[HEADLINES]
[TALENT=Melanie]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
An Ohio murder inspired a T-V show and a movie, now the real life case of
the fugitive is headed back to court.
(----------------)
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
And state education officials will be looking into charges that black students and teachers are being discriminated against in the Lynchburg school system.
(/////////////)
[TALENT=Patrick]
[SS=None]
(ad lib)
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[SS=None]
News 7 at noon is next.
[Noon-open]
[SUPER=#4054; News 7 Headline Banner]
[SUPER=@Melanie1;]
[SUPER=@Patrick1; ]
[L'burg-Schools]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#98-64 TC1:24:38]
[GRAPHIC=Lynchburg City Seal]
State education officials will be in Lynchburg next week to try and determine whether black students and teachers are being treated unfairly in the city's school system.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg]
The move follows months of public meetings and debate sparked by complaints from a committee of concerned minority citizens.
They say black students are more likely to be suspended than whites, and the city doesn't do enough to hire and promote black teachers.
A review team from the state Department of Education will spend two days meeting with city leaders, parents teachers and students.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 4:45:46]
[IN Q=We can't allow]
((JIM MCCORMICK/LYNCHBURG SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT: WE CAN'T ALLOW OR TOLERATE DISCRIMINATION. I THINK IF IN SOME WAY WE DISCRIMINATE, THERE MAY BE AN UNKNOWING OCCURRENCE OR INCIDENT THAT OCCURS IN A CLASSROOM OR HALLWAY OR ON A PLAYGROUND, BUT WHEN THE D-O-E DOES VISIT, I INTEND TO TAKE TO HEART EVERYTHING THEY SAY TO US.))
[SUPER=01-Jim McCormick/Lynchburg School Superintendent; :00]
[RUNS=:21]
[OUT Q=they say to us.]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
The Department of Education says it will "not" review the firing of E.C. Glass football coach Bo Henson.
Henson claims he was let go because there were too many black players on his team.
(----------------)
[ Tech-Game]
[ANCHOR=Mel]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=THa]
[TAPE#98-63 TC1:57:24]
[GRAPHIC=Virginia Tech]
Tickets went on sale at Tech's ticket office this morning for the upcoming Music City Bowl game.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg;]
The Hokies found out Monday they'd be travelling to Tennessee to play an S-E-C opponent on December 29th.
Fans were waiting in line when the office opened this morning but the pace has since slowed down.
Tech's ticket office manager says the phones have actually been the busiest.
The university was allotted 12- thousand tickets.
And those who showed up this morning were there to make sure one of those seats were theirs.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=A couple of ]
((SARAH SUTHERLAND:A COUPLE OF PEOPLE I KNOW ARE GOING TO GO DOWN AND TRY TO SCALP THEM, BUT I WAS LIKE, NO, I CAN'T DO THAT, WE WANT TO BE, LIKE, SURE, THAT WE GET OUR TICKETS. ))
[SUPER=01-Sarah Sutherland/Virginia Tech Fan;]
[RUNS=:08]
[OUT Q=get our tickets.]
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=MEL]
[SS=None]
Federal officials are offering advice for folks planning to buy bowl travel packages.
They say to ask for the ticket when they pay or to get written confirmation that a ticket is available.
[ShEPhARD]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=MEL]
[TAPE#net]
[GRAPHIC=LEgal Scales]
The Ohio murder made famous by the movie ``The Fugitive'' is getting another day in court.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=@File;]
[11:00NEWSPATH]
The Ohio Supreme Court today cleared the way for a third trial to determine if the late Sam Sheppard killed his wife.
If Sheppard is found innocent, the court could award damages.
He died in 19-70, but his son is now fighting to clear his father's name.
Sheppard was convicted in 19-54 of killing his wife.
He always claimed a "bushy haired intruder" murdered her.
(----------------)
[CLINTON-IMPEACH]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=MEL]
[TAPE#net]
[GRAPHIC=Imepachment Inquiry]
Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee are going ahead with plans to expand the impeachment probe.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Washington DC;]
[4:06:06]
House lawyers today again asked a federal judge for memos on alleged campaign finance abuses.
The judge approved the request about a half hour ago.
Panel chairman Henry Hyde says members are "duty bound" to widen their investigation.
Democratic leader Richard Gephardt says the impeachment probe is "in
chaos".
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
(( REP. DICK GEPHARDT//HOUSE MINORITY LEADER:"NO ONE SEEMS TO BE IN CHARGE, NO ONE I GRABBING THE REINS - DRIVE THIS TRAIN."
REP. JOHN CONYERS//D-MI: "EXPANDING THIS INQUIRY AT THIS DATE, AT THIS LATE DATE, MAKES A MOCKERY BECAUSE THERE IS NO TIME TO SERIOUSLY PURSUE ANY FACT ISSUES." ))
[SUPER=01-Rep. Dick Gephardt/House Minority Leader;]
[SUPER=01-Rep. John Conyers/(D) Michigan; :06]
[RUNS=:12]
[OUT Q=any fact issues;]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
G-O-P officials say the committee hopes to question F-B-I director Louis Freeh today or tomorrow.
In memos to Attorney General Janet Reno Freeh urged the appointment of an indpependent counsel to investigate how the president raised funds for his 19-96 campaign.
(----------------)
[toxic-toys]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#None]
[GRAPHIC=Toy Safety]
Gerber is asking stores to pull its soft vinyl toys that babies put in their mouths.
The teethers and pacifers contain a suspected cancer-causing agent.
The U-S Consumer Product Safety Commission is asking companies to stop using the chemical, but it has not issued a ban.
Federal regulators say babies don't ingest enough of the chemicals for it to be harmful.
[BOEING]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=MEL]
[TAPE#net]
[GRAPHIC=Lsyoffs]
At Beoing, employees today are wondering who will be next.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Seattle, WA;]
The world's largest aircraft maker has annouced it's cutting 20 thousand jobs over the next two years.
That's on top of 28 thousand job cuts announced in July.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[4:02:28-32]
[IN Q=]
((LUTHER STEELE/BOEING WORKER; IT'S A HARD BULLET TO BITE BUT AH. ))
[SUPER=01-Luther Steele/Boeing Worker; (quick!!)]
[RUNS=:04]
[OUT Q=BULLET TO BITE BUT, AH.]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
Boeing blames the Asian financial crisis for the latest round of layoffs.
Boeing says commerical air travel will grow by only about two per cent this year.
(----------------)
[Exxon-Mobil]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#net]
[GRAPHIC=Layoffs]
The new merger between Exxon and Mobil also means job cuts.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-New York, NY;]
Both companies will keep their brand names.
But the 77 billion- dollar proposed merger is expected to cost nine- thousand jobs nationwide.
Executives say the lay-offs... combined with other streamlining... will save the new company nearly three billion dollars a year.
But experts say a world oil glut should keep gas prices down.
(----------------)
[INDIA-exercises]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=NOON]
[WRITER=MEL]
[TAPE#net]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Barely six months after shocking the world with a series of underground nuclear explosions, India is holding its biggest war games of the decade.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Uttarlai Air Base, India;]
[7:05:58]
The military exercises are taking place near the border with Pakistan, almost certainly aimed to put their arch-enemy on the alert.
They involve tens of thousands of soldiers, 300 tanks and more than 150 fighter jets.
Indian Army officers said the exercises were necessary to maintain military equality with Pakistan.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
(( LIEUTENANT GENERAL KHANNA, INDIAN MILITARY COMMANDER: "IF THIS CONFLICT IS ESCALATED BY PAKISTAN, OR WE WISH TO ESCALATE BECAUSE OF VARIOUS REASONS, THE NEXT LEVEL TO ESCALATE IS CONVENTIONAL. AND THEREFORE THE RELEVANCE IS THERE AND IT HAS BEEN INCREASED DESPITE NUCLEAR BALANCE. " ))
[SUPER=01-Lt. General H. M. Khanna/Indian Military Commander;]
[RUNS=:19]
[OUT Q=despite nuclear balance.]
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[SS=None]
Shortly before one this afternoon President Clinton is scheduled to meet with the Prime Minister of Pakistan at the White House.
[tease1]
[HARD MUSIC UNDER]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
A state of emergency is in effect across the commonwealth because of the danger of forest fires.
More on that in just a moment.
(--------------)
[VO-NAT ]
And next on News-7 at Noon, the birthplace of the famous Pullman Palace railroad cars goes up in flames.
(---------------)
[Talent=Patrick]
[Wx-Tease]
[Weatherpro]
[music up full]
[comm1]
[pullman-FIRE]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=MEL]
[TAPE#net]
[GRAPHIC=Fire]
Chicago authorities are investigating a fire that destroyed the historic Pullman Rail Car Factory.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Chicago, IL;]
[4:15]
It was constructed during the 1870's and had been designated as a National Historic landmark.
150 firefighters with 45 pieces of equipment were called out to fight the 5-alarm blaze.
They worked through the night.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[4:15:28-45]
[IN Q=]
((SAL MARQUEZ/CHICAGO FIRE SPOKESPERSON: OUR TACTICS...WE SURROUND...EVERYTHING'S EXTINQUISHED. ))
[SUPER=01-Sal Marque/Chicago Fire Dept. Spokesperson;]
[RUNS=:16]
[OUT Q=EVERYTHING'S EXTINQUISHED. ]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
A strike at the plant in the late 1800's over wages became one of the landmark labor clinflicts in U-S history.
(----------------)
[Fire-Emergency]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#None]
[GRAPHIC=Forest Fire Danger]
Virginia is under a precautionary state of emergency because drought is causing extreme fire danger across the commonwealth.
The danger is at level "four."
"Five" is when fire has already broken out.
The emergency order puts Forestry, Emergency Services, and National Guard personnel and equipment on standby.
It authorizes the use of blackhawk helicopters to fight the fires.
It's the first time since 1995 that the blackhawks have been on standby.
[Farm-Bureau]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Farming]
Environmental protection has been a hot topic at the Virginia Farm Bureau convention this week.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]
Yesterday, farmers heard from Bruce Vincent, a Montana logger who says the time has come for a new environmental moevement.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=there's a thin]
((THERE'S A THIN LINE BETWEEN ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL INSANITY. THIS COUNTRY JOINED THE ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT 30 YEARS AGO. IT WAS TIMELY. IT WAS NECESSARY, BUT IT HASN'T MATURED BEYOND A THREE- WORD VISION OF STOP DOING THAT.))
[SUPER=01-Bruce Vincent/Alliance for America]
[RUNS=:12]
[OUT Q=stop doing that]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Vincent found a receptive audience among bureau members like fourth generation farmer Ned Jeter.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=I know my]
((I KNOW MY FATHER, JUST TO PUT IT ON A PERSONAL BASIS, HE LOOKS AFTER THE LAND AND LITERALLY WATCHES OVER ME AND MAKES SURE THAT I TAKE CARE OF THE LAND SO MY BOYS IF THEY FARM CAN HAVE GOOD LAND TO TAKE CARE OF.))
[SUPER=01-Ned Jeter/Roanoke Valley Farmer]
[RUNS=:13]
[OUT Q=take care of.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Botetourt Co.]
Jeter's father says despite the pressures of modern agriculture, he hopes his son will be able to continue the 150-year old tradition.
(-------------)
[Poultry-Regulation]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=HOLD]
Virginia farmers also launched a campaign against proposed regulations on poultry farming.
The state senate's agriculture committee is expected to vote on a regulation bill in two weeks.
It would direct the state water control board to develop rules to reduce nutrient discharges from farms that raise chickens and turkeys.
One farmer said his industry already faces more regulations than any other.
[Car-Tax]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Car tax]
You may not have to pay the personal property tax on cars much longer.
But that doesn't mean you'll have extra space on your windshield.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]
Cities and counties will still require a decal.
The state government will shell out the money to pay for the car tax, but Richmond won't be taking care of the 20-dollar decal fee.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=they still need]
((DAVID ANDERSON/ROANOKE CITY TREASURER; THEY STILL NEED TO GET A DECAL, AND WE'LL STILL MAIL THEM A BILL FOR THAT DECAL.))
[SUPER=01-David Anderson/Roanoke City Treasurer; QUICK!!]
[RUNS=:04]
[OUT Q=for that decal]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Last year the decal fee brought in about one- point- seven million dollars in Roanoke City alone.
The decals have been around since the sixties, when they were used as a way to enforce the collection of personal property taxes.
(------------)
[Tease2]
[SOFT MUSIC UNDER]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
Mary Washington College may take on a more masculine name, despite some protests.
We'll have the possible new name next on News-7 at Noon.
(-----------------)
[VO-NAT ]
And a decade and a half after it was proposed, the first U-S piece of the international space station is on the launch pad.
(-----------------)
[MUSIC UP FULL]
[COMM BREAK #2]
[Mary-Washington]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=Education]
Virginia's only public college named for a woman may not be named for a woman much longer.
Administrators at Mary Washington College in Fredricksburg are considering renaming the school Washington and Monroe University.
The president of the school says the change makes sense because of the opening of a satellite campus in Stafford next fall.
The Stafford campus will be called the James Monroe Center for Graduate and Professional Studies.
But some students charge that the school is running from its roots.
The change would have to be approved by the school's board of visitors and the General Assembly.
[ENDEAVOR]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=MEL]
[TAPE#net]
[GRAPHIC=Shuttle Endeavour]
Fifteen years ago President Reagan proposed building an 8 billion dollar international space station.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Kennedy Space Center, FL;]
[7:04:42]
This afternoon the shuttle Endeavour stands poised for liftoff early tomorrow to begin assembly of what has evolved into a FIFTY-FOUR billion dollor space station.
It's due to be completed in 2004.
The I-S-S will stretch the length of a football field while moving through space at five miles per second.
Bad weather could postpone tomorrow's launch.
(----------------)
[Stocks]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=chr]
[TAPE# none]
[GRAPHIC=stocks]
On Wall Street at Noon, the Dow was DOWN 143 points.
[tease3]
[SPORTS MUSIC UNDER]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
Still ahead in sports, the final four is set for Friday night at the Salem Civic Center.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
And the Frank Beamer bidding war is over, and a winner has been declared.
We'll have details coming up, when News 7 at Noon continues.
(---------------)
[MUSIC UP FULL]
[COMM BREAK #3]
[Beamer]
[ANCHOR=Patrick]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=SP-18]
[GRAPHIC=Beamer]
To the delight of Hokie fans across the Commonwealth, Frank Beamer announced last night he'll stay with Tech for the rest of his coaching career.
Mike Stevens reports.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=first audio]
[super=03-Blacksburg/Last Night; :00]
[SUPER=01-Frank Beamer/76 Career Wins At Va. Tech; :13]
[SUPER=01-Shane Beamer/Va. Tech Long Snapper; :43]
[SUPER=01-Jim Weaver/Va. Tech Athletic Director; 1;12]
[RUNS=1:53]
[OUT Q=News-7 Sports]
(--------------)
(( After visiting the Tigers on Sunday and the Gamecocks on Monday, a three hour visit with his boss Jim Weaver on Tuesday morning convinced Beamer that there's no place like home.
((FRANK BEAMER/SIGNS WITH TECH FOR LIFE:))
As is his family and his extended family. His players weren't sure what their coach was going to say when they were summoned to the Merryman Center, but everyone from redshirt freshman Lee Suggs to Frank's son, Shane Beamer are glad big Frank is staying put.
((SHANE BEAMER/VA. TECH LONG SNAPPER:))
Still too early to tell if Shane will get an Explorer, but his dad get a seven year annuity that will pay him $75 thousand a year plus incentive money if the Hokies make a postseason bowl.
And his assistants get a pay raise, as well.))
((JIM WEAVER/VA. TECH ATHLETIC DIRECTOR:))
((FRANK BEAMER/VA. TECH HEAD COACH:))
(-------------)[UVa]
[ANCHOR=Patrick]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=SP-22]
[GRAPHIC=VIRGINIA LOGO]
Florida State overcame a 14- point deficit late in the second half to defeat the Cavaliers last night 72- 69.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Charlottesville/HTS; :00]
Roanoke's Steve Robinson matched wits with Pete Gillen, and Gillen's squad would dominate most of the game.
The Cavs used good pressure defense in the first half. Here, Adam Hall gets the steal and the easy bucket to put the Cavs up 39- 35 on the Seminoles at halftime.
Chris Williams led the Virginia at University Hall with 18 points. Watch the freshman rise above the crowd for this hoop.
[super=33-Florida State/72/Virginia/69;]
UVa led by 14 in the second half, but FSU mustered a rally and won the game on Adrian Crawford's three pointer in the closing seconds, with a final score of 72- 69.
(------------)[Byrd]
[ANCHOR=Patrick]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=sma]
[TAPE#=SP-15]
[GRAPHIC=VHSL]
A ticket to the state final four was on the line last night, as three local high school teams took to the hardwood.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Vinton/Golden Wave vs. Terriers; :00]
We pick it up in Vinton, where William Byrd played host to Grundy.
In the second half. Byrd's Nicole Bailey gives it to Stephanie Parnell for the hoop and the foul. She hits from the charity line for three of her game high 22 points.
Then J.J. McKinney passes to Whitney Yates, she
[SUPER=34-William Byrd/54/Grundy/48;]
spins and takes it to the hole for two. 49-38 Byrd in the fourth quarter.
But Grundy didn't go quietly. Melissa Bishop hits this trey from the left side, the Golden Wave was within three points.
But Byrd holds on for the 54-48 victory and advances to the state semi-finals to meet Turner Ashby this Friday night at the Salem Civic Center.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q="It]
[SUPER=01-Richard Thrasher/William Byrd Head Coach; :00]
[RUNS=:08]
[OUT Q=...great players"]
(----------------)
[wipe wipe wipe]
[Bassett]
[ANCHOR=Patrick]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=rst]
[TAPE#=SP-12]
[GRAPHIC=wipe wipe wipe]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Bassett/Vikings vs Bengals; :]
In Bassett, the Bengals were hosting the Vikings of Northside.
And the Vikings would trail by 11 at the half before Amber Kern steps up and hits this three pointer to cut the lead to 8.
But that's as close as it would get. Bassett's Heather Miller drives on the base line, getting two of her 23 points. Bengals by 13.
A big reason for the lead was Basset's dominant inside game. The undersized Vikings can't handle
[SUPER=33-Bassett/77/Northside/61/;]
Tawana McCall's pass to Tierra Baliles, and the Bengals go on to win it 77- 61 to advance to the final four.
(-----------)
[Extra]
[ANCHOR=Patrick]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=dal]
[TAPE#=extra]
[GRAPHIC=MLB]
In baseball news, the Orioles lose pitcher Armando Benitez in a trade with the New York Mets, and free agent Rafael Palmeiro goes back to the Rangers. The former O's slugger signed a five year, 45 million dollar contract with Texas.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
But the Orioles made up for the loss by signing controversial outfielder Albert Belle to the biggest contract in franchise history.
Belle signed a 65-million dollar, five year contract yesterday.
He says Baltimore was his favorite team when he was a child.
(------------)
The O's also picked up catcher Charles Johnson in the trade with New York.
by SS