WDBJ 7 morning news AM cutins for 12/23/04

[7Wx-Headline]

[ANCHOR=Kim]

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

Good morning, I'm Kimberly McBroom......
Rain is likely until late this afternoon, with temperatures on the way down.
Brent Watts has a preview of your holiday forecast, coming up.

[7-11Natural-Gas]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=myr]
[TAPE#=04-43 TC1:12:08]
[GRAPHIC=Hold]

[ENG#=1]

A big jump in natural gas prices this winter can be attributed to a clerical mistake.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Last month, a clerk for Dominion gas accidentally emailed the wrong storage report to the Energy Information Administration. The file wrongly indicated a large, unexpected withdrawal from natural gas inventories, causing prices to soar for the month of December.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 652 ]
[IN Q=that price]
((JOHN WILLIAMSON/ROANOKE GAS COMPANY CEO: THAT PRICE DIDN'T LOOK REASONABLE TO US AND SUSTAINABLE BASED ON WHAT WE THOUGHT WAS GOING ON IN THE INDUSTRY, SO WE ONLY BOUGHT WHAT WE HAD TO BUY FOR THAT BASE LOAD FOR DECEMBER.))
[SUPER=01-John Williamson/Roanoke Gas Company CEO;]
[RUNS=12]
[OUT Q=base load for December]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
To make up for those costs, Roanoke Gas Company says customers should still expect an increase of about five dollars over the winter period. Dominion says it has changed its procedures to prevent future mistakes.
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[7-11Warner]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=jwi]
[TAPE#=04-41 TC1:32:25]
[GRAPHIC=Mark Warner]

[ENG#=2]

Virginia's finances are in good shape according to Governor Warner.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Richmond/File Tape;]
It took nearly two months longer than expected, but lawmakers passed a tax reform package that Warner says made Virginia's tax code more fair. It also raised the sales and cigarette tax- a move Warner says was necessary to meet future demands on state money.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 23:12:57]
[IN Q=I can predict with absolute]
((MARK WARNER: I CAN PREDICT WITH ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY THAT NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE WITH CAR TAX, K-12 EDUCATION AND MEDICAID, OUR HEALTH CARE FOR OUR POORER VIRGINIANS, ABOUT TWO AND A HALF BILLION DOLLARS OF MANDATED NEW SPENDING REQUIREMENTS.))
[SUPER=@MarkWarner;]
[RUNS=15]
[OUT Q=NEW SPENDING REQUIREMENTS.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Warner says he's proud of the way lawmakers put partisanship aside to agree on a state budget.
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[7-11Shell]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=rde]
[TAPE#=04-40 TC1:51:11]
[GRAPHIC=Bob Shell]

[ENG#=3]

Bob Shell, accused in the death of one of his models, won't be going to trial anytime soon.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Radford;]
Yesterday a judge postponed Shell's January trial. He's charged with felony murder in the death of 19 year old Marion Franklin. Franklin died of a morphine over dose in Shell's studio in June of 2003. The judge moved the trial because a digital camera expert for the defense won't be available until late January.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT:14:45:00 TO :56]
[IN Q=iT'S VITALLY]
((SMALL: IT'S VITALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE HAVE SHOW THAT THE CAMERA IN QUESTION WAS INCAPABLE OF PRODUCING THE ACCURATE DATE TIME STAMPS ON WHICH THE COMMONWEALTH IS RELYING..))
[SUPER=01-Marc Small/Shell's Attorney;]
[RUNS=:11]
[OUT Q=commonwealth is relying.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Much of the Commonwealth's case relies on pictures and video. A new trial date will be set in March.
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[55-WXHeads]

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

Good morning, I'm Kimberly McBroom......
Keep the umbrella with you today, with showers continuing.
Look for highs in the mid and upper 50s.
Brent Watts has forecast details, coming up.

[55-11Families-React]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=04-46 TC48:40]
[GRAPHIC=Iraq Casualties]

[ENG#=1]

Flags in King George and Stafford counties have been lowered to half staff on Governor Mark Warner's order.
That's where the two Virginia National Guard soldiers killed in an Iraqi mess-hall attack were from.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-King George Co.]

A sign outside the King George Fire Department honors 20 year old Nick Mason.
Mason was a volunteer firefighter and had completed his freshman year at Virginia Tech when he was called to active duty with the 276th Engineering Battalion.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=I think we're]
((DIANE ESKEY KING GEORGE HIGH SCHOOL; I THINK WE'RE ALL JUST REALLY SHOCKED BECAUSE YOU HEAR ABOUT THIS STUFF. BECAUSE YOU HEAR ABOUT THIS STUFF IN THE NEWS. WE KNOW WHATS GOING . BUT THE REALITY IS JUST LIKE A SLAP IN THE FACE. ))
[SUPER=01-Diane Eskey/King George High School;]
[RUNS=08]
[OUT Q=a slap in the face]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Mason was scheduled to return home in February.
The identity of the Stafford County soldier has not yet been released.
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[55-VOBTech-Tickets]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=dgr]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Va Tech]

[ENG#=2]

There'll be a lot more people at Virginia Tech basketball games starting this year -- thanks to membership in the A-C-C.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg;]
Virtually every home game is sold out this season. There were very few empty seats at Sunday's game against the Tarheels.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 3:14]
[IN Q=I don't think]
((SANDY SMITH/ASSISTANT ATHLETIC DIRECTOR FOR TICKETING: I DON'T THINK WE'LL EVER SEE WHERE YOU CAN JUST COME IN AND BUY A TICKET ANYMORE JUST OFF THE STREET.))
[SUPER=01-Sandy Smith/Assistant Athletic Director for Ticketing;]
[Runs=06]
[OUT Q=JUST OFF THE STREET]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Two years ago, Tech had sold just over three thousand season tickets, now it's more than 8 thousand.
That leaves roughly 1800 tickets, and those go to students.
The only tickets available to the public will be the ones the students fail to pick up. Officials say men's basketball has become so popular they have ticket scalpers at the games -- something not seen before the university joined the A-C-C.
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[55-11Sayre]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=rle]
[TAPE#=04-45 TC44:19]
[GRAPHIC=Tech/ACC]

[ENG#=3]

Even with basketball's newfound popularity -- it's Tech's success on the FOOTBALL field that's driving business for a Buena Vista Company.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Buena Vista;]
Sayre Enterprises manufactures sports apparel for its University Sportswear stores across Virginia. Since Virginia Tech's win at Miami, Hokie merchandise has been flying off the shelves. The company also makes apparel for other schools, and is anticipating higher sales for J-M-U merchandise after its Division one - double-A national championship. Sayre employs about 140 people in Buena Vista.
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[55-11Fresh-Market]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=jmc]
[TAPE#=04-50 TC38:10]
[GRAPHIC=None]

[ENG#=4]

Grocery shoppers in Roanoke will soon have another place to do their buying.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

Fresh Market has signed a lease with Towers mall.
The gourmet food chain based in Greensboro will move into the old Heironimous space.
Fresh Market specializes in perishable and specialty foods.
It has locations across the southeast.
The company says the new Roanoke store should open sometime this spring.
(------------)

[8Wx-Headline]

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

Good morning, I'm Kimberly McBroom......
Look for rain until late afternoon.
Early mild temperatures will give way to cooler numbers.
Brent Watts explains, up next in the forecast.
[Graphic=581 Accident 4000]
But first some traffic information to pass along. Drivers on Interstate 581 can expect some delays this morning. A single car accident just north of the Orange Avenue exit is blocking the passing Northbound lane. State and city police are on the scene and waiting for a tow truck.

[8-11Motel-Murder]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=jus]
[TAPE#=04-49 TC35:54]
[GRAPHIC=Murder Invest.]

[ENG#=1]

Police in Roanoke released the name of a murder victim found at a motel this week.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/Monday]

He is 52 year old Lonnie Marsh.
On Monday, police discovered Marsh's body in a room at the American Motel on Williamson Road.
He'd been stabbed.
Roanoke Police have made no arrests and are asking anyone with information about the crime to give them a call.
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[8-Danville-Robbery]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=bda]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=Robbery]
Danville police are asking for help finding the man who robbed a bank there last week.
(XXXXXXXXX)
[TAKE MARSHALL FS E531] Officers say Thirty-seven year old Anthony *Todd* Marshall of Danville entered Virginia Bank and Trust armed with a gun. He robbed two tellers of an undisclosed amount of money. He left the scene on a red and white dirt bike, which was recovered by police a short time later behind the Parker Road Trailer Park.
(XXXXXXX)

[TAKE NEXT APRISA PAGE]

[8-Henry-Robbery]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=bda]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=wipe]

(XXXXXXXXX)
[TAKE BAILEY FS E527] Meanwhile, Henry County sheriff's deputies are looking for a man they say robbed the Bojangles in Collinsville Tuesday night. Officers say just after midnight, nineteen year old Robert Eugene Bailey of Martinsville and another male approached a Bojangles worker as he was leaving to make a bank deposit.
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[ANCHOR=Kim]
[Graphic=Hold Robbery OTS]

Authorities say they demanded money and left on foot going south on Virginia Avenue.

[8-11Jail-Escape]

[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=sba]
[TAPE#=504-14 9:00]
[GRAPHIC=None]

[ENG#=2]

A Roanoke City inmate blew his chance for Christmas with his family -- and his chance at release this spring. While another is back behind bars after escaping.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
33-year-old Christopher Grant Brenner was apprehended just after two o'clock yesterday afternoon at the Laurel Ridge Apartments. The Roanoke City Sheriff's Office says Brenner switched identification armbands with 27-year-old Gregory Lee Ledbetter and was
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]
released from the Roanoke City jail at 9:40 in the morning. Ledbetter- who authorities say could have been released as early as April - had been given a week long holiday furlough.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT@22:15:42.05]
[IN Q=Sometime between last couple of days...]
((JIM BRUBAKER/ROANOKE CITY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: SOMETIME BETWEEN LAST COUPLE OF DAYS THESE TWO INMATES POSSIBLY OTHERS, I NOT SURE YET AT THIS TIME, CAME UP WITH AN ELABORATE SCHEME TO WHERE THE INMATES SWITCHED IDENTITIES AND WHEN WE WENT TO GET THE INMATE FROM FRANKLIN COUNTY, THE OTHER ONE CAME OUT.))
[SUPER=01-Jim Brubaker/Roanoke City Sheriff's Department]
[RUNS=:20]
[OUT Q=.. one came out.]
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[VO-NAT]
Both Brenner and Ledbetter were under segregated lock down last night.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[GRAPHICS=None]
Major Brubaker says the jail processes about 10-thousand inmates every year and that the public shouldn't be concerned- this is only the second escape he remembers in his more than 23-years with the department.