WDBJ 7 news at Noon for 01/08/98

12:00-01

Flooding

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=noon
WRITER=jda
TAPE#97-94
GRAPHIC=Flooding

Heavy rains overnight have left high water throughout western Virginia.
The flooding has caused some school systems to cancel classes today, but so far most of the problems are minor.
Double Boxes=Melanie and JoeD/Microwave

Joe Dashiell is keeping tabs on the rising tide, and he joins us now from the banks of the Roanoke River.
Joe, How bad is it this afternoon?
Live=JoeD Full/Microwave
SUPER=@Joe1;
SUPER=05-Roanoke;

Melanie, earlier reports predicted the a Roanoke River crest of 13 feet... that has been revised downward to 11 feet... just one foot above flood stage...
While some roads may be blocked off, that should not cause any serious trouble in the Roanoke Valley.
(ad lib)
(Rollcue:trouble in the Roanoke Valley)
(/////SOT/////)
SOT
IN Q=they weren't so sure
SUPER=03-Salem; :00
SUPER=03-Montgomery Co.; :10
SUPER=01-Wade Pedigo/Roanoke Resident;:18
RUNS=:34
OUT Q=a lot of water

Live=JoeD Full/Microwave
SUPER=05-Roanoke;
( ad lib)

Double Boxes=Melanie and JoeD/Microwave

NAT-WX

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=noon
WRITER=MEL
TAPE#net
GRAPHIC=Severe Weather

The heavy rains are also pounding other southeastern states.
In North Carolina, mudslides are blocking roads, and dozens of people are out of their homes.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Pickens Co., SC;

In South Carolina, heavy rains and high winds spawned what authorities think was a tornado.
At least four people were taken to the hospital.
SUPER=03-Nashville, TN;

Another tornado was reported in Tennessee.
Also in Tennessee a rescue worker is missing after a boat he was in capsized.
And in Alabama and Kentucky at least two people are dead after being swept away by floodwaters.
(----------------)

E-Jessie

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=Noon
WRITER=THa
TAPE#97-84
GRAPHIC=Jessie

The jury could begin deliberating a Dickenson County murder case this afternoon.
Attorney's for 35- year- old Kenneth Jessie rested their case this morning after calling fewer than a dozen witnesses.
Jessie's attorney tried to pin the murder on Jessie's wife Elizabeth-- saying Kenneth was a good provider and father
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Christiansburg;

who never killed his four- year- old step-daughter, Annie Leftwich.
He was arrested last spring after SUPER=03-Dickenson Co./File Tape;
the child, who was covered with bruises and scrapes, died in the family's Dickenson County home.
Prosecutors say Annie was gagged to death after something was placed in her mouth.
The inmates who testified yesterday were asked to recall a conversation they allegedly had with Kenneth.
(/////SOT/////)
5:19:49
SOT
IN Q=I was
((PATRICK MULLINS/PROSECUTION WITNESS:I WAS JUST TALKING ABOUT, ANNIE, AND STUFF, AND HE TOLD ME THAT. ASKED ME COULD THEY TRACE IF YOU HAD ORAL SEX WITH THE BABY. ))
SUPER=01-Patrick Mullins/Prosecution Witness; :00
RUNS=:15
OUT Q=with the baby.
(----------------)
VO-NAT

Four- year- old Annie's mother, Elizabeth, pleaded guilty to second degree murder.
Yesterday she testified Kenneth repeatedly whipped Annie and imprisoned her for days at a time as punishment for bed wetting.
She says the day Annie died her nude body was taped to her urine soaked bed.
(----------------)

UNABOMBER

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=NOON
WRITER=MEL
TAPE#net
GRAPHIC=Kaczynski, Ted

Some more delays at the unabomber trial.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
stock file
Opening statements were set to begin today, but Kaczynski has again brought activity to a standstill.
He has requested that he be allowed to serve as his own attorney.
There is also some jury trouble today.
An alternate juror called in sick.
Yesterday, the judge rejected Kaczynski's request to fire his attorneys.
Relations have been strained over the defense team's plan to portray Kaczynski as mentally ill.
(----------------)

Boeing-Inspections

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=Noon
WRITER=mel
TAPE#net
GRAPHIC=NONE

The F-A-A could order urgent inspections as early as today on scores of recently manufactured Boeing 7-37's.
The possible move comes after evidence from last month's crash of a Silk Air 7-37 in Indonesia suggests that missing rivets and bolts may have caused the accident.
Bob Orr reports.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT
IN Q=
SUPER=01-Bob Orr/Reporting; :00
SUPER=@file; :17
RUNS=1:36
OUT Q=CBS News Washington.
(( The jetliner slammed into a river......after a high speed dive from 35-thousand feet. Sources say....radar information indicates the plunging plane hit speeds topping 600 miles per hour. On impact the jet was shattered into thousands of tiny pieces.
But, investigators have discovered a startling clue in the fragmented wreckage.
VO/ It seems as many as two dozen rivets and bolts may have been missing from the plane's horizontal stabilizer -- that's the short wing in the tail that helps the plane maintain level flight.
VO Sources say it appears that the missing fasteners were never installed in the first place. And investigators report finding pieces of the tail section more than a mile away from the main crash site. That suggests part of the tail may have broken off in flight....dooming the plane and all 104 people aboard.
VO Investigators are still trying to confirm their fears, but want to know if rivets and bolts may have been left out of other 737's manufactured in the past two years. And that troubling question may prompt an urgent inspection of the world's most popular passenger jet.
O/C CLOSE: An inspection, if it's ordered, could involve nearly 200 late model 737s. Meanwhile investigators at the NTSB continue listening to the recently recovered cockpit voice tape....hoping to find the ultimate clues to cause of the crash. Bob Orr, CBS News, Washington.))

GLENN-SPACE

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=NOON
WRITER=MEL
TAPE#NONE
GRAPHIC=NONE

There may be something to keep former astronaut John Glenn busy during his upcoming retirement.
An Ohio newspaper says NASA is considering another trip into space for the 76- year- old senator.
But NASA says it could take months to decide whether a flight by Glenn would have any scientific value -- and whether Glenn would be safe.
Glenn thinks the flight could offer new clues about the aging process.
If Glenn does go up, he'd become the oldest person ever to fly in space.

Muldoon

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=Noon
WRITER=tha
TAPE#net
GRAPHIC=Muldoon, Patrick

A Giles County Republican wants a second chance to take on ninth district congressman Rick Boucher.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=@file;

This morning Patrick Muldoon announced he is seeking the Republican nomination.
Muldoon ran an unsuccessful campaign against Boucher during the last election.
Muldoon is an engineer at the Celanese Plant in Narrows.
(----------------)
ANCHOR=Melanie
SS=NONE

Radford Opthamologist Joe Barta is also expected to seek the Republican nomination.

E-Car-Tax

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=Noon
WRITER=equ
TAPE#97-85
GRAPHIC=Jim Gilmore

Jim Gilmore ran for Governor on the promise of getting rid of the car tax.
Now that he's set to take office, Gilmore is admitting abolishing the car tax may cost much more than he estimated.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=@file;

But Gilmore said through a spokesman yesterday that only as governor-elect has he been able to get more accurate numbers on which to base the plan's cost.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 06:56:45
IN Q=We certainly
((JIM CAMPBELL/VA. ASSOC. OF COUNTIES: WE CERTAINLY TRIED TO WARN THEM THAT THE NUMBERS WERE QUITE LOW. HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GET HOLD OF THE BETTER NUMBERS. OR HE COULD HAVE TAKEN OUR ADVICE ON THE PROCESS.))
SUPER=01-Jim Campbell/Va. Association of Counties;
RUNS=:09
OUT Q=the process.
ANCHOR=Melanie
SS=Jim Gilmore

Gilmore's spokesman says he's still "one hundred percent committed" to the car tax cut.

E-Rebel-Records

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=Noon
WRITER=JoeD
TAPE#97-89
GRAPHIC=Grammy Awards

The Grammy Awards may seem removed from the Roanoke area, but one local record label has racked up some nominations.
Two releases from Rebel Records are nominated for Bluegrass Album of the Year.
(----------------)
VO-NAT

Fiddler Richard Greene was nominated for "Sales Tax Toddle," a tribute to the music of Bill Monroe.
And Ralph Stanley picked up a nomination for "Short Life of Trouble, Songs of Grayson and Whitter."
(/////SOT/////)
SOT 05:48:31
IN Q=The criteria have
((DAVE FREEMAN/REBEL RECORDS: THE CRITERIA HAVE CHANGED OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, WHERE THEY'RE ACKNOWLEDGING MORE OF THE REAL MUSIC VALUE RATHER THAN THE COMMERCIAL VALUE AND WE FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH THAT. IT'S NOT JUST A POPULARITY CONTEST NOW.))
SUPER=01-Dave Freeman/Rebel Records;
RUNS=:16
OUT Q=popularity contest now.
ANCHOR=Melanie
SS=HOLD

The 40th annual Grammy Awards will be presented February 25th at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

torch-flame

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=Noon
WRITER=jha
TAPE#net
GRAPHIC=NONE

Runners in the "Olympic Torch Relay" ran into some trouble yesterday in Japan.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Aomori, Japan;

The relay was brought to a halt when the flame went out.
The torch was quickly re- lit from a back-up flame kept nearby in an escort vehicle.
The cause of the dying flame is still being investigated.
On Tuesday, the "Torch Run" started in three Japanese cities.
It is scheduled to arrive in Nagano on the eve of the Winter Olympics.
(----------------)

E-Skateboarding

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=Noon
WRITER=djo
TAPE#97-92
GRAPHIC=NONE

An indoor skate park may be the solution to the outdoor problems experienced by those who enjoy in-line skating and skateboarding.
David Johnson has more on the newest activity at the New River Valley ministry called "Straight Street".
(/////SOT/////)
SOT
IN Q=An indoor
SUPER=03-Christiansburg; :00
SUPER=01-Tom Arthur/In-Line Skater; :10 QUICK!
SUPER=01-Abe Hensley/In-Line Skater; :13
SUPER=01-Bob Anderson/"Straight Street"; :39
SUPER=01-Teresa Hensley/Abe's Mom; :50
SUPER=01-Carlene Arthur/Tom's Mom; 1:00
SUPER=@David1; 1:32
RUNS=1:42
OUT Q=News 7, Christiansburg

((An indoor skate park could be the answer for those who ask, If I can't skate outside, then where?
(/////SOT/////)
SOT-05:37:10
((TOM ARTHUR/IN-LINE SKATER; IT'S REALLY GOOD TO HAVE IT INDOORS, SHELTERED FROM THE WEATHER. REAL NICE AND STRING STRUDY RAMPS. IT'S REAL NICE.))
RUNS=:06
BUTT/BUTT/BUTT
(/////SOT/////)
SOT-05:41:41
((ABE HENSLEY/IN-LINE SKATER; IN THE WINTER, YOU GET SNOW AND THERE'S ALWAYS RAIN TO CONTEND WITH. IT'S JUST BETTER BECAUSE YOU CAN COOL IT DOWN AND HEAT IT UP AND IT'S MORE COMFORTABLE.))
RUNS=:08

The New River Valley's "Straight Street" is a ministry which offers teens a safe place to hang out.
The teen center heard about kids being cited for skating in parking lots and on sidewalks in some cities and decided to give them an alternative. It's the only one of it's kind in the region.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT-05:51:48
((BOB ANDERSON/CHRISTIANSBURG STRAIGHT STREET TEEN CENTER; WE SAW A NEED FOR IT. SO WE ASKED AROUND TO SOME OF THE KIDS AND WE FOUND OUT THAT IF WE BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME.))
RUNS=:07

Parents say it's the right thing at the right time.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT-05:46:02
((TERESA HENSLEY/ABE'S MOM; IT'S NICE TO HAVE SOMETHING LOCALLY THAT MY SON CAN ENJOY AND PARTICIPATE IN. SORT OF A NON TRADITIONAL SPORT, BUT IT'S IN A SAFE ENVIRONMENT, IN A SUPERVISED ENVIRONMENT.))
RUNS=:11
BUTT/BUTT/BUTT
(/////SOT/////)
SOT-05:48:17
((CARLENE ARTHUR/TOM'S MOM; I APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT THEY DON'T HAVE TO SKATE ON THE STREETS. THEY HAVE THIS FACILITY AVAILABLE NO MATTER WHAT THE WEATHER MAY BE.))
RUNS=:10

Participants say the only drawback is how small the building is. But plans for expansion may be in the works.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT-05:56:04
((HOPEFULLY IN THE SPRING, IF THE INTEREST CONTINUES TO GROW AND WE GET THE KIDS COMING OUT, WE'LL GET THE PARKING LOT PAVED. WE NEED HELP WITH THAT SO WE'LL RAISE DONATIONS. WE'LL GET THE FRONT PARKING LOT PAVED. THEN WE'LL EXPAND OUTDOORS WITH SOME MORE RAMPS AND STUFF. THEN STAGE THREE WILL BE GOING INTO A LARGER BUILDING.))
RUNS=:15
BUTT/BUTT/BUTT STAND-UP/06:06:10 ((DAVID JOHNSON/REPORTING; THE SKATERS SAY THEY ARE HAPPY TO HEAR ABOUT THE EXPANSION PLANS, BUT FOR NOW, THEY'RE HAPPY WITH JUST HAVING AN INDOOR FACILITY. DAVID JOHNSON, NEWS 7, CHRISTIANSBURG.))
RUNS=:09

WEATHER
SUPER=300-67/75/South 12mph/29.59f/70/1965/ 0/1970;
SUPER=301-65/93/South 13mph/29.64f/74/1907/ 1/1878;
Forecasts
SUPER=X5000;
SUPER=330-Rain Ending/Cooler/45-48/Variably Cloudy/Not as Mild/55-58;
SUPER=331-Showers/& Storms/50-53/Variably Cloudy/Still Mild/60-63;
SUPER=332-Mostly Cloudy/Light Showers/42-45/Partly Cloudy/& Cooler/45-48;
SUPER=333-Turning Cooler/Some Showers/42-45/Cloudy/& Cooler/48-52;
SUPER=334-Cooler/with Showers/40-44/Mostly Cloudy/Light Showers/40s & Falling;
SUPER=X5001;

UVA

ANCHOR=Patrick
NEWSCAST=Noon
WRITER=rst
TAPE#bb98-2
GRAPHIC=UVA

Liberty University handed U-V-A its first loss to an instate team in nearly 20 years.
The Flames held off the Cavaliers for the 69 to 64 win.
Roy Stanley has more on the game.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT
IN Q=fIRST AUDIO
SUPER=03-Charlottesville/Cavaliers vs Flames; :00
SUPER=01-Curtis Staples/Held to 2 Points; :11
SUPER=01-Erik Sorensen/Scored 12 Points; :39
SUPER=01-Norman Nolan/Scored 30 Points; :48
SUPER=33-Liberty/69/Virginia/64/; 1:13
SUPER=01-Randy Dunton/Interim Head Coach; 1:26
SUPER=@Roy1; 1:39
RUNS=1:53
OUT Q=......news 7 sports."

WIPE WIPE WIPE
(XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX)
take fullscreen 100essC
The same Liberty team that won last night was hammered 80-to-47 by the Hokies back on December first.
And look at this, U-V-a beat V-M-I 92-to-55 just before Christmas.
But on New Year's Eve V-M-I knocked off Tech at the Cassell.
(----------------)

VMI

ANCHOR=Patrick
NEWSCAST=Noon
WRITER=jmc
TAPE#net
GRAPHIC=VMI

VMI's athletic director has resigned.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Lexington/File Tape;

Davis Babb joined the athletic department 13 years ago. He'd been its head for the past 7 years.
His resignation is effective immediately.
(----------------)
ANCHOR=Patrick
SS=HOLD

Mike Bozeman, the head track coach, will be the interim athletic director.
In a news release, V-M-I superintendent Josiah Bunting praised Babb for being a devoted and loyal member of the administration.

Hernandez

ANCHOR=patrick
NEWSCAST=Noon
WRITER=lfi
TAPE#net
GRAPHIC=News 7 sports generic

After defecting from his homeland, Cuban baseball player Orlando Hernandez
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-San Jose, Costa Rica
arrived in Costa Rica last night from the Bahamas, seeking political asylum. He was accompanied by several other Cuban players who also defected.
Hernandez is rumored to be staying in Costa Rica just long enough to sign a major league deal in the United States. His wife is already here.
Orlando Hernandez is the brother of World Series M-V-P Florida Marlin, Livan Hernandez.
(----------------)

Promo

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=Mornin
WRITER=kmc
TAPE#97-90
GRAPHIC=NONE

The Homestead has stood the test of time over the last two centuries.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Hot Springs;

The resort has recovered from fire and financial problems.
But new ownership and renovations have created a new LOOK for the old landmark.
(/////SOT/////)
SOT tape 1 11:11:50
((MARY SANDERS/HOMESTEAD MARKETING DIR.: CLUB RESORTS, INCORPORATED HAD PURCHASED THE RESORT FOUR YEARS AGO. WE'RE GOING NOW IN OUR FIFTH YEAR, AND WE'VE COMPLETED 23- MILLION- DOLLARS IN RENOVATIONS. SO, IF THE FOLKS IN YOUR VIEWING AREA HAVEN'T BEEN TO SEE THE HOMESTEAD IN A FEW YEARS, IT'S WELL WORTH COMING UP. ))
RUNS=:14
(XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX)
ess full screen wknd am
A look inside the Homestead is the first of our new weekly feature, "Time Off" on News 7 Saturday morning, which gets under way this weekend.
Denise Allen and Andrew Frieden will bring you the latest news, weather, sports and interesting features every weekend morning from 8 to 9.
(----------------)

Snakes

ANCHOR=Melanie
NEWSCAST=Noon
WRITER=spa
TAPE#97-95
GRAPHIC=NONE

Even if you don't like snakes you can still appreciate the folk art of Dave Rawlings.
(----------------)
VO-NAT
SUPER=03-Roanoke;

The 80- year- old retired forestry worker whittles away his days making walking sticks wrapped with wooden snakes.
Even though the end product is art, Rawlings keeps his creations true to nature. Each snake is painted with the proper markings and colors that identify it in the woods.
He makes about 150 sticks a year and sells them on the Blue Ridge Parkway for 15 dollars a piece. But money isn't his motivation, he says he makes just enough to support his carving habit. (----------------)