WDBJ 7 morning news AM cutins for 08/07/98

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[7RESIGNATION]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=MEL]
[TAPE#net- ;from tape 98-49]
[GRAPHIC=Education]

Last week it was discovered that students at Staunton River High School were getting credit for work they didn't do.

Now, the controversy has led to the resignation of the school's principal.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Bedford;]

Questions were raised when some students received certificates of completion even though they had not completed enough work.
Principal James Phares (Ferris) is not accepting the blame but decided to step down to help the school get back on track.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=It's controversial]
(( JAMES PHARES/STAUNTON RIVER PRINCIPAL: IT'S CONTROVERSIAL AND I'M SORRY IT OCCURRED... BUT I'M NOT GOING TO APOLOGIZE FOR MY TENURE AT STAUNTON RIVER.
JAMES BLEVINS/BEDFORD SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT: I'M NOT SURE THIS WILL LAY ANY CONTROVERSY TO REST. I THINK THIS WILL EASE PARENTS' MINDS WHO HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT STAUNTON RIVER HIGH SCHOOL. ))
[SUPER=01-James Phares/Staunton River Principal;]
[SUPER=01-James Blevins/Bedford Schools Superintendent; :11]
[RUNS=:22]
[OUT Q=CONCERNS ABOUT sTAUNTON RIVER HS.]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]

A state auditor will investigate and see what changes need to be made to make sure students don't get credit for work they don't do.
(----------------)

[7E-L'burg-Fire]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
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[TAPE#98-48 1:05:11]
[GRAPHIC=fire]

A child playing with a lighter sparked a fire at a Lynchburg apartment building yesterday.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg;]

The first crews to arrive at the Forest Brook Apartments around noon found smoke and flames coming from a second floor window.
That's where a 5-year old girl had set a pile of clothes on fire in a bedroom closet.
Her mother tried extinguishing the blaze with a pitcher of water but was driven back by the smoke and flames.
Firefighters had it under control in about ten minutes.
Two other apartments suffered smoke and water damage.
(----------------)

[7-5-Hale]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=98-52 37:52]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]

A Roanoke teenager was found guilty of second degree murder yesterday.
15- year- old Jawawn Hale now faces up to twenty-two years in prison for killing Andrews.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

An overflow crowd poured into the street yesterday following the verdict.
Sheriff's deputies and city police kept an eye on the crowd, but there were no problems.
Andrews had been an aspiring artist at Patrick Henry High School... though Hale's attorneys portrayed the 20-year old victim as a bully who liked to pick fights with smaller young men.
(------------)
[Talent=mel]
[ss=none]

Hale maintained he killed Andrews in self-defense.[7E-gang-Commission]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=jmc]
[TAPE#=98-42 1:45:36]
[GRAPHIC=Jim Gilmore]

Teens committing crimes have Governor Gilmore taking notice.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Richmond]

Yesterday, he met with the members of his NEW Partnership Commission, the group studying drugs, gangs and juvenile violence.
And he handed out some marching orders, saying the commission needs to find practical ways to make schools and neighborhoods safer.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=And the communities]
[SUPER=@Gilmore]
[RUNS=:16]
[OUT Q=where they belong.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Three of the 33 members on the panel are from the Roanoke Valley: Salem delegate Morgan Griffith, Roanoke commonwealth's attorney Don Caldwell, and U.S. attorney Bob Crouch.
[SUPER=03-Richmond/June 15;]

The governor set this up two days after the incident at Richmond's Armstrong high school earlier this summer.
A teenager opened fire inside the building, wounding a teacher and a teacher's aide.
(------------)

[7E-Petersburg]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=lba]
[TAPE#=98-51 53:48]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Weather officials are predicting an active Hurricane Season.
State agencies want to be prepared for destructive storms, like Hurricanes and tornados.
A tornado that ripped through eastern Virginia 5 years ago has prompted new measures.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Petersburg/July 1993;]

The twister ripped through Petersburg's historic business district and across Pocahontas Island.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 21:09:38]
[IN Q=nat sound]
((NAT SOUND..WIRES DOWN EVERYWHERE..OH GOD, IT WAS A TORNADO))
[RUNS=:12]
[OUT Q=a tornado]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The devastation brought new protocals for many of the agencies that responded.
Many areas have turned to early alert systems.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 21:05:07]
[IN Q=nat sound]
((NAT SOUND..))
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(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 21:05:56]
[IN Q=once we had]
((ONCE WE HAD ALL..MORE THAN ONE SITE))
[RUNS=:14]
[OUT Q=than one site]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

They also have back up generators and alternate supply sources.
(------------)

[7WEATHER]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
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Taking a look at your Friday forecast..
Another sunny day is expected, with temperatures in the mid- to upper-80's.
Clouds will roll in tonight, along with the possibility for some scattered showers.
The extended forecast remains mostly sunny, with highs in the eighties and lows in the sixties...
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[7BIRTHDAYS!] 8/8/98
Saturday:

[SUPER=130-6/Arabia Anderson/Augusta Ga]

No Pictures:

[SUPER=131-40/Jeanie Matherly/Snow Creek]

Anniversary:
[SUPER=131-/Todd & Cheryl Grindstaff/Danville]

[SUPER=131-24/Chris Hines/Gretna]
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[SUPER=19-Melanie/Moon;][45E-B'burg-Fatal]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=THa]
[TAPE#98-54 41:56]
[GRAPHIC=fatal ax]

A medical examiner will have to determine what killed a man found dead in his car yesterday in Blacksburg.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg;]

The body of 48- year old Jerry Wayne Jones was found inside a van on Farmview Road, around eight o'clock last night.

Authorities say Jones apparently veered off the side of the road, through a yard and down a ravine before coming to a halt.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Right now]
((BRUCE BRADBERY/BLACKSBURG POLICE DEPT.: RIGHT NOW, IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE ANY FOUL PLAY, RIGHT NOW IT SIMPLY LOOKS LIKE A MOTOR VEHICLE FATALITY, WE WILL CONTINUE OUR INVESTIGATION, IF THERE IS ONE, AN AUTOPSY BY THE MEDICAL EXAMINER, THEN IT SHOULD GIVE US A LOT OF INFORMATION. ))
[SUPER=01-Bruce Bradbery/Blacksburg Police Dept.; :00]
[RUNS=:15]
[OUT Q=of information.]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]

Police say a neighbor actually spotted the van a couple of hours earlier.
But did NOT contact police because they thought the person may have been cutting brush.
(----------------)

[45E-Switched-Babies]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=jmc]
[TAPE#=598-29 48:04]
[GRAPHIC=Baby Swap]

A published report today says the families of two children believed to have been switched at birth will meet Sunday.
Meantime, just how the switch occcurred continues to be a mystery.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The UVA Medical Center says the two children, Callie Johnson and Rebecca Chittum, could not have been switched by accident.
[SUPER=03-Charlottesville]

But if they were, the medical center could be facing a lawsuit.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=I think it's really]
((MARK EARLEY/VIRGINIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: I THINK IT'S REALLY TO EARLY AND TO PREMATURE TOO KNOW WHETHER THAT WAS A FAILURE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA OR WHETHER IT WAS A DELIBERATE, CRIMINAL ACT. IT'S CERTAINLY A TRAGIC THING AND I CERTAINLY COMMEND THE FAMILIES WHO I THINK ARE TRYING TO WORK TOGETHER TO MAKE THE BEST OUT OF A DIFFICULT SITUATION.))
[SUPER=@Earley]
[RUNS=:20]
[OUT Q=difficult situation.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Another development in the case yesterday concerns court records of Paula Johnson and her former boyfriend Carlton Conley.
He was convicted last year of beating Johnson, the presumed biological mother of Rebecca Chittum.
(------------)

[45E-RTO-Study]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=cch]
[TAPE#=98-43 1:45:29]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Rent-to-own may sound like a good idea, but some consumer advocates say it's NOT.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]
A survey of four rent-to-own stores shows their interest rates can be very high...
If you bought a 19 inch television at a department store the price would be about 200 dollars.
That same television rented weekly could cost more than 900 dollars at some local Rent to own stores. Survey officials say consumers often don't know what they're getting into.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 00:10:41- 00:10:56]
[IN Q=I think most people]
((HENRY WOODWARD/LEGAL AID SOCIETY OF ROANOKE VALLEY:I THINK MOST PEOPLE WHO USE THIS INDUSTRY AS A WAY TO ACQUIRE BELONGINGS DO IT MORE OUT OF DESPERATION THAN ANYTHING ELSE AND REALLY THEY PROBABLY DON'T KNOW THE DETAILS OF WHAT THEY'RE GETTING INTO BUT THEY HAVE LITTLE CHOICE ANYHOW.))
[SUPER=01-Henry Woodward/Legal Aid of Roanoke Valley]
[RUNS=15]
[OUT Q=they have little choice anyhow]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
A-P-R financing at the local stores can be more than five times that of credit card rates.
(------------)

[45E-Radio-Ratings]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=sgo]
[TAPE#=98-46 1:11:02]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Country music continues to be the preference for morning radio listeners.
The latest ratings show that
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
W-Y-Y-D keeps its title as the most listened-to station in the Roanoke- Lynchburg market.
Coming in a close second place is adult contemporary station W-S-L-Q, better known as Q-99.
Rock station W-R-O-V takes third place.
Next is W-X-L-K, or K-92 -- the hip-hop and pop station.
And rounding out the top five is W-P-V-R.
The ratings are put out by Arbitron.
(------------)

[8Phares]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=sgo]
[TAPE#98-49]
[GRAPHIC=None]

A Bedford county high school principal resigned last night, in hopes of putting to rest a controversy.
Some Staunton River High School students had received certificates of completion, but they had NOT done enough work to earn those certificates.
Scott Goldberg explains.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-James Phares/Staunton River Principal;:02]
[SUPER=03-Bedford; :12]
[SUPER=01-Nicole Sheppard/Staunton River Parent;:24]
[SUPER=01-Sandy Saunders/Staunton River Parent;:32]
[SUPER=01-James Blevins/Bedford Co. Superintendent;:53]
[super=@Scott1; 1:04]
[RUNS=1:15]
[OUT Q=SG, N7]
(((/////SOT/////)
[SOT 20 33 42]
[IN Q=it's controversial]
((JAMES PHARES/STAUNTON RIVER PRINCIPAL: IT'S CONTROVERSIAL AND I'M SORRY IT OCCURRED... BUT I'M NOT GOING TO APOLOGIZE FOR MY TENURE AT STAUNTON RIVER.)) [RUNS10]
[OUT Q=at Staunton River]

Phares said he feels good about what he accomplished as principal.
And parents with kids at Staunton River felt good about Phares...
Even if it was under his watch that students got credit for work they did not do.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 19 38 35]
[IN Q=there's obviously]
((NICOLE SHEPPARD/STAUNTON RIVER PARENT: THERE'S OBVIOUSLY SOMETHING THAT DID NOT GO RIGHT...BUT ACCEPTING HIS RESIGNATION IS PREMATURE.)) [RUNS08]
[OUT Q=PREMATURE]
[**BUMP SOTS**]
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[SOT 19 35 55]
[IN Q=I'M VERY UPSET]
((SANDY SAUNDERS: I'M VERY UPSET...CHILDREN LIKE AND RESPECT HIM.)) [RUNS08]
[OUT Q=RESPECT HIM]

When he announced his intention to resign, Phares said he didn't do anything wrong.
But he knew the controversy surrounding Staunton River was getting deeper.
And he thought the best way for the school to get back on course was for the captain to abandon ship.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 16 45 15]
[IN Q=i'm not]
((JAMES BLEVINS/BEDFORD SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT: I'M NOT SURE THIS WILL LAY ANY CONTROVERSY TO REST. I THINK THIS WILL EASE PARENTS' MINDS WHO HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT STAUNTON RIVER HIGH SCHOOL.)) [RUNS11]
[OUT Q=HIGH SCHOOL]

Now a state auditor will look at the school and see what changes need to be made to make sure students don't get credit for work they don't do.
Scott Goldberg, News-7.))

[45WEATHER]

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

Before we finish up this morning--
Turning partly sunny for your Friday, with highs in the upper 80s.
Clouding up overnight, with isolated showers possible.
Lows in the upper 60s.
The four day forecast is partly to mostly sunny, with highs in the 80s.
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[SUPER=19-Melanie/Moon;][8Phares]

[8E-Hale]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=98-52 39:17]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]

15- year- old Jawawn Hale received a second- degree murder conviction yesterday in a Roanoke courtroom.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

Family and friends of Hale emerged from the courthouse, along with friends and relatives of the victim, Mike Andrews.
[SUPER=04-January 6;]

Hale admitted he fired the fatal shots- -claiming it was self defense... following a run-in the two had earlier that day.
(------------)

[8E-L'burg-Fire]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#98-48 1:05:11]
[GRAPHIC=fire]

Yesterday's fire at a Lynchburg apartment building was sparked by a child playing with a lighter.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg;]

The first crews to arrive at the Forest Brook Apartments around noon found smoke and flames coming from a second floor window.
That's where a 5-year old girl had set a pile of clothes on fire in a bedroom closet.
Her mother tried extinguishing the blaze with a pitcher of water but was driven back by the smoke and flames.
Firefighters had it under control in about ten minutes.
Two other apartments suffered smoke and water damage.
(----------------)

[8E-Ferrum]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=tte]
[TAPE#=598-33 21:17]
[GRAPHIC=Education]

Aspiring college students have one last day to check out schools taking part in Virginia Private College Week.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Franklin Co.;]

High school students and their families can tour schools such as Ferrum College for a taste of college life.
But school administrators say they can also save students money.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 11:42:17]
[IN Q=A week like this]
((BILL EANES/FERRUM COLLEGE ADMISSIONS DIRECTOR: A WEEK LIKE THIS ... STATE SUPPORTED SCHOOLS.))
[SUPER=01-Bill Eanes/Ferrum College;]
[RUNS=:07]
[OUT Q=state supported schools]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Programs start this morning at nine a-m and two p-m.
Students who have visited four colleges this week will receive a waiver, letting them apply to three schools for free.
(------------)

[8E-gang-Commission]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=jmc]
[TAPE#=98-42 1:45:36]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Governor Gilmore is putting the focus on teenage crime.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Richmond]

Yesterday, he met with the members of his NEW Partnership Commission, the group studying drugs, gangs and juvenile violence.
And he handed out some marching orders, saying the commission needs to find practical ways to make schools and neighborhoods safer.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=And the communities]
[SUPER=@Gilmore]
[RUNS=:16]
[OUT Q=where they belong.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Three of the 33 members on the panel are from the Roanoke Valley: Salem delegate Morgan Griffith, Roanoke commonwealth's attorney Don Caldwell, and U.S. attorney Bob Crouch.
[SUPER=03-Richmond/June 15;]

The governor set this up two days after the incident at Richmond's Armstrong high school earlier this summer.
A teenager opened fire inside the building, wounding a teacher and a teacher's aide.
(------------)

[8WEATHER]

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

Before we wrap up this morning, here's a final look at the Friday forecast.
Partly sunny today, with highs in the upper 80s.
Clouding up by tonight, with isolated showers possible across the region.
Lows in the upper 60s.
The extended forecast is calling for lots of sunshine...
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