[THIRTY-WEATHER]
[ANCHOR=KIMBERLY]
[NEWSCAST=CUTIN]
[WRITER=KMC]
[TAPE #=]
[GRAPHIC=]
[CK/WX PRO=]
MAPS
[75-Lee]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=598-23 TC 31:34]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]
It didn't take the jury long to decide.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]
The trial lasted three days.
And in the end it took the federal jury hour and a half to decide that Officer Jim Donaldson did NOT use excessive force when he arrested Eric Scott Lee five years ago.
The day of the incident, Donaldson himself said he'd used a "choke hold" to subdue the suspect.
And yet his lawyer says Lee died of cardiac arrest.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 14:50:05]
[IN Q=In this case]
((IN THIS CASE, THIS WASN'T A CHOKE HOLD. IT WAS A SITUATION WHERE THE AIR WAS NEVER ACTUALLY BLOCKED. IT WAS MORE A MATTER OF, AS I ASSUME THE JURY FOUND, THAT THE NERVES ON THE SIDE OF THE NECK THAT WERE ACTUALLY PRESSURED CAUSED THE CARDIAC ARREST WHICH THEN LED TO MR. LEE'S DEATH.))
[SUPER=01-Jim Guynn/Officer Donaldson's Attorney]
[RUNS=:15]
[OUT Q=Lee's death]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[GRAPHIC=none]
Officer Donaldson slipped out the back of the courtroom to avoid reporters after the verdict.
[7Hardy-Ax]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=chr]
[TAPE#=98-53]
[GRAPHIC=Accident]
One woman was airlifted to the hospital after a car accident in Bedford County last night.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Bedford Co./Last Night]
The accident involved a Ford pick-up truck and an Isuzu trooper.
Johnny Lanier (luh-neer) was driving the truck on Hardy Road when his vehicle collided with the Isuzu trooper.
Details of the accident are not available at this time.
Lanier sustained cuts in the accident.
The female driver of the trooper, whose name is not available, was flown to Roanoke Memorial Hospital, where she is in serious condition.
She reportedly suffered head trauma and severe lacerations.
(------------)
[7E-Lavinder]
[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=djo]
[TAPE#98-49]
[GRAPHIC=Lavinder, Ray 2221]
After a year on the job, Roanoke County Police Chief Ray Lavinder attributes his success to a closer relationship between the police and the community.
But the chief says there are other areas that need work.
David Johnson has his story.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=The 28-year law]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.; :00]
[SUPER=01-Ray Lavinder/Roanoke County Police Chief; :23]
[SUPER=@David1; 1:05]
[RUNS=1:19]
[OUT Q=News 7]
((The 28-year law enforcement veteran's first goal was to bring policing closer to the neighborhoods.
The county's "Bike Patrol" is helping making that happen.
Last year's pilot program was so well received, it has tripled in size and residents like the idea of "Community Policing".
The chief says crime prevention is now the biggest problem.
He says prevention starts with being proactive.
[SOT=15:59:02]
[IN Q=IF WE CAN]
((CHIEF LAVINDER; IF WE CAN GET A GOOD START WITH OUR YOUNG PEOPLE. DEMONSTRATE HOW DRUGS AFFECT THEIR LIVES AND HOW SMALLER CRIMES LEAD TO BIGGER CRIMES AND BIGGER CRIMES. IF YOU CAN CONVINCE THEM THAT THAT'S NOT THE WAY TO GO, I THINK WE'LL MAKE SOME PROGRESS))
[RUNS19]
[OUT Q=SOME PROGRESS.]
That will be an ongoing battle.
The short term goal- to provide more service to the community.
[SOT=15:59:50]
[IN Q=WE HAVE SOME STAFFING]
((CHIEF LAVINDER; WE HAVE SOME STAFFING NEEDS THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS. AND WE MAY STILL HAVE TO SWITCH SOME ADMINISTRATIVE POSITIONS AROUND TO GET SOME MORE LAW ENFORCEMENT POSITIONS ON THE ROAD.))
[RUNS14]
[OUT Q=ON THE ROAD.]
[STAND-UP]
((DAVID JOHNSON/REPORTING; OVER THE LAST 12 MONTHS, CRIMINAL ACTIVITY IN ROANOKE COUNTY HAS DECREASED, PARTICULARLY IN ROBBERIES, BURGLARIES AND HOMICIDES. CHIEF LAVINDER ATTRIBUTES THAT TO BRINGING THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND THE COMMUNITY CLOSER TOGETHER. DAVID JOHNSON, NEWS 7, ROANOKE COUNTY.))))
[7Tobacco-Summit]
[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=chr]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=none]
Richmond is the next stop for Governor Jim Gilmore's national tobacco summit.
Several hundred people are expected to attend the all-day meeting at Virginia Commonwealth University today.
The idea is to give Congress the views of tobacco growers and workers as the lawmakers consider a measure to raise cigarette taxes and allow federal regulation of nicotine.
[7WEATHER]
[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=CUTIN]
[WRITER=KMC]
[TAPE #=]
[GRAPHIC=]
Taking a look now at your Thursday forecast..
Some clouds remain, and you could see a passing shower. Highs back up in the mid- to upper-80's.
Tonight, look for clouds and scattered showers and thunderstorms, lows in the upper-60's
Checking the forecast for the weekend..
[CK/WX PRO=]
MAPS
[SUPER=X5000; set dissolve]
[SUPER=314-Variably Cloudy/Chance of Showers/84-88/Cloudy, Scattered/Showers or Storms/65-69;]
[SUPER=#555; reset]
[7BIRTHDAYS!] 6/12/98
Friday:
[SUPER=130-4/Elivia Wimmer/Martinsville]
Anniversary:
[SUPER=130-23rd/Carlton & Harriet Haywood/Roanoke]
[SUPER=130-24/Tameka Williams/Roanoke]
Wow!
[SUPER=130-100/Lee Tatum/Stuart]
[SUPER=130-/Lee Bertrand/Lynchburg]
[SUPER=130-11/Tamara Lowe/Salem]
[SUPER=130-27/Daryl Watkins/Roanoke]
[SUPER=130-10/Brandon Benington/Glasgow]
No Pictures:
[SUPER=131-/Ira Cooper/Snow Creek]
[SUPER=131-/Tracy Hartless/Roanoke]
[SUPER=131-/Sylvia Dalton/Christiansburg]
[SUPER=131-21/Becky Morris/Lewisburg]
[45Violent-Kids]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#98-50 11:47]
[GRAPHIC=Education]
Testimony resumes today in the Mississippi trial of a teen accused of gunning down his classmates at his high school.
The October shooting, as well as a string of others across the country in the last nine monhts has promoted Virginia school officials to impose strict rules on any threatening behavior.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
Last week, the Virginia Department of Education sent a warning to all 135 school divisions: "take all threats seriously."
The memo points to warning signs of potentially violent behavior, and encourages administrators to crack down on what may have seemed innocent in the past.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 11:56:03]
[IN Q=Our ultimate]
((RICHARD LAYMAN/DEP. SUP'T. FOR PUBLIC INSTRUCTION: OUR ULTIMATE CONCERN IS THE SAFETY AND WELFARE AND WELL-BEING OF ALL CHILDREN. IN THESE TYPE OF SITUATIONS AND ONES WE'VE DISCUSSED, THERE IS NO MARGIN OF ERROR. YOU'RE EITHER COMPLETELY RIGHT OR YOU'RE COMPLETELY WRONG.))
[SUPER=01-Richard Layman/Dep. Sup't. for Public Instruction;]
[RUNS=:12]
[OUT Q=completely wrong.]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
Virginia has had a safety resource center for two years.
It helps schools plan for crisis situations such as hostage-takings, shootings, and suicides at school.
(----------------)
[455-Boy-Suspended]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=THa]
[TAPE#598-25 TC 11:25]
[GRAPHIC=None]
But not all parents are pleased about the way principles are resonding to the new guidelines.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
At least one local parent says the school system is overreacting.
Leslie (Pear-A-deeso'S) Paradiso's 12-year old son attends Blacksburg Middle school.
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg;]
She says he was given one day in-school suspension after he yelled at another student who had repeatedly humiliated him in gym class.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=What bothers]
((LESLIE PARADISO/PARENT:WHAT BOTHERS ME THE MOST IS THAT THIS IS A CHILD WHO IS AN "A" STUDENT, HAS NEVER BEEN IN TROUBLE IN HIS LIFE, AND HE WAS DEFENDING HIMSELF.))
[SUPER=01-Leslie Paradiso/Parent; ]
[RUNS=:07]
[OUT Q=defending himself.]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[SS=None]
Paradiso says she spoke with school officials and was able to change the in-school suspension to two days of detention.
Superintendent Fred Morton says disciplining students is NOT cut and dry and that a lot of factors go into deciding how to discipline a child.
[45E-Year-Round-Schools]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=chu]
[TAPE#98-34 1:28:58]
[GRAPHIC=Education]
School may be out for much of the region, but it's back to class for some Danville students.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Danville;]
Don't let the empty classrooms at Schoolfield Elementary fool you.
They'll be filled later today.
Schoolfield is on a year-round schedule-- giving students an extra 40-days of instruction.
Danville's school board is working to expand the year-round program to other schools-- but there's a money problem.
It needs city council's help to fund the alternative schedule at Gibson Middle School.
Council members will vote next week whether to increase the city's waste water tax to raise the money.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 5:25:24-:42]
[IN Q=The principal and the teachers]
((ANDY OVERSTREET: THE PRINCIPAL AND THE TEACHERS AND THE PARENTS ARE ALL MOVING FORWARD AS IF IT WERE GOING TO HAPPEN...AS IF IT'S GOING TO GO.))
[SUPER=01-Andy Overstreet/Danville Superintendent;]
[RUNS=:18]
[OUT Q=it's going to go.]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
Several Danville council members told News 7 they expect the proposed tax hike to pass.
The 1-point-3 percent increase would raise 137-thousand dollars for year-round schooling.
(----------------)
[45E-Wilder]
[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#None]
[GRAPHIC=Wilder, Doug]
The former Governor Doug Wilder is no President Wilder.
Yesterday Virginia Union University's board of trustees elected Wilder to its top spot yesterday.
Wilder graduated from V-U-U in 19-51 with a B.A. in chemistry.
He was the nation's first elected black governor from 19-90 to 19-94.[45WEATHER]
[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=CUTIN]
[WRITER=KMC]
[TAPE #=]
[GRAPHIC=]
Turning your attention now to the forecast--
Variably cloudy today, with a chance of showers or thunderstorms.
Highs climbing into the mid and upper 80s.
Cloudy tonight, with scattered showers and storms possible.
Lows in the mid and upper 60s.
The four day forecast stays warm and drier through the weekend...
[SUPER=X5000; set dissolve]
[SUPER=314-Variably Cloudy/Chance of Showers/84-88/Cloudy, Scattered/Showers or Storms/65-69;]
[SUPER=#555; reset]
[8E-Lee]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=KHu]
[TAPE#98-41 38:36]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]
Seven jurors have decided a Roanoke police offficer did NOT use "excessive force" in the death of an assault suspect.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]
Officer Jim Donaldson had been accused of violating a man's Constitutional rights by applying what the officer himself called a "choke hold."
Twenty-year old Eric Scott Lee was resisting arrest.
It took three police officers to get him handcuffed.
Lee died.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 14:50:50]
[IN Q=In this case]
((IN THIS CASE THERE WAS NEVER ANY DAMAGE TO THE NECK. AND THAT WAS THE FIRST THING THAT MADE EVERYBODY IN THIS CASE THINK: "HEY, THIS WASN'T A CHOKE HOLD." THERE'S SOMETHING ELSE GOING ON HERE.))
[SUPER=01-Jim Guynn/Officer Donaldson's Attorney]
[RUNS=:08]
[OUT Q=going on here.]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
The jury was concerned about the fact that Officer Donaldson testified he'd seen officers use choke holds,
(----------------)
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[SS=None]
but the five women and two men of the jury concluded it was not excessive..
Guidelines say an officer has the right to use a level of force higher than the person who's resisting arrest.
[8Hardy-Ax]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=chr]
[TAPE#=98-53]
[GRAPHIC=Accident]
A traffic accident last night in Bedford county injured two people-- one of them severely.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Bedford Co./Last Night]
The accident involved a Ford pick-up truck and an Isuzu trooper.
Johnny Lanier (luh-neer) was driving the truck on Hardy Road when his vehicle collided with the Isuzu trooper.
Details of the accident are not available at this time.
Lanier sustained cuts in the accident.
The female driver of the trooper, whose name is not available, was flown to Roanoke Memorial Hospital, where she is in serious condition.
She reportedly suffered head trauma and severe lacerations.
(------------)
[8Year-Later]
[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=djo]
[TAPE#=???]
[GRAPHIC=Ray Lavinder]
Today is the one- year anniversary of Ray Lavinder taking over as Roanoke County's Police Chief.
Lavinder became the area's top law enforcement official about two months after Chief John Cease resigned.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.;]
The chief's goal to bring take policing further into the communities was accomplished with the inception of the BIKE PATROL.
It now consist of eight officers, up from three last year, and the department seeks to create an interest in "Community Policing".
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT=15:55:41]
[IN Q=IN FACT OUR]
((RAY LAVINDER/ROANOKE COUNTY POLICE CHIEF; IN FACT OUR VICE UNIT IS USING SOME OF THE BIKE UNITS. EVEN OUR VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN UNIT IS USING SOME OF THOSE TO CHECK AREAS WHERE WE'VE HAD PROBLEMS.))
[SUPER=01-Ray Lavinder/Roanoke Co. Police Chief; :00]
[RUNS=14]
[OUT Q=HAD PROBLEMS.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Chief Lavinder says the goal now is to prevent crime.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT=15:57:42]
[IN Q=WE'VE DONE A LOT]
((RAY LAVINDER/ROANOKE COUNTY POLICE CHIEF; WE'VE DONE A LOT OF GOOD THINGS IN THE LAST YEAR AND WE'RE PLEASED WITH OUR PROGRESS. WE WOULD LIKE TO DO BETTER. WE'D ALWAYS LIKE TO DO BETTER. NEVER SAY WELL I'M GOING TO GIVE MYSELF AN "A" BECAUSE THEN WE HAVE NOTHING ELSE TO DO. WE WANT TO GRADE OURSELVES SO WE CAN PUSH OURSELVES A LITTLE HARDER THE NEXT YEAR.))
[RUNS=16]
[OUT Q=THE NEXT YEAR.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
According to Lavinder, criminal activity in the County is down in most areas.
Still, one of his short term goals is to increase the number of officers on the force in an effort to provide better service.
(------------)
[8E-Rockbridge-Schools]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=sta]
[TAPE#=98-47 15:37]
[GRAPHIC=Education]
Not what students are learning, but what they're WEARING was the topic of a recent Rockbridge County School Board meeting.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Rockbridge Co.]
The County school board approved two dress codes June first-- one for students and one for teachers.
Restricted clothing for school employees includes tank tops or sweat shirts.
The county's school superintendent says the policy is meant to set employees apart.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 13.15.11 - 13.15.23]
[IN Q=I have not]
((GLEN STARK/ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT: I HAVE NOT HAD ANY COMPLAINTS FROM ANYBODY--PARENTS, STUDENTS OR ANYBODY ABOUT WHAT WE WEAR. BUT, WE ARE PROFESSIONAL PEOPLE AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR EMPLOYEES KNOW THAT WE ARE PROFESSIONAL PEOPLE AND THAT'S HOW WE SHOULD DRESS.))
[SUPER=01-Glen Stark/Rockbridge Co. Superintendent;]
[RUNS=:12]
[OUT Q=we should dress.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Under the new policy, students will not be allowed to wear clothing such as biker shorts and flip flops.
The dress codes go into effect July first.
(------------)
[8WEATHER]
[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=CUTIN]
[WRITER=KMC]
[TAPE #=]
[GRAPHIC=]
Time again to look over the forecast--
Variably cloudy today, with a chance of showers and thunderstorms, as highs warm into the upper 80s.
Lingering clouds overnight, with scattered showers or thunderstorms.
Lows in the mid to upper 60s.
Looking ahead over the next four days...partly to mostly sunny skies and highs in the 80s.
[SUPER=X5000; set dissolve]
[SUPER=#555; reset]
[SUPER=314-Variably Cloudy/Chance of Showers/84-88/Cloudy, Scattered/Showers or Storms/65-69;]
by SS