[THIRTY-WEATHER]

[ANCHOR=KIMBERLY]

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



[7-5-Gill]


[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=tte]
[TAPE#=98-46; 1:29:33]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]


A Franklin County man was found guilty yesterday of murdering his teenaged girlfriend.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Franklin Co.;]


21-year-old Rodney Gill fatally shot 19-year-old LaKisha Stockton last August.
He then straddled her body in bed and shot himself through the head, but he survived.
His attorney says the murder was an accident.
But the prosecutor points out Gill's gun was broken and that he would have had to cock it by hand.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 14:09:41]
[IN Q=The trigger pull]

((CLIFF HAPGOOD/COMMONWEALTH'S ATTORNEY: THE TRIGGER PULL ON THIS WAS SIX AND A HALF POUNDS A VERY SUBSTANTIAL PULL, NOT A HAIR TRIGGER BY ANY MEANS, NOT THE KIND OF THING YOU'RE WAVING AROUND IN THE AIR AND OOPS, IT WENT OFF. THAT'S NOT WHAT WE HAVE HERE AT ALL.))
[SUPER=01-Cliff Hapgood/Commonwealth's Attorney;]
[RUNS=13]
[OUT Q=at all]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]


Judge William Alexander convicted Gill of second degree murder, saying there was no proof he had planned the crime in advance.
Gill will be sentenced in October.
(------------)


[7E-Blevins]


[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=THa]
[TAPE#=98-59; 18:40]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]


A Smyth County teacher was sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to having sex with a student.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Smyth Co./May 7;]


The girl was a former student of 35-year-old Michael Blevins when he taught in Rural Retreat. The crimes happened in Smyth County.
Blevins also faces charges in Montgomery County for allegedly having sex with two other students.
He taught math and coached wrestling at Shawsville High School.
Prosecutors say Blevins gave the girls liquor to get them into bed and also bought them lingerie.
(----------------)


[7S-Hit-and-Run]


[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=chu]
[TAPE#=98-51; 46:48]
[GRAPHIC=Fatal Accident]


A Pittsylvania woman died Tuesday night as the result of hit and run accident near her home.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Pittsylvania Co.;]


The body of 34- year- old Cynthia Faye White was found yesterday morning along State Route 360 in Keeling.
State Police say she was discovered by her boyfriend.
Troopers believe she was killed between 9 and 11 Tuesday night and may have been struck by a dark colored Ford pick-up truck.
Anyone with information about this fatal accident should call the Salem State Police.
(----------------)

[wipe wipe wipe]

[7S-West]


[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=KHu]
[TAPE#=98-55; 46:27]
[GRAPHIC=wipe wipe wipe]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co./August 20]


A woman involved in a car accident last week also died Tuesday night.
Sherry West's view of the Jeep that hit her on Route 220 was apparently blocked by a south-bound truck, as she pulled out from Pine Needle Road.
Rescue workers managed to revive her, but the single mother of two elementary school children died Tuesday.
(----------------)




[7Police-Ax]


[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=chr]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=Accident]


A police car crashed through an immigrant family's apartment Tuesday night, but no one was injured.
The crash left an eight-foot hole in a bedroom wall.
Roanoke police officer Samuel Roman Jr. was responding to a call when his brakes locked.
The woman and her three children are from China and do not speak English.



[7E-School-Closings]


[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=sta]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=Summer Heat]


Because of the continuing hot weather, several area schools will again close early today.
(------------)

[take pinnacle board]
In Covington..
Edgemont Primary will close today at noon and there will be no afternoon kindergarten.
Jeter-Watson Intermediate will close at 12-26pm.
And, Covington High School will close at 12-34.
Schools in the Alleghany Highlands will close two hours early.
And, Nelson County and Patrick County Schools will close at 1 p-m today.
The following Montgomery County schools will close early:
Shawsville High School and Middle School will both close at noon--along with Auburn High School and Middle School, Blacksburg Middle School and Christiansburg Middle School.
Montgomery County elementary schools closing at 12:45 today include Margaret Beeks, Belview, Price's Fork, Gilber Linkous, and Christiansburg Elementary School.
(-----------------)


[7WEATHER]


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



Taking a look at your Thursday forecast..
Expect partly cloudy skies with a light breeze. Highs will range from the upper-80's to the low-90's.
Clouds stick around overnight, with lows in the upper-60's to about 70.
The extended forecast...
[CK/WX PRO=]

MAPS


[SUPER=X5000; set dissolve]
[SUPER=314-Partly Cloudy/& Breezy/88-92/Variably Cloudy/Winds NE 10-15/65-70;]
[SUPER=#555; reset]

[7BIRTHDAYS!] 8/28/98
Friday:

[SUPER=130-40/Priscilla Maddox/Bland]


Anniversary:
[SUPER=130-30th/Nancy & Gary Shelor/Radford]



[SUPER=130-15/Jeffrey Hoke/Union, WV]



[SUPER=130-48/Sandy Thompson/Wirtz]



[SUPER=130-5/Mathew Cox/Floyd]


[cutopen]

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



[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=sgo]
[TAPE#=98-49; 1:32:35]
[GRAPHIC=AEP Powerline]


A lengthy report is stalling hearings over the high-voltage power line.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]


The people reviewing American Electric Power's application for a new power line are making their way through the 150-page study.
It was a response to the state's request that A-E-P look at an alternative route. [map]
A-E-P concluded that its preferred corridor -- from Wyoming, West Virginia to Cloverdale -- is the least costly and most efficient place to build a new line.
THAT line could be built by winter in the year 2002.
A-E-P says the state's two-phase alternative project could take three times as long to build ... and it would not alleviate the environmental concerns that go along with the preferred corridor.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 13 46 49]
[IN Q=the two phase]

((TODD BURNS/AMERICAN ELECTRIC POWER: THE TWO PHASE PROJECT HAS THE SAME ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE THAT THE WYOMING CLOVERDALE PROJECT HAS. YOU HAVE TO CROSS THE NEW RIVER, YOU HAVE TO CROSS THE APPALACHAIN TRAIL AND YOU HAVE TO CROSS THE GEORGE WASHINGTON, JEFFERSON NATIONAL FOREST.))
[SUPER=01-Todd Burns/American Electric Power;]
[RUNS=:18]
[OUT Q=national forest]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]


The state will take a couple of weeks to review A-E-P's study.
(------------)



[45E-Tech-Announcement]


[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=THa]
[TAPE#=98-56; 27:41]
[GRAPHIC=Virginia Tech]


The National Science Foundation has awarded 12-million dollars to Tech so that it can create an Engineering Research Center in power electronics.
The goal is to reduce Americans' consumption of electricity.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg;]


Virginia Tech President Paul Torgersen says the state has also agreed to chip in on the project.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=This is]

((PAUL TORGERSEN/VIRGINIA TECH PRESIDENT: THIS IS THE FIRST ENGINEERING RESEARCH CENTER EVER AWARDED TO A SCHOOL IN VIRGINIA , IT WAS MADE POSSIBLE, IN PART, BY A COMMITTMENT THAT GOVERNOR ELECT GILMORE MADE AFTER HIS ELECTION, HE PLEDGED ON BEHALF OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, ONE POINT FIVE MILLION DOLLARS, OVER FIVE YEARS.))
[SUPER=01-Paul Torgersen/Virginia Tech President; :00]
[RUNS=:20]
[OUT Q=over five years.]
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[SS=none]


More than a hundred companies have also pledged to help support the project.

[45E-VMI-Beating]


[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=eea]
[TAPE#=98-50; 1:36:28]
[GRAPHIC=VMI]


Three V-M-I students call a law charging them with hazing unconstitutional.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Lexington]


Yesterday their attorney argued the law is too vague, and goes too far by ordering the commonwealth's attorney to prosecute cases.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 01:05:10]
[IN Q=it ursurps]

((THOMAS SPENCER/DEFENSE ATTORNEY; IT USURPS THE PROSECUTORIAL DIScREtION OF THE ELECTED OFFICIAL, THE COMMONWEALTH'S ATTORNEY, WHO IS ACCORDING TO BOTH FEDERAL AND STATE LAW, A MEMBER OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH, THE LEGISLATURE SIMPLY DOES NOT HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO DIRECT THE COMMONWEALTH'S ATTORNEY TO ACT OR NOT ACT.))
[SUPER=01-Thomas Spencer/Defense Attorney]
[RUNS=:19]
[OUT Q=not act]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]


The judge will rule on the motion after special prosecutor Michael Irvine files a response.
(------------)


[45E-School-Closings]


[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=sta]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=Summer Heat]


As the coast battles a hurricane, southwest Virginia is trying to beat the heat.
Several area schools will again close early today.
(------------)

[take pinnacle board]
In Covington..
Edgemont Primary will close today at noon and there will be no afternoon kindergarten.
Jeter-Watson Intermediate will close at 12-26pm.
And, Covington High School will close at 12-34.
Schools in the Alleghany Highlands will close two hours early.
Nelson County and Patrick County schools will close at 1 p-m today.
The following Montgomery County schools will close early:
Shawsville High School and Middle School will both close at noon--along with Auburn High School and Middle School, Blacksburg Middle School and Christiansburg Middle School.
Montgomery County elementary schools closing at 12:45 today include Margaret Beeks, Belview, Price's Fork, Gilbert Linkous, and Christiansburg Elementary School.
(-----------------)


[45WEATHER]


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


Turning to the Thursday forecast--
Partly cloudy and breezy today, with an isolated shower possible.
Highs near 90.
Variable cloudiness tonight, with lows in the upper 60s.
The four day forecast calls for the chance of some scattered shower or thunderstorms by the weekend....highs staying in the upper 80s and lows in the 60s.
And we'll continue having updates on Hurricane Bonnie, now about 30 miles southwest of New Bern, North Carolina.

[SUPER=X5000; set dissolve]
[SUPER=314-Partly Cloudy/& Breezy/88-92/Variably Cloudy/Winds NE 10-15/65-70;]
[SUPER=#555; reset]

[cutopen]

[SUPER=19-Melanie/Moon;][8E-Gill]



[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=tte]
[TAPE#=98-46; 1:40:26]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]


Although he said it was an accident, Rodney Gill was found guilty yesterday of second degree murder.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Franklin Co.;]


The 21-year-old Franklin County man shot 19-year-old LaKisha Stockton last August as she lay in bed in her father's home, her hand against her face in self-defense.
Gill then climbed on top of her and shot himself through the head, but survived.
Gill's attorney said his client shot Stockton by accident.
But experts say the gun was broken and Gill had to load and cock it by hand to make it fire.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
((NAT SOT GUNSHOT))
[RUNS=:02]
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 14:08:47]
[IN Q=In this case]

((CLIFF HAPGOOD/COMMONWEALTH'S ATTORNEY: IN THIS CASE YOU HAVE TWO SAFETIES. IN OTHER WORDS YOU HAVE TO REALLY WANT TO DO SOMETHING WITH THIS GUN BEFORE YOU CAN ACTUALLY DISCHARGE IT.))
[SUPER=01-Cliff Hapgood/Commonwealth's Attorney;]
[RUNS=05]
[OUT Q=discharge it]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]


Family members wore pins with Stockton's picture.
Friends and neighbors say Gill had abused her before.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 11:49:01]
[IN Q=She said]

((GWENDOLYN WOODY/NEIGHBOR: SHE SAID RODNEY, YOU'RE GOING TO KILL ME. RODNEY YOU KNOW YOU'RE GOING TO KILL ME. THAT'S ALL I HEARD ALL THE TIME.))
[SUPER=01-Gwendolyn Woody/Neighbor;]
[RUNS=11]
[OUT Q=all the time]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]


Judge William Alexander convicted Gill of second degree murder.
He says Gill obviously meant to kill Stockton but may not have planned it in advance.
Gill will be sentenced in October.
(------------)


[8E-Halmode]


[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=sgo]
[TAPE#=98-58; 24:33]
[GRAPHIC=none]


Almost half the employees at a Roanoke textile plant will lose their jobs.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]

[OUTSIDE SHOTS FROM "HALMODE" TAPE]
[INSIDE SHOTS FROM LB STOCK #6]


Halmode apparel announced it is laying off 180 people.
That's 40 percent of the workforce.
Halmode is ending its manufacturing operations at the Roanoke plant.
This news comes just after Halmode announced it was cutting 75 percent of its workforce in Covington.
And in April, Halmode closed its plant in New Castle, laying off 117 workers.
Ten textile plants in Southwest Virginia have closed this year.
Many of those jobs are going to Mexico, where the labor is much cheaper.
(------------)


[8S-Hit-and-Run]


[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=chu]
[TAPE#=98-51; 46:48]
[GRAPHIC=Fatal Accident]


Pittsylvania County police are searching for a dark colored Ford pick-up in connection with the hit and run death of a woman Tuesday night.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Pittsylvania Co.;]


The body of 34- year- old Cynthia Faye White was found yesterday morning along State Route 360 in Keeling.
State Police say she was discovered by her boyfriend.
Troopers believe she was killed between 9 and 11 Tuesday night.
Anyone with information about this fatal accident should call the Salem State Police.
(----------------)

[wipe wipe wipe]

[8E-School-Closings]


[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=sta]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=Summer Heat]


Hurricane Bonnie's high winds are battering the coast, but HEAT is closing schools in Southwestern Virginia.
(------------)

[take pinnacle board]
In Covington..
Edgemont Primary will close today at noon and there will be no afternoon kindergarten.
Jeter-Watson Intermediate will close at 12-26pm.
And, Covington High School will close at 12-34.
Schools in the Alleghany Highlands will close two hours early.
Nelson County and Patrick County schools will close at 1 p-m today.
The following Montgomery County schools will close early:
Shawsville High School and Middle School will both close at noon--along with Auburn High School and Middle School, Blacksburg Middle School and Christiansburg Middle School.
Montgomery County elementary schools closing at 12:45 today include Margaret Beeks, Belview, Price's Fork, Gilbert Linkous, and Christiansburg Elementary School.
(-----------------)


[8WEATHER]


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


As Hurricane Bonnie continues winding along the North Carolina coast, we'll see mainly just breezy conditions from the storm.
Look for winds around 15 miles an hour today, under partly cloudy skies.
Highs today near 90, overnight lows in the upper 60s.
The extended forecast calls for partly sunny skies for tomorrow, with some showers or storms ahead for the weekend.
[SUPER=X5000; set dissolve]

[SUPER=#555; reset] [SUPER=314-Partly Cloudy/& Breezy/88-92/Variably Cloudy/Winds NE 10-15/65-70;]
by SS