WDBJ 7 morning news AM cutins for 12/24/98

We have one school note to pass along-- the Lynchburg Christian Academy's Early Learning Center is closed today.

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[ANCHOR=Melanie]
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[TAPE#98-]
[GRAPHIC=Winter Storm]

Road conditions are expected to improve as the morning continues.
[Double Boxes=Melanie and Tina/Microwave]

With more on that, we go to Tina Tenret at the Roanoke Regional Airport.
Tina?
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[:23 to Bite]
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[Double Boxes=Melanie and Tina/Microwave]

[7S-Pulaski-Murder]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=jmc]
[TAPE#=98-75; 1:42:23]
[GRAPHIC=Shooting]

One man is in police custody, and two more are being questioned in connection with the shooting death of 19-year old John Christopher Dean.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Pulaski;]

Dean was shot several times at the Washington Square Apartments Monday night.
Police say a tenant had an argument with a friend of Dean's earlier that night, and they're fairly sure that's what led to the shooting.
A man from South Carolina has been charged with illegal possession of a handgun in the incident.
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[7S-M'ville-Bomb]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
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[TAPE#=98-79; 17:03]
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A bomb exploded in Martinsville and severely injured the boy who made it.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Martinsville;]

The boy reportedly was carrying the bomb in a car when it went off--seriously injuring his hands and face.
He was taken to the Memorial Hospital of Martinsville and later transferred to a hospital in North Carolina.
There's no word yet on his condition.
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[7S-Bikes-Bust]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
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[TAPE#=598-30; 1:37:18]
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While he may have been motivated by good intentions, Jody Pendleton's actions have landed him in jail.
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[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/File Tape;]

Two weeks ago he donated 340-bicycles to the Bikes or Bust charity event.
The problem is: he apparently bought the bikes using two bad checks at Wal Mart.
At the time, the 22-year-old man was out on bond, after he was indicted for bank fraud and money laundering.
U.S. Attorney Tom Eckert said paying with rubber checks was a clear violation of that bond...
Even if donating bikes to under-privileged kids was a nice idea.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 2:58:13]
[IN Q=I DON'T THINK]
((ECKERT: I DON'T THINK THAT REALLY MATTERS. THE POINT IS THAT THE CHECKS ARE BAD. THE REASON HE DID IT OR THE MOTIVATION IS REALLY IRRELEVANT.))
[SUPER=01-Tom Eckert/U.S. Attorney;]
[RUNS=:10]
[OUT Q=IRRELEVANT]
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[VO-NAT]

Slam Duncan, the D-J in charge of the charity event was unavailable for comment yesterday.
Wal-Mart will not say if it's going to try to get the bikes back.
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Taking a look now at your wintry forecast..
A mix of precipitation will continue throughout the day, with high temperatures hovering right around 30 degrees.
Skies will clear out and the frozen mixture will depart by tonight.
Overnight lows will dip down into the mid-teens.
The extended forecast...
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[7BIRTHDAYS] 12/26/98
Saturday:

[SUPER=130-/Jessica Driskill/Concord]

[SUPER=130-2/Ashley Keith/Floyd]

[SUPER=130-/Jasmine Hairston/Martinsville]

[SUPER=130-10/Whitney Kidd/Glasgow]

[SUPER=130-9/Ashley Jones/Dublin]

[SUPER=130-40/Linda Winters/Blacksburg]

[SUPER=130-4/Harley King/Vinton]

No Pictures:
Anniversary:
[SUPER=131-/Renny & Polly Bowles/Roanoke]

[SUPER=131-/Euell Moran/Rocky Mount]

[cutopen]
[SUPER=19-Melanie/Moon;]
We have one school note to pass along-- the Lynchburg Christian Academy's Early Learning Center is closed today.

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[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=tte]
[TAPE#98-]
[GRAPHIC=Winter Storm]

A winter storm warning continues this morning in many parts of Virginia.
Ice and freezing rain have caused delays and cancellations at Roanoke Regional Airport and have created dangerous driving conditions.
[Double Boxes=Melanie and Tina/Microwave]

With more on road and air travel lets go to Tina Tenret at the Roanoke Regional Airport.
Tina?
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[SUPER=05-Roanoke;]
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(Mike HOT)
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[Live=Tina Full/Microwave]
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[Double Boxes=Melanie and Tina/Microwave]

[45S-Heart-Transplant]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
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[TAPE#=98-70;1:43:13]
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It's Christmas miracle for a Roanoke family.
Less than two weeks after she got a new heart, little Kayla Griffin is home for Christmas.
Steve Smallshaw reports.
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[SOT]
[IN Q=18-month-old]
[SUPER=03-Charlottesville; ]
[SUPER=01-Carole Ballew/Transplant Coordinator; :13]
[SUPER=01-Dr. Irving Kron/Lead Transplant Surgeon; :37]
[SUPER=01-April Griffin/Kayla's Mother; :55]
[SUPER=@ssm2; 1:12]
[RUNS=1:20]
[OUT Q=News7, Charlottesville.]
(( 18- month- old Kayla Griffin stepped out of her hospital room and into the spotlight Wednesday..looking perhaps a little overwhelmed but NOT like a girl who had just undergone heart transplant surgery ten days earlier.
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[SOT 2:22:43]
[IN Q=Kayla did]
((CAROLE BALLEW/TRANSPLANT COORDINATOR: KAYLA DID GREAT ONE DAY AFTER SURGERY. SHE WAS SITTING UP IN HER BED WITHOUT THE BREATHING MACHINE, SHE WAS EXTUBATED AND YOU WOULDN'T EVEN HAVE KNOWN THAT ANYTHING HAD HAPPENED.)) [RUNS11]
[OUT Q=had happened.]

Kayla's progress has amazed her doctors, who say most ADULT transplant recipients require several weeks of hospital recovery.
But having already beaten the odds by first getting a new heart.. Kayla is ready to make the most of it.
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[SOT 2:17:17]
[IN Q=She's physically]
((DR. IRVING KRON/LEAD TRANSPLANT SURGEON: SHE'S PHYSICALLY STRONG OTHER THAN HER HEART, SO SHE SHOULD DO EXTREMELY WELL, AND THE HEART WAS A VERY HEALTHY ONE FOR HER, BUT MOST OF IT IS JUST THE FACT SHE'S JUST GOT GOING AND IS MOVING ALONG DOING GREAT. AND WE COULDN'T BE MORE HAPPY ABOUT IT, NICE TIME OF YEAR FOR THIS TOO, ISN'T IT?)) [RUNS15]
[OUT Q=isn't it?]

Kayla's parents agree.
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[SOT 2:20:14//2:20:23]
[IN Q=My wish finally]
((APRIL GRIFFIN/KAYLA'S MOTHER: MY WISH FINALLY CAME TRUE. I MEAN, I AM SO HAPPY.. THIS IS MY CHRISTMAS PRESENT. I THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO BE A LONG TIME BEFORE SHE WAS GOING TO GET A HEART, BUT I'M SO GLAD SHE GOT A HEART AND I'M HAPPY AND I KNOW DOWN ALONG THE ROAD SHE'LL BE HAPPY TOO.)) [RUNS16]
[OUT Q=be happy too.]

That road to recovery started in front of the U-V-A Medical Center..
[natsot car honk]
[RUNS:01]
..and for little Kayla, it will end at home.
Steve Smallshaw, News7, Charlottesville.))

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Turning to your Christmas Eve forecast--
Expect freezing rain mixed with sleet and snow at times, with temperatures staying around 30.
Meanwhile, the higher elevations will see mostly snow, as much as three inches are possible in the Greenbrier Valley and the Alleghany Highlands.
Most of the precipitation will end by this evening, with lows in the teens.
The outlook for Christmas Day is partly cloudy, with some flurries possible. Highs in the 30s.

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[cutopen]
[SUPER=19-Melanie/Moon;]
We have one school note to pass along-- the Lynchburg Christian Academy's Early Learning Center is closed today.

[8ROADS-LiveV]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=tte]
[TAPE#98-]
[GRAPHIC=Winter Storm]

Conditions are starting to return to normal on the roadways and in the air, but a winter storm warning is still in effect in many parts of Virginia.
[Double Boxes=Melanie and Tina/Microwave]

With more on the holiday travel conditions, we go now to Tina Tenret at the Roanoke Regional Airport.
Tina?
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(Mike HOT)
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[Double Boxes=Melanie and Tina/Microwave]

[8S-Shelor-Tax]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=THa]
[TAPE#=98-72; 1:12:49]
[GRAPHIC=Merchants' Tax (Mont. Co.)]

A fight over taxes is brewing at Shelor Automotive in Montgomery County.
Teresa Hamilton reports.
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[SOT]
[IN Q=The selection]
[SUPER=03-Christiansburg; :00]
[SUPER=01-Larry Shelor/Company President; :44 Quick!!!]
[SUPER=01-Bobby Parker/Montgomery Co. Spokesman; 1:16 Quick!!!]
[SUPER=@Teresa2; 1:25]
[RUNS=1:56]
[OUT Q=Hamilton, NEWS 7, C'burg.]
((The selection of vehicles along the Shelor Motor mile in Christiansburg is generally hard to beat.
But the company's inventory is temporarily on the decline.
So far, more than a thousand vehicles have been moved out.
Perhaps you've heard the reason over the airwaves. [TAKE RADIO AD 9:37:09]
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[SOT]
[IN Q=The clock]
((RADIO SPOT:THE CLOCK IS TICKING, JANUARY FIRST IS COMING VERY QUICKLY WE REALIZE WE HAVE TO REDUCE OUR WHOLE INVENTORY OR PAY THE MERCHANTS TAX! )) [RUNS08]
[OUT Q=merchants' tax.]

The Merchants' Tax is a tax Montgomery County levies against businesses' unsold merchandise-- which is why Shelor's Automotive is trying to unload much of its inventory by the end of the year.
The vehicles moved have been taken to Shelor lots in neighboring counties that either don't have the Merchants' tax or have a lower tax rate.
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[3:06:05]
[SOT]
[IN Q=A lot]
((LARRY SHELOR/COMPANY PRESIDENT: A LOT OF TIMES YOU TRY TO MAKE UP REASONS FOR SALES, IF YOU WILL, LIKE PRESIDENT'S DAY BUT THIS WAS JUST A NATURAL STORY. )) [RUNS06]
[OUT Q=natural story.]

Shelor says he mainly objects to the county's tax rate-- which he says is simply too high and unfair to larger businesses.
Out of roughly a thousand businesses in the county-- Shelor says he pays up to 30- percent of the amount collected.

A county spokesman says the percentage paid is lower-- and believes Shelor will still have to make payments to Montgomery County regardless of where his inventory is located.
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[4:21:47]
[SOT]
[IN Q=You would]
((BOBBY PARKER/MONTGOMERY CO. SPOKESMAN:YOU WOULD OWE PROPERTY TAXES ON CARS YOU OWN AND REGISTER IN THIS COUNTY, AS WOULD I, REGARDLESS OF WHERE THE CAR IS PARKED. )) [RUNS06]
[OUT Q=is parked.]

Last year, the company REFUSED to pay the FULL amount of its assessed tax and now has an outstanding bill of 280-thousand dollars.
Shelor says he offered to pay a portion of the bill if the county would agree to eventually phase out the tax.
But the county said NO.
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[3:07:16]
[SOT]
[IN Q=It's a ]
((LARRY SHELOR/COMPANY PRESIDENT:IT'S A BIG DEAL AND EVENTUALLY IT WILL PUT US OUT OF BUSINESS, EVEN AS LARGE AND AS SUCCESSFUL AS WE'VE BEEN. )) [RUNS06]
[OUT Q=we've been.]

This is one dispute that likely won't be settled anytime soon.
Shelor has filed a lawsuit against the county and a hearing is set for February. Teresa Hamilton, NEWS 7, Christiansburg.))

[8WEATHER]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
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[WRITER=KMC]
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Checking your holiday forecast--
Freezing rain will continue off and on today, some of that mixed with sleet or snow.
Look for highs around 30.
Meanwhile, the higher elevations will see mostly snow.
Most of the precipitation will end by this evening, with lows in the teens.
The outlook for Christmas Day is partly cloudy, with some flurries possible. Highs in the 30s.
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