WDBJ 7 morning news AM cutins for 07/31/98

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[SUPER=19-Melanie/Moon;][7E-L'burg-Fire]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
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[TAPE#98-42 1:31:56]
[GRAPHIC=Fire]

No one was injured when fire broke out in a Lynchburg apartment house last night.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg]

Flames and smoke poured from the front of 17-09 Grace Street when firefighters responded around 8:30.
A resident of the building smelled smoke and went outside to investigate when he spotted the fire and called 9-1-1.

The blaze gutted a first floor apartment.. the occupants were NOT home at the time.
Firefighters escorted several other people to safety.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
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[7Apartment-Fire]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
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[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=98-48 54:58]
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(------------)

In Salem, officials are investigating the second fire this week at the Willow River Apartment complex.
[SUPER=03-Salem;]

Fire broke out in a second floor unit at the Lancing Drive complex yesterday morning.
The tenants were NOT home at the time.
But the assistant fire chief was already
[SUPER=03-Salem/Tuesday;]
across the parking lot, investigating an apartment fire that happened TUESDAY.
At this point, fire officials do NOT believe there's a connection between the two fires.
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[7E-Leftwich]

[ANCHOR=MElanie]
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[WRITER=abr]
[TAPE#=98-44 1:13:40]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]

A Danville man will spend the rest of his life in prison after admitting to robbing and killing a North Carolina woman.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Danville/March 18;]

Joe Adrian Leftwich learned his fate in Danville Circuit court yesterday.
He was sentenced to two consecutive life terms for capital murder and robbery plus three years for a firearms charge.
Leftwich admitted to shooting Teresa Anderson Hayes in the head in December of 1997.
(------------)

[7Stewart-Execution]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=chr]
[TAPE#=net- ;from 98-45 TC50:52]
[GRAPHIC=Kenneth Stewart]

A Bedford County man who killed his estranged wife and infant son is scheduled to die September 23rd.
A judge set the execution date yesterday for Kenneth Manuel Stewart Junior.
(------------)
[vo-nat]
[SUPER=03-Bedford/May, 1992]

The 43-year-old Stewart was sentenced to die for the 1991 Mother's Day slayings.
Stewart shot his wife Cynthia and his five-month-old son, Jonathon, in the family farmhouse with a 25-caliber automatic pistol.
Court records show that Stewart has a history of depression, alcohol and drug abuse and a string of other convictions, including assaulting a police officer in North Carolina.
(-------------------)

[7E-Utility-Dereg]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
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[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#98-46]
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Cheaper rates and cleaner power could become reality if Virginia lawmakers stick to their goal.
They are on a five year schedule to deregulate the electricity industry.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Richmond;]

But some watchdog groups are warning state lawmakers: it could be a disaster.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 01:05:58]
[IN Q=If legislators]
((JEAN ANN FOX/VIRGINIA CITIZENS CONSUMER COUNCIL: IF LEGISLATORS DON'T GET IT RIGHT, THE PRICE OF ELECTRICITY WILL GO UP, THE QUALITY OF SERVICE WILL DECLINE, SOME RURAL COMMUNITIES MAY BE LEFT IN THE DARK.))
[SOT 01:27:32]
((DAVID RUBINSTEIN/VIRGINIA POVERTY LAW CENTER: IT WAS IMPORTANT, GIVEN THE NUMBER OF LOBBYISTS REPRESENTING THE INDUSTRY, THAT PARTICIPATE IN THESE PROCEEDINGS, TO GET INFORMATION OUT TO CONSUMERS SO THAT THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE AT LEAST IN SOME FASHION.))
[sot 01:23:25]
((TRIP POLLARD/SOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CTR.: THE STAKES ARE TREMENDOUS. ELECTRIC UTILITIES ARE THE LARGEST SOURCE OF AIR POLLUTION IN THE COUNTRY.))
[SUPER=01-Jean Ann Fox/Va. Citizens Consumer Council; :00]
[SUPER=01-David Rubinstein/Va. Poverty Law Ctr.; :11]
[SUPER=01-Trip Pollard/Southern Environmental Law Ctr.; :23]
[RUNS=:28]
[OUT Q=in the country.]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]

A coalition of public interest groups has set up a website, with an electric consumer bill of rights.
The idea is to put you in touch with state legislators to voice your concerns.
The web address is W-W-W dot V-A-Wired dot-O-R-G.
The site can link you to more deregulation information from the General Assembly itself.
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[7WEATHER]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
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Taking a look now at your Friday forecast..
Some much-needed rain moves into the area this morning. Then look for scattered showers to make way for partly sunny skies later on. Highs in the low- to mid-80's.
Expect clear skies tonight, with some light winds. Lows should be in the upper-50's to low-60's.
The extended forecast..
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[7BIRTHDAYS!] 8/1/98
Saturday:

[SUPER=130-18/Derek Agnor/Roanoke]

[SUPER=130-8/Lindsey Crook/Rocky Mount]

[SUPER=130-80/Deck Terry/Christiansburg]

[SUPER=130-7/Lindsey Thomas/Salem]

[SUPER=130-12/Daitra Pierson/Max Meadows]

[SUPER=130-14/Sharon Hatcher/Natural Bridge]

[SUPER=130-3/Haley Smith/Narrows]

No Pictures:

[SUPER=131-41/Debra Buchanan/Martinsville]
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[SUPER=19-Melanie/Moon;][45E-Land-Swap]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
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[WRITER=djo]
[TAPE#=98-57]
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Some residents in Catawba are hoping history will stop a proposed land swap.
Some descendants of slaves lay claim to a deal made more than a century ago.
David Johnson explains.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Catawba; :01]
[SUPER=01-Harry Archer/Catawba Resident; :19]
[SUPER=01-Spike Harrison/Roanoke Co. Supervisor; :39]
[SUPER=01-Tom Poulin/Forest Service; :47]
[SUPER=@David1; 1:05]
[RUNS=1:21]
[OUT Q=N7, Catawba.]
(( Harry Archer is one of the many Catawba residents who has a stake in seeing that the proposed land swap deal between property owner David Turner and the forest service doesn't go through. Archer's great-grandmother was a slave. Hers was one of several black families that the disputed land was given to after the Civil War.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT=21:06:17]
[IN Q=IT BELONGED TO THEM]
((HARRY ARCHER/CATAWBA RESIDENT; IT BELONGED TO THEM. ANND IT WAS DEEDED TO US TAX-FREE. BUT I CAN'T FIND ANY DEED ANYWHERE. I JUST TRIED ONE TIME.)) [RUNS08]
[OUT Q=ONE TIME.]
The total area given away was about 400-acres, nearly 80-percent of the property which Turner plans to exchange with the forest service. The question of who the property belongs to has the interest of at least one Roanoke County supervisor.
[SOT=21:19:15]
[IN Q=MR MAGRAW'S OFFICE]
((SPIKE HARRISON/ROANOKE CO. CATAWBA SUPERVISOR REP.; MR. MAGRAW'S OFFICE IS IN CHARGE OF SUCH RECORDS AND I'M GOING TO GO VISIT HIM TOMORROW.)) [RUNS05]
[OUT Q=tomorrow.]
Still it's not definite whether the deal will go forward.
[SOT=21:32:07]
[IN Q=ONE OF THE THINGS WE]
((TOM POULIN/FORESZT SERVICE; ONE OF THE THINGS WE WANT TO DO IS TO MAKE SURE ANYTHING WE DO HAS CLEAR TITLE ....AND DISTRICT RANGER OVER THERE.)) [RUNS17]
[OUT Q=OVER THERE.]
[STAND-UP/] ((DAVID JOHNSON/REPORTING; SO IN ADDITION TO TRYING TO SOLVE THE MYSTERY OF WHO THE ACTUAL LAND OWNER IS, RESIDENTS ARE ALSO GETTING TOGETHER A LETTER WRITING AND PETITION WRITING CAMPAIGN. WRITING TO SENATORS, CONGRESSMEN AND ANYONE ELSE WHO WILL LISTEN TO THEM IN THEIR EFFORT TO STOP THE LAND SWAP.)) [RUNS16]))

[45E-Henry-Economy]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
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[WRITER=chu]
[TAPE#98-50 47:47]
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After suffering some recent economic blows, Henry County gets an economic boost.
DuPont and Owens COrning may have closed but now a prominent manufacturer is setting up shop in the county.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Henry Co.]

Bassett Furniture Industries announced yesterday it will build a 7-to-8 million dollar dining room table plant.
The facility will be located on 43-acres of the Patriot Center Industrial Park.
Henry County contributed the land.
Governor Gilmore personally delivered a check for 200-thousand dollars for the project.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 23:46:59-:13]
[IN Q= This expansion in Henry County]
((GOV. JIM GILMORE: THIS EXPANSION IN HENRY COUNTY CONFIRMS THAT VIRGINIA IS A PRO-BUSINESS STATE. WE HAVE STRONG RIGHT-TOP-WORK LAWS AND LOW CORPORATE INCOME TAX RATES AND LOW UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE RATES AND A QUALITY WORKFORCE.))
[SUPER=@Gilmore]
[RUNS=:14]
[OUT Q=a quality workforce.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=04-Bassett Furniture Industries;]

Bassett Furniture plans to hire about 60-employees to work at the plant when it opens in mid-1999.
The company currently employs more than five-thousand people in 12-states.
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[WIPE WIPE WIPE][45E-Road-Dedication]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
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[WRITER=chu]
[TAPE#98-55 22:27]
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Danville;]

Governor Gilmore also was in Danville to cut the ribbon for the new Route-29 interchange.
These exit ramps lead right to Dan Daniel Park and the Riverview Industrial Park.
The promise of the interchange encouraged several companies to move into the industrial park-- including Dan River, which brought 500-jobs there.
The project cost 3-and a half million dollars and took a little more than a year to complete.
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[45WEATHER]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
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Shifting gears now to weather--
After scattered showers this morning, skies will turn partly sunny.
Expect pleasant daytime highs in the low 80s.
Clearing overnight, with a low near 60.
The weekend outlook is partly to mostly sunny, with temperatures in the 80s.
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[SUPER=19-Melanie/Moon;][8E-L'burg-Fire]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
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[TAPE#98-42 1:31:56]
[GRAPHIC=Fire]

A Lynchburg apartment building burst in flames last night, but NO one was hurt.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg]

Fire and smoke poured from the front of 17-09 Grace Street when firefighters responded around 8:30.
A resident of the building smelled smoke and went outside to investigate when he spotted the fire and called 9-1-1.

[8E-Leftwich]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=abr]
[TAPE#=98-44 1:13:40]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]

After confessing to the murder and robbery of a North Carolina woman, a Danville man received a life sentence.

(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Danville/March 18;]

Joe Adrian Leftwich learned his fate in Danville Circuit court yesterday.
He was sentenced to two consecutive life terms for capital murder and robbery plus three years for a firearms charge.
Leftwich admitted to shooting Teresa Anderson Hayes in the head in December of 1997.
(------------)

[8Stewart-Execution]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=chr]
[TAPE#=net- ;from 98-45 TC50:52]
[GRAPHIC=Kenneth Stewart]

An execution date of September 23rd was set for a Bedford County man who killed his estranged wife and baby son.

A judge set the date yesterday for Kenneth Manuel Stewart Junior.
(------------)
[vo-nat]
[SUPER=03-Bedford/May, 1992]

The 43-year-old Stewart was sentenced to die for the 1991 Mother's Day slayings.
Stewart shot his wife Cynthia and his five-month-old son, Jonathon, in the family farmhouse with a 25-caliber automatic pistol.
Court records show that Stewart has a history of depression, alcohol and drug abuse and a string of other convictions, including assaulting a police officer in North Carolina.
(-------------------)

[8E-Cadet-Commercial]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]*
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=98-52 28:32]
[GRAPHIC=VMI]

V-M-I cadets were putting their best faces forward yesterday.
That's because a New York camera crew was on campus, filming a Norelco shaving commercial.
Joe Dashiell headed up to Lexington to see how the shoot went.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=OPENS ON NAT SOUND]
[SUPER=03-Lexington; :15]
[SUPER=01-Scott McInnis/VMI Cadet; :23]
[SUPER=@Joe2; :28]
[SUPER=01-Scott Siegal/Producer; :45]
[SUPER=01-Justin Harber/VMI Cadet; :57]
[RUNS=1:17]
[OUT Q=JD News 7 Lexington]
(( [OPENS ON NAT SOUND UB 14:29:11]
[IN Q=And action]
(AND ACTION. NOD YOUR HEAD WHEN YOU LIKE IT SCOTT. NOD YOUR HEAD WHEN YOU LIKE IT. LIKING IT. NODDING THE HEAD. YEAH NI
CE PRETTY NICE.) [RUNS11]
[OUT Q=nice, pretty nice.]

V-M-I cadets know how to take orders, but this week the direction is coming from a New York Film Crew... not their commanding officers.
The students are starring in a national commercial.
[SOT]
[IN Q=Its really tough]
(IT'S REALLY TOUGH. I MEAN IT'S NOT EASY AT ALL. TAKE AFTER TAKE YOU GET TIRED.
[RUNS05]
[OUT Q=you get tired.]

What brought the film crew to Lexington, was an electric razor and a national ad campaign that begins this fall.
50 students tested the new Norelco during their summer session. The three- day shoot will recreate that experience for a humorous commercial that debuts during the first week of September.
[SOT ]
[IN Q=Everybody at the agency]
(EVERYBODY AT THE AGENCY DECIDED. AND THE CLIENT DECIDED. IF YOU'RE GOING TO LET THESE GUYS DO THE TEST, LET 'EM DO THE
COMMERCIAL. AND IT'S BEEN GREAT BECAUSE THEY BRING A FRESHNESS TO IT THAT AN ACTOR WOULDN'T.)) [RUNS10]
[OUT Q=that an actor wouldn't.]

[SOT]
[IN Q=A lot of times]
((JUSTIN HARBER/VMI CADET: A LOT OF TIMES A LOT OF US ARE JUST BACKGROUND. WE'RE JUST WALKING. WE'RE JUST GOING TO BE TWO GREEN PIXELS IN THE BACKGROUND YOU KNOW, ON A COMMERCIAL THAT'S 30 SECONDS LONG AND NOBODY'S GOING TO BELIEVE WE WERE EVER IN A COMMERCIAL, BUT IT'S A LOT OF FUN.)) [RUNS10]
[OUT Q=a lot of fun.]

The cadets are being paid for their part in the commercial. The institute receives a location fee of more than ten thousand dollars, and the promise of publicity worth much more than that.

Joe Dashiell News 7 Lexington)) [8WEATHER]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
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[WRITER=KMC]
[TAPE #=]
[GRAPHIC=]

Before we wrap up the Friday morning updates, let's check out the forecast.
Scattered showers will give way to partly sunny skies today.
Highs in the lower 80s.
Clearing overnight, with lows cooling off to near 60.
And the weekend looks pleasant, with lots of sunshine and cooler temperatures.
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