WDBJ 7 morning news AM cutins for 02/23/99

[7E-Tech-President]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]

[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=THa]
[TAPE#=98-74 1:56:32]
[GRAPHIC=Torgersen Stepping Down]

Come next year, Virginia Tech will have a new president. Paul Torgersen is planning to leave his post after six years.
Teresa Hamilton reports on a lifetime of service.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Torgersen announced]
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg; :00]
[SUPER=01-Peggy Meszaros/Virginia Tech Provost; :13]
[SUPER=01-Paul Torgersen/Virginia Tech President; : 43]
[SUPER=@Teresa2; 1:00]
[RUNS=1:25]
[OUT Q=NEWS 7, Blacksburg.]
(( Torgersen announced his retirement during a Tech Board of Visitors meeting.
He later told reporters the university is in excellent shape and that leaving now means he'll retire December 31st with the university on a roll.
[inq=I THINK (15:28:15)]
((PEGGY MESZAROS/VIRGINIA TECH PROVOST: I THINK HE'S RIGHT THAT THINGS ARE GOING SO WELL AT THE UNIVERSITY AND HE HAS THIS SENSE THAT IT ITS THE TIME FOR HIM TO STEP BACK AND I HAVE TO HONOR THAT ALTHOUGH I DID TRY TO TALK HIM OUT OF IT.)) [RUNS10]
[OUTQ=OUT OF IT]

Torgersen has taught in the university's engineering department for more than 30- years.
He even continued teaching after being appointed President in 1993 at age 62.
When asked what he'll remember most as president-- he mentioned the achievements Tech has made in the area of information technology.
[inq=]
((PAUL TORGERSEN/VIRGINIA TECH PRESIDENT TAKE GREAT PRIDE IN THAT, VERY FEW INSTITUTIONS HAVE DONE WHAT WE HAVE DONE IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY BUT IN A MORE GENERAL SENSE I TAKE SATISFACTION WITH THE SENSE OF FAMILY THAT ALUMNI, FACULTY AND STAFF, I THINK IN SOME WAYS, I HAVE ADVANCED THAT.)) [RUNS25]
[OUTQ=ADVANCED THAT.]

Torgersen's supporters also praise his work in the area of fundraising and also say Torgersen deserves credit for much of the new construction on campus.
A search committee has already been formed to help the Board of Visitors in its search for a new president. Teresa Hamilton, NEWS 7, Blacksburg.))

[7E-Alfred-Martin]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=chu]
[TAPE#=98-83 52:04]
[GRAPHIC=Alfred Martin]

Alfred Martin is a free man, after serving his time for escaping from a Martinsville Prison Farm 25- years ago.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Livonia, MI/November 1998;]

The State Department of Corrections authorized Martin's release around noon-time yesterday.
He must report to a parole officer once he returns home to Michigan.
Martin fled custody in 1974, while serving time for selling marijuana.
(------------)

[7E-Jeffrey-Carilion]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=djo]
[TAPE#=98-82 1:01:05]
[GRAPHIC=none]

An excuse and an apology from Roanoke's NAACP leader.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Last week, Martin Jeffrey told a senate committee that--
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]

based on this sign, Community hospital denies treatment to Medicaid patients.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT=02:41:24]
[IN Q=I REALLY BELIEVE]
((MARTIN JEFFREY/LOCAL NAACP PRESIDENT; I REALLY BELIEVE THAT WHAT I READ.....DIDN'T RECEIVE MEDICAID PATIENTS.))
[SUPER=01-Martin Jeffrey/Local NAACP President; ]
[RUNS=16]
[OUT Q=MEDICAID PATIENTS. !!!!!DOUBLE OUT!!!!!]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Carilion says not only does it treat Medicaid patients, but that more than one fourth of the people served have that type of insurance.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT=02:32:57]
[IN Q=IN THE COMMUNITY]
((BETH MYER-BALDWIN/CARILION SPOKESWOMAN; IN THE COMMUNITY HOSPITAL EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT LAST YEAR, CARILION TREATED 27% OF THE PATIENTS THAT CAME THROUGH WERE MEDICAID PATIENTS. AT MEMORIAL, 30% OF THE PATIENTS TREATED WERE MEDICAID PATIENTS.))
[SUPER=01-Beth Myer-Baldwin/Carilion Spokeswoman;]
[RUNS=10]
[OUT Q=MEDICAID PATIENTS. !!!!DOUBLE OUT!!!!!]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Jeffrey apologized for POSSIBLY misreading the sign.
(------------)

[7WEATHER]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=KMC]
[TAPE #=none]
[GRAPHIC=]

Taking a look now at your Tuesday forecast..
Clouds build up this afternoon, as temperatures only make it into the low- to mid-30s.
And some snow showers enter the picture overnight. Expect less than an inch by morning, as lows drop into the lower-20s.
The extended forecast...
[CK/WX PRO=]
MAPS

[SUPER=X5000; SET DISSOLVE]
[SUPER=314-Increasing Clouds/Winds E 5-10/30-34/Light Snow Late/Inch or Less/20-25;]
[SUPER=#555; reset]
[7BIRTHDAYS!] 2/24/99
Wednesday:

[SUPER=130-11/Amanda McManus/Plum Creek]

[SUPER=130-8/Lori Wiseman/Gap Mills]

[SUPER=130-36/Betty Proehl/Huddleston]

[SUPER=130-/Rick Wimmer/Copper Hill]

Anniversary:
[SUPER=130-9th/Marcus & Connie Donevan/Danville]

[SUPER=130-/Gilbert Underwood/Roanoke]

[SUPER=130-4/Hurbert Reed/Alum Ridge]

[SUPER=130-14/Tiffany Adams/Phenix]

[SUPER=130-43/Danny McKee/Roanoke]

[SUPER=130-3/Damian Towery/Martinsville]

Twins!
[SUPER=130-9/Cameron & Kristin Brooks/Roanoke]

[SUPER=130-/Rebecca Horne/Elliston]

[SUPER=130-/Michael Reed/Shawsville]

[SUPER=130-48/Marvin Brandon/Roanoke]

[SUPER=130-85/Bernard Woods/Ferrum]

[SUPER=130-/Bailey Cox/Christiansburg]

No Pictures:

[SUPER=131-34/Pamela Holland/Rocky Mount][cutopen]
[SUPER=19-Melanie/Moon;]

We do have one school announcement to pass along this morning. Monroe County, West Virginia schools are operating on a two- hour delay.

[45Shooting-Arrest]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=jmc]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=None]

A 16-year old has turned himself in connection with a shooting last week in Southwest Roanoke.
Police have charged the teenager with malicious wounding and weapons charges.
The condition of the victim, Rodney Brent McNair, is not being released.

[45-5-Abortion]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#=599-4 4:20]
[GRAPHIC=Abortion]

The Supreme Court has let stand a Virginia law requiring doctors to notify a young girl's parent before allowing her to have an abortion.
The justices, without comment, turned away arguments yesterday that the law wrongly denies most mature girls under 18 the right to an abortion without parental involvement.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Richmond; ]

Supporters of the law fought for it for 18 years.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT HOUSE 12:31:18]
[IN Q=This means]
((SEN. RANDY FORBES/R-CHESAPEAKE: THIS MEANS THAT TODAY'S DECISION BY THE SUPREME COURT ENDS THIS CHALLENGE AND ENSURES THAT PARENTAL NOTIFICATION WILL REMAIN THE LAW OF THE LAND, AND THE COMMONWEALTH. MR. PRESIDENT IT ALSO SENDS OUT A MESSAGE REGARDING THE IMPORTANCE OF OUR CITIZENS PERSERVERING IN THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS. AND THAT IF THEY WILL NOT GIVE UP, THEY WILL MAKE A LASTING IMPRINT ON THE HISTORY OF THIS GREAT COMMONWEALTH.))
[SOT 13:57:18 ]
((BEN GREENBERG/PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF VIRGINIA: THEY HAVE NOT HEARD THE LAW. THEY HAVE NOT RULED ON IT SPECIFICALLY. THEY HAVE ONLY CHOSEN NOT TO HEAR THE APPEAL. AND THAT'S A VERY DIFFERENT SITUATION. I'LL LET LAWYERS INTERPRET THAT BETTER THAN I. BUT I THINK THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE. AND AS I SAID, WE'LL BE CONTINUING TO WATCH VERY CLOSELY THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LAW, AND ITS IMPACT ON YOUNG WOMEN.))
[SUPER=01-Sen. Randy Forbes/(R) Chesapeake; :00 ]
[SUPER=01-Ben Greenberg/Planned Parenthood of Virginia; :22]
[RUNS=:43]
[OUT Q=young women.]
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[GRAPHIC=None]
The action is not a decision, and doesn't preclude the possibility the court may review the Virginia law, or one simila

r to it, at some future date. [45E-I-81]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=99-1 43:05]
[GRAPHIC=I-81 More Patrols]

More than a thousand tickets were handed out in a weekend crackdown on Interstate 81.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.]

Between Bristol and Winchester, troopers cited more than 17-hundred drivers for speeding and other offenses. That's many times the normal number.
And in some cases, one summons wasn't enough.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 12:13:25]
[IN Q=They'd get a ticket in one county]
((1ST SGT. FRANK DUFFY/VA. STATE POLICE: THEY'D GET A TICKET IN ONE COUNTY AND THEN GO ON UP THE ROAD AND GET ANOTHER ONE IN ANOTHER COUNTY. IN FACT, THIS HAPPENED IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY IN ABOUT A MILE AND A HALF.))
[SUPER=01-First Sgt. Frank Duffy/State Police;]
[RUNS=:09]
[OUT Q=about a mile and a half.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

In the wake of Sunday's crackdown, troopers were finding fewer violators.
Meanwhile, the State Police are promising a repeat performance soon, though they aren't saying exactly when.
(------------)
[WIPE WIPE WIPE]

[45S-Seatbelts]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#=99-4 44:37]
[GRAPHIC=WIPE WIPE WIPE]

[WIPE WIPE WIPE]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=@file;]

A bill that would allow police to stop you for NOT wearing a seat belt squeaked out of a House committee yesterday.

It's estimated that 30-percent of Virginia drivers don't buckle up now-- despite the existing law.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 16:16:50]
[IN Q=We allow]
((CHRIS LAGOW/AUTO SAFETY LOBBYIST: WE ALLOW PRIMARY ENFORCEMENT OF EVERY OTHER MOTOR VEHICLE INFRACTION IN THE ENTIRE MOTOR VEHICLE CODE, EXCEPT THE ONE THAT WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE.))
[sot 16:19:00 ]
((DEL. JAY KATZEN/R-WARRENTON: I JUST AM AGAINST THE STATE IMPOSING THEMSELVES INTRUSIVELY INTO THE LIVES OF PEOPLE BEHIND THE WHEEL OF THEIR CARS. I JUST BELIEVE THAT GOVERNMENT IS INVOLVED IN TOO MANY THINGS AS IT IS ALREADY. I TRUST VIRGINIANS AND I BELIEVE THAT THEY CAN AND WILL DO THE RIGHT THING.))
[SUPER=01-Chris LaGow/Auto Safety Lobbyist; :00]
[SUPER=01-Del. Jay Katzen/(R) Warrenton; :10]
[RUNS=:27]
[OUT Q=right thing.]
(---------)
[VO-NAT]

The primary enforcement seatbelt bill now will face the full House-- the first time the bill's made it this far in Virginia.
If it passes, it would take effect in the year 2000.
(------------)

[45WEATHER]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=KMC]
[TAPE #=none]
[GRAPHIC=]

Turning now to weather--
Increasing clouds through the day, with highs only in the lower 30s.
Light snow showers are likely by tonight, with an inch or less accumulation likely in the metro areas, one to three inches in the higher elevations.
Expect lows to fall into the lwoer 20s.
The five day forecast includes light snow tomorrow, with dry and warmer weather returning by the weekend.
[SUPER=X5000; SET DISSOLVE]
[SUPER=314-Increasing Clouds/Winds E 5-10/30-34/Light Snow Late/Inch or Less/20-25;]
[SUPER=#555; reset]
[cutopen]
[SUPER=19-Melanie/Moon;]

We do have one school announcement to pass along this morning. Monroe County, West Virginia schools are operating on a two- hour delay.

[8E-Hale]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=98-81 1:16:23]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]

A 14- year state prison sentence was handed down yesterday to a teenager, who already has a checkered past...

(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

Sixteen year old Jawawn (juh-WAHN) Hale shot another teenager a year ago, following an argument at a basketball game.
Hale read a statement to the judge, indicating that he'd already learned a lot in the seven months he'd spent in jail, awaiting sentencing.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 15:25:55]
[IN Q=I figure]
((I FIGURE THE BEST THING I CAN DO IS TO BEGIN NOW, SETTING THE RIGHT EXAMPLE FOR MY NEW-BORN SON. I KNOW I DON'T WANT ANY KID OF MINE BEING THROUGH THE THINGS THAT I HAVE BEEN THROUGH.))
[SUPER=01-Jawawn Hale/Defendant]
[RUNS=13]
[OUT Q=have been through.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Hale killed 19-year old Mike Andrews after Andrews confronted him in Hale's own yard.
Hale was charged with malicious wounding at the age of nine, for striking another child with a baseball bat.
(------------)

[8E-School-Bond]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=chu]
[TAPE#=99-9 23:11]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Some Danville residents spoke in favor last night of a 36- million- dollar bond referendum to pay for school improvements and building projects.
But ALL of the city voters will have the final say, when they cast their ballots on the referendum next Tuesday.

Christy Hubley reports.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Ceilings are leaking]
[SUPER=03-Danville; :00]
[SUPER=01-Linwood Wright/Former Mayor; :29]
[SUPER=01-Barbara Pleasant/Parent; :42]
[SUPER=@Christy2; :50]
[RUNS=1:27]
[OUT Q=News 7, Danville.]

((Ceilings are leaking. Walls are crumbling. Windows are rusting.
Many believe Glenwood Elementary is in a state of disrepair.
That's why, under Danville's school facilities plan, Glenwood would be closed, and a new school would be built in its place.

This P-T-A sponsored forum addressed plans for Glenwood and the city's other schools.
And speakers pleaded for a YES vote on the 36- million dollar bond referendum.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 44:47-45:00]
[IN Q=A no vote on this]
((LINWOOD WRIGHT/FORMER MAYOR: A NO VOTE ON THIS BOND REFERENDUM IN MY OPINION IS A DECLARATION FOR THE ULTIMATE AND UNTIMELY DEATH OF THE CITY OF DANVILLE.)) [RUNS :13]
[OUT Q=city of Danville.]
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 25:37-:48]
[IN Q=If we're willing to provide]
((BARBARA PLEASANT/PARENT: IF WE'RE WILLING TO PROVIDE A TOP QUALITY EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM WE ARE SENDING A STRONG, POSITIVE MESSAGE TO NEW INDUSTRIES AND NEW BUSINESSES WHO MIGHT BE LOOKING TO COME TO DANVILLE.)) [RUNS :11]
[OUT Q=come to Danville.]

The school bonds would be paid for with year tax increases-- 1.8 percent in real estate and just over 3- percent in personal property.
While there were no vocal opponents at the forum, some people say passage of the referendum would put the city way over its debt limits.
But the school board and city council are convinced infrastructure problems, like those at G-W High School, will be cheaper to address now rather than later.
Voters will decide this issue at the polls March 2nd.
Christy Hubley, News 7, Danville.))
(-------------)

[8E-Alfred-Martin]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=chu]
[TAPE#=98-83 52:04]
[GRAPHIC=Alfred Martin]

Alfred Martin is out of jail again-- but this time he was RELEASED.
Martin completed his sentence for escaping from a Martinsville prison farm 25- years ago.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Livonia, MI/November 1998;]

The State Department of Corrections authorized Martin's release around noon-time yesterday.
He must report to a parole officer once he returns home to Michigan, where he was arrested as a fugitive last year.

Martin fled custody in Virginia in 1974, while serving time for selling marijuana.
(------------)

[8WEATHER]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=cutins]
[WRITER=KMC]
[TAPE #=none]
[GRAPHIC=]

Time again to look at the Tuesday forecast--
Expect increasing clouds today, with highs only warming into the lower 30s.
Light snow will begin tonight, with an inch or less expected in the metro areas...up to three inches in the higher elevations.
Light snow will linger into tomorrow, with gradually warmer weather in store for the rest of the week.
[SUPER=X5000; SET DISSOLVE]
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