WDBJ 7 morning news AM cutins for 05/28/98

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[7Fatality]

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A Ridgeway woman was killed last night after State Police say she fell asleep at the wheel of her car.
According to police, 37-year-old Donna Brim drove over an embankment off of Route 58 in Patrick County around 11:15.

Her Toyota Corolla reportedly struck 2 trees.
Brim died shortly before one am at R-J Reynolds Memorial Hospital in Stuart.

[7E-Grayson-Murder]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
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[TAPE#98-41 25:50]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]
[***NOTE ANCHOR TAG***]
Louis Ceparano will be back in court today, as jury selection continues in his capital murder trial.
Potential jurors faced an array of questions yesterday, including whether they felt alcohol and race could motivate a murder.
Teresa Hamilton has more from Grayson County.
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[IN Q=Attorneys for]
[SUPER=03-Independence/File Tape; :00]
[SUPER=@Teresa1; 1:02]
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[OUT Q=NEWS 7, Independence.]
(( Attorneys for Louis Ceparano continue to maintain their client will not receive a fair trial in Grayson County because of extensive pretrial publicity.
Ceparano is one of two white men charged with burning and beheading Garnett "G-P" Johnson after a night of heavy drinking, last July.
In fact, alcohol was one of the issues explored in the courtroom...
with defense attorneys asking some potential jurors if they would be open to the theory that a person could consume enough alcohol that they would not be able to premeditate a murder.
Defense attorneys also asked potential jurors if they would be able to handle seeing pictures of Johnson's badly burned and decapitated body.
And, while some of the victim's family members say race was not a factor in the killing-- it was alluded to in court.
Defense attorneys actually cautioned potential jurors the word nigger and other profanity would probably come out in testimony. [TAKE SU]
One other questioned posed to the potential jurors was whether they'd be more likely to convict Ceparano-- to send a message to outsiders that Grayson County is NOT a prejudiced community.
Teresa Hamilton, NEWS 7, Independence.))
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[SS=none]

About 20- potential jurors were excused yesterday...
FOUR were selected for the panel of 26 which will eventually be narrowed down to twelve jurors and two alternates.

[72-Bedford-Arrest]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
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[TAPE#=98-; pull from 98-44 5/15/98, TC 8:39]
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One man has been arrested in connection with a shooting earlier this month in Bedford County.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Thaxton/May 15;]

The Bedford County's sheriff Department has charged 57 year old Gerald Profitt with malicious wounding.
Authorities say on May 15 he and his neighbor, 66 year old Maurice Brammer, were argueing outside of Profitt's home in Thaxton.
Profitt then allegedly shot Brammer at least three times.
At this time there is no word on Brammer's condition.
Profitt, meantime, has been released on bond.
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[7E-Breedlove]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
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[TAPE#98-40 38:12]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]

A former Montgomery County teacher's aide accused of having sex with three female students pleaded no contest in court yesterday.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Christiansburg/October 30;]

John Breedlove, shown here with his wife and parents, taught at Auburn Middle and high school until his arrest last fall.
Prosecutors say Breedlove would get the girls out of class and have sex with them in the teachers' lounge bathroom.

Officials say he also propositioned a fourth student.
All of the girls were 13-years of age or younger.
(----------------)
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[SS=none]

Breedlove is a former basketball standout at Ferrum college.
When sentenced, he faces up to 60-years in prison.

[7WEATHER]

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Turning now to your Thursday forecast...
Fog will clear out this morning, then look for mostly sunny skies. Highs will be in the low- to mid-80's.
Clear weather will stick around tonight, with mild temperatures dropping to around 60 degrees. Looking ahead to the weekend, expect sunny skies and warm temperatures...
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[7BIRTHDAYS!] 5/29/98
Friday:

[SUPER=130-13/Amanda Taylor/Boones Mill]

Anniversary:
[SUPER=130-46th/Ordway & Malieta Sowers/Christiansburg]

[SUPER=130-1/Nicholas Williamson/Roanoke]

[SUPER=130-5/Sharnile Mayo/Salem]

[SUPER=130-1/Taylor Williams/Pembroke]

[SUPER=130-5/Alicia Terry/Roanoke]

[SUPER=130-17/Atu Haywood/Roanoke]

[SUPER=130-10/Jennifer Thurman/Roanoke]

No Pictures:

[SUPER=131-/Mara Oakes/Snow Creek]

[SUPER=131-/Giles Bowles/Snow Creek]

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[SUPER=19-Melanie/Moon;]

[45Fatality]

Her Toyota Corolla reportedly struck 2 trees.
Brim died shortly before one am at R-J Reynolds Memorial Hospital in Stuart.

[452-E-Grayson-Murder]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=THa]
[TAPE#98-41 25:50]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]
[***NOTE ANCHOR TAG***]
More questions today for potential jurors in a high profile Grayson County capital murder trial.
Louis Ceparano is one of two men charged with killing Garnett G-P Johnson by burning him alive.
His body was than decapitated.
Teresa Hamilton reports.
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[IN Q=Attorneys for]
[SUPER=03-Independence/File Tape; :00]
[SUPER=@Teresa1; 1:02]
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[OUT Q=NEWS 7, Independence.]
(( Attorneys for Louis Ceparano continue to maintain their client will not receive a fair trial in Grayson County because of extensive pretrial publicity.
Ceparano is one of two white men charged with burning and beheading Garnett "G-P" Johnson after a night of heavy drinking, last July.
In fact, alcohol was one of the issues explored in the courtroom...
with defense attorneys asking some potential jurors if they would be open to the theory that a person could consume enough alcohol that they would not be able to premeditate a murder.
Defense attorneys also asked potential jurors if they would be able to handle seeing pictures of Johnson's badly burned and decapitated body.
And, while some of the victim's family members say race was not a factor in the killing-- it was alluded to in court.
Defense attorneys actually cautioned potential jurors the word nigger and other profanity would probably come out in testimony. [TAKE SU]
One other questioned posed to the potential jurors was whether they'd be more likely to convict Ceparano-- to send a message to outsiders that Grayson County is NOT a prejudiced community.
Teresa Hamilton, NEWS 7, Independence.))
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[SS=none]

About 20- potential jurors were excused yesterday...
FOUR were selected for the panel of 26 which will eventually be narrowed down to twelve jurors and two alternates.

[45E-Fire]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
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Bedford County authorities responded to a house fire late last night.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Bedford Co./Last Night;]

A smoke detector alerted residents so no one was injured. The blaze broke out at about 8-15 on Route 670.
The fire gutted the basement.
Fire investigators are still trying to determine the cause.
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[45E-Greenfield]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
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[TAPE#=98-49 1:09:03]
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Botetourt County wants to recruit high-wage jobs, so it's building something no one else in Virginia has.

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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Botetourt Co.;]

A 28-acre high-tech training center will open in the Greenfield industrial park late next year.
The goal is to not only attract new businesses -- but also help established local companies.
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[SOT 12:01:06]
[IN Q=Industries are]
((INDUSTRIES ARE ALWAYS ADOPTING NEW TECHNOLOGY. MANY TIMES THEY DON'T HAVE THE SPACE IN THEIR OWN BUILDING OR THEY DON'T WANT TO BRING NEW EQUIPMENT IN UNTIL IT'S READY TO BE USED. THIS WILL PROVIDE THAT SPACE.))
[SUPER=01-Gerald Burgess/Botetourt Co. Administrator;]
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[VO-NAT]

The county and the state are sharing the six-million-dollar price tag.
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Taking a break from the news to check your Thursday forecast--
The clouds and fog will lift later this morning, with mostly sunny skies on the way.
Highs in the low to mid 80s.
Clear tonight, with light winds and lows in the upper 50s.
Turning to the extended forecast-- expect lots of sunshine and hot temperatures...
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[8Fatality]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
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State police say a Ridgeway woman died in a car accident last night after apparently falling asleep at the wheel.

According to police, 37-year-old Donna Brim drove over an embankment off of Route 58 in Patrick County around 11:15.
Her Toyota Corolla reportedly struck 2 trees.
Brim died shortly before one am at R-J Reynolds Memorial Hospital in Stuart.

[8ceparano]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
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Jury selection resumes this morning in Grayson County in the capital murder trial of Louis Ceparano.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Independence/File tape;]

Ceparano is one of two men accused of burning Garnett G-P Johnson alive and then decapitating his corpse last July after a night of binge drinking.
The case received national attention when race was suggested as a possible motivation for the killing.
Johnson was black- the two defendants are white.
Ceparano's attorneys maintain that massive pre-trial publicity will prevent their client from receiving a fair trial in Grayson County.
Four potential jurors were selected yesterday to join a panel of twenty-six, that will eventually be narrowed down to twelve jurors and two alternates.
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[8S-Gilmore-Lottery]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
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[TAPE#598-23 TC 23:49]
[GRAPHIC=Virginia Lottery]

Virginians won't get to play a proposed high- tech, "paperless" lottery game.
That's after the state Lottery Board rejected the idea after critics charged it would be too similar to slot machines.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=@File;]

Governor Jim Gilmore sent the board a letter Tuesday, urging its appointed members to reject the computer screen scratch game.
Board Chairman Stuart Siegel said in a statement: "The Board feels that it has selected the product we think will be the most popular with the citizens of the Commonwealth..."
That means regular scratch ticket games will be used to help pay for a proposed Virginia baseball stadium, instead of the faster, more controversial computer game.
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[8E-Power-Line]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
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[TAPE#=98-39 32:36]
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One state down, and one to go--
Yesterday, West Virginia announced its approval of American Electric Power's new high- voltage power line.
But as Scott Goldberg tells us, the company still has to convince VIRGINIA officials to do the same.
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[SOT]
[IN Q=as they]
[SUPER=03-Montgomery Co.;00]
[SUPER=01-Howard Anderson/State Corporation Commission;]
[SUPER=01-Hal Cansler/Power Line Opponent;33]
[SUPER=01-Todd Burns/American Electric Power; 49]
[SUPER=@Scott2;1:05]
[RUNS=1:17]
[OUT Q=montgomery county]
(( As they floated down the New River, representatives of American Electric Power, the power company's critics and the judge who decides if Virginia needs a new power line focused on one of the most controverial questions the state needs to answer:
Is protecting this area's electricity worth building a high-voltage line through places like this?
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[SOT 12 48 01]
[IN Q=i have to]
((HOWARD ANDERSON/STATE COROPORATION COMMISSION: I HAVE TO BALANCE THE NEED OF THE LINE AGAINST THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT.)) [RUNS03]
[OUT Q=ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT]

Howard Anderson is the judge who, at public hearings earlier this year, listened to hundreds of concerns about the line's environmental impact --
Concerns from people Hal Cansler.
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[**BUMP**]
[IN Q=I DON'T]
((HAL CANSLER/POWER LINE OPPONENT: I DON'T WANT TO SEE IT IN OUR BACK YARD, BUT ALSO NO ONE ELSE'S BACK YARD. I'M STILL NOT CONVINCED THE LINE IS EVEN NECESSARY.)) [RUNS07]
[OUT Q=EVEN NECESSARY]

As the crew floated downstream, they didn't know it, but the state of West Virginia's Public Service Commission had already approved the same power line that would cross the New River in Virginia.
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[SOT 17 17 31]
["BURNS INT" TAPE]
[IN Q=WHAT THAT MEANS]
((TODD BURNS/AMERICAN ELECTRIC POWER: WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT THE WEST VIRGINIA PSC HAS IDENTIFIED THE NEED FOR THE POWER LINE, THAT THE WYOMING CLOVERDALE LINE IS THE BEST WAY TO ADDRESS THAT NEED, AND THAT THE PREFERRED CORRIDOR IS A GOOD PLACE FOR IT )) [RUNS13]
[OUT Q=FOR IT]

The state of Virginia must also endorse the line.
But it's going to be a while before the state decides if it's worth sacrificing some scenery to reinforce the area's power supply.
Scott Goldberg, News-7, Montgomery County.))

[8WEATHER]

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Time now to look at the Thursday forecast--
After morning clouds and fog, skies will turn mostly sunny.
High temperatures climbing into the mid 80s.
Clear and mild, with light winds.
Lows in the upper 50s.
The four day outlook is warm and pleasant---
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