officials are going to double the number of crews working on the improvement project to try to get everything finished by the first week of September. By the first home football game the downtown area is supposed to have new brick sidewalks and new lighting, trash cans, trees and benches. Next week, new trees will be planted. The town is still planning to hold it's annual "Stepping Out" festival next Friday.
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[Bedford-Arts]

[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=6 p.m.]
[WRITER=syo]
[TAPE#=04-21 TC51:34]
[GRAPHIC=None]
[ENG#=2]

Bedford's new arts center will soon have a home.
(------------)
[VO-NAT :18]
[SUPER=03-Bedford;]
The Wharton Memorial Foundation will announce this week that a donation will allow the group to buy the Bedford Christian Church. The church will be renovated to accomodate the newly formed Bedford Academy of Visial and Performing Arts, a community school focusing on education and entertainment.
(///// SOT at :18 /////)
[SOT 3:15:15 - 3:15:32]
[IN Q=Music, all types of music...]
((JANE MONTGOMERY/BEDFORD ACADEMY OF VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS: MUSIC, ALL TYPES OF MUSIC, VISUAL ARTS, SCULPTURE, PHOTOGRAPHY, DANCE, FOLK ARTS, QULITING, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.))
[SUPER=01-Jane Montgomery/Acad. of Visual and Performing Arts;]
[RUNS=:17]
[OUT Q=those types of things.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT :12]
Montgomery says weekend workshops and satellite music lessons could begin as soon as this fall. The funds were donated by Dr. John Bower.
(------------)

[Sports tease]

[ANCHOR=steve]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=sma]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=None]
[ENG#=V10]

Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden talks about being picked number one in ACC football, Tech safety Vincet Fullergets a crash course in golf,
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

and the Motor Mile Speedway puts up five thousand bucks for this weekend's late model race.
(------------)

[S-Football]

[ANCHOR=steve]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=sma]
[TAPE#=SP-170 1:41:09]
[GRAPHIC=ACC]
[ENG#=1]

Coaches and players in the now 11 team ACC football conference finished up the media kick off week today.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Greensboro, NC; :00]

Despite Miami head coach Larry Coker beating Florida State's Bobby Bowden five straight times, the Seminoles were the preseason number one pick. But Bowden says the selections mean very little.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Bobby Bowden/342 College Football Victories; :02]
[RUNS=:16]
[OUT Q=.......voted us in"]
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[S-Vincent]

[ANCHOR=steve]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=twe]
[TAPE#=SP-179 TC3005]
[GRAPHIC=ACC]
[ENG#=2]

The three day ACC football media kickoff session served as an indoctrination for the Virginia Tech Hokies, not only to their new league, but also to a game other than football. Travis Wells has more.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Greensboro, NC; :00]
[SUPER=01-Bryan Randall/Virginia Tech Quarterback; :18]
[SUPER=01-Vincent Fuller/Virginia Tech Safety; :40]
[SUPER=@travis1; :58]
[RUNS=1:46]
[OUT Q=News 7 Sports."]
((ACC Coaches weren't the only ones to run the gauntlet of interviews and photo ops at the Grandover Resort. Twenty two players from around the league did their best to strike a pose as well. As for the new addition Hokies, never before have three letters had such a sweet ring to them.
Bryan: Vincent: Travis: Vincent: Bryan:
Fuller hopes that smacking around his new conference brethren on Saturdays should be quite a bit easier than whalloping the little white ball. In Greensboro, Travis Wells, News 7 Sports.))

[S-Skins]

[ANCHOR=steve]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=sma]
[TAPE#=SP-184 2:52]
[GRAPHIC=Redskins]
[ENG#=3]

The Redskins got some very good news today, just three days before the start of training camp.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Ashburn; :00]

Sean Taylor has signed a seven-year, 18 million dollar deal with the Skins. He was the fifth overall draft pick out of Miami. Taylor is expected to be Washington's opening day starter at free safety. Training camp officially opens on Saturday.
(------------)

[S5 is next]

[S-Motor]

[ANCHOR=steve]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=twe]
[TAPE#=SP-173 TC10452]
[GRAPHIC=Motor Mile Speedway]
[ENG#=1]

This Saturday will be another big night at the Motor Mile Speedway, as a 5 thousand dollar bounty has been put on Frank Deiny, Jr.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Pulaski/Saturday Night; :00]

Deiny has won 7 late model stock car races at the track this season, including 3 in a row, the latest coming in the WDBJ 100. A field of over 30 cars is expected, including the best drivers from South Boston because that track will take the night off. All hope to get the best of the series points leader, Deiny.
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[Goodwill]
[NEWSCAST=Six]
[WRITER=lmc]
[TAPE#=04-17 TC1:28:29]
[ANCHOR=Keith 2-Shot]
Goodwill Industries cut the ribbon on its new 55-thousand square foot Melrose Avenue facility today.
[ENG#]
[ANCHOR=Shannon 2-Shot]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]
The new corporate headquarters consolidates worksites in Roanoke and Salem. It has the capacity to serve three-hundred individuals with disabilities or disadvantages and fifty staff members. Goodwill opened its new doors exactly two weeks ago with hopes that the facility will accommodate growth, reduce expenses, and promote communication for the organization. (------------)