WDBJ 7 morning news AM cutins for 12/16/97

08:25-01

Thirty-Weather

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7Fatal-Fire

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=Mornin'
WRITER=ssm
TAPE#97-90
GRAPHIC=fatal fire 4070

Bedford County firefighters are still on the scene of a blaze that killed a woman in Forest early this morning.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Forest/This Morning;

The fire was reported just after 3 o'clock on Whistling Swan Drive in the Lake Vista subdivision.
By the time the first crews arrived, the blaze already had a good head start.
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SOT 19:20:47
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(( ))
SUPER=01-Larry Barbour/Forest Fire Chief; :00
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OUT Q=locate the victim.
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VO-NAT

The woman was found in a first floor room just inside the front door.
Authorities have NOT released her identity.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
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7Elks-Rezone

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=Mornin'
WRITER=djo
TAPE#5-97-43
GRAPHIC=Roanoke city seal

Some residents of the Raleigh Court community are not welcoming their newest neighbor.
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VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Roanoke/Last Night;

Roanoke City Council has approved a rezoning request for Manor Care Health services, which will set up an assisted living Alzheimer's center for patients who are in the early stages.
The group is purchasing three acres from the Elks 197 Club, which is right in the middle of Raleigh Court.
But the vote approving the request did NOT go through without opposition.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 20:16:19
IN Q=WE WOULD CERTAINLY
((PHYLLIS NEWMAN/RALEIGH COURT RESIDENT: WE WOULD CERTAINLY HOPE OUR CITY WOULD NOT ABANDON ITS LONGTIME RESIDENTS IN SUPPORT OF AN OUT OF STATE COMMERCIAL CONCERN, WHOSE BASIC INTEREST IS PROFIT MAKING.))
SUPER=01-Phyllis Newman/Raleigh Court Resident;
RUNS=:12
OUT Q=is profit making
(----------------)
VO-NAT

Developers say the 56-bed, single story structure will fit the residential style of the neighborhood, while generating an economic impact of nine-million dollars over the next few years.
(----------------)

7Hate-Crime

ANCHOR=Kimberly
NEWSCAST=Morn
WRITER=lba
TAPE#NONE
GRAPHIC=Reno, Janet

The two white men accused of burning and beheading a black man in southwest Virginia will have to be prosecuted before any decision is made to prosecute them for a HATE crime.
That's the word from Attorney General Janet Reno in a letter to STATE Attorney General Richard Cullen.
Forty-year-old Garnett Johnson, Junior was killed July 25th, following an all-night party in Grayson County.
Investigators say Johnson was doused with gasoline and set afire, before he was later be-headed.

7E-Bank-Robbery

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=Morn
WRITER=khu
TAPE#97-81
GRAPHIC=bank robbery

Police have a suspect in last week's hold-up of
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VO-NAT-29:01
SUPER=03-Roanoke/Friday;
the Southwest Virginia Savings Bank on Hershberger Road.
And it is not the suspects first offense.
The robber told the teller he did not want any dye packs, but she gave him one anyway... along with nearly two-thousand dollars in cash.
(----------------)
ANCHOR=Melanie
SS=hold

Twenty-six- year- old Dedric Lee Wiley was released from prison just last month.
Police caught Wiley Sunday, after a chase involving state police, Christiansburg and Blacksburg police.
The woman he'd been living with in Christiansburg told people Wiley had been trying to wash something red out of the cash.

7S-Morrison

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=Morn
WRITER=sly
TAPE#97-79
GRAPHIC=Legal Scales

The Virginia Tech student newspaper is facing a lawsuit.
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VO-NAT
SUPER=@File;

Former Hokie football player, Tony Morrison says stories which appeared in the Collegiate Times implied he was guilty of sexual assault.
He is suing the paper for more than ten million dollars.
Morrison and a teammate were accused in 19-95 of raping a Virginia Tech woman.
They were never indicted.
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7weather

ANCHOR=Melanie
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WRITER=
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Taking a look at your Tuesday forecast... Sunny and milder today with pleasant highs in the low to mid 50's.
Tonight looks partly cloudy with nighttime lows in the low to mid 30's.
And taking a look ahead...
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7BIRTHDAYS!12/17/97
Wednesday:

SUPER=130-6/Megan Martin/Natural Bridge;

SUPER=130-1/Lauren Taylor/Axton;

SUPER=130-54/Patricia Yates/Pilot;

SUPER=130-11/Autumn Musselwhite/Fincastle;

SUPER=130-10/Brittany Shively/Bassett;

SUPER=130-2/Courtney Gilbert/Buena Vista;

SUPER=130-11/Matthew Thomas/Blue Ridge;

SUPER=130-5/Katie Clemmer/Raphine;

(Anniversary)
SUPER=130-43rd/Archie & Clara Osborne/Gretna;

SUPER=130-/Hilda Smith/Gretna;

No Pictures:

SUPER=130-/Butch Dunbar/Cloverdale;

SUPER=130-/Theodore Taylor/Moneta;

SUPER=130-/Herbert White/Penhook;

SUPER=130-/Karen Lee/Cloverdale;

SUPER=130-5/Tabitha Northrop/Union Hall;

SUPER=130-/Kristen Lee/Cloverdale;
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55Fatal-Fire

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=cut-in
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A Bedford County woman died when her home near Forest caught fire early this morning.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Forest

Just after three this morning, firefighters were called to this home at 14-71 Whistling Swan Drive in the Lake Vista subdivision.
The blaze, which started near the garage, had been burning for some time before the first crews arrived.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 19:20:53
IN Q=The house was
((LARRY BARBOUR/FOREST V.F.D. CHIEF: THE HOUSE WAS REAL UNSTABLE TO GO IN TO SEARCH IT REAL THOROUGHLY SO WE DONE A COUPLE QUICK PRIMARY SEARCHES TO TRY TO LOCATE THE VICTIM. WE FINALLY GOT THE FIRE KNOCKED DOWN AND WERE ABLE TO STUDY THE STRUCTURE TO SEE THAT IT WAS SAFE FOR THE FIREFIGHTERS TO GO IN.))
SUPER=01-Larry Barbour/Forest V.F.D. Chief; :00
RUNS=:18
OUT Q=to go in.
(----------------)
VO-NAT

The victim was finally found in a first floor room just inside the front door.
Authorities have not yet released her identity.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
(----------------)
ANCHOR=Melanie
SS=fire

And over in Blacksburg, two people were injured in a fire at a Virginia Tech fraternity house as fire crews battled two seperate blazes at the same time.
The other fire was at the Architecture Annex.
The Kappa Alpha fraternity house was destroyed.
Both blazes are under investigation.
Authorities say they are treating fire at the fraternity house as suspicious.

55Hate-Crime

ANCHOR=Kimberly
NEWSCAST=Morn
WRITER=lba
TAPE#NONE
GRAPHIC=Reno, Janet

Attorney General Janet Reno has postponed her decision on whether to prosecute a southwest Virginia murder case as a hate crime.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=@File;

Instead, Reno told STATE Attorney General Richard Cullen she will wait until the two white men charged in the crime are prosecuted.
Forty-year-old Garnett Johnson Jr. was killed July 25th following an all night party in Grayson County. Investigators say Johnson was doused with gasoline and set on fire, and then his head was cut off.
(----------------)

55Elks-Rezone

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=Mornin'
WRITER=djo
TAPE#5-97-43
GRAPHIC=Roanoke city seal

The Raleigh Court community will soon get a neighbor which some residents don't want.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Roanoke/Last Night;

Roanoke City Council has approved a rezoning request for Manor Care Health services, which will set up an assisted living Alzheimer's center for patients who are in the early stages.
The group is purchasing three acres from the Elks 197 Club, which is right in the middle of Raleigh Court.
But the vote approving the request did NOT go through without opposition.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 20:16:19
IN Q=WE WOULD CERTAINLY
((PHYLLIS NEWMAN/RALEIGH COURT RESIDENT: WE WOULD CERTAINLY HOPE OUR CITY WOULD NOT ABANDON ITS LONGTIME RESIDENTS IN SUPPORT OF AN OUT OF STATE COMMERCIAL CONCERN, WHOSE BASIC INTEREST IS PROFIT MAKING.))
SUPER=01-Phyllis Newman/Raleigh Court Resident;
RUNS=:12
OUT Q=is profit making
(----------------)
VO-NAT

Developers say the 56-bed, single story structure will fit the residential style of the neighborhood, while generating an economic impact of nine-million dollars over the next few years.
(----------------)

55E-Benedetti

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=Morn
WRITER=equ
TAPE#97-89
GRAPHIC=Gilmore

A special election will be held in Hampton Roads today to fill the senate seat of Attorney General-elect Mark Earley.
Meantime Chesapeake voters also head to the polls for another crucial state senate election.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Richmond/File Tape;

Republican Senator Joe Benedetti resigned yesterday to head the Department of Criminal Justice Services in Jim Gilmore's new administration.
The G-O-P must keep both seats to maintain a 20-20 tie with Democrats and give soon-to-be lieutenant governor John Hager the tie-breaking vote.
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55weather

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

Taking a break from news to look at weather--
Sunny and warmer today, with light winds.
Highs in the mid 50s.
Partly cloudy, with lows in the lower 30s.
The four day forecast is continued mild....
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8Fatal-Fire

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

A Bedford County woman died when her home near Forest caught fire early this morning.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Forest/This morning;

Just after three this morning, firefighters were called to this home on Whistling Swan Drive in the Lake Vista subdivision.
The blaze, which started near the garage, had been burning for some time before the first crews arrived.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 19:20:53
IN Q=The house was
((LARRY BARBOUR/FOREST V.F.D. CHIEF: THE HOUSE WAS REAL UNSTABLE TO GO IN TO SEARCH IT REAL THOROUGHLY SO WE DONE A COUPLE QUICK PRIMARY SEARCHES TO TRY TO LOCATE THE VICTIM. WE FINALLY GOT THE FIRE KNOCKED DOWN AND WERE ABLE TO STUDY THE STRUCTURE TO SEE THAT IT WAS SAFE FOR THE FIREFIGHTERS TO GO IN.))
SUPER=01-Larry Barbour/Forest Chief; :00
RUNS=:18
OUT Q=to go in.
(----------------)
VO-NAT

The victim was finally found in a first floor room just inside the front door.
Authorities have not yet released her identity.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
(----------------)
ANCHOR=Melanie
SS=fire

And over in Blacksburg, two people were injured in a fire at a Virginia Tech fraternity house.
It was one of two fires last night on the Tech campus.
The other was at the Architecture Annex.
No word yet on what caused the blazes but the fire at the Kappa Alpha fraternity house is concerned suspicious.
It was destroyed.

8Hate-Crime

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=Morn
WRITER=lba
TAPE#net
GRAPHIC=Reno, Janet

Attorney General Janet Reno is waiting for the outcome of a Grayson County murder trial before prosecuting the case under federal law as a hate crime.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=@File;

Reno wrote a letter to state Attorney General Richard Cullen, stating that federal officials will wait until the two accused white suspects are convicted of murder.
Forty-year-old Garnett Johnson Jr. was killed July 25th following an all night party in Grayson County. Investigators say Johnson was doused with gasoline and set on fire, and then be-headed.
(----------------)

55Elks-Rezone

8E-Bank-Robbery

ANCHOR=Kimberly
NEWSCAST=Morn
WRITER=khu
TAPE#97-81
GRAPHIC=NONE

A suspect has been apprehended in last week's robbery
(----------------)
VO-NAT-29:01
SUPER=03-Roanoke/Friday;

at the Southwest Virginia Savings Bank.
Twenty-six- year- old Dedric Lee Wiley was released from prison just last month.
(----------------)
ANCHOR=Kimberly
SS=NONE

On Sunday authorities caught Wiley, after a chase involving state police, Christiansburg and Blacksburg police.

8E-Benedetti

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=noon
WRITER=equ
TAPE#97-89
GRAPHIC=Earley

A pivotal state senate election is being held today in Chesapeake.
Voters will choose Republican state chairman Randy Forbes or Democrat James Wheaton for the seat of Mark Earley, who was elected attorney general last month.
The G-O-P must keep both seats to maintain a 20-20 tie with Democrats and give soon-to-be lieutenant governor John Hager the tie-breaking vote.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Richmond/File Tape;

Just yesterday, another vacancy opened in Richmond.
Republican Senator Joe Benedetti resigned yesterday to become the state's the Department of Criminal Justice Services in Jim Gilmore's administration.
His son was Jim Gilmore's campaign finance director.
(----------------)

8weather

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

Checking your Tuesday outlook--
Sunny and unseasonably warm today.
Highs climbing well into the 50s.
Partly cloudy overnight, with lows falling into the lower 30s.
The extended forecast is sunny and mild....
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