WDBJ 7 morning news AM cutins for 05/22/96

08:25-01

7Karl-Smetana

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=cutin
WRITER=cro
TAPE# none
GRAPHIC=murder investigation

Richmond police say they have made an arrest in one of the city's Golden Years slayings.
The daughter of a 71-year-old victim says police arrested an 18-year-old woman for the murder.
A press conference is scheduled for 9:30 this morning.
Meantime, a Texas man charged with capital murder in his mother's death is also being investigated in connection with other Golden Years murders in Richmond.
The man, Karl Smetana, used to live in Richmond.
Authorities have NOT named Smetana as a suspect in the Richmond slayings, but they are following up on leads.
On Saturday, police in Tyler, Texas charged Smetana with murdering his mother, 50-year-old Margaret Hewes Lout.
He allegedly told police he strangled her to exorcise the demons from her body.
Richmond police have been investigating a string of slayings of women in their mid-50s and older.

7Mitzi-Horton

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=cutin
WRITER=KHu
TAPEedit of #96-29
GRAPHIC=Mitzi Horton

A 14-year prison sentence is handed down to a Roanoke woman for locking an 83-year-old man in the trunk of his own car.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Roanoke/Yesterday;

Mitzi Horton can't explain why she nearly choked Vernon Laughon (LAWN) to death, then stuffed him in the trunk of his car.
At her sentencing hearing yesterday, Horton said she'd consumed three pints of bourbon, two CASES of beer, some wine and four rocks of crack cocaine.
SUPER=04-November 1995;

She also had her 6-month old daughter in the car with her, when she choked Laughon (LAWN), then dumped him- -unconscious- -in the trunk.
Two years of Horton's sentence will be devoted to drug and alcohol- abuse treatment.
(----------------)

7Supers

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=cutin
WRITER=spr
TAPE#edit of 96-34
GRAPHIC=boty center

The Botetourt County Board of Supervisors has taken an industrial-sized step toward more industry.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Botetourt Co./Yesterday;

Yesterday, the board voted to rezone more than eighty percent of a 923 acre field along U- S Route 220.
The site will be used for the Roanoke Valley's largest industrial site... called Botetourt Center at Greenfield.
The vote was four to nothing with one abstention... despite some community opposition.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 16:53:48
IN Q=The residents
((DAVE MANKIN: THE RESIDENTS OF BOTETOURT COUNTY LIVE HERE BECAUSE WE VALUE THE BEAUTY AND SERENITY OF ITS SURROUNDINGS. IT IS NOT OUR DEIRE TO SUPPORT ANY ENDEAVOR THAT WOULD PERMENANTLY DAMAGE THE QUALITY OF OUR LIFE. ))
SUPER=07-Dave Mankin;
RUNS=:13
OUT Q=of our life

But the supervisors also heard from residents in support of the project.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 17:29:30
IN Q=The only
((ANN POTT: THE ONLY WAY THAT WE CAN BE CONTENT IN LIVING HERE IS TO PLAN FOR THE FUTURE. ))
SUPER=07-Ann Pott;
RUNS=:06
OUT Q=the future
(----------------)
VO-NAT

Initial plans for Botetourt Center at Greenfield call for a new elementary school, greenways and nature ways, plus a 150 acre office and business park.
Costs are estimated at 11- million dollars.
Construction could begin late this year.
(-------------)

7Limbaugh-Book

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=cutin
WRITER=Sta
TAPE#96-30
GRAPHIC=None

A Bedford County boy was the suspect of discussion yesterday on Rush Limbaugh's radio talk show.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.;

The boy was reading Limbaugh's THE WAY THINGS OUGHT TO BE when his Montvale Elementary teacher took the book away.
The teacher objected to the word "condom" that's used throughout chapter twelve.
SUPER=@file;

But, Limbaugh says the controversy is politically motivated.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 00:10:03 - 00:10:15
IN Q=Thanks for calling
((RUSH LIMBAUGH/TALK SHOW HOST: THANKS FOR CALLING TO DEFEND THE TEACHING ESTABLISHMENT. I APPRECIATE YOUR EFFORTS BUT REMEMBER CONDOMS HAVE NO IDEOLOGICAL BENT.))
RUNS=:12
OUT Q=no ideological bent
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Montvale/File Tape;

After the incident the boy's father sent a note to the school explaining that he allowed his son to read the book.
But, the principal refused to return it.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 09:37:50 - 09:37:57
IN Q=He believes in
((THOMAS GARDNER/PARENT: HE BELIEVES IN WHAT RUSH SAYS BECAUSE WE ARE A CONSERVATIVE HOUSEHOLD AND MOST OF THE STUFF IS COMMON SENSE STUFF.))
SUPER=01-Thomas Gardner/Parent;
RUNS=:07
OUT Q=common sense stuff
(----------------)
VO-NAT

Gardner appeared on a local radio show yesterday to talk about the incident.
He is demanding that the teacher return the book to his son.
But the principal of the school says for now it will remain with him.
(----------------)

7Weather

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

Taking a look now at the forecast -
Another sunny day, but cooler temperatures and less humid conditions. Highs will be in the lower 80s.
Expect it to be cool tonight with lows in the 50s.
Mostly sunny again tomorrow with highs in the upper 80s.

55Quibell

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=cutin
WRITER=lbe
TAPE#96-31
GRAPHIC=Quibell

It looks like a local sparkling water company will get a new owner.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Roanoke/File Tape;

For at least one month the assembly line has been quiet at the Quibell Corporation that's based in Roanoke.
The reason? According to Quibell, it's an argument with its bottle supplier.
Quibell says it was just beginning to iron out its difficulties when the Soho Beverage Company from northern Virginia put an offer on the table.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 16:38:29
IN Q=Quibell has some debt
((ANDY GOLDSTEIN/QUIBELL ATTORNEY: QUIBELL HAS SOME DEBT AND IT'S GOT SOME DIFFICULTIES. BUT IT ALSO HAS A VERY VERY STRONG PRODUCT. VERY STRONG BRAND RECOGNITION, VERY STRONG DEALER AND DISTRIBUTOR NETWORK, AND PARTICULARLY VERY STRONG SHELF SPACE IN THE GROCERY STORES AND RESTAURANTS WHERE IT'S DISTRIBUTED. AND THAT MAKES IT VERY ATTRACTIVE. ))
SUPER=01-Andy Goldstein/Quibell Attorney;
RUNS=:19
OUT Q=very attractive.
(----------------)
VO-NAT

Soho says if the deal DOES go through, it'll keep producing drinks with the Quibell brand name.
Soho's president says the company sees a lot of opportunity in the brand".
Soho's market is primarily in the northeast, while most of Quibell's distribution routes are in the southeast.
For that reason, Soho thinks combining the companies makes sense.
(-------------)

55NRV-Alliance

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=cutin
WRITER=tal
TAPE#NONE
GRAPHIC=NONE

A new director has been appointed to head up the New River Valley Economic Alliance.
Stuart Gilbert, will assume his new post June 6th.
He is currently the executive director of the Maury County Economic Development Commission in Tennessee.
The Alliance had previously named Dublin businessman Hiawatha Nicely to the position.
Nicely resigned before he actually took over for his own business and personal reasons.

55Silicon-Dominion

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=cutin
WRITER=equ
TAPE#96-36
GRAPHIC=George Allen

It's a phrase Governor Allen seems to love to use- Silicon Dominion.
And this week provided new evidence that it exists.
Ellen Qualls has more.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT
IN Q=Motorola/Siemens.
SUPER=03-Richmond/Monday; :00
SUPER=03-Manassas/August 1995; :08
SUPER=04-Courtesy of Motorola; :14
SUPER=@Allen; :23
SUPER=01-John Accordino/VCU Urban Planning Professor; :33
SUPER=@Ellen1; :43
SUPER=04-Courtesy of Siemens-Motorola; 1:02
RUNS=1:36
OUT Q=Qualls, News 7, Richmond.

(( Motorola/Siemens.
A 1-point-5 BILLION dollar plant and 15- hundred jobs for Henrico County.
IBM/Toshiba.
A potential four BILLION dollars in investment, and four thousand jobs for Manassas.
Motorola in Goochland County.
Three BILLION dollars to invest, and up to five thousand jobs.
The Governor beams a bold claim back from a foreign trade mission.
sot 01:35:11
((GOV. GEORGE ALLEN: ONE THING THAT STRIKES ME IN TALKING WITH BUSINESS LEADERS HERE IN EAST ASIA IS THERE RECOGNITION OF VIRGINIA'S EMERGENCE AS THE SILICON DOMINION.))
runs=:08

The what?
sot 01:10:24
((JOHN ACCORDINO/VCU URBAN PLANNING PROFESSOR: DOES IT MEAN THAT WE ARE ANYTHING LIKE SILICON VALLEY? AND I WOULD SAY THE ANSWER IS DEFINITELY NO. IT'S A GOAL. IT'S AN INTERESTING GOAL.))
runs=:09

sot standup

Even a Republican close to the Administration admits the claim's a bit overstated.
These are after all manufacturing jobs -- high tech -- but manufacturing, not research and development or corporate level.
runs=:00

nat sot
((GOV. GEORGE ALLEN: HOW DO YOU SAY WAFER IN JAPANESE? Uh. Wafer.))
runs=:07

Experts point out that computer wafer plants are at the bottom of the high tech chain.
Unlike Boston or Silicon Valley, where the brain trust fuels what they call propulsive economic activity.
sot 01:11:40
((JOHN ACCORDINO/VCU URBAN PLANNING PROFESSOR: IN OTHER WORDS, THERE'S NEW CREATIVE ENERGY GOING INTO NEW PRODUCTS, NEW PROCESSES ALL THE TIME. AND IT'S SORT OF CONTINUALLY BUILDING. WE DON'T HAVE THAT HERE. BUT CERTAINLY, CHIP PLANTS ARE GOOD.))
runs=:14

Good -- but not best. classroom b-roll
Without more work on this, the experts say Virginians aren't at the head of the class to do more of the work on this.
Ellen Qualls, News 7, Richmond.))

55Weather

8Mitzi-Horton

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=cutin
WRITER=KHu
TAPEedit of #96-29
GRAPHIC=Mitzi Horton

The Roanoke woman who drove around for three days with an elderly man locked in the trunk of his own car will spend 14 years in prison.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Roanoke/Yesterday;

Mitzi Horton can't explain why she nearly choked Vernon Laughon (LAWN) to death, then stuffed him in the trunk of his car.
At her sentencing hearing yesterday, Horton said she'd consumed three pints of bourbon, two CASES of beer, some wine and four rocks of crack cocaine.
SUPER=04-November 1995

She also had her 6-month old daughter in the car with her, when she choked the 83-year old victim, then dumped him- -unconscious- -in the trunk.
Two years of Horton's sentence will be devoted to drug and alcohol- abuse treatment.
(----------------)

8Franklin-Fatal

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

An early morning accident yesterday killed a man from Ferrum.
It happened in Franklin County.
State Police say 68-year-old Lawrence Melvin Whitlock was driving on Route 785 when his Nissan Sentra ran off the right side of the road and over an embankment, and crashed into a tree.
Whitlock died at the scene.

8Limbaugh-Book

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=cutin
WRITER=Sta
TAPE#96-30
GRAPHIC=None

A fourth grader from Bedford County was one highlight of Rush Limbaugh's radio talk show yesterday.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.;

The boy was reading Limbaugh's THE WAY THINGS OUGHT TO BE when his Montvale Elementary teacher took the book away.
The teacher objected to the word "condom" that's used throughout chapter twelve.
SUPER=@file;

But, Limbaugh says the controversy is politically motivated.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 00:10:03 - 00:10:15
IN Q=Thanks for calling
((RUSH LIMBAUGH/TALK SHOW HOST: THANKS FOR CALLING TO DEFEND THE TEACHING ESTABLISHMENT. I APPRECIATE YOUR EFFORTS BUT REMEMBER CONDOMS HAVE NO IDEOLOGICAL BENT.))
RUNS=:12
OUT Q=no ideological bent
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Montvale/File Tape;

After the incident the boy's father sent a note to the school explaining that he allowed his son to read the book.
But, the principal refused to return it.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 09:37:50 - 09:37:57
IN Q=He believes in
((THOMAS GARDNER/PARENT: HE BELIEVES IN WHAT RUSH SAYS BECAUSE WE ARE A CONSERVATIVE HOUSEHOLD AND MOST OF THE STUFF IS COMMON SENSE STUFF.))
SUPER=01-Thomas Gardner/Parent;
RUNS=:07
OUT Q=common sense stuff
(----------------)
VO-NAT

Gardner appeared on a local radio show yesterday to talk about the incident.
He is demanding that the teacher return the book to his son.
But the principal of the school says for now it will remain with him.
(----------------)

8B'burg-School

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=cutin
WRITER=tal
TAPE#96-35
GRAPHIC=Education

An alternative education program in Blacksburg is celebrating 25 years of success.
Tracy Altizer tells us the mission of the Blacksburg New School has remained the same for more than two decades.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT
IN Q=The G and the H
SUPER=03-Blacksburg; :08
SUPER=01-Alex Keen/Kindergarten Students; :18 QUICK
SUPER=01-Nicole Joshi/Third Grade Student; :22
SUPER=01-Kate Morgan/BNS Teacher; :32
SUPER=@Tracy1; :56
SUPER=01-Jackie Bixler/BNS Parent; 1:08
RUNS=1:25
OUT Q=Altizer, News 7.
(( (/////SOT/////)
SOT 23:57:28
((THE G AND THE H, THEY DON'T REALLY MAKE ANY SOUNDS, SO LET'S COVER THOSE UP AND MAKE THE I LONG. HIGH. ))
RUNS=:07

Reading, writing and arithmetic are essential for every child.
The difference is in the way they're taught.
At the Blacksburg New School, parents and teachers design the curriculum.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 00:29:59
((What have you been learning about? ALEX KEEN/KINDERGARTEN STUDENT: BATS, AMPHIBIANS, REPTILES. ))
SOT 00:26:50
((NICOLE JOSHI/THIRD GRADE STUDENT: SOME MATH THAT WE DO IS FUN, AND WE DO GEOGRAPHY.))
RUNS=:11

And instead of grading, students get written evaluations.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 00:55:21
((KATE MORGAN/BNS TEACHER: I THINK THEY'RE MORE RELAXED AND THEY'RE ABLE TO LEARN MORE, AND LEARN MORE AT THEIR OWN SPEED, THEIR OWN PACE, INSTEAD OF HAVING TO KEEP UP WITH THE STANDARDIZED TESTS AND KEEP UP WITH EACH OTHER.))
RUNS=:11

The school has four paid teachers, and this year 31 students in grades K through four.
Besides paying tuition, parents work a minimum of one hour a week, doing everything from cleaning the building to serving as teachers aides. suWith the debate over public funding for charter schools, this is a school that's survived 25 years without it. And if public funds were to become available, it's questionable whether the parents here would even want it.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 00:47:52
((JACKIE BIXLER/BNS PARENT: IT MIGHT COMPROMISE THE KIND OF PROGRAM THAT WE OFFER HERE, ESPECIALLY IF THEY STARTED TRYING TO MANDATE A PARTICULAR PROGRAM. ))
RUNS=:09

On the school's silver anniversary, supporters say they'll continue providing what they feel is a golden opportunity in education. Tracy Altizer, News 7. ))

8Weather

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

Taking a look now at the forecast -
Another sunny day, but cooler temperatures and less humid conditions. Highs will be in the lower 80s.