WDBJ 7 morning news AM cutins for 07/07/98

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[ANCHOR=KIMBERLY]

[NEWSCAST=CUTIN]
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MAPS [cutopen]
[SUPER=19-Melanie/Moon;]

[7E-Rke-Drug-Bust]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=djo]
[TAPE#98-52]
[GRAPHIC=Drug Bust]

The Lincoln Terrace Housing Complex served as the backdrop last night for one of the largest drug busts in Roanoke's history.
Complaints from neighborhood groups about drug activity in their communities led to a police investigation.
As David Johnson reports, the housing complex is the primary location where drug dealers have set up shop.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=WE HAVE 267]
[SUPER=01-Lt. R. E. Carlisle/Roanoke Police Department; :01]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke; :10]
[RUNS=:44 Approximately]
[OUT Q=of this type]
(([SOT=20:29:38]
[IN Q=WE HAVE 267]
((LT. R. E. CARLISLE/ROANOKE POLICE DEPARTMENT; WE HAVE 267 CHARGES ON 141 INDIVIDUALS THAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR AT THIS POINT.))
[RUNS=07]
[OUT Q=AT THIS POINT.]
Those individuals include about 121 adults and 20 minors. Those people are spread throughout the city, but most are primarily within the Lincoln Terrace community. As police sweep the areas, additional drug arrests are being made. Officials say it's the largest collective sweep in the last two decades.
[SOT=20:29:18]
[IN Q=WHEN CRACK COCAINE]
((LT. R. E. CARLISLE/ROANOKE POLICE DEPARTMENT; WHEN CRACK COCAINE FIRST HIT THE STREETS IN ROANOKE, WE HAD SOME LARGE MAJOR INVESTIGATIONS BACK IN THE LATTER 80'S AND EARLY 90'S THAT RESULTED IN SIMILAR ARREST. BUT SINCE THEN THIS WILL BE THE LARGEST NUMBER OF ARREST THAT WE HAVE MADE IN AN UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATION OF THIS TYPE.)) [RUNS 18]
[OUT Q=OF THIS TYPE.]))
[Anchor=]
[Graphic=hold]
Several people were arrested last night and more arrests are expected.
Police also seized drugs and weapons during the bust.

[7E-Bedford-Ax]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=djo]
[TAPE#=98-44]
[GRAPHIC=Fatal Accident]

One man is dead and another injured after a head-on collision in Bedford County yesterday.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Stewartsville;]
Goodview resident Clyde Campbell died less than a mile from his home when his pickup truck and a V-DOT dump truck collided on route 757.
Police say Danny Ellis hit Campbell's pickup after swerving to avoid hitting another vehicle.
It took rescue crews about an hour to remove Ellis from his truck, before he was taken to the hospital.
(------------)

[7E-PH-Principal]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=djo]
[TAPE#=98-48 ]
[GRAPHIC=education]

Patrick Henry High School may soon have a new principal.
There were 14 applicants for the job, now it's down to just one candidate.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]
(Ron SETH-CHECK) Ron Szewczyk is from the small community of
(HOE-TON) Houghton Lake, Michigan.
The 28-year education veteran is a pricipal for a high school with a student body of about 700, about half the size of P-H. But (Seth-check) Szewczyk says size isn't a factor.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT=19:33:59]
[IN Q=I THINK IT'LL]
((RON SZEWCZYK/PRINCIPAL FINALIST; I THINK IT'LL BE A LOT OF FUN. I THINK I CAN DO A LOT OF THINGS DIFFERENT, LIKE I MENTIONED IN THE MEETING. I'M NOT GOING TO BE IN THE CONFINES OF I CAN'T. I'M GOING TO EXPLORE SOME DIFFERENT THINGS. SOME PEOPLE MIGHT SNICKER. SOME PEOPLE MIGHT LAUGH. BUT I'M GOING TO GIVE IT A SHOT AND HOPEFULLY, I GOING TO KEEP MY FINGERS CROSSED THAT IT WORKS OUT RIGHT.))
[SUPER=01-Ron Szewczyk/Principal Finalist;]
[RUNS=18]
[OUT Q=works out right]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

There was another finalist, but he withdrew from contention at 11 yesterday morning after discovering there was a health center on the school's campus.
(///////sot//////)
[SOT=19:40:10]
[IN Q=HE SEEMED CONCERNED]
((WAYNE HARRIS/ROANOKE SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT; HE SEEMED CONCERNED BECAUSE AT THAT LATE POINT HE HAD TO WITHDRAW. BUT HE SAID IT VIOLATED ONE OF HIS VERY BASIC PRINCIPLES AND HIS RELIGIOUS BELIEFS ABOUT ABSTINENCE.))
[SUPER=01-Wayne Harris/Roanoke School Superintendent;]
[RUNS=13]
[OUT Q=PARTICIPATE FURTHER.]
(-------------)
[VO NAT]
Harris will decide within the next few days whether to appoint (Seth-check) Szewczyk or to continue the search.
(------------)

[7WEATHER]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=CUTIN]
[WRITER=KMC]
[TAPE #=]
[GRAPHIC=]

Taking a look now at your Tuesday forecast.. Expect partly sunny skies today, with light winds and temperatures in the mid- to upper-80's.
Clouds move into the area tonight, along with the chance for some showers or thunderstorms. Lows only reaching about 70.
The extended forecast..
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[7BIRTHDAYS!] 7/8/98
Wednesday:

[SUPER=130-76/Pauline Radford/Salem]

Anniversary:
[SUPER=130-5th/Rick & Mary Jane Henley/Roanoke]

[SUPER=130-70/Walter Henley/Roanoke]

[SUPER=130-19/Jason Henley/Roanoke]

[SUPER=130-/Joshua Huff/Dugspur]

[SUPER=130-6/Jonathan Walker/Buchanan]

[SUPER=130-77/Annie Woody/Martinsville]

[SUPER=130-96/Lura Patterson/Bedford]

[SUPER=130-7/Brittany Pierce/Bedford]

[SUPER=130-10/Daniel Rorrer/Floyd]

No Pictures:

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

Anniversary:
[SUPER=131-Euell & Kathy Overstreet/Snow Creek][cutopen]

[SUPER=19-Melanie/Moon;][45E-BotyAx-Folo]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=eea]
[TAPE#=98-43 1:01:11]
[GRAPHIC=Fatal Accident]
[**Note Anchor TAG***]
On Thursday a funeral will be held for six of the seven people killed in a two vehicle accident Saturday in Botetourt County.
But as Eric Earnhart reports, the memory of what happened may never be laid to rest.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Pictures of Saturday's]
[SUPER=03-Botetourt Co./Saturday; :00]
[SUPER=01-Roxanne Cullen/Victims' Sister; :24]
[SUPER=03-Lexington; :34]
[SUPER=01-Glen Stark/Superintendent; :42]
[SUPER=10-Kevin Chittum//November 8, 1991; :57]
[SUPER=@Eric1; 1:36]
[RUNS=1:42]
[OUT Q=EE, News 7]

(( Pictures of Saturday's accident scene tell one part of this tragic story...
Pictures of the young victims tell the other...
25 year old Kevin Chittum, 13 year old Bridget Chittum, 11 year old Sheena Miskovsky, Joshua and Jonathan Conner, 13 and 10,
19 year old Tamara Witney Rogers, whose family asked her picture not be used, and truck driver 59 year old Jerry Douglas Gregory.
[SOT 01:53:50]
[IN Q=we're doing ]
((ROXANNE CULLEN/VICTIMS' SISTER; THERE'S NOTHING ANYONE CAN REALLY SAY OR DO TO REALLY HELP OUR PAIN, JUST KEEP PRAYING FOR US AND HOPE THAT WE GET THROUGH THIS)) [RUNS11]
[OUT Q=deal with it]

Rockbridge County School officials are offering counseling, aware that the impact of the loss may not set in until students return to their classes.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 01:41:48]
[IN Q=i think a part]
((GLEN STARK/SUPERINTENDENT; I THINK A PART OF WHAT WE'LL TRY AND GET A HANDLE ON IN TALKING WITH FOLKS THIS WEEK AND NEXT WEEK IS WHAT LEVEL OF ADDITIONAL INTERVENTION WE MADE NEED ONCE SCHOOL STARTS.)) [RUNS10]
[OUT Q=of the summer]

7 years ago... we talked to Kevin Chittum, part of the last graduating class of Natural Bridge High School.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=we're going to be]
((KEVIN CHITTUM/ WE'RE GOING TO BE THE LAST PEOPLE TO SET FOOT ON THIS FIELD, AND SINCE WE'RE THE LAST CLASS, OF NATURAL BRIDGE HIGH SCHOOL, IT'LL MEAN A LOT)) [RUNS07]
[OUT Q=mean a lot]
[SOT 01:55:33 ]
[IN Q=if we had just ]
((ROXANNE CULLEN/VICTIMS' SISTER; IF WE HAD JUST LOST ONE FAMILY MEMBER IT WOULD STILL JUST BE AS HARD, BUT THIS ACCIDENT WIPED OUT HALF OF MY FAMILY, AND WE WERE ALL VERY CLOSE, AND THEY WILL BE SADLY MISSED.)) [RUNS14]
[OUT Q=sadly missed]

Route 11 is still closed at the scene of the accident, 4 thousand gallons of diesel fuel is eating away the asphalt... it will be replaced...
The only part of this tragedy that CAN be. [standup]
Monday evening family members placed a wreath at the accident site as a reminder to those who pass by.. though it's unlikely anyone in this community will forget any time soon.
Eric Earnhart, News 7))
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[GRAPHIC=Fatal Accident]

Route 11 at the accident site will be closed daily from 9-am until 5:30-pm while work crews repair the damage.

[45E-Bedford-Ax]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=djo]
[TAPE#=98-44]
[GRAPHIC=Fatal Accident]

A head on collition in Stewartsville has left one person dead and another injured.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Stewartsville;]
Clyde Campbell of Goodview died less than a mile from his home when his pickup truck and a V-DOT dump truck collided on route 757.
Police say Danny Ellis hit Campbell's pickup after swerving to avoid hitting another vehicle.
It took rescue crews about an hour to remove Ellis from his truck before he was taken to the hospital.
(------------)

[45E-Brain]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=tfl]
[TAPE#=98-49 42:01]
[GRAPHIC=medical news]

Some University of Virginia researchers have hope for patients suffering from a hereditary brain disorder.
Their research found that patients are often misdiagnosed as having an incurable disease.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Doctors examined a seven-year old girl diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and found she actually suffered from a treatable brain disorder. It was a relief to her family who never gave up hope that she would one day function normally.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 00 40 20]
[IN Q=Can you]
((CAN YOU IMAGINE FOR FIVE AND A HALF YEARS, SHE DIDN'T TALK, SHE DIDN'T MAKE A SOUND, NOT A SOUND, NOTHING.))
[RUNS=:10]
[OUT Q=sound, nothing.]
[ANCHOR=]
[SS=none]
The research is reported in the July issue of the Annals of Neurology.

[45WEATHER]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=CUTIN]
[WRITER=KMC]
[TAPE #=]
[GRAPHIC=]

Let's now check out the Tuesday forecast--
Partly sunny skies and warmer today, with highs in the upper 80s.
Skies will cloud up tonight, with showers or storms developing later.
Lows around 70.
The extended outlook is partly sunny and very warm for much of the rest of the week...
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[SUPER=19-Melanie/Moon;][8Sting-Operation]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=djo]
[TAPE#=98-]
[GRAPHIC=Drug Bust Cocaine]

A Northwest Roanoke neighborhood was the scene of one of the area's biggest drug busts.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]
141 people, 20 of them children, are collectively facing 267 drug trafficking and related charges. Officers began serving search warrants in the Lincoln Terrace Housing Complex yesterday after a Grand Jury returned the indictments. It all resulted from a six-month sting operation.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT=20:34:23]
[IN Q=WE WOULD POSE]
((LT. R. E. CARLISLE; WE WOULD POSE AS DRUG ADDICTS AND WE WOULD MAKE DRUG BUYS FROM THOSE DEALERS. THEN LATER WE IDENTIFIED THEM AND INDICTED THEM.))
[SUPER=01-Lt. R. E. Carlisle/Roanoke Police Department;]
[RUNS=11]
[OUT Q=INDICTED THEM]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Police will go into more than a dozen other communities to make arrests for drug trafficking.
(------------)

[8AX-VICTIMS-FOLO]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=MEL]
[TAPE#net- (from tape 98-43)]
[GRAPHIC=fatal accident]

Funerals are scheduled Thursday for six of the seven people who died last weekend in a car crash.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Botetourt Co./Saturday;]

Four of the victims were children.
Rockbridge County school officials are offering counseling, aware that the impact of the loss may not set in until students return to their classes.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 01:41:48]
[IN Q=i think a part]
((GLEN STARK/SUPERINTENDENT; I THINK A PART OF WHAT WE'LL TRY AND GET A HANDLE ON IN TALKING WITH FOLKS THIS WEEK AND NEXT WEEK IS WHAT LEVEL OF ADDITIONAL INTERVENTION WE MADE NEED ONCE SCHOOL STARTS.))
[SUPER=01-Glen Stark/Rockbridge Superintendent;]
[RUNS:10]
[OUT Q=once school starts.]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]

Meanwhile family members continue to mourn the loss.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
((ROXANNE CULLEN/VICTIMS' SISTER; IF WE HAD JUST LOST ONE FAMILY MEMBER IT WOULD STILL JUST BE AS HARD, BUT THIS ACCIDENT WIPED OUT HALF OF MY FAMILY, AND WE WERE ALL VERY CLOSE, AND THEY WILL BE SADLY MISSED. ))
[SUPER=01-Roxanne Cullen/Victims' Sister;]
[RUNS=:14]
[OUT Q=will be sadly missed.]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]

Route 11 is still closed at the scene of the accident.
Officials say the asphalt will have to be replaced because 4 thousand gallons of diesel fuel are eating away the asphalt.
(----------------)

[8E-Campbell-Shooting]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#98-46 45:52]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]

It's still NOT known whether charges will be brought against a Campbell County couple, whose young son accidentally shot and killed his baby sister.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Campbell Co./Last Week]

Thomas and Janet Sheppard's one-year old died when her four-year old brother shot her in the head.
The boy was playing with a loaded revolver he'd found in a dresser inside the family's Rustburg home.
Police are still investigating.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 13:11:21//13:11:34]
[IN Q=My understanding]
((NEIL VENER/CAMPBELL CO. PROSECUTOR: MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THE INVESTIGATOR'S STILL GOT SOME PEOPLE THAT HE NEEDS TO TALK WITH BEFORE HIS INVESTIGATION IS COMPLETE. HE'LL REVIEW THE ENTIRE CASE WITH ME AND THE DECISION WILL BE MADE WHETHER ANY CHARGES ARE APPROPRIATE OR NOT APPROPRIATE, BUT I'VE NOT MET WITH HIM AND NO DECISION'S BEEN MADE ON ANY MATTER YET.))
[SUPER=01-Neil Vener/Campbell Co. Prosecutor; :00]
[RUNS=:15]
[OUT Q=any matter yet.]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]

Failing to secure a weapon is a Class Three misdemeanor in Virginia, which carries a 500 dollar fine.
(----------------)

[8E-Epperson]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=am cutins]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#98-40]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]

35- years in prison is the sentence for a Campbell County man convicted of shooting another man SIXTEEN times last year.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Campbell Co./January 1997;]

The shooting occurred outside this mobile home near Evington the morning of January 26th, 1997.
29-year old Kevin Epperson hid under his girlfriend's front porch and ambushed 40-year old Edward Lee Miller when he came outside.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 13:09:02]
[IN Q=I looked at]
((NEIL VENER/PROSECUTOR: I LOOKED AT THIS CASE AS SERIOUS AS A MURDER, BECAUSE THE DEFENDANT DID EVERYTHING IN HIS POWER TO COMMIT MURDER. HE SHOT THE MAN NINETEEN TIMES, LAID IN WAIT FOR HIM, HAD A RIFLE AND A PISTOL AND EMPTIED BOTH OF THEM.))
[SUPER=01-Neil Vener/Prosecutor; :00]
[RUNS=:13]
[OUT Q=both of them.]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]

Doctors say it's a miracle that Miller survived the shooting, although he'll suffer medical problems the rest of his life.
Epperson plans to appeal the sentence.
(----------------)

[8WEATHER]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=CUTIN]
[WRITER=KMC]
[TAPE #=]
[GRAPHIC=]

That's it for the news-- here's one more look at the forecast.
Partly sunny today, with highs in the upper 80s.
Increasing clouds tonight, with showers or thunderstorms possible.
Lows falling to around 70.
The extended forecast is calling for partly sunny skies tomorrow, with a chance of showers.
High temperatures staying very warm this week...
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