WDBJ 7 morning news AM cutins for 07/15/97

08:25-01

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SUPER=@Melanie1

7L'burg-Murder

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=Mornin'
WRITER=ssm
TAPE#97-49
GRAPHIC=murder investigation

Lynchburg police started their day early this morning after they heard shots were fired in the Hill City.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Lynchburg

At about 1:45 this morning, police responded to the call near the corner of 15th and Monroe Streets.
They arrived to find a man lying face down in the street.. he'd been shot at least once and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Teresa Farmer was at her mother's house a block away when she heard the gunshots.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 1:17:41
IN Q=I heard like
((TERESA FARMER/HEARD GUNSHOTS: I HEARD LIKE FOUR GUNSHOTS AND I ASKED HER `WHAT WAS THAT?', SHE SAID `GUNSHOTS', THEN I HEARD LIKE TWO MORE.))
SUPER=01-Teresa Farmer/Heard Gunshots; :00
RUNS=:10
OUT Q=like two more.
(----------------)
VO-NAT

Police say they have no suspects and few leads in the shooting.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 1:39:47
IN Q=Where we go
((CAPT. LEON THOMAS/LYNCHBURG POLICE: WHERE WE GO FROM HERE IS THAT WE WILL FIRST GET THE INDIVIDUAL IDENTIFIED AND WE HAVE SOME THINGS THAT WE'LL BE DOING. THE BODY WILL BE SENT TO ROANOKE FOR THE MEDICAL EXAMINER FOR AN AUTOPSY DURING THE DAYLIGHT.))
SUPER=01-Capt. Leon Thomas/Lynchburg Police; :00
RUNS=:13
OUT Q=the daylight.
(----------------)
VO-NAT

The victim's identity has NOT been released.
This is Lynchburg's first murder this year.
(----------------)

7E-GE-Layoffs

ANCHOR=Kimberly
NEWSCAST=Morn
WRITER=lbe
TAPE#97-37
GRAPHIC=General Electric

Just after the celebration for a new contract began, workers at the General Electric Plant in Salem got word new layoffs are on the horizon.
Len Besthoff reports.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT
IN Q=For the
SUPER=03-Salem; :00
SUPER=01-Les Brown/Laid Off GE Employee;:41
SUPER=@Len2; :48
RUNS=:56
OUT Q=LB, News-7.
(( For the past few days 900 production workers at the Salem G-E plant had the prospect of impending layoffs hanging over them.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 15:15:01 ge tape
IN Q=It's something
((DENNIS PARKS/GE EMPLOYEE: IT'S SOMETHING DEFINITE THIS TIME.))
RUNS=:02
OUT Q=definite this time.

They now know the details of G-E's cost cutting plan.
It includes the indefinite reduction of about 160 hourly jobs, plus a two week partial shutdown that affects nearly everyone in production.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 15:11:55 ge tape
IN Q=There's no
((THERE'S NO JOB SECURITY. IT'S ALL I CAN TELL YOU, BAD MANAGEMENT.))
RUNS=:05
OUT Q=bad management.

The company explains it doesn't have enough work on the factory floor to maintain current employment.
This marks the third layoff this year at G-E, leaving some wondering about the future of the industrial drives plant.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 15:14:03 ge tape
IN Q=I'm not sure
((LES BROWN/LAID OFF GE EMPLOYEE: I'M NOT SURE. I DON'T KNOW IF THE WORK IS BEING OUTSOURCED OR WHAT.))
RUNS=:06
OUT Q=or what.

Even the salaried side of the building hasn't been immune to cutbacks.
125 pink slips went out there last month.
Len Besthoff, News-7.))

7Bluestone-Farms

ANCHOR=Kimberly
NEWSCAST=Morn
WRITER=eea
TAPE#net (edit of 597-34)
GRAPHIC=NONE

Health concerns are on the mind of some families in Covington after chemicals were sprayed on a nearby cornfield.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Covington;

After work crews sprayed herbicide on the field, the leaves on Brenda Fleming's trees began to curl up.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 15:14:55
IN Q=we had a flood
((BRENDA FLEMING/NEIGHBOR; WE HAD A FLOOD ON JUNE THE FIRST AND THERE WAS A LOT OF WATER THAT POOLED AND EVENTUALLY HAD TO SEEP INTO THE GROUND. WHICH MEANS I KNOW THAT IT COULD SEEP INTO THE WELL.
SOT 15:13:04
DEL. CREIGH DEEDS/(D) WARM SPRINGS; IT DOESN'T SOUND GOOD, IT SOUNDS LIKE THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE HAVE HAD SIGNIFICANT PROBLEMS WITH BREATHING AND OTHER HEALTH RELATED PROBLEMS, IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE'S ENOUGH THAT'S HAPPENED HERE TO GIVE THEM SOME CAUSE FOR CONCERN ABOUT THEIR WATER AS WELL))
SUPER=01-Brenda Fleming/Neighbor;
SUPER=@Deeds; :10
RUNS=:23
OUT Q=water as well
(----------------)
VO-NAT

Deeds says right now there's no proof the spraying was illegal.
Neighbors say the company growing the corn, Bluestone Farms of West Virginia, said there was nothing it could do about the spraying.
No one answered the telephone at the company's headquarters yesterday.
(----------------)

7P-Floyd-Fatal

ANCHOR=Kimberly
NEWSCAST=Morn
WRITER=jsu
TAPE#597-22
GRAPHIC=fatal accident

A 62- year- old Floyd County man died yesterday afternoon in a construction accident.
The victim was working a house on
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Floyd Co.
Sweet Annie Drive.
Allen Junior Nichols was apparently using a four-wheel drive front-end loader.
Police say he was removing the top of a small house-- when the loader overturned.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 11:50:21
IN Q=He apparently got
((LT. BILL MEADOR: HE APPARENTLY GOT TOO CLOSE TO A SMALL EMBANKMENT, ROLLED OVER ON THE EMBANKMENT AND WAS CRUSHED BY THE VEHICLE. ))
SUPER=01-Lt. Bill Meador/Fire & Rescue
RUNS=:06
OUT Q=crushed by the vehicle
(----------------)
VO-NAT
Rescue workers arrived within minutes---but the victim died at the scene.

It took six hours to remove Nichols' body--because the loader weighed so much.
(----------------)

7weather

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=cut-in
WRITER=kmc
TAPE#
GRAPHIC=

Time now to check the very hot forecast--
Hazy sunshine today, with highs in the low to mid 90s.
The heat index will likely climb to near 100.
Partly cloudy tonight, with lows in the mid to upper 60s.
SUPER=X5000; set dissolve
SUPER=314-Hazy Sunshine/Very Hot/90-95/Partly Cloudy/Wind W 5-10/65-69;
SUPER=#555; reset
7BIRTHDAYS ! 7/16/97
Wednesday:

(Twins)
SUPER=130-7/Markel & Marcel Preston/Union Hall;

SUPER=130-/Luther Brown/Collinsville;

No Pictures:

SUPER=130-78/Raymond Light/Roanoke;

SUPER=130-28/Tonya Jones/Martinsville;

SUPER=130-/Violet Wright/Madison Heights;

SUPER=130-6/Thomas Adams/Madison Heights;

SUPER=130-/Marion Ore/Lynchburg;

SUPER=130-/April Shepherd/North Carolina;

SUPER=130-/Melinda Wright/Florida;
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SUPER=@Melanie1

55L'burg-Murder

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=Mornin'
WRITER=ssm
TAPE#97-49
GRAPHIC=murder investigation

Lynchburg police this morning are investigating their first homicide of 19-97.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Lynchburg

Shortly before two a.m. police responded to a report of shots being fired near the corner of 15th and Monroe Streets.
They arrived to find a black male lying face down in the street.. he'd been shot at least once and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Teresa Farmer was at her mother's house a block away when she heard the gunshots.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 1:17:41
IN Q=I heard like
((TERESA FARMER/HEARD GUNSHOTS: I HEARD LIKE FOUR GUNSHOTS AND I ASKED HER `WHAT WAS THAT?', SHE SAID `GUNSHOTS', THEN I HEARD LIKE TWO MORE.))
SUPER=01-Teresa Farmer/Heard Gunshots; :00
RUNS=:10
OUT Q=like two more.
(----------------)
VO-NAT

Police say they have no suspects and few leads.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 1:39:47
IN Q=Where we go
((CAPT. LEON THOMAS/LYNCHBURG POLICE: WHERE WE GO FROM HERE IS THAT WE WILL FIRST GET THE INDIVIDUAL IDENTIFIED AND WE HAVE SOME THINGS THAT WE'LL BE DOING. THE BODY WILL BE SENT TO ROANOKE FOR THE MEDICAL EXAMINER FOR AN AUTOPSY DURING THE DAYLIGHT.))
SUPER=01-Capt. Leon Thomas/Lynchburg Police; :00
RUNS=:13
OUT Q=the daylight.
(----------------)
VO-NAT

The victim's identity has NOT been released.
(----------------)

55E-Atlanta-Murder

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=Morn
WRITER=tte
TAPE#97-33
GRAPHIC=Murder Investigation

Four youngsters are being held in Henry County in connection with a murder and Robbery near Atlanta.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Martinsville;

Police rounded up the group after finding 19- year- old Wayne Curtis Shaw and a 15- year- old boy on the side of the road yesterday with pockets full of marijuana.
Shaw had also refused to stop for police directing traffic in Henry County on Saturday.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 6:35:03
IN Q=He didn't want to
((SGT. HOWARD HONAKER/STATE POLICE: HE DIDN'T WANT TO STOP. THE TROOPER MADE HIM STOP AND WHEN HE ASKED FOR A DRIVER'S LICENCE THE SUBJECT COULD NOT PRODUCE ONE.))
SUPER=01-Sgt. Howard Honaker/State Police;
RUNS=:06
OUT Q=produce one
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Martinsville;

State police arrested 20- year- old Jeffrey Bohannan and 17- year- old Elizabeth Weaver on Saturday night.
SUPER=03-Hall Co., Georgia;

Police say Weaver lured 18- year- old Vernon Greer to a Georgia park Friday night.
She and the three males then allegedly stole Greer's car and drowned him in a nearby lake.
(----------------)
ANCHOR=Melanie
SS=HOLD

Twenty- year- old Shaw faces an extradition hearing this morning.

55Giles-Crash

ANCHOR=Kimberly
NEWSCAST=Morn
WRITER=lba
TAPE#NONE
GRAPHIC=none

The National Transportation Safety Board today will review information in the crash of a cargo plane in southwest Virginia.
The Giles County crash last December killed all six on board.
The N-T-S-B is still looking for a probable cause for the D-C-eight crash.

55weather

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=cut-in
WRITER=kmc
TAPE#
GRAPHIC=

Turning now to weather--
Hazy, hot, and humid today, with highs in the low to mid 90s.
Tonight looks more comfortable.
Partly cloudy, with lows dropping into the upper 60s.
SUPER=X5000; set dissolve
SUPER=314-Hazy Sunshine/Very Hot/90-95/Partly Cloudy/Wind W 5-10/65-69;
SUPER=#555; reset
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SUPER=@Melanie1

8Murder-Investigation

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=Mornin'
WRITER=ssm
TAPE#net (edit of 97-49)
GRAPHIC=murder investigation

A round of gunshots fired this morning in Lynchburg resulted in a man's death.
Police responded to the incident near the corner of 15th and Monroe Streets.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Lynchburg/This Morning;

Teresa Farmer was at her mother's house a block away when she heard gunshots.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 1:17:41
IN Q=I heard like
((TERESA FARMER/HEARD GUNSHOTS: I HEARD LIKE FOUR GUNSHOTS AND I ASKED HER `WHAT WAS THAT?', SHE SAID `GUNSHOTS', THEN I HEARD LIKE TWO MORE.))
SUPER=01-Teresa Farmer/Heard Gunshots; :00
RUNS=:10
OUT Q=like two more.
(----------------)
VO-NAT

When police arrived they found a man lying face down in the street.. he'd been shot at least once and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police say they have no suspects and few leads.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 1:39:47
IN Q=Where we go
((CAPT. LEON THOMAS/LYNCHBURG POLICE: WHERE WE GO FROM HERE IS THAT WE WILL FIRST GET THE INDIVIDUAL IDENTIFIED.))
SUPER=01-Capt. Leon Thomas/Lynchburg Police; :00 QUICK
RUNS=:04
OUT Q=individual identified.
(----------------)
VO-NAT

This is the first murder investigation in the Hill City this year.
(----------------)

8GE

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=Morn
WRITER=lbe
TAPE#net (edit of 597-35)
GRAPHIC=General Electric

PINK SLIPS are becoming nearly as familiar as PAYCHECKS to employees at Salem's General Electric plant.
G-E is laying off 160 production workers, and many of them we spoke with are discouraged.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 15:18:30
IN Q=I've been laid
((TOMMY LANE/GE EMPLOYEE: I'VE BEEN LAID OFF FIVE TIMES MYSELF, SO THEY DON'T KNOW ANYMORE BACK WHEN I'VE BEEN LAID OFF THAN THEY DO NOW.))
SUPER=01-Tommy Lane/GE Employee; :00
RUNS=:07
OUT Q=do now.
(----------------)
VO-NAT

The company says the indefinite reduction of the 160 hourly jobs will be effective August fourth.
PLUS there will be a two week partial shutdown, which begins next Monday.
G-E officials maintain the layoffs are necessary because the plant is NOT getting enough work.
(----------------)

8E-Atlanta-Murder

8P-Barnard

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=Morn
WRITER=KHu
TAPE#597-33
GRAPHIC=Legal Scales

William Byrd basketball coach Paul Barnard was back ON the court last night after being cleared of assault charges in a COURTROOM.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Salem

The father of one of Barnard's players swore out a warrant, claiming the 61- year- old coach had bumped the boy with his chest and shoulders.
Coach Barnard said it was the boy's father, BILLY Belcher, who struck him, hard enough to knock Barnard down.
The judge threw out the case against the coach.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 5:42:40
IN Q=We're disappointed that
(( ))
SUPER=01-Billy Belcher/Basketball Booster Club Pres.
RUNS=:10
OUT Q=like that.
(----------------)
VO-NAT

The judge said he found sufficient evidence to convict Belcher but took the charge against him under advisement.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 5:41:25
IN Q=I think it leaves
(( ))
SUPER=01-Paul Barnard/Wm. Byrd Basketball Coach
RUNS=:11
OUT Q=WILL touch a kid. (double out--quick out)
ANCHOR=Melanie
SS=Legal Scales

Coach Barnard left the courthouse and drove straight to Tidewater where he coached the all star WEST team in last night's game in Hampton.

8Giles-Crash

ANCHOR=Kimberly
NEWSCAST=Morn
WRITER=lba
TAPE#NONE
GRAPHIC=none

The National Transportation Safety Board will look for clues today in the crash of a cargo plane in Southwest Virginia.
The fatal crash occurred in Giles County last December, killing all six people on board.
The N-T-S-B is still looking for a probable cause for the D-C-eight crash.

8weather

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=cut-in
WRITER=kmc
TAPE#
GRAPHIC=

Let's now take a look at the Tuesday forecast--
Hazy sunshine, with very hot temperatures.
Highs in the low to mid 90s-- with a heat index close to 100.
Tonight looks partly cloudy and cooler.
Lows in the upper 60s.
SUPER=X5000; set dissolve
SUPER=#555; reset SUPER=314-Hazy Sunshine/Very Hot/90-95/Partly Cloudy/Wind W 5-10/65-69;