WDBJ 7 news at Noon for 03/26/98

[Grayson-Murder]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]

[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=sly]
[TAPE#=98-25]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]

One of the men accused in a high profile Grayson County murder must stay away from witnesses who will testify in the case.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=@File]

A judge issued that restriction today for Emmett Cressell Junior.
Last week Cressell was released from jail after he agreed to testify against co-defendant Louis Ceparano.
The two are accused in the burning and beheading of Garnett "G-P" Johnson. A friend of Johnson's complained after she saw Cressell speaking with a witness who will testify for the defense.
(-----------)
[Talent=Melanie]
[SS=Legal Scales]

Cressell's attorney had maintained the conversation did not violate Cressell's bond terms, but a judge today ordered Cressell not to speak with witnesses for either side in the case.

[Monty-Murder]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=djo]
[TAPE#98-30]
[GRAPHIC=murder investigation]

An arrest has been made in connection with a Montgomery County homicide.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]

42- year- old Robert Lee Crook- Senior of Montgomery County, has been charged with last weekend's shooting death of Michael Durham.
[SUPER=03-Montgomery Co.; :06]

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.]
(----------------)
[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.
(----------------)

[smyth-indict]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=chr]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=legal scales]

Indictments have been handed down against a Smyth County man charged with capital murder in the death of his former fifth-grade teacher.
(-----------)
[vo/nat] [use cover of widener and crime scene from tape 596-25 9/14/96 P-Widener or tape 96-71 9/13/96 widener]
[super=@file]
Eighteen-year-old Joshua David Widener could face a death sentence if convicted during his trial that is scheduled to begin April 20th.
Retired teacher Anna Jean Anderson was found raped and strangled in her home last summer.
23-year-old Harold David Davis has also been charged in connection with the murder.

[S-Orange-shooting]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=KHu]
[TAPE#98-]
[GRAPHIC=none]

One of the suspected gunmen in a shoot-out on Orange Avenue two weeks ago was released from the hospital yesterday.

Errol McBean was immediately arrested for malicious wounding and taken to jail.
(----------------)
[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.
(----------------)

[BODIES-FOUND]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#net-]
[GRAPHIC=none]

A grisly discovery in southern Arkansas.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Pine Bluff, AR;]
[10:10:43]
The bodies of three young children and two women were found late last night in their mobile home in Pine Bluff.
A coroner says they were all shot to death.
The local Sheriff's office says the deaths are being treated as five homicides.
At this time no arrests have been made.
Police say the victims include two women in their 20's and three children ages three, five and 12.
(----------------)

[ARKANSAS-UPDATE]

[ANCHOR=MEL]
[NEWSCAST=NOON]
[WRITER=MEL]
[TAPE#NET-]
[GRAPHIC=SHOOTING]

In northeast Arkansas students at one middle school are back in class for the first time since Tuesday's shooting rampage that took the lives of four students and a teacher.
Funeral services for the victims are set for tomorrow and Saturday.
Meantime, a hearing for the two young suspects in the shootings will be held next month.
Drew Levinson has an update.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[11:30 update window]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Jonesboro, AR; :00]
[SUPER=01-Drew Levinson/Reporting; 1:43]
[RUNS=1:50]

[OUT Q=CBS NEWS, JONESBORO, AR.] [E-School-Follo]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=98-31, TC 4:12]
[GRAPHIC=None]

The school violence in Jonesboro, Paducah and other communities is being felt in classrooms across the country.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Jonesboro, AR]

Recent headlines 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.
(/////SOT/////)
[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 attac

ks the problem on several fronts.[CLINTON]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=NOON]
[WRITER=MEL]
[TAPE#net-]
[GRAPHIC=CLINTON]

For the first time a U-S President is visiting South Africa.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Cape Town, South Africa;]

President Clinton is in Cape Town today, meeting with President Nelson Mandela.
The President and first lady began their historic visit by laying mortar and cement blocks at a housing project for disadvantaged women.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[7:45:30]
[IN Q=]
(( PRESIDENT CLINTON:THIS SHOULD BE A MODEL FOR PEOPLE WHO DON'T HAVE A LOT OF MONEY ALL OVER AFRICA, ALL OVER THE WORLD. ))
[RUNS=:15]
[OUT Q=all over the world]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]

The President also addressed the South African parliament.
He praised the nation for shedding the chains of its past for a brighter tomorrow.
(----------------)

[POSTAL-DELAYS]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=MEL]
[TAPE#net-]
[GRAPHIC=postal service]

The U-S Postal Service prides itself on the ability to deliver in rain, sleet or snow.
But not in the middle of violence.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Chicago, IL;]

For the first time in its history, the postal service refused to deliver mail because of crime.
Residents of a violence-ridden Chicago housing project received no mail yesterday and Tuesday.
Carriers complained of stray gunfire and vandalized mailboxes.
Mail delivery resumed today after Housing Authority officials promised to beef up police patrols and provide escorts for the mail carriers.
(----------------)

[E-Sales-Tax]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=eea]
[TAPE#=98-22 TC 7:47]
[GRAPHIC=None]

A good economy is not doing much for sales-tax collections in Roanoke.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=@File]

People aren't spending less, they're spending elsewhere- like the New River Valley Mall, and new super stores in Rocky Mount, Henry County and Covington.
That's why sales tax revenue in Roanoke is up less than one percent in 19-98.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 05:08:55]
[IN Q=last year]
((JIM GRISSO/FINANCE DIRECTOR; LAST YEAR WE HAD 8.7 MILLION DOLLARS IN REVENUE TO WORK IWTH IN THE NEW BUDGET AND THIS YEAR WE HAVE 6.2 MILLION, ABOUT 2 MILLION DOLLARS LESS TO ADRESS NEW PROGRAMS, PAY RAISES AND SUPPORT OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM.))
[SUPER=01-Jim Grisso/Finance Director;]
[RUNS=:16]
[OUT Q=our school system]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The city is now projecting NO sales tax revenue growth for the 19-99 budget.
(------------)

[E-Power-LIne]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=gol]
[TAPE#=98-35 TC 4:23]
[GRAPHIC=AEP Powerline]

The State Corporation Commission is holding public hearing number two tonight concerning American Electric Power's proposed power line through Southwest Virginia.
Meanwhile AEP officials say a series of public hearings could help determine the best possible path for constructing the high-voltage line.
(------------)
[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.
(/////SOT/////)
[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]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

A-E-P says without the line, Southwest Virginia will not have an adequate power supply.
Public hearings continue tonight in Montgomery County.
(------------)

[iraq]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=MEL]
[TAPE#net-]
[GRAPHIC=none]

In Baghdad, U-N weapons inspectors have begun searching Saddam Hussein's Presidential compounds.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Baghdad, Iraq;]
[7:17:09]
A team of inspectors and diplomats will spend most of the day at a palace compound outside of Baghdad.
The compound is believed to be one of Saddam's largest complexes.
The 58 inspectors will try to determine whether Iraq has destroyed its weapons of mass destruction.
(----------------)

[E-Internet-Spectrum]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=djo]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=Internet]

Several localities in the western part of the commonwealth may soon receive digital services by way of a broadband radio spectrum. Yesterday, Virginia Tech's foundation was awarded the wireless spectrum after out-bidding other entities following a federal Communications Commission-hosted auction. The university will use the spectrum to establish a test-bed, which will advance L-M-D-S research and development.
Wireless communication companies and residents ranging from Danville, through Roanoke to Bristol and counties to the west of the state will benefit from the services.

[E-Carrier]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=lba]
[TAPE#=98-29 TC 4:07]
[GRAPHIC=Education]

James Madison University is looking for a new President.
After 27 years at J-M-U's helm Ronald Carrier is stepping down.
(------------)
[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.[Curry]

[ANCHOR=Patrick]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=SP-8]
[GRAPHIC=RONALD CURRY]

It's back to the spotlight for Ronald Curry.
The high school phenom who's headed for North Carolina shined last night in the the annual McDonald's high school all-star game.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Norfolk/ESPN; :00]

The Scope was sold out for Curry's last high school hurrah, and he would not disappoint as he scored 19 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to win most valuable player honors.
But the man who turned the most heads by far was Dan Gadzuric, who was like a man amongst boys under the hoop throwing down jam after jam with authority.
[super=33-East/128/West/112;]

Thanks to Gadzuric and Curry the East is able to beat the West 128-to-112. Defense was obviously optional.

(------------)[Odom]

[ANCHOR=patrick]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=sp-5]
[GRAPHIC=uva]

Latest word out of Charlottesville is bringing a trip down memory lane to UVA fans.
That after word that none other than former Terry Holland assistant
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Greensboro, NC/ACC Tourney; :00]

coach Dave Odom returned to town yesterday morning to talk about the possibility of replacing Jeff Jones.
Odom has been at Wake Forest since 1989 and before this season his teams at Wake Forest had posted 5 straight 20 win seasons.
[SUPER=03-Charlottesville/1988;]

Odom served under Holland as an assistant coach at UVa from 1982 through 1989.
He is still a favorite of many Virginia alumni.
(-------------)

[Tech]

[ANCHOR=patrick]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=SP-10]
[GRAPHIC=VT HOOPS]

A key basketball player for Virginia Tech is saying sayonara to the Hokies.
Jenis Grindstaff is transferring to another school.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg/Last Season; :00]

Grindstaff hasn't picked his new college, but he wants to play in the ACC.
The former North Carolina prep player of the year averaged 11 points a game this past season and had ateam high 94 assists.
He refused to talk with News 7 Sports yesterday about the move.

(------------)[Kyle]

[ANCHOR=Patrick]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=sma]
[TAPE#=SP-6]
[GRAPHIC=Kyle Petty]

Kyle Petty made a pit stop in Wythe County last night on his way to the upcoming Food City 500 at Bristol.
Petty dropped in to speak at a Christian Men's rally.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT #eng]
[SUPER=03-Wytheville; :00]

Nearly a thousand folks turned out at George Wythe high school. Petty shared his testimony that accompanied a time of worship and prayer.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q="]
((KYLE PETTY/DRIVER OF HOT WHEELS PONTIAC:))
[SUPER=01-Kyle Petty/Hot Wheels Pontiac Driver; :00]
[RUNS=:21]
[OUT Q=i guess"]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT(Con't)]

Motor racing Outreach joined churches from Abingdon to Pulaski as particpants in what turned out to be an up lifting evening. Here's Steve Mason with more on the Hot Wheels driver.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q='Coming up]
((STEVE MASON:))
[SUPER=@Steve1; :00]
[RUNS=:10]
[OUT Q=...at six" ]
(-------------)

[E-Pet-Pal]

[ANCHOR=mel]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=sta]
[TAPE#=98-27]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Man's best friend is bringing a furry touch to the rooms of patients at Carilion Community Hospital --
(-------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]

Meet Zane and Scarlett.
The two dogs are making their rounds as pet pals.
They're visiting sick children in need of something more... to lift their spirits.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 00.01.44 - 00.02.00]
[IN Q=You know why]
[RUNS=:07]
[Out Q=Thrill for them]
(--------------)
[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. (--------------)