08:25-01
7Logging-Accident
ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=cutin
WRITER=ssm
TAPE#96-19
GRAPHIC=none
A man from Blue Ridge was killed yesterday in a remote section of Bedford
County.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Bedford Co./Last Night;
Authorities say 49- year- old Samuel Nelms died when a tree he was cutting
fell on him near the Woodshire subdivision on Route 774.
Sheriff's deputies had to use a Forestry Department HummVee to navigate the
narrow logging trail to get to Nelms' body.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 23:26:45
IN Q=It appeared that
((LT. JOHN MCCANE/BEDFORD CO. SHERIFF'S DEPT.: IT APPEARED THAT A LARGE TREE
THAT HE WAS TRIMMING THE BRANCHES OFF OF, BROKE, STRUCK HIM, HE WAS PINNED
UNDERNEATH IT. HE HAD NOT SHOWN BY DARK, FRIENDS AND FAMILY MEMBERS WENT TO THE
GENERAL AREA, FOUND HIM, THEN NOTIFIED THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT AND THE CREW.))
SUPER=01-Lt. John McCane/Bedford Co. Sheriff's Dept.; :00
RUNS=:15
OUT Q=and the crew.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
Authorities believe Nelms died shortly after he began work Monday morning.
They say his death appears to have been accidental.
(----------------)
7Police-Shooting
ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=cutin
WRITER=jda
TAPE#96-15
GRAPHIC=Police Shooting
A Roanoke prosecutor will determine whether two city police officers used
reasonable force when they shot and killed a man Sunday night.
Plunkett was holding a loaded rifle when the officers fired their guns, but
the woman who called police says the shooting was not justified.
As Joe Dashiell has the story.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT
IN Q=He was
SUPER=01-Billie Patton/Plunkett's Fiancee; :09
SUPER=03-Roanoke/Sunday Night; :15
SUPER=@Hooper;:25
SUPER=@Caldwell; :47
SUPER=@Joe2; 1:03
RUNS=1:12
OUT Q=JD News 7 Roanoke
((SOT
IN Q=He was the nicest person
((HE WAS THE NICEST PERSON IN THE WORLD WHEN HE WAS SOBER AND WHEN HE WAS
DRINKING, PEOPLE HAD, I HAD, ENOUGH KNOWLEDGE TO GET AWAY TO JUST WALK AWAY AND
COME BACK THE NEXT DAY.))
RUNS=:15
OUT Q=come back the next day.
But Ed Plunkett wasn't sober on Sunday night, and when officers responded to
the call and confronted him in his doorway, he reached for a loaded hunting
rifle.
SOT HOOPER
IN Q=As he moved his right hand
((M. DAVID HOOPER/ROANOKE POLICE CHIEF: AS HE MOVED HIS RIGHT HAND TO THE
TRIGGER ON THE RIFLE BOTH OFFICERS DREW THEIR WEAPONS SIMULTANEOUSLY AND
FIRED.))
RUNS=:11
OUT Q=and fired.
When the department completes its investigation, it will be up to
Commonwealth's Attorney Don Caldwell to decide if legal action or further
investigation is required.
SOT CALDWELL
IN Q=A person has a right
((DON CALDWELL/COMMONWEALTH'S ATTORNEY: A PERSON HAS A RIGHT TO USE DEADLY
FORCE WHEN THEY REASONABLY BELIEVE THEMSELVES TO BE IN IMMINENT DANGER OF DEATH
OR SERIOUS BODILY INJURY. AND THAT'S THE LEGAL ISSUE. OF COURSE, THE
APPLICATION OF THE FACTUAL QUESTIONS TO THAT LEGAL ISSUE REALLY BECOMES THE KEY
TO THE RESOLUTION.))
RUNS=:20
OUT Q=key to the resolution.
Caldwell says it may be several weeks before all the lab results are in...
and his review of the case is complete.
Joe Dashiell News 7 Roanoke))
7Roger-Beidler
ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=cutin
WRITER=rjo
TAPEedit of #96-17
GRAPHIC=BEIDLER
A fifteen year prison term was handed down yesterday to a former Amherst
county mayor for a money (----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Roanoke/Yesterday;
laundering charge in connection with a drug gambling ring in central Virginia.
SUPER=@File;
Prosecutors say Roger Beidler took more than 100- thousand dollars from
ringleader Wendell Wood, and invested it in a real estate development.
Beidler also received a five-thousand dollar fine and two year probation.
He reports to prison in a few weeks.
(----------------)
7Brzonkala
ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=cutin
WRITER=nle
TAPE#edit of 96-10/Brzonkala
GRAPHIC=Justice Department
The Justice Department says it will defend the constitutionality of a
federal law being used by a former Virginia Tech student to sue her alleged
attacker.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=04-February 14;
Christy Brzonkala alleges two Hokie football players raped her in 1994.
According to a federal court filing, the Justice Department has decided to
intervene Brzonkala's ten-million-dollar lawsuit.
It says it decided to act after defendant Tony Morrison challenged the
Violence Against Women Act on constitutional grounds.
(----------------)
7Weather
ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=cutin
WRITER=nle
TAPE#
GRAPHIC=
Taking a look now at the forecast -
It's going to be a sunny and breezy day today - but a little cooler than
yesterday.
Highs will be in the mid 50s.
Tonight wil be clear and cold with lows dropping into the 30s.
For tomorrow, expect sunny skies in the morning, turning cloudy by the
afternoon.
Highs will be cool in the 40s.
55Regional-Jail
ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=cutin
WRITER=ssm
TAPEedit of 96-10 bedford-supers
GRAPHIC=Bedford Seal
Bedford County wants back in the Blue Ridge regional jail project.
By a 4-to-3 vote last night the board of supervisors decided to re-enter the
43- million dollar project.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Bedford/Last Night;
That means Bedford and the other participatating localities will get
matching state funds to expand their local jails.
Also a new 450 bed regional facility will be built in Lynchburg.
Bedford had hoped to stay out of the project and build their own jail, but
a state moratorium on local jail funding put the county in a financial bind.
(----------------)
ANCHOR=Melanie
SS=HOLD
The other localities still must vote if they will allow Bedford BACK in the
project.
55Danville-Housing
ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=cutin
WRITER=THa
TAPE#96-18
GRAPHIC=None
Plans to assign two full- time police officers to Danville's five public
housing communities have hit a snag.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Danville;
The Danville Redevelopment and Housing authority was recently awarded a
140-thousand dollar federal grant to hire the extra officers.
The officers are on the payroll but housing officials say they were UNAWARE
the men would require up to a year's training-- in another part of the city.
Housing officials are concerned they'll lose the grant because of the delay.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT
IN Q=I have asked
((ALVIN STEINGOLD/HOUSING AUTHORITY EXEC. DIR.: I HAVE ASKED OUR SAFETY AND
SECURITY MANAGER, KEN WIGGINS, TO BETWEEN NOW AND NEXT TUESDAY TO COME UP WITH
SOME POSSIBLE ALTERNATE USES OF THE MONEY, TO PROVIDE THE SAME SAFETY AND
SECURITY WITHOUT USING THE DANVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT. ))
SUPER=01-Alvin Steingold/Housing Authority Exec. Dir.; :00
RUNS=:17
OUT Q=police department.
ANCHOR=Melanie
SS=None
Danville Police Chief Neil Morris says Housing officials were told the
officers would require up to 12- months training and that there must have been
a misunderstanding.
55Prosecutor-exchange
ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=cutin
WRITER=KHu
TAPE#96-14
GRAPHIC=None
One of Roanoke's federal prosecutors switched jobs with a prosecutor from
Hawaii for six months.
The experience was so rewarding that the Justice Department is now
considering a job exchange program.
Keith Humphrey has the story.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT
IN Q=That's what Ken
SUPER=03-Honolulu; :00
SUPER=03-Roanoke; :19
SUPER=01-Sharon Burnham/Assistant U.S. Atty. from Hawaii; :27
SUPER=@Keith2; 1:06
SUPER=01-Ken Sorenson/Assistant U.S. Atty. from Western VA; 1:17
RUNS=1:56
OUT Q=Humphry, NEWS 7.
(( That's what Ken Sorenson did. A federal prosecutor- -based in Roanoke
for the past decade... he engineered a six- month swap with another Assistant
U-S Attorney in Honolulu.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT
IN Q=It's just a
((IT'S JUST A WONDERFUL PLACE TO BE.))
An avid skier, Sorenson insists he actually regrets missing the near-record
snow fall we had here.
And the other half of this equation- -the woman who took his place in the
U-S Attorney's Office in Roanoke- -insists she's just as happy she came when
SHE did.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 1:13:15
IN Q=
((IT'S BEEN FASCINATING. I'VE ENJOYED THE TIME HERE. I ARRANGED TO COME IN
WINTER TIME. I KNOW EVERYONE THINKS I'M CRAZY FOR DOING THAT. BESIDES, IT WAS
EASIER TO CONVINCE KEN TO GO TO HAWAII IN WINTER.))
RUNS=:14
OUT Q=
The U.S. Justice Department approved the swap as long as it didn't cost the
government anything.
Sharon Burnham literally traded places with Sorenson.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 1:12:05
IN Q=We traded houses
((WE TRADED HOUSES, TRADED CARS, TRADED CASE LOADS. OBVIOUSLY THAT WAS THE MOST
IMPORTANT ASPECT FROM THE DEPARTMENT'S POINT OF VIEW.))
RUNS=:08
OUT Q=point of view.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT
IN Q=You know, like
((YOU KNOW LIKE YOU SAY, SHARON AND I SWITCHED EVERYTHING. IN FACT, THIS IS
HER ALOHA SHIRT, SO....))
RUNS=:04
OUT Q=aloha shirt, so....
Assistants to the U-S Attorney in Hawaii typically wear aloha shirts in the
office- -though they keep more "suitable" apparel handy for court appearances.
But there are more fundamental differences between U-S Attorneys Offices in
Roanoke and Honolulu.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT
IN Q=
((THEN THERE'S JUST A WHOLE LOT OF DIFFERENT PROCEDURES, DIFFERENT METHODS,
DIFFERENT PROSECUTOR PRIORITIES. SO IT'S JUST BEEN A REALLY GREAT LEARNING
EXPERIENCE.))
RUNS=:10
OUT Q=
While Sorenson has filled his free time snorkling and SCUBA diving, Burnham
says Roanoke fairs well in comparison to the island paradise she left behind.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 1:17:10
IN Q=
((I FEEL THAT THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE EXPRESSED SUCH SURPRISE, "WHY WOULD I COME TO
ROANOKE?" DON'T APPRECIATE WHAT THEY HAVE HERE. ))
RUNS=:07
OUT Q=they have here.
Burnham has three more weeks to enjoy what she calls a "charming town with
a 'sense of place.'"
She and Sorenson have apparently started something.
The Justice Department may create an exchange PROGRAM, based on their
experience.
Keith Humphry, NEWS 7.))
55Weather
ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=cutin
WRITER=nle
TAPE#
GRAPHIC=
Turning to the forecast -
A sunny and breezy day today with highs in the mid 50s.
For tonight, expect lows to drop into the 30s.
8Logging-Accident
ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=cutin
WRITER=ssm
TAPE#96-19
GRAPHIC=none
A logging accident in a remote section of Bedford County yesterday killed a
49- year-old man from Blue Ridge.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Bedford Co./Last Night;
Authorities say Samuel Nelms died after a tree he was cutting fell on him
near the Woodshire subdivision on Route 774.
Sheriff's deputies had to use a Forestry Department HummVee to navigate the
narrow logging trail to get to Nelms' body.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 23:26:45
IN Q=It appeared that
((LT. JOHN MCCANE/BEDFORD CO. SHERIFF'S DEPT.: IT APPEARED THAT A LARGE TREE
THAT HE WAS TRIMMING THE BRANCHES OFF OF, BROKE, STRUCK HIM, HE WAS PINNED
UNDERNEATH IT. HE HAD NOT SHOWN BY DARK, FRIENDS AND FAMILY MEMBERS WENT TO THE
GENERAL AREA, FOUND HIM, THEN NOTIFIED THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT AND THE CREW.))
SUPER=01-Lt. John McCane/Bedford Co. Sheriff's Dept.; :00
RUNS=:15
OUT Q=and the crew.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
Authorities believe Nelms died shortly after he began work yesteday morning.
They say his death appears to have been an accident.
(----------------)
8Police-Shooting
ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=cutin
WRITER=jda
TAPE#96-15
GRAPHIC=Police Shooting
An investigation is underway to determine if two police officers used
reasonable force when they shot and killed a man Sunday night.
35-year-old Edward Plunkett was holding a loaded rifle when the officers
fired their guns - but the woman who called police says the shooting was not
justified.
Joe Dashiell has more.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT
IN Q=He was
SUPER=01-Billie Patton/Plunkett's Fiancee; :09
SUPER=03-Roanoke/Sunday Night; :15
SUPER=@Hooper;:25
SUPER=@Caldwell; :47
SUPER=@Joe2; 1:03
RUNS=1:12
OUT Q=JD News 7 Roanoke
((SOT
IN Q=He was the nicest person
((HE WAS THE NICEST PERSON IN THE WORLD WHEN HE WAS SOBER AND WHEN HE WAS
DRINKING, PEOPLE HAD, I HAD, ENOUGH KNOWLEDGE TO GET AWAY TO JUST WALK AWAY AND
COME BACK THE NEXT DAY.))
RUNS=:15
OUT Q=come back the next day.
But Ed Plunkett wasn't sober on Sunday night, and when officers responded to
the call and confronted him in his doorway, he reached for a loaded hunting
rifle.
SOT HOOPER
IN Q=As he moved his right hand
((M. DAVID HOOPER/ROANOKE POLICE CHIEF: AS HE MOVED HIS RIGHT HAND TO THE
TRIGGER ON THE RIFLE BOTH OFFICERS DREW THEIR WEAPONS SIMULTANEOUSLY AND
FIRED.))
RUNS=:11
OUT Q=and fired.
When the department completes its investigation, it will be up to
Commonwealth's Attorney Don Caldwell to decide if legal action or further
investigation is required.
SOT CALDWELL
IN Q=A person has a right
((DON CALDWELL/COMMONWEALTH'S ATTORNEY: A PERSON HAS A RIGHT TO USE DEADLY
FORCE WHEN THEY REASONABLY BELIEVE THEMSELVES TO BE IN IMMINENT DANGER OF DEATH
OR SERIOUS BODILY INJURY. AND THAT'S THE LEGAL ISSUE. OF COURSE, THE
APPLICATION OF THE FACTUAL QUESTIONS TO THAT LEGAL ISSUE REALLY BECOMES THE KEY
TO THE RESOLUTION.))
RUNS=:20
OUT Q=key to the resolution.
Caldwell says it may be several weeks before all the lab results are in...
and his review of the case is complete.
Joe Dashiell News 7 Roanoke))
8Brzonkala
ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=cutin
WRITER=cro
TAPE#edit of 96-10/Brzonkala
GRAPHIC=
The Justice Department will intervene in a 10- million- dollar lawsuit
against two Virginia Tech football players.
That's according to a federal court filing.
(----------------)
17:07:23
VO-NAT
SUPER=04-February 14;
Former Tech student Christy Brzonkala alleges two Hokie football players
raped her in 19-94.
The Justice Department says it will defend the constitutionality of a
federal law that is being used by Brzonkala to sue her alleged attackers.
Brzonkala has asked that stories about her case include her name.
(----------------)
8Carroll-Offices
ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=morning
WRITER=tal
TAPE#96-21
GRAPHIC=None
A 13- million- dollar loan from the federal government will help Carroll
County build its new administrative complex.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Hillsville;
The site work is already under way for the facility, which will house all
county offices and court services under one roof.
Congressman Rick Boucher has announced the federal Rural Housing Service is
providing two loans.
One is for six million dollars, and is the agency's largest GUARANTEED loan
in Virginia.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 12:32:42
IN Q=
((REP. RICK BOUCHER/D- NINTH DISTRICT: AND THAT IS AN INVESTMENT THAT I THINK
IS WELL WORTHWHILE, IN VIEW OF THE TREMENDOUS GROWTH THAT'S OCCURRED RECENTLY
IN CARROLL COUNTY'S ECONOMY. AS NEW EMPLOYERS HAVE BEEN ATTRACTED HERE, AS NEW
JOBS ARE BEING PROVIDED FOR CARROLL COUNTY RESIDENTS, NOW GOVERNMENTAL SERVICES
WILL BE ABLE TO KEEP PACE.))
SUPER=@Boucher;
RUNS=:16
OUT Q=to keep pace.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
The Carroll County Industrial Development Authority is funding the remaining
500 thousand dollars.
The complex is expected to open in 1998.
(----------------)
8Weather
ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=cutin
WRITER=nle
TAPE#
GRAPHIC=
Turning to the forecast -
It'll be sunny and breezy today - but a little cooler than yesterday.
Highs will be in the mid 50s.
by SS