[7Wx-Headline]

[ANCHOR=Kim]

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


Good morning, I'm Kimberly McBroom......
Increasing clouds today, but not as cold this afternoon.
Look for highs in the 40s.
Steve Pardon has your complete forecast, up next.





[7-Schools]


[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=11]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=School Info]


The winter weather means an early start to vacation for kids in one school system.
(XXXXXXXX)

[TAKE SCHOOLTOUCH FS]
Tazewell County Schools will be closed today (Tues.).
It was supposed to be the last day of class before Christmas Break.
(-------------)



[7-D'ville-Fires]


[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=dgr]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=Fire]



It's been a busy night for firefighters across the region. Police in Danville say there were no injuries in two separate fires. A blaze in the 1400 block of Myrtle Avenue caused extensive damage to a house. Authorities say it started because of a faulty wood stove. Everyone managed to escape, including six children. Four apartments were also damaged during another fire at 120 Banner Street. That one started because of unattended cooking in one of the units.


[7-11Fire-Roanoke]


[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=04-51 TC26:07]
[GRAPHIC=Hold]



[ENG#=1]


Fire crews in Roanoke have had their hands full as well. A small fire at a business in the 700 block of Marshall Avenue was under control in a short time. It started soon after firefighters had cleared the scene of a major fire that sent one person to the hospital, and took hours to put out.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]


Firefighters got the call around 9:15 last night, and were on the scene til about 3 this morning.
The home in the 14-hundred block of Grayson Avenue was in flames when they arrived.
An occupant of the house was taken to Roanoke Memorial Hospital, but there's no word on his condition.
Crews say they don't yet know how the fire started.
(------------)


[7-Employee-Burned]


[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=HOLD]

A worker at Roaoke Electric Steel was badly burned when his clothes caught on fire last night. Emergency crews blame malfunctioning equipment.
The employee suffered second degree burns to his upper torso, and was taken to Roanoke Memorial Hospital in serious condition.

[7-11Mail-Theft]


[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=myr]
[TAPE#=04-40 TC1:47:13]
[GRAPHIC=None]



[ENG#=2]


Christmas gifts will be late for some people in the Roanoke Valley. A U-S postal worker stands accused of stealing thousands of pieces of mail.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]

Officials say a citizen tipped them off Thursday that someone had dumped more than 400-pieces of undelivered mail into a Roanoke city dumpster. Authorities tracked the mail to an employee at the Main Office.
[SUPER=04-File Tape;]

They searched his home the next day, where they recovered several THOUSAND pieces of undelivered and rifled mail.
Officials say most of it was greeting cards from customers in Roanoke City and County. Authorities retained about 200-pieces of the mail for evidence, and are now trying to identify all of the victims, and send them a letter of explanation.
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[SS=None]

Officials say the employee has been terminated. Charges may be filed next week.

[55-WXHeads]


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


Good morning, I'm Kimberly McBroom......
Temperatures are in the teens as you head out the door, but the winds are calm.
Highs should reach the 40s.
Steve Pardon has more, coming up in the forecast.

[55-Schools]


[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=11]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=School Info]


The winter weather means an early start to vacation for kids in one school system.
(XXXXXXXX)

[TAKE SCHOOLTOUCH FS]
Tazewell County Schools will be closed today (Tues.).
It was supposed to be the last day of class before Christmas Break.
(-------------)



[55-11Craig-Cold]


[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=sba]
[TAPE#=04-49 TC34:07]
[GRAPHIC=Winter Weather]



[ENG#=1]


It'll be another cold morning of heavy blankets for thousands of Virginians -- as A-E-P crews are still working to restore power to more than three thousand customers.
But yesterday's single digit temperatures in Craig County had some parents pretty hot. They were upset their kids had to go to school on time.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Craig Co.]

There was NO snow, NO sleet or slick conditions, but parents thought temperatures, which hovered near zero-degrees, were too cold for children to deal with as they waited for the bus. Parents told News7 it didn't seem as if the schools cared about the kids' well-being, but the school superintendent says that couldn't be further from the truth.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT@9:10:31.25]
[INQ=SAFETY IS THE MOST ...]

((DR. ROSE MARTIN, CRAIG CO. SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT: SAFETY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. I CHECK THE ROADS IN THE MORNING - SOME MYSELF- ALSO CALL VDOT AND CERTIFY THE SAFETY OF THE ROAD CONDITIONS W/VDOT AND SEE IF THEY'RE HAD A CHANCE TO PUT CHEMICALS OR CLEAR IN SNOWY WEATHER...))
[SUPER=01-Rose Martin/Craig Co. School Superintendent]
[RUNS=:15]
[OUT Q=.. in snowy weather.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Two buses were late because their batteries wouldn't start the engines, but Martin says parents were contacted about the delay.
(------------)


[WIPE WIPE WIPE]

[55-11NRV-Cold]


[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=rde]
[TAPE#=04-43 TC1:06:35]
[GRAPHIC=none]



[ENG#=2]


[WIPE WIPE WIPE]

(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Giles Co.;]

There WAS snow in Giles County yesterday. Mountain Lake had two and a half inches on the ground. It snowed last week and the resort got another dusting this week. The trees are covered in icicles and the lake itself is even starting to freeze up.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT: 4:11:45:00 to :55]
[IN Q=My building]

((DAVE DESHLER:MY BUILDING'S ON STILTS AND SO I GET ALL THE NORTH WIND COMING UP FROM THE LAKE AND IT'S PRETTY CHILLY IN MY OFFICE AND I SAY HEY.. WHAT'S GOING ONDOWN HERE. LAUGHS.. IT'S WARM HERE.))
[SUPER=01-Dave Deshler/Wilderness Conservancy;]
[RUNS=:10]
[OUT Q=it's warm here.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

At one point the thermomter read five degrees BELOW zero.
(------------)



[55-11Blue-Santa]


[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=jmc]
[TAPE#=04-46 TC47:16]
[GRAPHIC=None]



[ENG#=3]


Santa traded in his traditional red uniform for another as he visited sick kids yesterday.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]


Dressed all in blue, Santa handed out gifts at Roanoke's Carilion Community Hospital yesterday morning.
The toys and donations go to sick kids as part of the Blue Santa project by the Roanoke Police Academy.
It involves recruits from both Roanoke and Roanoke County.
Blue Santa also picked up some cold cash from Wachovia to help pay for more gifts.
(------------)



[8Wx-Headline]


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


Good morning, I'm Kimberly McBroom......
We'll see an increase in clouds with highs in the 40s...but temperatures are only in the teens right now.
Steve Pardon has the full forecast, coming up.





[8-Schools]


[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=11]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=School Info]


The winter weather means an early start to vacation for kids in one school system.
(XXXXXXXX)

[TAKE SCHOOLTOUCH FS]
Tazewell County Schools will be closed today (Tues.).
It was supposed to be the last day of class before Christmas Break.
(-------------)



[8-11Roanoke-Murder]


[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=jus]
[TAPE#=04-47 TC49:33]
[GRAPHIC=Murder Investigation]



[ENG#=1]



Police are releasing few details about a murder at a Roanoke motel.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]


Officers responded to the American Motel on Williamson Road around 1:30 yesterday afternoon.
They found a man dead in a motel room, apparently from a stab wound.
Investigators have yet to release the victim's name or say if they have any suspects.
A friend of the victim told News 7 the he lived at the motel with his girlfriend.
(------------)



[8-Danville-Death]


[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=HOLD]


Police in Danville say an elderly woman found dead was murdered.
Yesterday, officers found 82 year old Mamie Lee Jackson dead inside her Grace Street home.
An autopsy showed she was strangled.
(XXXXXXX)

[TAKE CRIMSTOPPERS FS]
Anyone with information is encouraged to call Crimestoppers at 434-793-0000
(-------------)



[8-11Kilgore]


[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=jwi]
[TAPE#=04-39 TC1:59:03]
[GRAPHIC=Jerry Kilgore]



[ENG#=2]


The 2005 General Assembly session is just weeks away and lawmakers are working to garner support for their agendas.

(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Richmond;]

Attorney General Jerry Kilgore outlined his yesterday. He hopes to push the "Death Penalty Enhancement Act." One that would make any defendant who participates in a capital murder eligible for the death penalty. It would also eliminate automatic life in prison when a sentencing phase ends in a hung jury.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 23:37:10]
[IN Q=Under this legislation]

((JERRY KILGORE/VIRGINIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: UNDER THIS LEGISLATION A HUNG JURY WILL NO LONGER EQUAL LIFE IN PRISON. NOW THE COURT WILL BE ABLE TO DISMISS THE HUNG JURY AND IMPANEL A DIFFERENT ONE TO CONSIDER WHETHER THE DEFENDANT SHOULD RECEIVE THE DEATH PENALTY.))
[SUPER=@Kilgore;]
[RUNS=12]
[OUT Q=receive the death penalty]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Kilgore also wants to create gang- free school zones and enact tougher penalties for those who manufacture methamphetamine in the presence of a child.
(------------)





[8-11Amherst-Robbery]


[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=04-45 TC40:37]
[GRAPHIC=Robbery]



[ENG#=3]



Five people are charged with the armed robbery of an Amherst County convenience store Sunday night.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]


Around nine, three masked men held up the Apple Market on Route 29, assaulting a store clerk in the process.
[SUPER=03-Amherst Co.]


Police stopped their car a few minutes later when a deputy noticed the trunk was open ... he spotted a sawed-off shotgun as he approached the car and called for back-up.
A second store clerk at the Market also is accused of helping to plan the robbery. (------------)
by SS