08:25-01

[Thirty-Weather]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
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[7E-Boty-Ax]


[ANCHOR=Melanie]
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[TAPE#98-10]
[GRAPHIC=Fatal Accident]


An accident on Interstate 81 yesterday took one life and sent four others to the hospital.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Botetourt Co.;]


A state police trooper says the driver of a limousine lost control of her vehicle.
She ran off the road and entered a median before going over an embankment.
She then went across ANOTHER road and struck a hillside.
All of the victims were taken to Roanoke Memorial Hospital where the limousine driver later died.
The names of the driver and passengers are not being released at this hour.
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[75-Montvale-Ax]


[ANCHOR=Melanie]
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[TAPE#=597-54]
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Three people when were injured when they were thrown from a pickup truck travelling at high speeds, according to police.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Montvale]


The accident happened on Route 460 near Montvale. The east-bound pickup truck went into the median and hit a road sign, then slid back across the highway and slammed into the guardrail.
All three people in the truck were thrown out. Police say it was traveling between 70 and 80 miles an hour.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 10:22:34]
[IN Q=there was nobody]

((SGT. BOBBY RATLIFF/VA. STATE POLICE; THERE WAS NOBODY ELSE INVOLVED, THEY WERE THE ONLY VEHICLE INVOLVED , THEY JUST LOST CONTROL AND AS I SAID BEFORE, SPEED WAS DEFINITELY A FACTOR.))
[SUPER=01-Sgt. Bobby Ratliff/Virginia State Police]
[RUNS=:09]
[OUT Q=definitely a factor]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]


Two of three were airlifted to Roanoke Memorial Hospital.
So far no charges have been filed. Police are still investigating.
(------------)



[7Grayson-Murder]


[ANCHOR=Melanie]
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[TAPE#net]
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The white man accused of burning and beheading a black man in Grayson County is waiting for a new trial date to be set.
Emmett Cressell's first-degree murder trial was set to begin next week until a judge there postponed it.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]

[Grayson-Murder, 97-80, 1/29/98]
[SUPER=03-Independence/File Tape; ]


D-N-A evidence indicates Garnett Johnson's blood was found on the hand, clothes and tools of a second suspect in the murder.
That suspect, Louis Ceparano, faces a capital murder trial in April.
A new date for Cressell's trial will be set next week.
(----------------)
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[SS=NONE]


The Justice Department is investigating whether the killing was racially motivated.

[7S-Patient-Care]


[ANCHOR=Melanie]
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[TAPE#97-98]
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Some workers at Columbia Alleghany Regional Hospital are concerned downsizing is affecting the care patients get.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Covington;]


Members of the United Paperworkers International Union say the hospital is assigning workers with little training to take care of too many patients.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 01.03.27 - 01.03.45]
[IN Q=The goal was]

((GLENN INGLIN/UNITED PAPERWORKERS INTERNATIONAL UNION: THE GOAL WAS TO MAKE A MORE EFFICIENT AND PROFICIENT TEAM ON EACH FLOOR SO THAT PATIENT CARE WOULD IMPROVE, USING THE SAME AOUNG OF PEOPLE EVEN THE POSSIBILITY OF LESS PEOPLE. BUT, YET AT THE SAME TIME PATIENT CARE SHOULD IMPROVE, BUT IT NEVER MATERIALIZED.))
[SUPER=01-Glenn Inglin/United Paperworkers;]
[RUNS=:18]
[OUT Q=it never materialized.]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]


The union says it was working with the hospital to cut costs and eliminate as few jobs as possible but that the hospital backed out of the plan.
The union, which represents many non-management hospital employees, plans to hold a rally in protest of the hospital's practices.
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[ANCHOR=]
[SS=Alleghany Regional Hospital]


Hospital officials deny patient care has suffered, pointing out that job cuts occurred among support staff and not nurses and doctors.
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[7Weather]


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Checking your Thursday forecast, partly cloudy skies are on tap for today...
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[7BIRTHDAYS!]2/13

[SUPER=130-47/David A. Stevens/Fincastle;]



[SUPER=130-90/Dewey Reed/Willis;]



[SUPER=130-/14/Ashley Belflowers/;]



[SUPER=130-1/Megan Elizabeth Branch/Bassett;]



[SUPER=130-5th/Nancy & Leroy Nellum/Bedford;]
(anniversary)



[SUPER=130-/7/Carly Longworth/;]



[SUPER=130-14/Michael Waddy/Rocky Mount;]



[SUPER=130-7/Chelsea Hutchinson/New Castle;]



[SUPER=130-45th/Aubrey & Virginia Wooldridge/Scottsburg;]
(Anniversary)



[SUPER=130-14/Sylvia Ann Cameron/Willis;]



[SUPER=130-51/Doris Fulcher/Salem;]



[SUPER=130-33/Gary Akers/Blacksburg;]



[SUPER=130-5/TyIeshia Fluellen/Roanoke;]


NO PICTURES:

[SUPER=131-/Virginia Robertson/Lynchburg;]



[SUPER=131-/67/Margaret Lumpkin/;]



[SUPER=131-/Sherri Walker Davidson/Bedford;]



[SUPER=131-/Mary Smith Young/Martinsville;]



[SUPER=131-/James Walker/Snow Creek;]

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[45E-Abed]


[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Cut in]
[WRITER=KHu]
[TAPE#98-9]
[GRAPHIC=NONE]


The defense continues to present its case in the Abed trial.
Yesterday testimony continued to focus on two fires, including one that that destroyed the Corner Store.
The prosecution charges the Abed family started the fire to drive back competition in the convenience business.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=04-ATF Video Demonstration;]


The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms showed the jury a videotaped a demonstration of the fire.
The government hopes to convince the jury that it was moltov cocktail that started the blaze at the Store on Thirteenth Street and a fatal apartment fire nearby the same day.
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/January 13, 1995]


The defense argues it didn't happen that way- -pointing out that the rear window is seven feet off the ground, is covered with metal bars and is nine and a half feet from the point where the fire started.
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[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[SS=NONE]


The fire marshal's office originally declared the apartment fire an accident.
The man who made that ruling was one of the first witnesses for the defense.

[455-Car-Tax]


[ANCHOR=Melanie]
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[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#597-56]
[GRAPHIC=personal property tax]


State Lawmakers continue to debate Governor Gilmore's car tax plan.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Richmond;]


House floor leader Dick Cranwell yesterday dubbed the Governor's "no car tax" plan "the biggest fool cockamamie scheme" ever handed to the people of Virginia.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 12:45:23]
[IN Q=I want]

((DEL. DICK CRANWELL/D-VINTON: I WANT SOMEBODY TO WRITE DOWN TODAY'S DATE AND REMEMBER THAT YOU WERE TOLD THAT THIS ONE WILL COME BACK TO HAUNT YOU. BECAUSE YOU CAN'T DO IT. BECAUSE THE REVENUES AREN'T GONNA CONTINUE TO GROW AT THE ROSY RATES THAT THEY'RE PROJECTING.))
[sot 13:05:47]

((DEL. MORGAN GRIFFITH/R-SALEM: GO AHEAD. MARK DOWN THIS DAY. BECAUSE AS THE GENTLEMAN SAID, THAT DOG MAY OR MAY NOT HUNT IN THIS CHAMBER. BUT THAT DOG HUNTS BACK HOME. AND IF THERE'S A DOG THAT'S GONNA BITE, IT'S GONNA BITE THE LEG OF THOSE THAT DON'T DO THE PEOPLE'S WILL.))
[SUPER=@Cranwell; ]
[SUPER=@Griffith; :25]
[RUNS=:37]
[OUT Q=they're projecting.]
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[VO-NAT]


Governor Gilmore says he'll set off on a week-long tour of the state to sell the car tax plan AGAIN to voters.
(-------0---------)



[45Underage-Drinkers]


[ANCHOR=Melanie]
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[WRITER=lba]
[TAPE#NONE]
[GRAPHIC=Session 98]


Meantime, Virginia's Senate wants to give underage drinkers a second chance.
The bill would allow people under 21 charged with an alcohol offense to plead guilty and get a sentence of probation.
If they don't commit the same crime again, the misdemeanor will be wiped from their record.
Senator Roscoe Reynolds said the measure will prevent saddling a young person for life for one mistake.
Opponents warned that the bill sends the wrong message to teen drinkers.

[45E-Halifax-Drug]


[ANCHOR=Melanie]
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[TAPE#NONE]
[GRAPHIC=Drug Bust Cocaine]


The arrests continue to mount up in Halifax County's "Operation Fall Harvest".
Jamie Varon of South Boston is charged with nine-counts of distributing cocaine.. and five-counts of conspiracy.
He's out on 75-thousand dollars bail and no court date has been set.
"Operation Fall Harvest" was a year-and-a half narcotics investigation where officers made undercover buys to nab suspects.

[45WEATHER]


[ANCHOR=Melanie]
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Shifting your attention now to weather--
After some morning fog, expect partly cloudy skies and breezy conditions.
Highs around 50.
Clear tonight, and less breezy, with lows in the lower 30s.
The extended outlook is pretty pleasant...
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[8Grayson-Murder]


[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Cut in]
[WRITER=lba]
[TAPE#net]
[GRAPHIC=legal scales]


A Grayson County judge has delayed the trial of a white man accused of burning and beheading a black man.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]

[Grayson-Murder, 97-80, 1/29/98]
[SUPER=03-Independence/File Tape; ]


D-N-A evidence indicates Garnett Johnson's blood was found on the hand, clothes and tools of a second suspect in the murder.
That suspect, Louis Ceparano, faces a capital murder trial in April.
A new date for Emmett Cressell's first-degree murder trial will be set next week.
(----------------)
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[SS=NONE]


The Justice Department is investigating whether the killing was racially motivated.

[8VMI]


[ANCHOR=Melanie]
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[WRITER=lba]
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The case of a V-M-I cadet who dropped out after allegedly being beaten has attracted the attention of Rockbridge County's Commonwealth's Attorney.
Gordon Saunders said he'll
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]

[VMI, 98-2, 2/9/98]
[SUPER=03-Richmond/Monday;]

discuss the possibility of George Wade Junior bringing criminal assault charges.
Three V-M-I upperclassmen were suspended last week for a semester.
V-M-I officials decided the incident wasn't a case of hazing, although Wade was one of six freshmen who were struck with belts and a coat hanger.
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[85-City-Water]


[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Cut in]
[WRITER=tte]
[TAPE#=597-57]
[GRAPHIC=water quality]


If you've ever wondered what's in your drinking water, you'll soon find out.
The Environmental Protection Agency is requiring water companies to list the components of drinking water -- and w
hether a health hazard exists. (------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/File Tape;]


Starting next year, consumer confidence reports will come with your water bill.
They will list what chemicals are in drinking water- how much of them -- and what dangers they pose, if any.
Meanwhile, the E-P-A is still checking whether some contaminants in drinking water are dangerous to pregnant woman.

To be on the safe side, they want to lower the limit of those chemicals -- called (Tri-hal-o-methane) trihalomethane from 100 micrograms per liter to 80 micrograms per liter.
Roanoke's chemical levels are already well below that limit-- at 30 micrograms per liter-- compared to Danville's which is 62 micrograms per liter but still within the safety zone.
(------------)


[85-Car-Tax]


[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Cut in]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#597-56]
[GRAPHIC=personal property tax]


Cutting the car tax is appealing for many Virginia voters-- but the idea's heading down a tough road in Richmond.

(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Richmond;]


House floor leader Dick Cranwell yesterday dubbed the Governor's "no car tax" plan "the biggest fool cockamamie scheme" ever handed to the people of Virginia.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 12:45:23]
[IN Q=I want]

((DEL. DICK CRANWELL/D-VINTON: I WANT SOMEBODY TO WRITE DOWN TODAY'S DATE AND REMEMBER THAT YOU WERE TOLD THAT THIS ONE WILL COME BACK TO HAUNT YOU. BECAUSE YOU CAN'T DO IT. BECAUSE THE REVENUES AREN'T GONNA CONTINUE TO GROW AT THE ROSY RATES THAT THEY'RE PROJECTING.))
[sot 13:05:47]

((DEL. MORGAN GRIFFITH/R-SALEM: GO AHEAD. MARK DOWN THIS DAY. BECAUSE AS THE GENTLEMAN SAID, THAT DOG MAY OR MAY NOT HUNT IN THIS CHAMBER. BUT THAT DOG HUNTS BACK HOME. AND IF THERE'S A DOG THAT'S GONNA BITE, IT'S GONNA BITE THE LEG OF THOSE THAT DON'T DO THE PEOPLE'S WILL.))
[SUPER=@Cranwell; ]
[SUPER=@Griffith; :25]
[RUNS=:37]
[OUT Q=they're projecting.]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]


Governor Gilmore says he'll set off on a week-long tour of the state to sell the car tax plan AGAIN to voters.
(-------0---------)



[8weather]


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Turning now to today's outlook--
It'll be Partly cloudy and breezy, with westerly winds gusting up to 25 miles an hour.
High temperatures near 50.
Lows tonight will fall into the 30s under clear skies.
The four day forecast is...
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by SS