[7E-Wright-Execution]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#98-71 8:26]
[GRAPHIC=Va. Death Penalty]
Last night, Dwayne Allen Wright became the the tenth inmate to be executed this year in Virginia.
His death also marks the first execution of a juvenile offender in the state in sixty years.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
Wright was put to death last night for a murder and attempted rape he committed in Fairfax when he was just 17.
He also committed two other murders just days before, for which he did not receive the death sentence.
[SUPER=03-Richmond;]
But death penalty opponents at a State Capitol rally yesterday blasted the state for failing a brain damaged man, who as a teen was turned loose from a mental hospital because of mismanagement.
(----------------)
[TALENT=Melanie]
[SS=None]
Governor Jim Gilmore declined to intervene, saying Wright was NOT a child, nor was he a model prisoner.
In prison, he was found with a homemade knife in his cell and had assaulted other prisoners.
In 1989, Wright chased down and shot his final victim, an Ethiopian woman named Saba Tekle.
Wright died by lethal injection at 9-15 P-M.
[7S-Cressell]
[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=THa]
[TAPE#98-64 33:53]
[GRAPHIC=Cressell]
Emmit Cressell's attorneys will be back in court today, likely arguing that he can't get a fair trial in Grayson County.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Independence/File Tape;]
Jury selection is set to begin in two weeks for the capital murder suspect.
The issue of moving the trial should be taken up in court later today.
Cressell's attorneys are asking for a change of venue because of intense media publicity surrounding their client's case, as well as that of co-defendant Louis Ceparano.
(----------------)
[7Danville-Baby]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=chu]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=None]
No criminal charges for a Daville woman whose baby died after being locked in a car for several hours.
A grand jury in Danville decided yesterday that Pamela Walton should not be held criminally accountable for the death of her son Zakary.
The eight-month old was left in his mother's car in July while she was at work.
She apparently forgot to drop the boy off at daycare that morning.
An autopsy showed Zakary died of hyperthermia.
Danville police say now they consider this case closed.[7E-Bomb-Scare]
[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=chr]
[TAPE#=98-72 4:07]
[GRAPHIC=None]
It wasn't falling prices that stirred up the Wal-Mart parking lot yesterday- but a potential bomb.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]
A suitcase was abandoned between parked cars at the Wal-Mart store on Route 220.
Police and fire personnel were called onto the scene around 6 p-m.
When police opened the suitcase from a remote position, they found it was empty.
The owner has NOT been located.
(------------)
[7E-Dispatch-Center]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=sta]
[TAPE#=98-60 1:17:13]
[GRAPHIC=None]
A cooperative effort in the Rockbridge area led to the opening yesterday of a new central dispatch center.
(-------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Buena Vista;]
The Rockbridge Central Dispatch serves Rockbridge County, Buena Vista, and Lexington.
All three localities helped cover the costs--which came to just over half a million dollars.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 12.31.12 - 12.31.30]
[IN Q=I see this as]
((TOM SNEAD/CENTRAL DISPATCH DIRECTOR:I SEE THIS AS A GREAT STEP FORWARD FOR THE COUNTY AND BOTH CITIES--LEXINGTON AND BUENA VISTA IN THAT WE'VE COOPERATED. THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR, BOTH CITY MANAGERS, BOTH POLICE CHIEFS-- FIRE AND RESCUE HAVE ALL WORKED TOGETHER HAND IN HAND TO BRING THIS OFF.))
[SUPER=01-Tom Snead/Central Dispatch Director;]
[RUNS=18]
[OUT Q=to bring this off.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Construction began last December and finished up in mid-July.
The consolidated effort is expected to save area localities thousands of dollars.
(------------)
[7WEATHER]
[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=CUTIN]
[WRITER=KMC]
[TAPE #=]
[GRAPHIC=]
Taking a look now at your Thursday forecast...
Another pleasant day ahead. Look for some light winds under mostly sunny skies.
Temperatures should rise into the upper-60s.
Clear and breezy conditions overnight, as temperatures drop into the mid- to low-40s.
The extended forecast...
[CK/WX PRO=]
MAPS
[SUPER=X5000; set dissolve]
[SUPER=314-Mostly Sunny/Winds NW 10/65-69/Clear & Chilly/Light Winds/40-45;]
[SUPER=#555; reset]
[7BIRTHDAYS!] 10/16/98
Friday:
[SUPER=130-/Shirley Brooks/Lynchburg]
[SUPER=130-44/Eric Flora/Snow Creek]
[SUPER=130-10/Grace Hale/Rocky Mount]
[SUPER=130-14/Josh Midkiff/Altavista]
[SUPER=130-6/Garrett Steele/Roanoke]
[SUPER=130-7/Haley Shreve/Buena Vista]
[SUPER=130-3/Kaitlyn Barger/Troutville]
[SUPER=130-9/Michael Inman/Ridgeway]
No Pictures:
[SUPER=131-/Jim Brumagin/Pulaski]
[SUPER=131-/Brian Doyle/Snow Creek]
[cutopen]
[SUPER=19-Melanie/Moon;][45-2-Floyd-Closing]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=djo]
[TAPE#=98-67]
[GRAPHIC=Business Closing]
Two and a half months before Christmas, some workers in Floyd are finding out they'll soon be without jobs.
Cross Creek apparel is closing it's Floyd facility that employs 160.
David Johnson reports.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Any production worker]
[SUPER=03-Floyd; :00]
[SUPER=01-Cary Quesenberry/Production Employee; :18--QUICK!!]
[SUPER=01-Melissa Mengelt/Production Employee; :40]
[SUPER=@David1; :48]
[SUPER=@file; :55]
[RUNS=1:33]
[OUT Q=Djo, N7, Floyd.]
(( Any production worker at Cross Creek Apparel will tell you quickly that this sign is definitely misleading.
Employees have just found out they have about two months before they're laid off from work.
[SOT=18:11:53]
[IN Q=WE KNEW IT]
((MELISSA MENGELT/PRODUCTION EMPLOYEE; WE KNEW IT WAS COMING BUT WE WERE ALL KIND OF SURPRISED THAT IT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN.))
[RUNS05]
[OUT Q=]
[SOT=18:10:24]
[IN Q=IT WAS]
((CARY QUESENBERRY/PRODUCTION EMPLOYEE; IT WAS DEVASTATING TO ALL OF US.))
[RUNS03]
[OUT Q=ALL OF US.]
Floyd's operation of the North Carolina-based company is closing in mid-December.
According to a statement from the owner, the company is downsizing its domestic sewing capacity to create a manufacturing structure to compete in the global economy.
Melissa Mengelt says the owner is not making a good name for himself in Floyd.
[SOT=18:12:29]
[IN Q=PANNELL WAS OVER]
((MENGELT; PANNELL WAS OVER THERE WHEN HE TOOK OVER AND IT SHUT DOWN. I DON'T KNOW, IT MIGHT BE JUST A COINCIDENCE.))
[RUNS06]
[OUT Q=JUST A COINCIDENCE.]
[STAND-UP/18:35:10]
((DAVID JOHNSON/REPORTING; ALTHOUGH EMPLOYEES ARE BEING LAID OFF JUST TWO WEEKS BEFORE CHRISTMAS, IT WOULD APPEAR THE COMPANY IS NOT LEAVING THEM COMPLETELY IN THE COLD.))
[RUNS07]
Floyd employees will be considered for jobs at other Cross Creek operations.
Those unable to transfer will be offered severance packages.
With a limited number of places in Floyd to employ that many people for the amount of pay they make, workers hope management makes good on its word.
[SOT=18:12:56]
[IN Q=I MIGHT GO]
((MENGELT; I MIGHT GO BACK TO SCHOOL. THEY SAID THEY WOULD HELP, THAT THEY WOULD HELP US FIND A NEW JOB. SO MAYBE THAT WILL HELP US.))
[RUNS12]
[OUT Q=WILL HELP US.]
With the holidays and winter just around the corner from when they are laid off, employees hope that assistance comes quickly.
David Johnson, News7, Floyd.))
[45E-Bluefield-Beating]
[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=THa]
[TAPE#98-66]
[GRAPHIC=None]
The Bluefield, West Virginia police department has ended its investigation into a confrontation that left a suspect paralyzed.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
20-year old Robbie Ellison was injured last month during an altercation with officers.
[SUPER=03-Bluefield, WV/Last Week;]
Ellison told family members police slammed his head on the trunk of a car and knocked him to the ground.
But the police investigation maintains one of the officers fell on top of Ellison while trying to bring him under control, and that's what caused the injuries.
The F-B-I is conducting its own investigation.
(----------------)
[45S-State-Police]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#98-59 1:27:57]
[GRAPHIC=None]
In Virginia, state police have apprehended some fugitives who apparently got a little careless.
Some 141 fugitive felons let the state know their whereabouts when they applied for food stamps.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Chesterfield Co.]
It's part of "Operation Talon," a joint state and local effort with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 09;47:35]
[IN Q=I suppose]
((COL. WAYNE HUGGINS/VA. STATE POLICE SUPERINTENDENT: I SUPPOSE IT'S SOMEWHAT AMUSING. NO IT'S NOT EVEN AMUSING. IT'S SAD.))
[sot 09:38:41]
((ROGER VIADERO/USDA INSPECTOR GENERAL: WE'VE GOTTEN SOME PEOPLE OFF THE STREET FOR YOU. AND WE'VE SAVED A LOT OF TAX DOLLARS FOR YOU.))
[SUPER=01-Col. Wayne Huggins/Virginia State Police;]
[SUPER=01-Roger Viadero/USDA Inspector General; :06]
[RUNS=:11]
[OUT Q=dollars for you.]
(-------------)
[TALENT=Kimberly]
[SS=None]
Virginia still ranks among the highest in the nation in food stamp fraud overall.
New state enforcement offices are expected to open early next year to try to turn that around.
[45WEATHER]
[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=CUTIN]
[WRITER=KMC]
[TAPE #=]
[GRAPHIC=]
Time again to look at the forecast--
Mostly sunny skies again today, with cool northwesterly winds.
Highs in the mid and upper 60s.
Clear skies and light winds tonight, with lows in the lower 40s.
The four day forecast stays mostly sunny through the weekend, with showers possible by Monday.
[SUPER=X5000; set dissolve]
[SUPER=314-Mostly Sunny/Winds NW 10/65-69/Clear & Chilly/Light Winds/40-45;]
[SUPER=#555; reset]
[cutopen]
[SUPER=19-Melanie/Moon;][8Interstate-Ax]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=ssa]
[TAPE#none]
[GRAPHIC=accident]
An accident in the northbound lanes of Interstate 81 near the Hollins exit has traffic backed up for miles this morning.
[Double Boxes=Melanie and Steve/Microwave]
Steve Pardon is live at the scene and he joins us now with details.
[Live=Steve/Microwave]
[SUPER=19-Steve/Pardon;]
[SUPER=05-Roanoke Co.;]
( ad lib)
[Double Boxes=Melanie and Steve/Microwave][8E-Wright-Execution]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#98-71 8:26]
[GRAPHIC=Va. Death Penalty]
Last night's execution of Dwayne Allen Wright marked the first time a juvenile offender has been put to death in the Commonwealth in SIX decades.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
Wright was put to death last night for a murder and attempted rape he committed in Fairfax when he was just 17.
He also committed two other murders just days before, for which he did not receive the death sentence.
[SUPER=03-Richmond;]
But death penalty opponents at a State Capitol rally yesterday blasted the state for failing a brain damaged man, who as a teen was turned loose from a mental hospital because of mismanagement.
(----------------)
[TALENT=Melanie]
[SS=None]
Governor Jim Gilmore declined to intervene, saying Wright was NOT a child, nor was he a model prisoner.
In prison, he was found with a homemade knife in his cell and had assaulted other prisoners.
In 1989, Wright chased down and shot his final victim, an Ethiopian woman
Wright died by lethal injection at 9-15 P-M. He was the tenth inmate to be executed in Virginia this year.
[8Dead-Deer]
[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=THa]
[TAPE#none]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Authorities are investigating the deaths of at least 15 deer in the Fort Chiswell area of Wythe County.
The deer had hemorrhaging in their lungs and heart muscles and some in their tracheas.
Officials with the Department of Game and Inland fisheries believe the deer suffered from a virus.
But they're running tests to determine the exact cause.
They say the deer do NOT pose a threat to humans or livestock.
[8E-Home-Depot]
[ANCHOR=MElanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=98-63 1:00:26]
[GRAPHIC=Home Depot Rezoning]
After getting the "thumbs-up" from Roanoke County officials, Home Depot now has another hurdle to pass.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.]
A study of traffic near the Home Depot site should be completed soon, and submitted to the Virginia Department of Transportation for its review.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 16:02:35]
[IN Q=What takes place]
((LAURA BULLOCK/VA. DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION: WHAT TAKES PLACE ON THE PROPERTY IS NOT VDOT'S PURVIEW, BUT THE EFFECT ON THE ROAD SYSTEM CERTAINLY IS OF INTEREST TO US. WE WANT TO INSURE THAT OUR HIGHWAYS ARE AS SAFE AS POSSIBLE FOR ALL OF THE PEOPLE WHO USE THEM.))
[SUPER=01-Laura Bullock/Va. Dept. of Transportation]
[RUNS=:12]
[OUT Q=all of the people who use them.]
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Opponents of the project have filed a lawsuit against the Roanoke County Supervisors.
The county's response is due by early November.
[8WEATHER]
[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=CUTIN]
[WRITER=KMC]
[TAPE #=]
[GRAPHIC=]
Checking the Thursday weather outlook now--
Mostly sunny today and slightly cooler, with highs in the upper 60s.
Clear and chilly overnight, with lows in the low to mid 40s.
The four day forecast warms up for the weekend, with dry conditions expected until Monday.
[SUPER=X5000; set dissolve]
[SUPER=#555; reset]
[SUPER=314-Mostly Sunny/Winds NW 10/65-69/Clear & Chilly/Light Winds/40-45;]
by SS