WDBJ 7 morning news for 07/14/98

[Headlines]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]

(----------------)
[VO-NAT]

A pilot walks away from a near-crash in Hillsville.
(----------------)
[ANCHOR=Melanie]

And a fire that seriously injured a Roanoke firefighter is ruled arson.
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
(ad lib weather)
[ANCHOR=Steve]
(ad lib live tease)
[2-shot]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]

[E-H'ville-Plane-Crash]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=lba]
[TAPE#=98-50 31:57]
[GRAPHIC=Plane Crash]

An emergency landing in Hillsville yesterday turned a field into a runway for a homemade plane.
The plane clipped a powerline on the way down, but no one was injured.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Hillsville;]

Pilot Claude Hess walked away from the accident.
State police say Hess had just bought the kit-made plane in North Carolina and was flying home to West Virginia when his engine started cutting on and off.
He decided to try to land in the Hillsville field.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 1:19:04]
[IN Q=I saw ]
((I SAW THE PLANE COMING IN FROM THE WEST. HE WAS FLYING REALLY LOW LIKE HE WAS SKIRTING THE TREE TOPS AND HIS MOTOR WAS MISSING BADLY. 1:19:24 BUTT BUTT BUTT I HEARD A POP. I RAN INSIDE TO CALL 911 AND TELL THEM I THOUGHT A PLANE HAD CRASHED AND NO PHONE SERVICE, NO ELECTRICITY.))
[SUPER=01-Karen Carr/Witness;]
[RUNS=16]
[OUT Q=NO ELECTRICITY]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The downed powerline also darkened stop lights throughout the town.
No traffic accidents were reported and the lights are back on now.
(------------)

[E-Wknd-Arson]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=lba]
[TAPE#=98-52 13:40]
[GRAPHIC=Arson]

The house fire that seriously injured a Roanoke firefighter over the weekend was intentionally set.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/Saturday;]

Fire investigators ruled yesterday that arson was the cause of the fire on Campbell Avenue.
Robert Early was trying to keep the blaze away from the two neighboring homes when the porch collapsed on him, fracturing his back, breaking his ribs and puncturing his lung.
A local fire chief says Earley's injuries are the worst ever suffered by a city firefighter in the line of duty, but doctors say his prognosis is excellent.
(------------)
[wipe wipe wipe]

[E-County-Fire]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=djo]
[TAPE#=98-49 47:48]
[GRAPHIC=wipe wipe wipe]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.;]

Meantime fire investigators say a lit cigarette is to blame for sparking a house fire yesterday in Roanoke County.
Passerby James Andrews was driving down Sanderson Road when he saw smoke coming from the house.
He tried putting out the fire with a garden hose before firefighters arrived.
They controlled the blaze within minutes, but one of the family's three cats was killed in the fire.
(------------)

[BARRICADE]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=MEL]
[TAPE#NET-H]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Rocky Mount is considering blocking off a railroad crossing, a move that could create a commuting nightmare for hundreds of factory workers.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Rocky Mount;]

The crossing leads to M-W Window Factory and the J-P Stephens Warehouse.
There's only one other way out -- and forcing two factories full of people through that exit could jam traffic.
Norfolk Southern says the crossing is unsafe, but others argue it's more dangerous to close it.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=If you exit]
((H. PAGE JOHNSON/M&W WINDOWS: IF YOU EXIT 900 PEOPLE OUT ON NORTH MAIN WITH WHAT'S OUT THERE ALREADY AND THE CONGESTION AROUND THE STOPLIGHTS IT'S NOT GOING TO ALLOW ANY EMERGENCY VEHICLES TO EITHER PASS OR GET THROUGH THAT AREA ON THE WAY TO THE HOSPITAL.))
[SUPER=01-H. Page Johnson/M & W Windows;]
[RUNS=:20]
[OUT Q=on the way to the hospital.]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
If the crossing is closed, Norfolk Southern will donate the land to the town.
Rocky Mount could then pave the tracks, creating another way out.
V-Dot and town council will study traffic flow through the area and later vote on the matter.
(----------------)

[TRAIN-AX]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=MEL]
[TAPE#net-G]
[GRAPHIC=Train Accident]
A deadly accident involving a van and a freight train in southeastern Tennessee.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Benton, TN;]
[4:13:04]
Officials say late yesterday afternoon five members of a family were killed when a train collided with their van at a railroad crossing in Benton.
The station says the engineer saw the van approach the train crossing and blew the whistle, but it was too late to stop.
No one on board the train was hurt.
(----------------)

[GM-report]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=MEL]
[TAPE#net-F]
[GRAPHIC=General Motors]

G-M could be in for another blow today when the company releases its earnings report.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Flint, MI;]
Some analysts predict its second quarter earnings could be off nearly 70 percent from a year ago.
Despite the strikes, G-M is pressing ahead with plans for the launch of its new full size pick-ups, opening an assembly plant and recalling several thousand workers.
(----------------)

[1-Sports]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=chr]
[TAPE#=sports cut in]
[GRAPHIC=None]

In sports, former Virginia high school basketball standout Allen Iverson finds himself in trouble with the law. Mike Stevens is here with the details.
Good Morning Mike.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Good Morning]
[RUNS=1:42]
[OUT Q=see ya then]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
(Melanie ad lib toss to Kimberly/Wx)

[One-Steve]

[E-Falwell]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#98-48 33:54]
[GRAPHIC=Falwell, Jerry]

The Reverend Jerry Falwell has his sights set on expansion.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg]

Falwell wants to move his Thomas Road Baptist Church to a mountaintop overlooking Lynchburg and Liberty University.

The new church will eventually be the centerpiece of a 200-million dollar complex.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 7:55:25]
[IN Q=We'll have an]
((REV. JERRY FALWELL/THOMAS RD. BAPTIST CHURCH: WE'LL HAVE AN AMPTHITHEATER, AN R-V PARK, KIDS WORLD.. .. FOR THE CAMPUS.))
[SUPER=01-Rev. Jerry Falwell/Thomas Road Baptist Church; :00]
[RUNS=:26]
[OUT Q=for the campus.]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]

The new facility would have room for 12-thousand worshippers, making it the largest church in North America.
The money will be raised through private donations.
Falwell hopes to break ground on the project later this year and move in by the year 2000.
(----------------)

[E-Hamlett]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=98-32 2:01:55]
[GRAPHIC=legal scales]

The legal saga continues between Debbie Reynolds and Richard Hamlett today.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Salem/1984]

The Roanoke developer and the Hollywood actress may meet in the federal courthouse in Roanoke today though it's less likely that SHE'll be there...
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

...now that HIS attorney has filed a Bankruptcy petition.
Chip Magee says Hamlett has less than 20-thousand dollars to his name, has no home, no car.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 11:35:08]
((OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS, HE HAS BEEN GETTING OUT OF THE REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT BUSINESS, FOCUSING ON OTHER INVESTMENTS. SO HE SOLD HIS COMPANIES TO JANE PARKER OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS.))
[IN Q=Over the last]
[SUPER=01-Chip Magee/Hamlett's Attorney]
[RUNS=:16]
[OUT Q=last several years.]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Jane Parker is named in Reynolds' lawsuit in U-S District Court.
Magee hopes to convince the Bankruptcy judge to suspend the District Court proceedings until the Nevada Supreme Court makes a ruling. Hamlett is appealing an 8- point-9 million dollar judgment from a judge in Las Vegas.

[E-RCEA]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=djo]
[TAPE#=NET-E]
[GRAPHIC=Education]

The Roanoke County Education Association has a new president.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]
Debbie Graham is a kindergarten teacher at Glen Cove Elementary. The 21-year R-C-E-A veteran began leading the 900-plus member organization July first. Graham plans to put the association's blueprint called the "program of action" into motion soon.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT=13:56:34]
[IN Q=WHAT I HOPE]
((DEBBIE GRAHAM/RCEA PRESIDENT; WHAT I HOPE TO DO THIS YEAR IS TWO COMMUNITY SERVICE PROJECTS. BOTH DOING SOMETHING FOR CHILDREN. WHAT WE'D LIKE TO DO IS WORK WITH THE SVEA THE STUDENT VIRGINIA EDUCATION ASSOCIATION AND GET THEM TO WORK WITH US.))
[SUPER=01-Debbie Graham/RCEA President;]
[RUNS=15]
[OUT Q=WORK WITH US.]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[GRAPHIC=None]
The blueprint has to be approved an executive board and a representative assembly. Graham says she will follow an A-B-C theme, that is "always believe in children".

[E-Community-Foundation]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=chu]
[TAPE#98-44 52:27]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Pittsylvania County's mentally challenged citizens will now be the beneficiaries of a defunct orphanage's assets.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Blairs;]

The old Faith Home gave eight-million dollars yesterday to the Hatcher Center.
The money will be managed in an endowment fund by the D-P-C Community Foundation.
The Hatcher Center teaches, trains, and employs mentally retarded people of all ages.
Some of the endowment money will be used to build a new residential facility on the Hatcher Center campus.
(----------------)

[Health-Check]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=chr]
[TAPE#=NET-C]
[GRAPHIC=Mornin Health Check]

To medical news, a recent study at the University of Virginia finds schizophrenics at a heightened risk for contracting AIDS.
Melinda Wittstock has details in today's Health check.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Melinda Wittstock/Reporting; :00 ]
[SUPER=@file; ]
[RUNS=1:12]
[OUT Q=CBS News, New York.]
((ONCAM=MELINDA

GOOD MORNING.
SCHIZOPHRENICS MAY BE AT A GREATER RISK FOR CONTRACTING THE AIDS VIRUS.

VT=VO

ACCORDING TO RESEARCHERS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA...
PEOPLE WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA ARE OFTEN RELEASED FROM MENTAL HOSPITALS WITHOUT THE SOCIAL SKILLS NEEDED TO COPE WITH THE THREAT OF H-I-V INFECTION.
AND SINCE MANY OF THESE PATIENTS ARE POOR... THEY USUALLY LIVE IN COMMUNITIES WHERE THE AIDS RATE IS HIGH.
THE FINDINGS WERE PUBLISHED IN A BULLETIN BY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH.//

VT=VO

POLIO HAS BEEN VIRTUALLY WIPED OUT IN THE UNITED STATES, BUT THE DISEASE IS STILL COMMON IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD.
DOCTORS HOPE TO CHANGE THAT FACT BY THE YEAR 2000-- HOWEVER THAT DREAM MAY NOT COME TRUE.
THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION SAYS A SHORTAGE OF FUNDS IS THREATENING A GLOBAL FIGHT AGAINST POLIO.
HEALTH OFFICIALS ARE ASKING FOR AT LEAST 150-MILLION DOLLARS BY NEXT YEAR.//

VT=VO

AND DOES THE WORD KAVA-KAVA MEAN ANYTHING TO YOU?
WELL, YOU'RE PROBABLY GOING TO HEAR A LOT MORE ABOUT IT.. BECAUSE IT'S ONE OF THE LATEST HERBAL REMEDIES TO HIT THE MARKET.
KAVA-KAVA IS A PLANT GROWN IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC THAT'S SUPPOSE TO CALM JITTERY NERVES.
SO FAR, THERE'S BEEN VERY LITTLE RESEARCH DONE ON KAVA-KAVA HERE IN THE U-S... BUT STUDIES IN EUROPE HAVE BEEN PROMISING.//
AND THAT IS A LOOK AT TODAY'S MEDICAL NEWS. I'M MELINDA WITTSTOCK, CBS NEWS, NEW YORK.))

(ad lib to weather)

[Two-Steve]

[ANCHOR=Steve]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=spa]
[TAPE#M98-7]
[GRAPHIC=NONE]

[Roll Cold out of Break]
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=welcome back]
[SUPER=15-Steve/Pardon; :00]
[SUPER=13-Roger Mannon/Comic Book Collector; :20]
[SUPER=12-Roanoke Co.; :38]
[RUNS=1:27]
[OUT Q=interested in picking them up]

[Double Boxes=KMC & SPA]
(toss to Kimberly)
[2-HEADLINES]
[SUPER=#4050; Headline Banner]
[2-shot=mel]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]

Here's a look at today's top stories.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]

The pilot of a homemade plane had to make an emergency landing yesterday in Hillsville.
The West Virginia pilot was flying from North Carolina when he experienced engine problems and was forced to land in a field.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

The weekend house fire that seriously injured a Roanoke firefighter has been ruled arson.
A portion of the house collapsed on Robert Earley as he fought the blaze, fracturing his back and puncturing his lung.
(----------------)
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[ss=none]

And in Texas, triple digit heat is triggering a deadly heatwave.
It's claimed the lives at at least 21 people so far.
Forecasters are calling for more 100 degree days this week.
(----------------)
[anchor=Kimberly]

And that's what's making news on this Tuesday July 14th.
[anchor=Melanie]

News 7 Mornin' will be right back.

[2-E-H'ville-Plane-Crash]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=lba]
[TAPE#=98-50 31:57]
[GRAPHIC=Plane Crash]

A Hillsville field turned into a makeshift runway yesterday as a pilot in a homemade plane was forced to make an emergency landing.
The plane clipped a powerline on the way down.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Hillsville;]

Pilot Claude Hess walked away from the accident.
State police say Hess had just bought the kit-made plane in North Carolina and was flying home to West Virginia when his engine started cutting on and off.
He decided to try to land in the Hillsville field.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 1:19:04]
[IN Q=I saw ]
((I SAW THE PLANE COMING IN FROM THE WEST. HE WAS FLYING REALLY LOW LIKE HE WAS SKIRTING THE TREE TOPS AND HIS MOTOR WAS MISSING BADLY. 1:19:24 BUTT BUTT BUTT I HEARD A POP. I RAN INSIDE TO CALL 911 AND TELL THEM I THOUGHT A PLANE HAD CRASHED AND NO PHONE SERVICE, NO ELECTRICITY.))
[SUPER=01-Karen Carr/Witness;]
[RUNS=16]
[OUT Q=NO ELECTRICITY]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The downed powerline also darkened stop lights throughout the town.
No traffic accidents were reported and the lights are back on now.
(------------)

[2-E-Wknd-Arson]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=lba]
[TAPE#=98-52 13:40]
[GRAPHIC=Arson]

A Roanoke firefighter remains hospitalized this morning; and the blaze that caused his injuries was intentionally set.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/Saturday;]

Fire investigators ruled yesterday that arson was the cause of the fire on Campbell Avenue.
Robert Early was trying to keep the blaze away from the two neighboring homes when the porch collapsed on him, fracturing his back, breaking his ribs and puncturing his lung.
A local fire chief says Earley's injuries are the worst ever suffered by a city firefighter in the line of duty, but doctors say his prognosis is excellent.
(------------)

[Abbitt-Death]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=chr]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Former Virginia Congressman Watkins Abbitt Sr. has died.
Abbitt died yesterday in a Lynchburg hospital at the age of 90.
He had served Southside Virginia's Fourth Congressional District from 1948 to 1973.
The conservative Democrat opposed school integration and was a critic of the Supreme Court and federal expansion.

[E-Rocky-Mount]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=tte]
[TAPE#98-39 1:42:57]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Rocky Mount may barricade a railroad crossing used by hundreds of factory workers.
Norfolk Southern calls the crossing unsafe -- but some say it would be more dangerous to close it.
Tina Tenret takes a look.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=This railroad crossing]
[SUPER=03-Rocky Mount; :00]
[SUPER=01-H. Page Johnson/M-W Windows; :16]
[SUPER=01-Pete Foster/Building Owner; 57]
[SUPER=@Tina1; 1:21]
[RUNS=1:35]
[OUT=Tina Tenret, News7, Franklin County]
(( This railroad crossing leads into the M-W Window Factory and the J-P Stephens Warehouse.
There's only one other way out -- and forcing two factories full of people through that exit could jam traffic.

(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 19:25:31]
[IN Q=If you exit]
((H. PAGE JOHNSON/M&W WINDOWS: IF YOU EXIT 900 PEOPLE OUT ON NORTH MAIN WITH WHAT'S OUT THERE ALREADY AND THE CONGESTION AROUND THE STOPLIGHTS IT'S NOT GOING TO ALLOW ANY EMERGENCY VEHICLES TO EITHER PASS OR GET THROUGH THAT AREA ON THE WAY TO THE HOSPITAL.)) [RUNS:21]
[OUT Q=TO THE HOSPITAL]

If the crossing is closed, Norfolk Southern will donate the land to the town.
Rocky Mount could then pave the tracks, creating another way out.
And the town wants to move street lights to the new land to hide wires and posts.
But these are major factories, with workers who don't want to be inconvenienced.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 18:54:24]
[IN Q=What is the]
((PETE FOSTER/BUILDING OWNER: WHAT IS THE LIFEBLOOD OF A COMMUNITY? IT'S INDUSTRY, IT'S JOBS. NOW WE SHOULD BE NICE TO M-W AND J-P STEPHENS BECAUSE THEY KEEP US ALIVE. WE LIVE ON THEM. WE SHOULD PROTECT THEM.)) [RUNS:23]
[OUT Q=leaving right now]
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT standup]
[IN Q=Factory managers]
((TINA TENRET/NEWS7: FACTORY MANAGERS, V-DOT AND TOWN COUNCIL MEMBERS WILL ALL TAKE A LOOK AT THE TRAFFIC FLOW AROUND HERE AND SEE HOW MUCH TROUBLE WOULD BE CAUSED BY CLOSING THIS CROSSING. TOWN COUNCIL SAYS IT WILL NOT VOTE UNTIL IT HAS THIS INFORMATION. TINA TENRET NEWS7 FRANKLIN COUNTY.)) [RUNS:15]
[OUT Q=Tina Tenret News7 Franklin County]

))

[E-L'burg-Body]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#98-41 1:20:45]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Lynchburg police have found SOME answers, but they still have more questions after finding a body in a burning car Sunday.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg/Sunday;]

The vehicle was found on a dirt road in a wooded area behind Graves Mill Road.
Police say the car was rented from a company in Boston, but they don't know if the man found inside is the same person who signed the lease.
An autopsy should provide an identity and a cause of death.
Anyone who may have seen a green Chevy Malibu like this, with Massachusetts tags 3-3-0 G-V-E, should contact Lynchburg police.
(----------------)

[TX-HEAT]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=MEL]
[TAPE#net-A]
[GRAPHIC=Flooding]

Flash floods have killed at least four people and injured about 25 in central Tennessee.
Dozens have been evacuated.
Some areas had up to six inches of rainfall overnight.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Dallas, TX;]
[4:07:05]
In Texas, scorching heat has killed at least 21 people.
So far this summer, Texans have sweated through 21 days of temperatures above 100 degrees.
[SUPER=03-Tallahassee, FL;]
[4:08:21]
Meantime after days of hot dry weather in Florida, some four inches fell yesterday in parts of the state.
That's more rain they've seen in the last 115 days combined.
(-------------)

[BRAWLEY-VERDICT]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#Net-I]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]

A New York state jury returns today to begin deciding how much to award in damages to a white former New York prosecutor in connection with the Tawana Brawley case.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Poughkeepsie, NY;]
[4:10:26]
Yesterday a jury found the Reverend Al Sharpton and two legal advisers liable for defaming the former prosecutor by accusing him of raping Brawley in 19-88.
The story later turned out to be a hoax.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=WE HAVE]
[4:11:12-21] [4:11:35-49] (( STEVEN PAGONES/PLAINTFIFF:WE HAVE ENOUGH PROBLEMS IN SOCIETY...CREATING FURTHER HATRED. AL SHARPTON: IT'S LIKE YOU KNOW...GOING TO KEEP THE FAITH. ))
[SUPER=01-Steven Pagones/Plaintiff; :00]
[SUPER=01-Rev. Al Sharpton/Brawley Advisor; :11]
[RUNS=:16]
[OUT Q=KEEP THE FAITH.]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]

Steven Pagones (pah-GOH'-nehs) is seeking 395 million dollars in damages.
(----------------)

[TRIPP-return]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#net-J]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]

The Justice Department today will reportedly ask a federal appeals court to take back a decision that forces Secret Service employees to testify before the Monica Lewinsky jury.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=@File;]

Meantime, sealed court documents reviewed by C-B-S News shed new light on Ken Starr's investigation of the president.
Starr wants to know where president Clinton slept on dozens of specific dates that match Lewinsky's employment at the White House.
Former White House staffer Linda Tripp is expected to be before Starr's grand jury for the 5th time today.
(----------------)
[Birthdays]
[SS=none]
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT ]
[IN Q=(nat sot music)Tues.]
[RUNS=1:00]
[out= back to you.]

[Three-Steve]

[ANCHOR=Steve]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=spa]
[TAPE#M98-7]
[GRAPHIC=NONE]

[ROLL COLD OUT OF BIRTHDAYS]
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Today on News 7]
[SUPER=15-Steve/Pardon; :00]
[SUPER=13-Ed Woodard/Comic Book Collector; :19]
[SUPER=12-Roanoke Co.; :35]
[RUNS=2:29]
[OUT Q=increase in value]

[Steve Live]

[double Boxes=SPA & MEL]
(toss to Melanie)

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[SS=None]
(ad lib toss to bump)
[BUMP-Chyron]
[COMM #6]

[E-Boucher]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=98-43 1:13:04]
[GRAPHIC=Boucher, Rick]

Congressman Rick Boucher says over 20-thousand households in Southwest Virginia could be left in the cold.
That's because an emergency heating assistance program from the federal government is in jeopardy.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg]

Funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program has been eliminated from a budget bill now working its way through Congress.
Boucher says he's cautiously optimistic the 30-million dollars will be restored, but he says a fight is brewing on the floor of the House.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT UB 11:54:09]
[IN Q=In the event that people]
((REP. RICK BOUCHER/D- NINTH DISTRICT: IN THE EVENT THAT PEOPLE ARE NOT ABLE TO GET FUNDING TO HELP HEAT THEIR HOMES, I THINK IT'S RATHER PREDICTABLE THAT OTHER KINDS OF PROBLEMS SUCH AS SEVER MEDICAL COMPLICATIONS COULD RESULT. THAT IN TURN WOULD HAVE AN ADVERSE EFFECT ON OTHER GOVERNMENT FUNDED PROGRAMS PRIMARILY MEDICARE AND MEDICAID, AND SO THIS APPROACH IS PERHAPS PENNY WISE, BUT VERY POUND FOOLISH.))
[SUPER=@Boucher]
[RUNS=:24]
[OUT Q=pound foolish.]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Joe Barta, Boucher's opponent in the November election, says he would probably vote to eliminate the funding. He says the heating assistance was created as a response to high energy prices. And he says the program is part of a massive welfare program in need of reform.

[E-AEP-Bosnia]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=sgo]
[TAPE#=98-40 1:41:21]
[GRAPHIC=AEP]

American Electric Power is thinking global.
AEP officials are lending a hand to a group of Bosnians who lost their utility system during a civil war.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

The Bosnian engineers and utility managers toured A-E-P's operations center.
They were learning how A-E-P generates and distributes electricity... and how the power company's methods could help them operate Bosnia's new electric industry.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 10 25 09]
[IN Q=we have to]
((ZORAN BOSNJOK/BOSNIAN ENGINEER: WE HAVE TO GENERATE, TRANSMIT AND DISTRIBUTE ELECTRIC ENERGY AND CUSTOMERS HAVE TO PAY.))
[SUPER=01-Zoran Bosnjok/Bosnian Engineer;]
[RUNS=09]
[OUT Q=CUSTOMERS HAVE TO PAY]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Before the war, Bosnia's electricity was controlled by the former Yugoslavian government.
The new utilities will operate much like power companies in the United States.
(------------)

[E-Ferrum-Play]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=mornin]
[WRITER=tte]
[TAPE#=NET-K]
[GRAPHIC=None]

He's taking time off from a New York soap opera to come home to Ferrum.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Ferrum;]

Hal Blankenship plays a train conductor on the C-B-S soap opera "As the World Turns."
But this weekend you can catch him as Merlin, in a Ferrum College production of "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court."
The Ferrum College alumnus has advice for his student co-stars.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 16:00:00]
[IN Q=It really is]
((HAL BLANKENSHIP/ACTOR: IT REALLY IS A HARD LIFE AND YOU GET A LOT OF HARD KNOCKS. YOU HAVE TO HAVE A VERY THICK SKIN IF YOU WANT TO BE AN ACTOR IN NEW YORK. BUT IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT, IF THAT'S WHAT YOUR HEART IS SET ON, GO FOR IT. DO IT.))
[SUPER=01-Hal Blankenship/Actor;]
[RUNS=:12]
[OUT Q=do it]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The show will run on July 17th, 19th and 24th.
(------------)

[3-Sports]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=chr]
[TAPE#=sports cut in]
[GRAPHIC=None]

In sports, the Salem Avalanche return home and pick up a victory over the Lynchburg Hillcats.
Mike Stevens has details.
Good Morning Mike.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Howdy everybody]
[RUNS=1:50]
[OUT Q=Tuesday everybody]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
(weather toss)
[Local-Recap]
[SUPER=#4059;Local Recap]
[2-Shot=Mel/Kmc]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]

Now here's another look at today's top local stories:
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]

A West Virginia pilot walked away from the wreckage yesterday after crash landing his plane in a Hillsville field.
The homemade plane clipped a power line before going down.
No one was injured.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

A commuting nightmare could be in store for hundreds of factory workers in Rocky Mount.
The town is considering blocking a railroad crossing that leads to M-W Window Factory and the J-P Stephens Warehouse.
Norfolk Southern says the crossing is unsafe, but others argue it's more dangerous to close it.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]

And firefighters have determined that arson IS behind the blaze that sent a Roanoke firefighter to the University of Virginia Medical Center.
Robert Earley suffered a fractured back and punctured lung when a porch collapsed on him while he was fighting a house fire on Campbell Avenue Saturday.
Doctors say his prognosis is excellent.
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
(Kimberly mic hot)
(///////////////)
[2 shot=Mel/Kmc]
(Kimberly ad lib weather)
(-------------)
[Double Boxes=Melanie/Kimberly and Steve]
(toss)
[ANCHOR=Steve]
(live ad lib, tease tomorrow)
(ad lib bye) [Double Boxes=Melanie/Kimberly and Steve]