WDBJ 7 news at 6 for 07/08/98

[1-News-Head]

[TALENT=Jean]

(-----------)
[VO NAT] On News 7 at Six tonight-- how much will a college student pay the family of the woman he killed while driving drunk? We will have today's verdict in the Travis Lam civil trial.
(-----------)
[Talent=Jean]

And a state team inspects the site of the July 4th highway accident that killed seven people. [Sports-Head]
[ANCHOR=Mike]

Tonight in sports, Ken Oxendine the former Tech tailback talks about preparing for his first training camp, Jack Nicklaus says he's through playing in golf's majors.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

And Dot Bolling and Lee Shirley have advanced to the final four of the women's state amateur at the Cascades course in Hot Springs.
(------------)
[WX-Head]
[TALENT=Robin]
[SS=None]

The showers move out but the high humidity does not. A warm forecast and a sunny weekend outlook just ahead.[Buchan

an-Accident]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=eea]
[TAPE#=98-32 TC 1:51:21]
[GRAPHIC=Fatal Accident]

A special team of State Investigators is looking into the accident that killed 7 people last Saturday.
Eric Earnhart reports.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=David McAllister]
[SUPER=03-Botetourt Co.; :00 ]
[SUPER=01-David McAllister/Crash Investigation Team; :21]
[SUPER=@Eric1; :41]
[SUPER=01-Hugh Simmons/Hugh's Body Shop; 1:09 ]
[RUNS=1:53]
[OUT Q=EE, News 7]

(( David McAllister is not a police officer, he's a highway engineer... his Richmond based Crash Investigation Team feels THIS accident is worth a closer look...

[natsot]
((In my 25 years with the crash team, this is the worst wreck I've seen)) [RUNS06]

He's trying to find out if any type of structural defect, in either the car or the road, caused the accident.

(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=we try to look]
((DAVID MCALLISTER/CRASH INVESTIGATION TEAM; WE TRY TO LOOK AT THE DRIVING HISTORY OF THE DRIVERS, THE MECHANICAL CONDITIONS OF THE VEHICLES, AND THEN MY OFFICE WILL DO AN ANALYSIS OF THE ROADWAY TO FIND OUT HOW MANY WRECKS OCCURED AT THAT SECTION OF ROAD, HOW MANY OCURRED IN WET WEATHER VERSES DRY WEATHER, TO SEE WITH TYPES OF VEHICLES WERE INVOLVED, TO SEE IF WE HAVE A PATTERN.)) [RUNS20]
[OUT Q=have a pattern]

[STANDUP]
The purpose of the investigation is not to place blame, but to find out if any changes, now or in the future, can keep this from happening again.

Part of the probe involves talking to witnesses, such as wrecker service operator Hugh Simmons...

[natsot 00:26:21 ]
((and we picked it up one piece at a time, we didn't need a wrecker for any of it, we picked it up by hand)) [RUNS05]

Simmons, who's been driving wreckers since before the interstate was built, says the accident site has a history of serious crashes.

[SOT 00:34:21]
[IN Q=I would be]
((HUGH SIMMONS/HUGH'S BODY SHOP; I WOULD BE AFRAID TO COUNT THEM BECAUSE I'VE WORKED THAT MANY... ERIC; BUT THERE HAVE BEEN PLENTY? THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL, YES, YOU CAN TURN YOUR CAMERA AND LOOK HERE AT A RED TRUCK SITTING HERE AND THAT ONE WRECKED ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE ROAD.)) [RUNS15]
[OUT Q=opposite side of the road]

Simmons believes there's something wrong with this section of road... where the asphalt turns into smooth concrete, and water runs across the highway when it rains...

(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=if we find]
((DAVID MCALLISTER/CRASH INVESTIGATION TEAM; IF WE FIND THAT THERE'S A HIGHWAY PROBLEM, PROBLEMS WITH DRAINAGE, WITH SUPER-ELEVATION, BANKING OF THE ROAD, WITH THE COEFFICIENT OF FRICTION, HOW SLICK THE PAVEMENT IS, THEN OF COURSE WE'LL RECCOMEND RECCOMENDATIONS TO THE HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT.)) [RUNS16]
[OUT Q=the highway department]

The in-depth investigation will take several months to complete.
Eric Earnhart, News 7))

[Kitts]

[ANCHOR=Jean]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=sly]
[TAPE#98-39]
[GRAPHIC=Drunk Driving]

The death of a popular schoolteacher in a drunk driving accident has resulted in a damage award of one point four million dollars.
[Double Boxes=Jean and Keith/Microwave]

Keith Humphry is at the Roanoke County Courthouse where the verdict was returned late this afternoon.
[Live=Keith Full/Microwave]
[SUPER=@Keith1;]
[SUPER=05-Salem;]
( ad lib)
(Rollcue: they say they don't want to)
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Gary Kitts/Victim's Husband;]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co./December 1995]
[SUPER=07-Travis Lam;]
[SUPER=02-Charlie Phillips/Lam's Attorney]
[RUNS=:00]
[OUT Q=]
[Live=Keith Full/Microwave]
[SUPER=05-Salem;]
( ad lib)

[Double Boxes=Jean and Keith/Microwave][Mental-Patient]

[ANCHOR=Jean]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#98-51]
[GRAPHIC=None]

A man seeking mental help ended up stealing an ambulance and leading Lynchburg police on a short chase this morning.

(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg]

51-year old Dennis Ray Carter was arrested after he made off with an ambulance parked outside the emergency room at Lynchburg General Hospital.
Police had taken Carter there to be evaluated after he complained of hearing voices inside his head.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 1:34:39]
[IN Q=Apparently he]
((SGT. MARGARET BLANK/LYNCHBURG POLICE: APPARENTLY HE BELIEVED HIS HOUSE WAS BEING BUGGED, THAT DIFFERENT CARS WERE TELLING HIM WHAT TO DO, AND CERTAIN COLOR CARS WERE TELLING HIM CERTAIN THINGS AND THE T-V WAS TELLING HIM THINGS. SO I MEAN, IT WASN'T LIKE HE WAS A DANGER TO HIMSELF OR TO OTHERS, BUT THERE WERE SOME CONCERNS AND THAT'S WHY WE TALKED HIM INTO GOING OVER TO THE HOSPITAL WITH US.))
[SUPER=01-Sgt. Margaret Blank/Lynchburg Police; :00]
[RUNS=:21]
[OUT Q=hospital with us.]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]

Today's incident has mental health advocates complaining the hospital is not handling these cases properly.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 6:29:21]
[IN Q=With what happened]
((PHIL THEISEN/LYNCHBURG DEPRESSIVE DISORDERS: WITH WHAT HAPPENED THIS MORNING, I THINK THE QUESTION WOULD BE `WHERE WAS SECURITY?' IT'S OUR UNDERSTANDING THAT ONE PERSON IS STATIONED BACK THERE AT ALL TIMES AND I WOULD THINK NORMALLY THAT THAT PERSON WOULD BE CALLED UPON TO STAND BY A PATIENT.))
[SUPER=01-Phil Theisen/Depressive Disorders Assn.; :00]
[RUNS=:15]
[OUT Q=by a patient.]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]

In April, a man seeking mental help attacked a woman at knifepoint in the hospital parking lot.
Hospital officials released a statement saying patients who voluntarily seek treatment CAN NOT be held against their will.
(----------------)

[Plant-Closing]

[ANCHOR=Jean]
[NEWSCAST=6p]
[WRITER=djo]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=Business News]

70 people are losing their jobs in Dublin.
The Lucky Winner sewing plant is closing. The manager says it was an "economic and reorganization decision" made by the owner.
The 25-year old company cuts cloth material and ships it out. Departments will be phased out over the next four to six weeks.
[Tease#1]
[HARD MUSIC UNDER]
[ANCHOR=Jean]
[SS=NONE]

There are questions about Roanoke's financial bill of health --that's one of the stories coming up on News 7 at Six.
(---------------)
[VO-NAT]

And do you remember learning to swim? Experts are debating one method of teaching infants--it's literally sink or swim.
More on that just ahead but first let's check in with Robin Reed.
(----------------)
[ANCHOR=Robin]
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[SUPER=83-Down 0.54 foot/Down 0.48 foot;Lake levels][City-Finance]

[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=sgo]
[TAPE#=98-40 TC 1:30:38]
[GRAPHIC=Roanoke City Seal]

A national survey says seven out of 10 American cities are financially healthy -- and getting healthier.
Roanoke was part of that survey.
But as Scott Goldberg reports, the Star City's financial outlook isn't all that bright.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;00]
[SUPER=01-Jim Grisso/Roanoke Director of Finance; :15]
[SUPER=01-Sherman Holland/Roanoke Comm. of Revenue; 1:01]
[SUPER=@Scott1; 1:30]
[RUNS=1:38]
[OUT Q=SG, N7, ROANOKE.]
(( When the National League of Cities asked Roanoke about its financial health...
The city answered: Things aren't looking so great.
Even though the local economy is strong ... [pre pro]
City officials report in the coming years, Roanoke will be "less able to meet its financial needs."
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 10 38 20]
[IN Q=i wouldn't]
((JIM GRISSO/ROANOKE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE: I WOULDN'T CLASSIFY IT AS GRIM BUT I THINK WE'RE GOING TO BE LESS ABLE NEXT YEAR, PRIMARILY BECAUSE OF THE PERSONAL PROPERTY TAX.)) [RUNS10]
[OUT Q=TAX]
[pre pro]
This year the city had estimated it would collect more than 20-million dollars from the personal property tax on cars.
But now the city is predicting its actual revenue will fall short of that estimate...
Meaning about 815-thousand dollars will be missing.
That's money finance director Grisso said the city could use.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 10 42 36]
[IN Q=IT WILL]
((JIM GRISSO: IT WILL LIMIT THE AMOUNT OF MONEY WE HAVE TO DO NEEDED REPAIRS, MAINTENANCE, REPLACEMENT OF EQUIPMENT.))

[RUNSO8]
[OUT Q=OF EQUIPMENT]

Grisso blames the shortfall on the so-called "blue book."
This is the first year Roanoke has used the guide to determine how much property tax car owners pay.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 11 45 34]
[IN Q=that's the book that]
((SHERMAN HOLLAND/ROANOKE COMMISSIONER OF THE REVENUE: THAT'S THE BOOK THAT EVERYONE THROUGHOUT THE COMMONWEALTH IS USING, AND IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN FAIR AND CONSISTENT VALUES OF THE TAXPAYERS' VEHICLES, THAT'S THE BOOK WE'LL USE IN THIS OFFICE.)) [RUNS12]
[OUT Q=THIS OFFICE]

Commissioner of the Revenue Holland said there's another reason for the Star City's dim financial outlook --
Something Grisso noticed, too:
They say fewer out-of-towners are coming to Roanoke to spend money, so the city's not collecting enough sales tax.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[standup]
[IN Q=]
((SCOTT GOLDBERG/REPORTING: BUT ROANOKE WILL SOON HAVE THE AREA'S ONLY TARGET AND THE AREA'S ONLY HOME DEPOT. PEOPLE WHO SHOP THERE COULD BRING DOLLARS -- AND A BETTER FINANCIAL OUTLOOK -- BACK INSIDE THE CITY LIMITS. SCOTT GOLDBERG, NEWS-7, ROANOKE.)) [RUNS13]
[OUT Q=SG, NEWS-7 ROANOKE]

))[Pitts-Pot]

[ANCHOR=Jean]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=chu]
[TAPE#98-42 TC 1:01:44]
[GRAPHIC=Drug Bust Pot]

Hundreds of marijuana plants in Pittsylvania County are NO MORE, thanks to a three-day joint law enforcement effort.

(/////SOT/////)
[SOT (helicopter noise)]
[IN Q=(helicopter noise)]
[RUNS=:04]
[OUT Q=(helicopter noise)]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Pittsylvania Co.;]

Sheriff's deputies used helicopters flying over the entire county searching for pot plants.
Once plants were spotted, officers on the ground went about getting rid of them.
Small, newly planted marijuana could be pulled out by the roots.
Large stalks of pot-- some 15-feet tall-- had to be chopped down.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 22:24:27-:40]
[IN Q=It's a plant]
((HAROLD PLASTER/PITTSYLVANIA CO. SHERIFF: IT'S A PLANT THAT WE KNOW THAT LEADS TO OTHER HARDER DRUGS AND TO JUST GET THAT ONE PLANT OFF THE STREET IS WELL WORTH THE EFFORT TO DO THIS.))
[SUPER=01-Harold Plaster/Pittsylvania Co. Sheriff;]
[RUNS=:13]
[OUT Q=effort to do this.]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]

All total-- these deputies destroyed more than 500 of the illegal plants.
The Pittsylvania County sheriff's department conducts this type of search every year.
(----------------)

[VCE-Audit]

[ANCHOR=Jean]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#98-45 TC 49:58]
[GRAPHIC=Virginia State Seal]

Virginia's prison inmates make everything from license plates to metal furniture.
They work in printing shops and dental labs-- all behind bars.
But it's bad business.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=@file;]

According to a just-released state audit, Virginia Correctional Enterprises was more than five million dollars in debt at the end of March.
The state auditor says policymakers need to fund it as a rehabilitation program-- or make it more competitive as a business.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 15;47:33]
[IN Q=If not]
((WALTER KUCHARSKI/STATE AUDITOR: IF NOT, IT'S GOING TO HAVE CONTINUED FINANCIAL PROBLEMS LIKE IT HAS RIGHT NOW, WHICH IS A CASH SHORTAGE, THE LACK OF ABILITY TO COLLECT CERTAIN RECEIVABLES, THE NEED TO BUY INVENTORY, AND NOT HAVE THE POWER TO EITHER BORROW MONEY OR RAISE CAPITAL.))
[SUPER=01-Walter Kucharski/State Auditor;]
[RUNS=:16]
[OUT Q=raise capital.]
[TALENT=Jean]
[SS=Virginia State Seal]

Correctional Enterprises is already under investigation for possibly violating trade laws.

That's for costumes Virginia inmates made for the film "The Island of Dr. Moreau (mor-OH)."[Stocks]

[ANCHOR=Jean]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=NONE]

An active day of trading on Wall Street-- [TAKE DOW & NASDAQ PAGE ]
[RUNS=:25]
[SUPER=x5102;]
[SUPER=430-x/89.93/9174.97/x/27.39/1935.50;]

The Dow gained 90 points to finish at 91 hundred 75.
NASDAQ was UP 27 points for a record close.

[SUPER=431-i!/45c/h*/57a/h$/46d/i#/29!/h1&/58#;]
[ AE /ATT /Bell/Columbia/Crestar;]
[SUPER=432-h1a/54g/ie/11b/ha/41a/hb/62e/i!/52f;]
[Dana/Dimon/Dominion Resources/First Union/First VA]
[SUPER=433-h'/93#/hf/44%/h2g/87/u/29&/h@/10e;]
[General Electric/Kroger/Nationsbank/Norfolk Southern/Optical Cable]
[SUPER=434-i1#/38e/i1!/16'/i1@/33@/h1b/87$/h1'/62&;]
[phillip morris/roanoke electric steel/trigon/wachovia/walmart]

[Babies-Swimming]

[ANCHOR=Jean]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=tfl]
[TAPE#=98-41 TC 1:14:44]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Does the old adage "sink or swim" apply to swimming lessons for the very young?
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke; ]
To some people, it looks cruel-- throwing a six month old baby into the water. But some instructors say it forces the babies to learn to float. Roanoke Y-W-C-A swim teacher Cheryl Walters disagrees. She says it's impossible to teach infants how to swim.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT ub 18 28 58]
[IN Q=A child has]
((CHERYL WALTERS/WATER SAFETY INSTRUCTOR:A CHILD HAS NO JUDGMENT. LOOK AT TEENAGERS THEY GET DRIVERS LICENSE. AN INFANT'S NOT GOING TO KNOW, THERE NEED TO BE MANY, MANY, MANY SAFEGUARDS. WHEN A CHILD COMES TO ME, I WILL TEACH THEM SOME BASICS AND I'M REAL BIG ON SAFETY SO I TEACH THAT TO PARENTS ALSO.))
[SUPER=01-Cheryl Walters/Water Safety Instructor; ]
[RUNS=:18]
[OUT Q=parents also]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Pediatricians say parents can first introduce babies to water in the bathtub, and then enroll them in formal lessons when the child is three years old.
(------------)

[Sports Tease]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]

Coming your way tonight in sports, Nicklaus make a major decision, Hot Dot and Lee advance to the final four, Neil O'Donnell checks in with the Bengals,
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

and we will hear from former Hokie Ken Oxendine who is preparing for his first NFL training camp with the Falcons.
(------------)

[S-Jack]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=SP-16]
[GRAPHIC=BRITISH OPEN]

We begin tonight with news concerning the Master, Jack Nicklaus and next week's British Open.
For the first time in 40 years Jack will be a part of the festivities.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Nicklaus has not missed playing in any major since '57 but he says he is ready to end the streak.
Jack is 58 and he says he just can't compete at the necessary level consistently any longer.
He played in 154 straight majors and won 18 of them.
He says he also will skip the PGA championship later this year.
(------------)

[S-Women]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=sma]
[TAPE#=SP-15]
[GRAPHIC=State amateur]

Closer to home, two golfers who have battled for local titles before will square off tomorrow in the semi finals of the Virginia Women's State Amateur Golf Tournament.
And Roy Stanley says Dot Bolling and Lee Shirley are ready for the battle.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q="First audio...]
[SUPER=03-Hot Springs; :00]
[SUPER=01-Dot Bolling/Won 2 and 1; :17]
[SUPER=01-Lee Shirley/Won 4 and 2; :36]
[SUPER=@Roy1; 1:17]
[RUNS=1:23]
[OUT Q=....news 7 sports."]
((Bolling entered the amateur on a roll. She's won three straight tournaments including the Roanoke Valley Hall of Fame and the Lynwood invitational in Martinsville.
Bolling trailed by a shot until she made this long putt at the 10-th hole to even the match. She would beat Sherry Bowman 2 and 1.)) ((DOT BOLLING/WON 2 AND 1;)) ((Shirley would lead her opponent, Debbie Simpson by two shots at the turn.
The match ended after Shirley hit the green at 16 in two and Simpson hit her third shot in the water...Shirley wins 4 and 2.)) ((LEE SHIRLEY/WON 4 AND 2)) ((The two golfers have met before in local tournaments but this is the State amateur and its the final run at the Cascades course in Hot Springs.)) ((BOLLING:)) ((SHIRLEY:)) ((ROY STANDUP:))
(--------------)

[S-Ox]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=sma]
[TAPE#=SP-13 1:09:33]
[GRAPHIC=Atlanta Falcons]

The Atlanta Falcons selected former Virginia Tech tailback Ken Oxendine in the seventh round of the recent NFL draft.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Chester; :00]

The NFL rookie, who signed a two year contract in May, is back in Chester, Virginia after spending the last month at rookie camp in Atlanta.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Going]
[SUPER=01-Ken Oxendine/Atlanta Falcons Rookie; :00]
[RUNS=:27]
[OUT Q=...thrown at you"]
(-----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg/1997-98 Season; :]

Ox ran for 2 thousand, 872 yards and earned all Big East recognition in his junior and senior years at Tech. The Falcons backfield is stacked with Jamal Anderson and Byron Hanspard, but that has not discouraged Oxendine.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q="It]
(())
[RUNS=:13]
[OUT Q=the team"]
(------------------)

[S-Bengals]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=SP-20]
[GRAPHIC=BENGALS LOGO]

Oxendine's Tech teammate Marcus Parker is getting ready for the Cincinnati Bengals training camp to open on July 23rd at Georgetown College in Kentucky.
When he gets there he'll have a new quarterback handing off to him in Neil O'Donnell, who today talked to the media about why he signed with the Bengals for $17 million.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q="As all...]
((NEIL O'DONNELL:))
[SUPER=01-Neil O'Donnell/Gets Four Year $17 Million Deal; :00]
[RUNS=:14]
[OUT Q=...players here."]
(---------------)

[S-Stars]

[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=SP-18]
[GRAPHIC=MLB]

Last night's 3 hour and 38 minute all-star marathon in Denver produced 21 runs, a record 31 hits and a bright spot in an otherwise dull season for Orioles' fans as Roberto Alomar won the MVP trophy by leading the AL to a 13-to-8 win.

(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q="No I...]
[SUPER=01-Roberto Alomar/All-Star Game MVP;:00]
[SUPER=03-Denver, CO/NBC; :08]
[RUNS=:18]
[OUT Q=...MVP TROPHY."]
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