WDBJ 7 morning news for 12/26/98

[VA-Fire]

[ANCHOR=Denise]

[NEWSCAST=Sat Am]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Fatal Fire]

Christmas day began in tragedy for one family. Six people died and one person was injured in a Christmas day fire at a Dale City Townhouse. Mike Dunston reports.

(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=crying]
[SUPER=03-Dale City; :01]
[SUPER=04-Home Video; :07]
[SUPER=01-Elizabeth Ortiz/Victim's Sister; :17]
[super=01-Rossana Ponce De Leon/Family Friend; :43]
[super=01-Phillip Robinson/Neighbor; :56]
[super=01-Mike Dunston/Reporting; 1:06]
[super=01-Chief Bob Hedge/Dale City Fire Dept.; 1:18]
[super=01-Laura Fender/Neighbor; 1:41]
[RUNS=1:53]
[OUT Q=Mike Dunston]

[Hate-Crime]

[ANCHOR=Denise]
[NEWSCAST=Sat AM]
[WRITER=dal]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Someone in Brooklyn, New York, has apparently lost the meaning of the Holiday Season.
Vandals broke into a Jewish Daycare Center and painted racist symbols inside.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Sheepshead Bay, NY;]

The Bambi Academy was ransacked on Christmas Eve.
Teachers and parents arrived Christmas morning to find paint smeared over equipment and teaching materials for the school.
Backward swastikas were scrawled over walls and floors.. and students' preparations for a winter holiday party were destroyed.
The kindergarten school serves children of all faiths, but caters to Jewish families of Russian descent.
One parent had a message for vandals...that, in another context, might be considered the true meaning of the holiday spirit.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=I would like]
((INNA VASIVE/PARENT: I WOULD LIKE TO TELL THESE PEOPLE TO LOOK INSIDE THEIR HEARTS AND FIND A PLACE OF PEACE. BECAUSE THIS PERSON WHO DID THIS HE MUST HAVE NO PEACE IN HIS HEART.))
[SUPER=01-Inna Vasive/Parent;]
[RUNS=18]
[OUT Q=his heart]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The school principal estimates the damage at 50-thousand dollars.
They hope to have it cleaned up by Monday.
(------------)

[11Winter-WX]

[ANCHOR=Denise]
[NEWSCAST=Sat AM]
[WRITER=chr]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=none]

This week's ice storm forced over 230-thousand Virginians.....
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Williamsburg/Thursday;]
to spend Christmas the old-fashioned way... without electricity.
Almost every home in the Williamsburg and Gloucester areas were still without power last night.
[super=03-Charlotte, NC]
[16:16:02]
Nearly 61-thousand residents of North Carolina are without power because of Old Man Winter...
Fender benders were plentiful across the state and authorities warned that the slick conditions could get even worse as temperatures plummet.
(------------)

[VA-Power]

[ANCHOR=Denise]
[NEWSCAST=Sat Am]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=none]

The power outages continue into today.
Over one-thousand power workers are expected to be out trying to restore power to 195-thousand Virginia Power customers who are still in the dark.
That's down from the 280-thousand who had no electrical service at one point Christmas Eve.
Virginia Power had 11- hundred crewmen working on Christmas day to repair the damage from this weeks storm.

The company says service will not be fully restored until early next week.[Christmas-Workers]

[ANCHOR=Denise]
[NEWSCAST=Sat AM]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Christmas]

While many of you got to spend the Christmas holidays at home this year.. others were hard at work this Christmas, away from their families and loved ones.
Gustavo Almodovar (Almo-dovar) talked to folks who had to spend this holiday on the job.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Hollywood, CA; :00]
[SUPER=01-Capt. Thomas Petrich/ LA City Firefighter; ;17]
[SUPER=01-Jeanette Nasrey/Intensive Care Nurse ;32]
[super=01-Tamer Boutros/Tow Truck ;1:00]
[super=01-Gustavo Almodovar/Reporting ;1:10]
[RUNS=1:24]
[OUT Q=for CBS nEws]

[2-shot toss to rental bump][11Mass]

[ANCHOR=Denise]
[NEWSCAST=Sat AM]
[WRITER=sgo]
[TAPE#=98-75 1:43:01]
[GRAPHIC=Christmas]

On Christmas day in Vatican City, Pope John Paul gave holiday greetings in 58 different languages.
In Roanoke, one congregation celebrated mass in Vietnamese.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 2:19:57]
[IN Q=music]
((NATSOUND: HYMN))
[RUNS=05]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]

It's a tradition for the Valley's Vietnamese Catholic community.
That's about 50-families.
The service is just like any other mass celebrated in Western cultures...except for the language.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 2:31:20]
[IN Q=we don't]
((MARY LINDSEY: WE DON'T HAVE ANY DIFFERENCE. WE CELEBRATE THE BIRTH OF JESUS. JUST TRADITIONAL, AS THE WESTERN.))
[SUPER=01-Mary Lindsey/Parishioner;]
[RUNS=13]
[OUT Q=THE WESTERN]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[2:24:33]
The priests wore silk robes that were made in Vietnam.
The embroidering honors martyrs who fought to bring Christianity to that country.
(------------)

[McMillan]

[ANCHOR=Denise]
[NEWSCAST=Sat AM]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#=98-83]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Graverobbers who uncover a murder.
Slavery.
Virginia just before it takes the path to a bloody Civil War.
It's gripping stuff that one Virginia mystery writer is watching fly off the shelves since the release of her first novel in September.
Ellen Qualls spoke with Ann McMillan.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=She's NOT even]
[SUPER=03-Richmond; :00]
[SUPER=01-Ann McMillan/Mystery Writer; :14]
[SUPER=@Ellen2; :26]
[RUNS=1:50]
[OUT Q=Qualls, News 7, Richmond.]

(( She's NOT even a Civil War buff.
But Ann McMillan's making the history of Civil War Virginia come alive in a new series of novels she's signed on to do for Viking Press.
[sot 10:28:05]
((ANN MCMILLAN/MYSTERY WRITER: SINCE I LIVE IN RICHMOND, THE OBVIOUS THING TO DO WOULD BE TO CHOOSE THE MOST ARRESTING PART OF RICHMOND HISTORY TO SET MY NOVEL IN.)) [runs:10]
And the most arresting locales-- like the gothic spectacle of Hollywood Cemetery.
[sot 10:29:02]
((ANN MCMILLAN/MYSTERY WRITER: "DEAD MARCH" OPENS IN HOLLYWOOD CEMETERY IN EARLY SPRING OF 1861. AND THE RESURRECTION MEN, THAT IS THE GRAVE ROBBERS, FROM THE MEDICAL COLLEGE OF VIRGINIA, HAVE COME HERE TO DIG UP A BODY. For what purpose? FOR THE PURPOSE OF MEDICAL DISSECTION. THAT'S HOW STUDENTS LEARNED ABOUT ANATOMY IN THOSE DAYS.)) [runs:23]

[sot 10:28:39]
((ANN MCMILLAN/MYSTERY WRITER: I WENT TO A VERY HELPFUL MEDICAL RE-ENACTMENT EARLY ON IN GORDONSVILLE THAT SHOWED A LEG BEING AMPUTATED. TO GREAT EFFECT. SOME OF THE AUDIENCE ALMOST PASSED OUT. SO THAT WAS VERY HELPFUL AND IT APPEARS ALMOST WORD FOR WORD IN MY BOOK.)) [runs:16]
Her protaganist is modelled on her great-grandmother.
Her first murder victim is a slave woman.
[sot 10:34:44]
((ANN MCMILLAN/MYSTERY WRITER: IT WOULD HAVE BEEN IMPOSSIBLE TO WRITE THIS NOVEL 20 YEARS AGO, AND VERY DIFFICULT TO WRITE IT TEN YEARS AGO. BUT HISTORIANS HAVE COME ALONG MORE RECENTLY AND BROUGHT OUT THE VOICES OF WOMEN AND FREE BLACKS AND SLAVES.)) [runs:15]

[SOT 10:44:10]
((ANN MCMILLAN/MYSTERY WRITER: THERE WERE MORE WORDS CARVED IN THE BASE OF THE SCULPTURE. SHE BENT DOWN TO READ THEM.
"I SHALL GO TO HIM. BUT HE SHALL NOT RETURN TO ME." THE WORDS SPOKEN BY KING DAVID WHEN GOD TOOK THE LIFE OF DAVID'S INFANT SON, BORN FROM DAVID'S SINFUL UNION WITH BATHSHEEBA.)) [RUNS:17]
"Dead March" is carried by Barnes and Noble.
Ellen Qualls, News 7, Richmond.))

[Sports-Plays]

[ANCHOR=Denise]
[NEWSCAST=Sat AM]
[WRITER=dal]
[TAPE#=sports plays]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Two for the price of one yesterday for football fans in Honolulu, Hawaii.
The 17th Aloha Bowl and
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Honolulu, HI/ESPN;]
the inaugural Oahu Bowl pitting which the Air Force Falcons against the Washington Huskies.
The Falcons started things off with a team specialty--a blocked punt.
The special team set up this second and six scoring run by Jamale Singleton. The 11 yard run puts Air Force on the board first.
Singleton wasn't done scoring yet. He gets his second T-D when the Falcons line up inside the five.
But on second and two on the Air Force 48 the Huskies launch a bomb. The 44 yard play sets up the Washington score.

Braxton Cleman caps off the drive as he waltzes untouched into the endzone.
[SUPER=33-Air Force/45/Washington/25;]

But Air Force unleashes its own air attack and wins the first ever Oahu Bowl 45-to-25.
(------------)

[2-shot toss to weekend calendar][DinerOpen]

[ANCHOR=Andrew]
[NEWSCAST=Sat AM]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=Diner Open]
[GRAPHIC=Weekend Diner]

We're cooking huge peanut butter cookies today-- a recipe that Sebrina Ruth Cooper says will soon become one of your family's favorites.

(////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=animation]
[RUNS=:05]
[OUT Q=stop animation]

[WIPE WIPE WIPE WIPE WIPE]

[Weekend-Diner]

[ANCHOR=Andrew]
[NEWSCAST=sat am]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=Wknd Diner TC ]
[GRAPHIC=WIPE]

[WIPE WIPE WIPE WIPE WIPE]
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 1:58:17]
[IN Q=WE'RE BACK IN FRANKLIN]
((so we are back in franklin county. so sabrina tell us what we are going to do today. WE ARE GOING TO MAKE GIANT PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES. but these are not the normal everyday peanut butter cookies. NO THESE TURN INTO SIX INCH COOKIES AFTER THEY ARE BAKED. THEY ARE WONDERFUL. THEY ARE MY FAVORITE. ok..so you cream a stick of butter. YES, CREAM A STICK OF BUTTER THE SLOWLY DUMP THE SUGAR IN. LET THIS MIX UP A LITTLE BIT. we have an expert egg cracker here, your daughter Beatrice. YES. THE THREE EGGS GO STRAIGHT IN. DUMP THEM IN FOR ME AND NOW WE WANT TO ADD THE PEANUT BUTTER IN. we have a lot of peanut butter here. THE NEXT THING WE ARE GOING TO DO IS ADD A 1/4 TEASPOON OF VANILLA. AND THEN WE ARE GOING TO ADD 3/4 A TEASPOON OF CORN SYRUP. WE NOW NEED TO ADD SOME SODA AND A LITTE BIT OF SALT BEFORE WE START STIRRING IN THE OATMEAL. WE ADD 4 CUPS OF OATMEAL. GO AHEAD AND DUMP THE WHOLE THING IN. FOR THE FIRST TWO CUPS IT IS EASY TO USE THE MIXTURE FOR THE NEXT TWO IT GETS A LITTLE HARD. the most important part here is the m&m's right? THAT IS RIGHT. IT CALLS FOR ONLY ONE CUP, BUT I ALWAYS PUT EXTRA AND THESE ARE PEANUT BUTTER M&M'S. you can also use reese's pieces right? YES. ADD THEM IN AND JUST STIR THEM UP UNTIL THEY ARE WELL MIXED. you mix these by hand so the mixer doesn't crack up the m&m's right? YES. no you put some pretty big cookies out here on this sheet right..not just the normal cookies. IT TAKES A 1/4 CUP OF BATTER TO MAKE ONE COOKIE. that is a big chunk of dough. and now by the magic of television watch this. this is what the finished product looks like. look how nice and big these cookies are. YES THEY ARE AND THEN YOU PAT THEM OUT INTO A CIRCLE BEFORE THEY GO INTO THE OVEN. i am going to dive in here. ummm...very good and these are chewy too. crispy yet chewy. they are very good. Sabrina thanks a lot of cookie for us. OH YOU ARE WELCOME...ANYTIME. and we will see you back on the weekend diner I hope in the future. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ))
[RUNS=3:09]
[OUT Q=VERY MUCH]

(---------------)
[ANCHOR=Denise]
[Dissolve to Chyron 7153]
If you are interested in this recipe send us a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the address on your screen or you can check out our web site under the weekend morning's section. And, don't forget if you'd like to cook your family recipe on the weekend diner, send in a note with your recipe, name, address and phone number.
(----------------)
[HEADLINES]
[ANCHOR=Denise 2 shot]
[Music Under]
Here's a look at today's top stories.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Denise]
[SUPER=#4070;weekend headline banner]
The Roanoke toddler who had a heart transplant on December 13th was able to spend Christmas at home with her family. Kayla Griffin was released from the hospital Wednesday, but she had to return the next day because of an infection. Griffin is in good condition today at the University of Virginia Medical Center.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Denise]
Pope John Paul gave holiday greetings this Christmas in fifty-eight different languages. And on Christmas Day one Roanoke congregation celebrated mass in Vietnamese. The traditional service is like any other mass celebrated in Western cultures...except for the language.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Denise]
A New Year's Eve celebration will also be a community fundraiser in Danville thanks to a local radio station. PIXX 106-point-7 is planning a big bash to benefit the Danville Life Saving Crew, the Christians United Homeless Shelter, and the Contact Crisis Line. The radio station hopes to raise 15-thousand dollars to distribute among the three charities.

(----------------)
[ANCHOR=Andrew 2 SHOT]

And that's what's making news on this Saturday December 26-th.
We'll be back in just a minute.

[11Kayla-Griffin]

[ANCHOR=Denise]
[NEWSCAST=Sat AM]
[WRITER=tfl]
[TAPE#=98-68 1:39:05]
[GRAPHIC=Kayla Griffin]

Kayla Griffin is in good condition at the University of Virginia Medical Center.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Charlottesville/Wednesday; ]
Griffin was released from the hospital Wednesday, but an infection put her back Thursday Afternoon. Griffin had a heart transplant on December 13th. Her doctors said she was making amazing progress and let her leave the hospital to spend the holidays at home with her family.
(------------)

[Holiday-Travel]

[ANCHOR=Denise]
[NEWSCAST=Sat AM]
[WRITER=dal]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Christmas]

Holiday traffic was snarled in some cities, though bad weather wasn't the culprit.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-St. Louis, MO;]

Hundreds of TWA passengers were forced to spend Christmas Eve or Christmas in ST Louis after and apparent sickout by flight attendants.
The sickout forced the cancellation of more than 90 flights,
The attendants are apparently unhappy about the lack of a new labor agreement.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=you know]
[SUPER=01-Larry Cremeans/Passenger; :00]
[super=01-Fred Blankenship/Passenger; :06]
[RUNS=14]
[OUT Q=worst Christmases]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The problem is expected to clear up today, because fewer attendants are off duty and fewer passengers are traveling.
(------------)

[Balloon]

[ANCHOR=Denise]
[NEWSCAST=Sat AM]
[WRITER=dal]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Three adventurers trying to make the first nonstop round-the-world flight in a balloon were forced to abandoned their quest Friday.
More than halfway through their journey the crew was forced to ditch the balloon in shark-infested waters off Honolulu.
Coast Guard helicopters hoisted them from the water in good condition and high spirits.
Garett Kamemoto(Kah-MAY-moto) has the story.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Off The Coast of Hawaii; :00]
[SUPER=01-Richard Branson/Balloonist; :15]
[SUPER=01-Per Lindstrand/Balloonist; :35]
[SUPER=01-Steve Fossett/Balloonist; :46]
[RUNS=1:39]
[OUT Q=in Honolulu]

[11Twins]

[ANCHOR=Denise]
[NEWSCAST=Sun AM]
[WRITER=sgo]
[TAPE#=98-72 1:59:39]
[GRAPHIC=None]

There's nothing like spending the holidays with family.
But what if your family got a lot bigger than you expected...a lot sooner than you expected?
Scott Goldberg caught up with one family that has that problem...
And they consider it a blessing.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=For Lindsey]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;01]
[SUPER=07-Larry Trotter;16]
[SUPER=07-Kathy Trotter;36]
[SUPER=@Scott1;42]
[RUNS=1:40]
[OUT Q=news-7]
((For Lindsey and Lauren Trotter, it's their very first Christmas.
It's the second for Kaitlyn and Kimberly, but they were just two months old last year.
For mom and dad, who had both sets of twins 10 months apart, it's a Christmas like they never imagined.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 2:03:15]
[IN Q=i planned]
((I PLANNED TO HAVE ONE KID. LIKE I SAY FOUR KIDS IS A REAL BLESSING AND WE'RE REALLY LUCKY.)) [RUNS06]
[OUT Q=really lucky]
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 1:58:00]
[IN Q=NATSOUND]
((NATSOUND: larry rips open present)) [RUNS01]
[OUT Q=SG, N7]

Dad says just having kids makes the holidays more special.
Mom agrees...but says she couldn't go shopping for presents without getting stopped by a lot of people looking at her two sets of twins.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 2:05:46]
[IN Q=are they]
((KATHY: ARE THEY ALL YOURS? THAT'S THE FIRST QUESTION (LARRY:) AND THE SECOND IS ARE THEY TWINS.)) [RUNS05]
[OUT Q=ARE THEY TWINS]
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 2:15:56]
[IN Q=IN THE]
((SCOTT GOLDBERG: IN THE LAST YEAR, MOTHERS IN IOWA AND TEXAS HAVE MADE HEADLINES FOR HAVING MULTIPLE BIRTHS AFTER TAKING FERTILITY DRUGS. BUT THE TROTTERS DIDN'T NEED ANY HELP FROM MODERN MEDICINE. THEY JUST GOT LUCKY.)) [RUNS12]
[OUT Q=GOT LUCKY]
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=natsound]
((ANY QUICK NATSOUND OF KIDS??)) [RUNS01]
[OUT Q=]

But the Trotters' four blessings have kept mom plenty busy. [from 5-97-50]
Kathy has a lot of sympathy for mothers like Bobbie McCaughey, [baby shots from 5-97-51] who last year gave birth to septulets.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 2:06:55]
[IN Q=i could not]
((KATHY: I COULD NOT IMAGINE.. I DON'T KNOW HOW THEY DO IT WITHOUT LOTS AND LOTS OF HELP.)) [RUNS10]
[OUT Q=OF HELP]

Two babies last year ...
Four this year.
Next Christmas, will there be six Trotter twins?
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 2:07:56]
[IN Q=no]
((NO. WE ARE DONE. WE ARE FINISHED.)) [RUNS04]
[OUT Q=ARE FINISHED]

On this Christmas day, both sets of twins behaved like little angels.
Mom and Dad can only hope that Christmases future will be as peaceful.
Because one day these four bundles of joy will be teen-agers.
Scott Goldberg, News-7.
(--------------)))

[11Charity-Party]

[ANCHOR=Denise]
[NEWSCAST=Sat Am]
[WRITER=chu]
[TAPE# 98-81 08:46]
[GRAPHIC=New Years]

A radio station in Danville has found a way to ring in the New Year and help some local charities at the same time.

Christy Hubley tells us about PIXX (say "pix") 106-point-7 F-M's big bash.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=The empty Community Market]
[SUPER=03-Danville; :00]
[SUPER=01-Laura Hill/PIXX 106.7 FM; :12]
[SUPER=01-Libby Ferrell/Contact Crisis Line; :28]
[SUPER=01-Robert Talbott/Life Saving Crew; :43]
[SUPER=@Christy2;]
[RUNS=1:06]
[OUT Q=News 7, Danville.]
(( The empty Community Market building in Danville is being transformed for a New Year's Eve celebration.
There will be colorful decorations, hats and party favors for the big bash, sponsored by PIXX radio station.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 2:45:05-:12]
[IN Q=Let's ring in the]
((LAURA HILL/PIXX RADIO: LET'S RING IN THE NEW YEAR A SAFE WAY, A FUN WAY, A FESTIVE WAY, AND WHAT A BETTER WAY THAT A FUNDRAISER DINNER-DANCE.)) [RUNS:07]
[OUT Q=fundraiser dinner-dance.]

The proceeds from the ticket sales will benefit three charities: the Danville Life Saving Crew, the Christians United Homeless Shelter, and the Contact Crisis Line.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 2:53:47-:54]
[IN Q=It is a help line]
((LILLY FERRELL/CONTACT CRISIS LINE: IT IS A HELP LINE, A LISTENING LINE, INFORMATION AND REFERRAL WHICH IS FOR CRISIS INTERVENTION AND SUICIDE PREVENTION.)) [RUNS:07]
[OUT Q=and suicide prevention.]

Organizations like these rely heavily on community donations and wouldn't be able to provide the services they do without local support.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 2:50:37-:43]
[IN Q=We do get some]
((ROBERT TALBOTT/LIFE SAVING CREW: WE DO GET SOME STATE FUNDING BUT VERY LITTLE COMPARED TO WHAT IT TAKES TO COST TO RUN THE ORGANIZATION.)) [RUNS:06]
[OUT Q=run the organization.]

PIXX radio say it wants to raise 15-thousand dollars to distribute among the charities.
The three organizations say they're grateful for the generous donations.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 2:54:51-:55]
[IN Q=It's just like a gift]
((LILLY FERRELL/CONTACT CRISIS LINE: IT'S JUST LIKE A GIFT, A REAL GOOD CHRISTMAS PRESENT, AND WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT.)) [RUNS:04]
[OUT Q=really appreciate it.]

Christy Hubley, News 7, Danville.))
(----------------)
[ANCHOR=Denise]
[SS=none]

You can get tickets for the dinner and dance by contacting PIXX radio station in Danville.
And you get tickets for the dance only at the door.

[Elks-Home]

[ANCHOR=Andrew]
[NEWSCAST=Saturday A.M.]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=Time Off]
[GRAPHIC=Time Off]

It's been a holiday tradition in Bedford since the 19-50s...the annual light display at the Elks Home.
The Christmas spectacle brings smiles to the carloads of families who make the trip every year.
But it also makes Elks Home residents especially proud.
Here's Kimberly McBroom with this special holiday edition of "Time Off".
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Maintenance workers]
[SUPER=03-Bedford; :01]
[SUPER=01-Frank Brown/Resident; :19]
[SUPER=01-Paul Buzinec/Resident; :33]
[SUPER=01-Bill Pickett/Elks Home Exec. Dir.; :57]
[SUPER=@Kimberly2; 1:52]
[RUNS=2:01]
[OUT Q=McBroom, News 7, Bedford]

((Maintenance workers at the Elks Home have to get into the holiday spirit early--
It takes WEEKS of preparation to get all FIFTY- THOUSAND colorful bulbs in place, and every display just right, for the annual display of Christmas lights.
Residents say they enjoy watching it all come to life--
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 17:54:52]
((FRANK BROWN/RESIDENT: THEY DO A GOOD JOB. THEY'RE CLIMBING ALL OVER THE BUILDINGS AND EVERYTHING, PUTTING LIGHTS UP.)) [RUNS:05]
This is Paul Buzinec's FIRST Christmas at the Elks Home--
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 17:46:06 ]
((PAUL BUZINEC/RESIDENT: OH YES, THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT IS HERE, BUT NOT AS EXCITED AS I AM ABOUT IT. SOMETHING NEW AND I'M SURE I'LL BE THAT WAY FOR ANOTHER 20 OR 30 YEARS THAT I'M HERE.)) [RUNS:12]
THIS is what all the excitement is over...
The impressive lighting display draws thousands of visitors.
A counter in the driveway clocked 21- THOUSAND vehicles entering the Elks Home gates during the last Christmas season, and just as many are expected this year.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 17:40:09 ]
((BILL PICKETT/ELKS HOME EXEC. DIR.: WELL, AS THEY COME IN OUR MAIN GATE, NATURALLY, WHAT THEY'LL WANT TO BE ABLE TO SEE OFF TO THEIR RIGHT IS THE STORY OF THE BIRTH OF CHRIST. IT STARTS THERE AND IT SHOWS THESE ON THROUGH THE NATIVITY SCENE. THEN, FROM THEN ON, IT'S ALL CHRISTMASTIME WITH SANTA CLAUSES, ELVES AND LIGHTS AND JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING POSSIBLE. )) [RUNS:23]
While the lights attract plenty of outside attention, it's those people who are here all year round who seem to appreciate them the most.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 17:42:38]
((BILL PICKETT/ELKS HOME EXEC. DIR.: EVERY YEAR, INEVITABLY, IT ALWAYS HAPPENS, MEN WILL COME OUT AND SEE THIS, BECAUSE IT'S ALWAYS AFTER THE DINNER HOUR. AND THEY'LL BE STANDING ON THE PORCH WITH TEARS IN THEIR EYES AND IT'S JUST LIKE EVERYTHING YOU'D IMAGINE. IT'S JUST BEAUTIFUL AND WE FEEL SO HAPPY FOR THEM.)) [RUNS:17] [BUTT BUTT BUTT BUTT]
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 17:42:18 ]
((BILL PICKETT/ELKS HOME EXEC. DIR.: THIS IS A MAGNIFICENT TIME OF THE YEAR FOR THEM. SIMPLY BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT THIS IS THEIR HOME, AND EVERYTHING WE DO RELATES TOWARD IT.)) [RUNS:08]
Christmas may be over, but you can still enjoy the Elks Home lights through New Year's Eve, between 5:30 and ten p-m.
Kimberly McBroom, News 7, Bedford.))