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[7Watkins]
[ANCHOR=mel]
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[TAPE#98-24 TC 3:52]
[GRAPHIC=death penalty]
Despite high-profile supporters like a former first lady and a local university professor, Ronald Watkins' was executed last night after nine and a half years on Virginia's death row.
Ellen Qualls reports on the Danville killer's final punishment.
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[SOT]
[IN Q=the ambulance]
[SUPER=01-Tammy Brown/Greensville Correctional Center; :09]
[SUPER=01-Frank Green/Media Witness; :28]
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[OUT Q=News 7]
[7Monty-Murder]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
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[WRITER=djo]
[TAPE#98-30]
[GRAPHIC=murder investigation]
An arrest has been made in connection with this past weekend's homicide in Montgomery County.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Montgomery Co.;]
42- year- old Robert Lee Crook- Senior of Montgomery County, has been charged with the shooting death of Michael Durham.
Durham was shot in the chest and arm five times with a 38- caliber handgun.
Police say Crook made a confession when he was arrested, and then admitted why he shot Durham.
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[SOT=13:11:07]
[IN Q=MR COOK KNEW]
((DOUG MARRS/MONTGOMERY CO. SHERIFF; MR CROOK KNEW THE MAN AND WAS AFRAID OF THE MAN.))
[SUPER=01-Doug Marrs/Montgomery Co. Sheriff;]
[RUNS=:06]
[OUT Q=the man.]
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[VO-NAT]
Crook has been charged with first degree murder and firearms violations.
He was released on 100-thousand dollars bond.
The investigation is continuing.
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[7S-Tornado-Donations]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cut in]
[WRITER=chu]
[TAPE#98-21 TC 5:40]
[GRAPHIC=Weather Damage]
Victims of last Friday's tornadoes in Southside Virginia are still trying to piece their lives back together. Many were left with nothing -- but help is on the way.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Henry Co.;]
Henry County's "Disaster Recovery Task Force" is asking for donations of money, services, and equipment.
The donations will help those tornado victims who face gaps in their insurance coverage or who have no insurance at all.
The tornado damage in Henry County is estimated at two-hundred- thousand-dollars.
But that is NOT enough to qualify the county for state or federal aid.
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[SOT 3:46:24-:33]
[IN Q=I think to get]
((STEVE EANES/DEPT. OF PUBLIC SAFETY: I THINK TO GET THROUGH THIS ONE THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE TO RELY ON THEIR INSURANCE INDUSTRIES AND COMPANIES DEPENDING ON THEIR COVERAGE AND ON EACH OTHER TO GET THROUGH THIS.))
[SUPER=01-Steve Eanes/Department of Public Safety;]
[RUNS=:09]
[OUT Q=to get through this.]
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[VO-NAT]
Volunteers are gathering at Axton Middle School on Saturday to help tornado victims clean up their properties.
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[7Weather]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
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As you head out the door this morning, expect a mostly sunny, MUCH warmer day today. Temperatures will reach the mid-70s in most areas with plenty of sunshine to go around...
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[7BIRTHDAYS!] 3/27/98
Friday:
[SUPER=130-12/Shelby Hairston/Martinsville]
[SUPER=130-4/Celeste Hodges/Boones Mill]
[SUPER=130-16/Marcus Johnson/Vinton]
[SUPER=130-56/Doris Branch/Alexandria]
[SUPER=130-2/Jason Adams/Gretna]
[SUPER=130-24/Vicky Watkins/Greensboro, NC]
Twins!
[SUPER=130-8/Kehana & Kenshenia James/Roanoke]
[SUPER=130-8/Ashley Brunty/Rockbridge Baths]
[SUPER=130-54/Alice Reynolds/Danville]
[SUPER=130-1/Calla Handy/Fieldale]
Twins!
[SUPER=130-2/Hunter & Peyton Johnson/Vinton]
[SUPER=130-10/Wesley Thomason/Roanoke]
WOW!
[SUPER=130-101/Laura Williamson/Alton]
[SUPER=130-2/Jessica Keen/Vinton]
[SUPER=130-3/Stephanie Fisher/Callaway]
No Pictures:
[SUPER=131-/Donna Gourley/Sago]
[SUPER=131-79/Saint Bolden/Low Moor]
[SUPER=131-41/Janie Moore/Christiansburg]
[SUPER=131-41/James Burks/Christiansburg]
[SUPER=131-/Stanley Hurt/Lynchburg]
[SUPER=131-62/Harold Hollandsworth/Christiansburg]
[SUPER=131-/Dorothy Cundiff/Penhook]
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[Super=@Melanie1;]
[45Watkins]
[ANCHOR=mel]
[NEWSCAST=cut in]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#98-24 TC 3:52]
[GRAPHIC=death penalty]
A former first lady pleaded for his life.
But the Supreme Court and Governor Gilmore said no, so last night Ronald Watkins was executed by lethal injection.
The thirty-five-year-old was convicted nearly a decade ago for the murder of a Danville store owner.
Ellen Qualls has more from Jarratt.
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[SOT]
[IN Q=the ambulance]
[super=03-Jarratt;]
[SUPER=01-Tammy Brown/Greensville Correctional Center;:09;]
[SUPER=01-Frank Green/Media Witness;:28;]
[super=19-Ellen/Qualls; 1:00;]
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[OUT Q=News 7]
[45Monty-Murder]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cut in]
[WRITER=djo]
[TAPE#98-30]
[GRAPHIC=murder investigation]
Montgomery County police have arrested a man in connection with a weekend homocide.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
42- year- old Robert Lee Crook- Senior of Montgomery County, has been charged with the shooting death of Michael Durham.
[SUPER=03-Montgomery Co.; ]
Durham was shot in the chest and arm five times with a 38- caliber handgun.
Police say Crook made a confession when he was arrested, and then admitted why he shot Durham.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT=13:11:07]
[IN Q=MR COOK KNEW]
((DOUG MARRS/MONTGOMERY CO. SHERIFF; MR CROOK KNEW THE MAN AND WAS AFRAID OF THE MAN.))
[SUPER=01-Doug Marrs/Montgomery Co. Sheriff;]
[RUNS=:12]
[OUT Q=the man.]
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[VO-NAT]
Crook has been charged with first degree murder and firearms violations.
He was released on 100-thousand dollars bond.
The investigation is continuing.
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[45S-Orange-shooting]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Cut in]
[WRITER=KHu]
[TAPE#net]
[GRAPHIC=none]
One of the suspected gunmen in a shoot-out on Orange Avenue two weeks ago was released from the hospital.
Errol McBean was immediately arrested for malicious wounding and taken to jail.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/March 12]
McBean allegedly shot Omari Shindano Brown in the back more than once- -as Brown left his home at 1326 Orange Avenue.
At the time Brown told police he knew the man by sight but not by name.
It took a while for police to figure out McBean's real name. When they did, they realized he was wanted for allegedly beating a woman last year and for failure to appear in court.
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[45Radford-Hospital]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
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[WRITER=gol]
[TAPE#=598-20]
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A local hospital is taking part in an international exchange program.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Radford;]
A group of Japanese health-care professionals toured the site that will soon be Radford Community Hospital.
They're interested in state-of-the-art hospital equipment -- the kind of equipment that will fill this building once it's finished.
The hospital plans to see its first patients this fall.
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[45Weather]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Cut in]
[WRITER=lfi]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]
Shifting gears now to weather--
Mostly sunny skies and much warmer highs in the low to mid 70s.
Clear and comfortable overnight, with lows only falling into the 50s.
The outlook for the next few days is very pleasant...
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[8execution]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cut in]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#net-]
[GRAPHIC=death penalty]
Ronald Watkins had reportedly become a Christian and a former First Lady had asked that his life be spared.
But Watkins was executed last night, as scheduled.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Jarratt;]
The thirty five year old Watkins was convicted of killing a Danville store owner in 19-88.
He died by lethal injection last night, but not before making a final statement directed to the family of his victim, William McCauley and his own family.
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[SOT]
[4:12-21]
[IN Q=]
((HE STATED, I'M SORRY TO THE MCCAULEYS, TO MY FAMILY FOR TH EPAIN AND SUFFERING I'VE CAUSED. ))
[SUPER=01-Tammy Brown/Greensville Correctional Center;]
[RUNS=:11]
[OUT Q=i've caused.]
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[VO-NAT]
Rosalynn (ROSE-lynn) Carter had written to Gilmore on Watkins' behalf, saying the inmate had become a devout
Christian.
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[8E-School-Follo]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Cut in]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=98-31, TC 4:12]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Incidents of school violence are becoming regular subjects of national headlines--
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Jonesboro, AR]
Recent stories have proven that no school is immune.
Here in western Virginia, officials say they take the threat of violence seriously... and hope to strike a balance between adequate security and programs that help students deal with anger.
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[SOT]
[IN Q=I don't think we can ever predict]
((ANN HARMAN/ROANOKE CITY SCHOOLS: I DON'T THINK WE CAN EVER PREDICT THIS TYPOE OF VIOLENCE. ONE OF THE THINGS WE HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND THOUGH IS THAT KIDS ESPECIALLY DEFINE VIOLENCE IN MANY DIFFERENT WAYS. SOME KIDS WILL DEFINE VIOLENCE AS JUST A SIMPLE FIGHT BETWEEN TWO KIDS. OTHER KIDS BECAUSE OF THEIR ENVIRONMENTS ON A REGULAR BASIS, WILL DEFINE VIOLENCE AS AN ACT SUCH AS JONESBORO.))
[SUPER=01-Ann Harman/Roanoke City Schools;]
[RUNS=:23]
[OUT Q=as an act such as Jonesboro.]
[ANCHOR=]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Psychologists say there are no simple answers to violence involving children, so the most effective prevention attacks the problem on several fronts.
[8E-Power-Line]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Cut in]
[WRITER=gol]
[TAPE#=98-35 TC 4:23]
[GRAPHIC=AEP Powerline]
Public input is an important building tool for the planned high- voltage power line in Southwest Virginia.
That's according American Electric Power.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Tazewell Co.;]
At a hearing in Tazewell County, lots of speakers criticized the route A-E-P proposed last fall.
For its part, the power company says a team of experts from Virginia Tech and West Virginia University did an intensive study before suggesting what route the power line should take.
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[SOT 10:45:49]
[IN Q=the route they]
((TODD BURNS/AMERICAN ELECTRIC POWER: THIS IS THE ROUTE THEY HAVE DETERMINED AFTER A YEAR-LONG STUDY WILL BE THE BEST FOR PEOPLE AND THE ENVIRONMENT ALONG THE 132-MILE CORRIDOR. IT'S BY NO MEANS CONCRETE.))
[SUPER=01-Todd Burns/American Electric Power;]
[RUNS=11]
[OUT Q=NO MEANS CONCRETE]
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[VO-NAT]
A-E-P says without the line, Southwest Virginia will not have an adequate power supply.
Public hearings continue tomorrow in Montgomery County.
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[8E-Carrier]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cut in]
[WRITER=lba]
[TAPE#=98-29 TC 4:07]
[GRAPHIC=Education]
Ronald Carrier has served as president of James Madison University for nearly three decades.
But now he's leaving the post.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Harrisonburg/January 1995;]
When Carrier assumed the presidency of then-Madison College he was the youngest college president in Virginia.
Carrier says he will remain president through the end of the year or until his successor is hired.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[SS=None]
J-M-U says only three other public college presidents in the country have held office longer than Carrier.
[8Pet-Pal]
[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cut in]
[WRITER=sta]
[TAPE#=98-27]
[GRAPHIC=none]
Some of the newest caregivers at Carilion Community Hospital don't have HANDS.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]
They have PAWS.
The dogs, Zane and Scarlett are making their rounds as pet pals, visiting sick children in need of something more to lift their spirits.
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[SOT 00.01.44 - 00.02.00]
[IN Q=You know why]
[RUNS=:07]
[Out Q=Thrill for them]
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[VO-NAT]
The program is run by the Delta Society.
After eight to twelve hours of training, the pets visit the hospital once a month to meet pediatric patients and children in intensive care.
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[8Weather]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Cut in]
[WRITER=lfi]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]
Turning your attention now to weather--
Lots of sunshine ahead today and more springlike temperatures in the 70s.
Clear and not too cool tonight, with lows in the lower 50s.
The extended forecast stays sunny and pleasant...
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by SS