08:25-01

7Rubatex-Fire

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=cutin
WRITER=ssm
TAPE#95-94
GRAPHIC=Fire


Fire investigators in Bedford believe arson is to blame for a fire that left a mother and son without a home.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Bedford/Last Night;


Shortly before six last night fire crews were called to a vacant lot at the corner of Grove and Church Streets in Bedford, where several stacks of rubber products had caught fire.
The house Dann Witt shares with his mother is just a few feet away and it also caught on fire.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 8:22:38
IN Q=And you could

((DANN WITT/RESIDENT: AND YOU COULD FEEL THE HEAT, AND I WENT BACK IN AND CALLED 911, IT WAS BUSY, SO I HUNG IT UP AND TOLD MY MOTHER WE'LL HAVE TO GET OUT.))
SUPER=01-Dann Witt/Resident; :00
RUNS=:07
OUT Q=have to get out.
(----------------)
VO-NAT


It took firefighters about twenty minutes to contain the blaze.
Authorities say, at first, they feared things would be much worse.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 8:29:51
IN Q=We didn't know

((MIKE BURNETTE/BEDFORD FIRE CHIEF: WE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT IT WAS IN THE BEGINNING. THEY SAID IT WAS THE WOOLEN MILL ON FIRE, WHICH WAS THIS BIG BUILDING HERE. WE JUST BROUGHT IN THE EXTRA HELP.))
SUPER=01-Mike Burnette/Bedford Fire Chief; :00
RUNS=:08
OUT Q=the extra help.
(----------------)
VO-NAT


The lot was being used by the Rubatex Corporation as a storage area for their rubber products.
Rubatex would NOT say what type of material caught fire.
Authorities consider this blaze suspicious.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 8:41:39
IN Q=It's sitting

((M.H. GRAHAM/BEDFORD POLICE CHIEF: IT'S SITTING IN THE MIDDLE OF AN ASPHALT PARKING LOT, THERE'S OBVIOUSLY NOTHING THERE THAT COULD IGNITE THE RUBBER. SO WHAT WE'RE DOING, IT'S OBVIOUSLY SUSPICIOUS AND WE'RE TRYING TO DETERMINE WHAT MIGHT HAVE, OR WHAT CAUSED IT.))
SUPER=01-M.H. Graham/Bedford Police Chief; :00
RUNS=:15
OUT Q=or what caused it.
(----------------)
VO-NAT


Graham says the regional arson squad will assist in the investigation.
(----------------)



7Henry-Murder


ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=Cutin
WRITER=rjo
TAPE#95-86
GRAPHIC=none


A TEENAGER has tunrned himself in to police for the murder of a Martinsville girl last week.
(----------------)
VO-NAT


16- year old Tommy Lawrence Helms of Bassett is charged with first- degree murder in the shooting death of 15- year old Lavina Scales.
Scales' body was found on Route 6-79 Wednesday night by a passing couple.
SUPER=03-Henry Co./Last Thursday;


The Medical Examiner says Scales was shot several times in the head and left on the side of the road.
Authorities say they were on Tommy Helms' trail from the beginning.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 11:49:14
IN Q=We had about

((FRANK CASSELL/HENRY COUNTY SHERIFF: WE HAD ABOUT SIX OR SEVEN INVESTIGATORS AND SUPERVISORS THAT WORKED ALL WEEKEND ON THIS, PRETTY MUCH NIGHT AND DAY. THIS MAN WAS THE SUSPECT FROM ALMOST, WELL CERTAINLY DAY ONE.))
SUPER=01-Frank Cassell/Henry County Sheriff;
RUNS=:14
OUT Q=certainly day one.
(----------------)
VO-NAT


Helms will attend a detention hearing in Juvenile court today.
(----------------)


7Heat-Share


ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=cutin
WRITER=kmc
TAPE#95-98
GRAPHIC=NONE


As we enter the cold months of winter Roanoke residents are being encouraged to help warm the homes of the less fortunate.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Roanoke;


That's the iniative of the Salvation Army's annual Heat Share Program.

Roanoke Gas Company yesterday contributed 88- hundred dollars to the program.
And gas customers are also asked to help out.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 3:53:00
IN Q=I remember back

((MAJOR DAN DELANEY/SALVATION ARMY: I REMEMBER BACK WHEN THERE WAS NO PROGRAM LIKE THIS, AND THERE WAS NO MONEY TO HELP ANYBODY OUT. BUT THIS IS A RESOURCE FOR OUR COMMUNITY, AND THERE ARE NOT ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS COMING OUT OF IT. IT GOES DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO-- IT'S A GREAT PROGRAM. ))
SUPER=01-Major Dan Delaney/Salvation Army;
RUNS=:13
OUT Q=great program
(----------------)
VO-NAT


Appalachian Power Company is doing its part to help the needy.
APCO's annual Neighbor- to- Neighbor Program also encourages customers to help low- income families pay their ELECTRIC bills.
The company matches customer contributions up to 38- thousand dollars.
(----------------)



7Visit


ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=Cutin
WRITER=cro
TAPE# none
GRAPHIC=Virginia Tech


Travel on the internet may mean tourist dollars for Virginia.
Students and teachers at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg have put state tourist attractions onto the Internet to lure more visitors to the state.
Travel industry leaders from across the nation will see the system -- called VISIT Virginia -- for the first time today at the White House Conference on Travel and Tourism in Washington.
The computer site was created in four months after state Division of Tourism officials underwrote the project's 100-thousand-dollar cost.
The money paid the students and bought equipment.

7weather


ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=cutin
WRITER=nle
TAPE#
GRAPHIC=


It looks like the weather will play right along with the spirit of Halloween.
It's going to be cloudy today with scattered showers.
Highs will be in the 60s.
Temperatures tonight will be in the low 50s, with a 50 percent chance of rain tonight.

55Basham


ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=Cutin
WRITER=spr
TAPE#95-77
GRAPHIC=Basham


A Roanoke women convicted of child neglect and abuse will have years to think about her crime.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Roanoke/Yesterday;


Yesterday Tonya Basham was given a THIRTY year prison term for abusing an 18- month- old boy.
Basham took the stand at her pre- sentencing hearing and said she NEVER hurt Anthony Harvey.
That's despite the fact she confessed to police back in March and pleaded guilty to the charges two months ago.
But Basham claims she was rushed into her confession and that she loved the toddler as much as her OWN child.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT Basham Bites 15:18:32
IN Q=I love children

((TONYA BASHAM/I LOVE CHILDREN. I LOVE MY DAUGHTER. I LOVE ANTHONY. I'D NEVER DO ANYTHING TO HARM ANTHONY. ))
SUPER=07-Tonya Basham;
RUNS=:06
OUT Q=harm Anthony
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=@File;


Basham was babysitting Anthony when she burned and beat him.
His mother, Tammy Harvey, pleaded NO contest to child neglect last month.
She'll be sentenced Friday.
(----------------)



55Strickler


ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=Cutin
WRITER=equ
TAPE# 95-93
GRAPHIC=Strickler


Death row inmate Tommy David Stricker faces execution in just ten days but he still has no legal representation.
Some say he's part of a disturbing trend on death row.
Ellen Qualls has more.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT
IN Q=We spoke with
SUPER=03-Staunton/1990; :00
SUPER=03-Mecklenburg Co.; :03
SUPER=02-Tommy Strickler/Death Row Inmate; :21
SUPER=@Gilmore; :44
SUPER=01-Don Lee/Va. Capital Resource Center; 1:10
SUPER=@Ellen1; 1:29
RUNS=1:39
OUT Q=Qualls, News 7, Richmond.


(( We spoke with Tommy Strickler by phone because of a recent state policy to ban our camera from the prison.
He was convicted of the 1990 abduction and killing of Roanoke native and J-M-U student Leann Whitlock.
He maintains his innocence and blames former attorneys for mistakes.
Now Strickler says he's angry and scared, partly because of a new Virginia law. ((TOMMY DAVID STRICKLER/DEATH ROW INMATE: IT'S KIND OF LIKE A CATCH-22. IN OTHER WORDS, I KIND OF FEEL LIKE THAT'S HOW THEY'RE GONNA END UP GETTING A LOT OF PEOPLE TO WHERE THEY CAN EXECUTE THEM. BECAUSE OF PEOPLE AIN'T GONNA BE ABLE TO HAVE ATTORNEYS IN THAT AMOUNT OF TIME.))
The July first law sets an execution date within 60 days of the last state appeal -- before new federal court level defense attorneys take over. ((ATTORNEY GENERAL JIM GILMORE: A WOMAN WAS BADLY BEATEN. IN FACT HER HEAD WAS CRUSHED WITH A 69-POUND STONE. BUT NEVERTHELESS, EVERYONE IS ENTITLED TO HAVE AN APPROPRIATE APPEAL AND HE IS TOO. AND THIS JUST SIMPLY REQUIRES HIM TO KEEP HIS CASE MOVING.))
Gilmore's sure the courts will delay the execution.
But why doesn't Tommy Strickler have an attorney?
The Virginia Capital Representation Resource Center helps death row inmates find attorneys.
The GOP Congress is cutting most of its funding. ((DON LEE/VA. CAPITAL REPRESENTATION RESOURCE CENTER: WELL EVEN BEFORE WE HAD THE BUDGET PROBLEM, THAT CREATED PROBLEMS IN RECRUITING ATTORNEYS, BECAUSE THESE CASES ALREADY ARE COMPLICATED ENOUGH AND INVOLVE ENORMOUS PRESSURE WITHOUT THE ADDED PRESSURE OF HAVING TO TAKE A CASE WHILE AN EXECUTION DATE IS IN EFFECT.))
The attorney crunch also tightens the screws on judges, who are starting to complain in their opinions about being put on the spot to decide matters of life and death.
Ellen Qualls, News 7, Richmond. ))

55Tuggle


ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=morn
WRITER=equ
TAPE# 95-84
GRAPHIC=Gavel/Scales


Meantime, another convicted killer gets a FAVORABLE ruling from the U-S Sumpreme Court.
The high court has ordered a NEW review in the case of Lem Tuggle.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=@file;


Tuggle NARROWLY escaped execution last month when the Court decided to take up his case.
He was to die by lethal injection for the 19-83 murder and rape of Jessie Havens in Smyth County.
(----------------)
TALENT=Melanie
SS=HOLD


The U-S Supreme Court NOW says the Virginia Supreme Court made a MISTAKE upholding Tuggle's death sentence.
While awaiting trial, Tuggle was interviewed by a state psychologist withOUT his attorney present.
Tuggle was NOT given money to hire a psychologist of his own to rebut the state's testimony.
Tuggle's case has been sent BACK to the federal appeals court.

55weather


ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=cutin
WRITER=nle
TAPE#
GRAPHIC=


Taking a look now at weather for this Halloween,
It's going to be cloudy today with scattered showers.
Highs will be in the 60s.
Temperatures tonight will be in the low 50s, with a 50 percent chance of rain tonight.

8Jail-Suicide


ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=morn
WRITER=cro
TAPE# none
GRAPHIC=none


Roanoke City police are investigating a suicide at the jail last night.
They say 29-year-old Lisa Hunt of Rocky Mount hanged herself with a bed sheet.
Her body was found about about 8 o'clock.
Hunt was waiting to be transferred to a state prison to serve time for a drug convicton.

8Blaze


ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=cutin
WRITER=ssm
TAPE#edti of 95-94
GRAPHIC=Fire


An arson team will assist fire investigators in Bedford to determine how the fires started near the Rubatex plant in Bedford.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Bedford/Last Night;


Just before six last night, fire crews arrived at a vacant lot at the corner of Grove and Church Streets, where several stacks of rubber products had caught fire.
The house Dann Witt shares with his mother was just a few feet away, and the burning rubber caught that building on fire too.
It took firefighters about twenty minutes to bring the blaze under control.
The lot was being used by the Rubatex Corporation as a storage area for their rubber products.
(----------------)



8Helms


ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=Cutin
WRITER=rjo
TAPE#edit of 95-86
GRAPHIC=none


A TEENAGE boy charged with the murder of a Martinsville girl faces a detention hearing today.
(----------------)
VO-NAT


Yesterday, 16-year-old Tommy Helms of Bassett turned himself into police.
He is accused of killing 15 year old Lavina Scales and leaving her body along a roadside.
Scales' body was found on Route 6-79 Wednesday night by a passing couple.
SUPER=03-Henry Co./Last Thursday;


The Medical Examiner says Scales was shot SEVERAL times in the head.
Authorities say they were on Tommy Helms' trail from the beginning.
Helms is charged with first degree murder.
(----------------)


8Warner


ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=cutin
WRITER=nle
TAPE#=none
GRAPHIC=Warner


Virginia must wait for 150 million dollars in highway funding, according to Senator John Warner.
He says Congress is arguing over some side issues added to the bill and that's tying up the legislation. Warner met with state highway officials from around the country yesterday in Norfolk.
He says legislators working to resolve the bill's problems are hung up on a Senate plan.
That plan would allow highway trust fund money to be used for Amtrak passenger rail service.
They are also stuck on a House proposal that would allow more billboards on scenic roads.

8Sierra-Club


ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=Cutin
WRITER=tal
TAPE#95-95
GRAPHIC=Campaign '95


Two environmental groups want Governor Allen to return what they call dirty "money."
They're referring to 100-thousand dollars the Governor's PAC accepted from Smithfield Foods-while the state was fining the company for pollution problems.

(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Blacksburg;


The New River Valley chapter of the Sierra Club and "Friends of the Rivers of Virginia" say it was un-ethical for Allen to accept the funds.
The organizations challenged state SUPER=@File;

senate candidate Pat Cupp to pressure Allen to return the money, even though Cupp did not directly benefit from it.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT
IN Q=

((PEGGY ALLEN/NRV SIERRA CLUB/HOWEVER HE CERTAINLY BENEFITTED THROUGH THE VOTE REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN. MUCH OF THE PAC MONEY HAS BEEN UTILIZED IN THE ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN TO VOTE REPUBLICAN. ))
SUPER=01-Peggy Allen/NRV Sierra Club;
RUNS=:06
OUT Q=to vote republican;
TALENT=Melanie
SS=NONE


Cupp was not available to respond to the challenge.
Meantime, published reports in the Washington Post today say the Chairman of Smithfield Foods palns to make another donation.

8Via-Contribution


ANCHOR=melanie
NEWSCAST=Cutin
WRITER=cro
TAPE# none
GRAPHIC=campaign 95


The campaigns of two Republicans are 60-thousand dollars richer. Two millionaire businessman brothers from Roanoke donated the cash to help them fight two democratic incumbents in the House of Delegates.
New campaign reports reveal Edward and Peter Via already had given more than 100-thousand dollars to Republican challengers Trixie Averill and Newell Falkinburg.
SS=averill


Averill is challenging House Majority Leader Dick Cranwell of Vinton and
SS=Falkinburg

Falkinburg opposes Delegate Chip Woodrum of Roanoke.

8weather


ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=cutin
WRITER=nle
TAPE#
GRAPHIC=


Turning now to the weather for your Halloween -
It's going to be cloudy and rainy today - temperatures will be in the 60s.
For tonight, the rain will stick around, with highs only reaching the LOW 50s.
by SS