[1-News-Head]
[TALENT=Keith]
We'll begin tonight with news of a sudden death.
(----------------------)
[V/O-NAT SOT]
Laban Johnson was found dead in his home late this afternoon.
We'll reminisce about the "Cookin' Cheap" show co-host tonight.
(-------------------)
And we'll see who's on the list of contributors from this area to the Bill Clinton defesne fund
[Sports-Head]
[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]
Tonight in sports, the Express and Toledo are ready to rumble in the roundhouse. Joe Gibbs hooks up with Sterling Marlin.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
And former PGA touring pro Chip Sullivan is coming back to the Roanoke Valley.
(------------)
[WX-Head]
[TALENT=Robin]
[SS=None]
Showers, possible thunderstorms, possible snow showers all in the Wednesday forecast. And, since March can bring severe weather to the region, Andrew Freiden will join us with a look at tornadoes in Virginia.[open]
[SUPER=#4054; News 7 at Six Headline Banner]
[SUPER=@Keith1;]
[SUPER=@Mike1;]
[SUPER=@Robin1;]
[RUNS=:20]
[Video-Open]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=ejo]
[TAPE#=Video Open]
[GRAPHIC=News7at6]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
He was a long-time teacher, TV personality, and fixture in the local arts community. But Laban Johnson is now dead.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Keith]
Good evening, I'm Keith Humphry.[Johnson-Dies]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=99-11 06:32]
[GRAPHIC=News7at6]
One of the most colorful characters in Roanoke has died.
(-----------------------)
[V/O-NAT SOT]
Laban Johnson- -the co-host of public T-V's nationally- syndicated show: "Cookin Cheap" failed to appear at the television station for a taping this afternoon.
He and his partner in culinary mirth, Larry Bly, had just begun their 19th season of "Cookin' Cheap."
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 22:55]
[IN Q=I can't believe]
[SUPER=10-Laban Johnson/"Cookin' Cheap" Co-Host/January 11]
[RUNS=:10]
[OUT Q=humor about it.]
[ * * * Keith on ENG* * * ] Though Laban Johnson was most of all a genuinely funny man... he was many others things to many other people.
He was a city worker- -special events co-ordinator and an educator.
During the 1970 General Assembly session, Channel 7 News caught up with Johnson as he was lobbying the Governor on behalf of the Virginia Education Association.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=I think we're ]
[SUPER=03-Richmond/1970]
[RUNS=06]
[OUT Q=not this week.]
[TALENT=Keith]
Always a man with a wink and a smile. Johnson was in his late fifties.
Funeral arrangements have yet to be announced.
[Reaction]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=ejo]
[TAPE#99-23 00:20]
[GRAPHIC=None]
As we mentioned, Johnson was scheduled to tape a segment of his opoular program "Cooking Cheap" this afternoon at WBRA television.
[Double Boxes=ANCHOR/Eric Microwave]
Eric Earnhart is there with reaction.
[Live=Eric Full/Microwave]
[SUPER=@Eric1;]
[SUPER=05-Roanoke;]
( ad lib)
(Rollcue: irreplaceable loss. )
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=laban 's been a part]
[SUPER=01-Carol Jennings/"Cookin' Cheap" Producer]
[RUNS=:23]
[OUT Q=sorely missed]
[Live=Eric Full/Microwave]
[SUPER=05-Roanoke;]
( ad lib)
[Double Boxes=ANCHOR/Eric Microwave][Executions]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#99-1 51:46]
[GRAPHIC=Va Death Penalty]
Virginia has just become the "most likely to execute" state in the nation ... and now a record-setting schedule is on the death chamber calendar.
Since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976, Virginia has executed 61 killers.
That makes us number two in the nation.
Texas has executed 171.
But Virginia has a new statistical status: in modern times, we've now executed 9-point-8 killers for every one million people in the state.
Texas has executed 9-point-7.
[Double Boxes=Keith & Ellen/Microwave]
Ellen Qualls is in our Richmond newsroom with the second half of this story: the execution schedule for '99.
[Live=Ellen Full/Microwave]
[SUPER=@Ellen1;]
[SUPER=05-Richmond;]
Keith, in 1951, Virginia executed five people in one day.
But since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the penalty, executions -- until just recently-- were far more rare.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=It's the law]
[SUPER=03-Jarratt/File Tape; :06 ]
[SUPER=01-David Botkins/Virginia Attorney General's Office; :32]
[SUPER=01-Kent Willis/Virginia ACLU; 1:11 ]
[RUNS=1:26]
[OUT Q=call them.]
(([SOT 13:40:21]
[IN Q=It's the law]
((IT'S THE LAW IN VIRGINIA. DEATH IS JUSTICE.))
[RUNS=:05]
It is that viewpoint among the state's highly competent lawyers, and laws and court decisions that have speeded up appeals that bring Virginia to this:
In 1995, we executed five.
In 1996, eight.
In 1997, nine.
In 1998, 13... a new record.
In 1999, we have executed two so far, and have seven more scheduled through April 29th... for a possible total of 9 in just four months.
[SOT 13:30:09 ]
((DAVID BOTKINS/VIRGINIA ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE: CERTAINLY THESE EXECUTIONS THAT ARE COMING FORWARD IN THE NEXT TWO MONTHS APPEAR TO PUT VIRGINIA TOWARDS A MODERN RECORD IN SURPASSING LAST YEAR. BUT AGAIN, THAT'S NOT AN OBJECTIVE OR A GOAL. THAT'S JUST THE WAY THESE SENTENCES AND FEDERAL APPEALS SHAKE OUT, AND THE DATES FOLLOW THAT. SO IT'S REALLY COINCIDENTAL. IT'S NOTHING THAT'S PLANNED OR COORDINATED.))
[RUNS=:24]
Some corrections workers called a period in 1996 "Bloody Christmas," with five executions in 26 days.
The April 99 schedule is a modern one-month record... and would be five executions in just 24 days.
[SOT 15:43:14 ]
((KENT WILLIS/VIRGINIA ACLU: THE STRIKING THING ABOUT VIRGINIA IS THAT QUIETLY IN THIS KIND OF SOUTHERNLY GENTLEMANLY WAY, WE'VE BECOME THE BLOODIEST STATE IN THE NATION. AND YOU CAN'T HIDE THE FACTS, NO MATTER WHAT YOU CALL THEM.))
[RUNS=:17 ]))
[Live=Ellen Full/Microwave]
[SUPER=05-Richmond;]
All seven of the upcoming executions are what the state considers "hard dates," meaning the normal appeals have run out and they are likely to take place.
[Double Boxes=Keith & Ellen/Microwave][Training-Center]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=99-6 27:49]
[GRAPHIC=None]
A plan to house mentally retarded violent criminals in the Lynchburg area is coming under fire.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Amherst Co.]
State officials want to transfer five patients from Central State Hospital to the Central Virginia Training Center in Madison Heights.
All five committed "serious" felonies, but were found not competent to stand trial.
Plans call for renovating Building 14 at C-V-T-C to accomodate up to 15 patients.. a twelve-foot security fence will surround the building.
But families of other C-V-T-C patients say they're worried about the safety of their relatives'.
Mental Health commissioner Richard Kellogg will meet with concerned citizens later this month.
(------------)
[Carilion-fraud]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=Carilion]
Carilion Health System routinely employs head hunters who scour the country looking for doctors who can be convinced to come to Southwest Virginia to practice medicine.
Carilion recruiters are well compensated for their work. They get signing bonues and generous expense accounts.
Cathy S. Fulton WAS Carilion's staff recruiter, until Carilion figured out she- -and another woman in Boston- -had allegedly defrauded Carilion out of nearly half a million dollars.
They're now expected to plead guilty in federal court Friday.
[Clinton-Donors]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=sgo]
[TAPE#98-83 1:02:53]
[GRAPHIC=Clinton Defense Donors]
When President Clinton pays his legal bills, he'll be spending some money sent to Washington from Southwest Virginia.
65-people from Lynchburg, the Roanoke and New River Valleys, and Southside contributed money to the president's legal defense fund.
[Double Boxes=Keith and Scott/Newsroom]
Scott Goldberg is here to tell us who they are, how much they gave and why they gave it.
[Live=Scott Full/Newsroom]
[SUPER=@Scott1;]
Keith, the biggest gift from this area was a thousand dollars.
The smallest was two.
The people who gave the money are people who like President Clinton and wanted to help him get through a nasty period of his presidency.
For the most part, these are NOT people you'd consider to be "fat cat" contributors.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Vinton;00]
[SUPER=01-Teddy Smusz/Clinton Benefactor;30]
[SUPER=03-Flie Tape/Sept. 1995;15]
[SUPER=01-Warren Campbell/Clinton Benefactor;56]
[RUNS=1:07]
[OUT Q=]
((
A lot of them are people like Teddy (SMUZZ)--
Retired and fed up with a Republican-led investigation that cost taxpayers more than 40-million dollars.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 9:06:59]
[IN Q=he had]
((TEDDY SMUSZ: HE HAD A LOT OF MONEY ON THE OTHER SIDE GOING AGAINST HIM.))
[RUNS03]
[OUT Q=him]
Smusz is a loyal Democrat who said he trusts Clinton more than Republicans to protect things like social security and Medicare.
With Clinton's legal bills approaching nine million dollars, Smusz said sending the President a check for 20-dollars seemed like the right thing to do.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 9:07:05]
[IN Q=SO I]
((TEDDY SMUSZ: SO I FIGURED FIVE, 10 15, 20 DOLLARS -- I THOUGHT IF EVERYONE WHO THOUGHT HE WAS DOING A GOOD JOB AND WANTED HIM TO REMAIN AS PRESIDENT WOULD PITCH IN, HE'D GET TO A POINT WHERE HE'D BE MORE FINANCIALLY SECURE.))
[RUNS13]
[OUT Q=SECURE]
[CABELL BRAND FILE FROM 95-71 (TAP story)]
The biggest gift from this area -- a thousand dollars -- came from Salem philanthropist and Democrat Cabell Brand.
[president video?]
The average contribution was 67-dollars.
[today video]
Former Roanoke County Democratic Party Chairman Warren Campbell gave a hundred.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 57:37]
[IN Q=there've]
((WARREN CAMPBELL: THERE'VE BEEN A LOT OF PEOPLE OUT TO GET THE PRESIDENT ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. IF THEY COULDN'T BEAT HIM ON THE ISSUES, THEY'RE JUST OUT TO GET HIM FOR ANY OTHER REASON.))
[RUNS11]
[OUT Q=OTHER REASON]))
(-------------)
[Live= Full/Microwave]
Not everyone blamed a right-wing conspiracy.
Many blamed the President for bringing this on himself.
Still, they're Democrats who said the President needed help defending charges dating back to the Whitewater investigation.
[Double Boxes=ANCHOR/Microwave]
Keith.
[ANCHOR=Keith]
If you want to see the complete list of donors to the president's legal defense fund,
[TAKE GFX PAGE FULL]
just log onto WDBJ-7-dot-com, and click our "Webwatch" icon for a direct link. The list includes names, hometowns, and
how much they gave.[Tease#1]
[HARD MUSIC UNDER]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[SS=NONE]
Patrick Evans .. live in Peru. That's right: Peru... as in South America. He's just arrived. Later, on News 7, he'll tell us what he's doing there.
(---------------)
[VO-NAT]
Tornadoes are next. They're a rare sight in Virginia, but don't let down your guard.
(----------------)
[ANCHOR=Robin]
[wx ad lib]
[Roll]
[Lake Level]
[MUSIC UP FULL]
[COMM#1]
[Roll]
[TALENT=Robin]
[SS=NONE]
[SUPER=80-61/39/0.00''/59/29/0.00''/57/33/0.00''/57/30/0.00'';]
[SUPER=81-64/29/0.00''/64/25/0.00''/52/30/0.00'';]
[SUPER=82-Trace/minus 0.12''/5.84''/plus 0.06'';]
[SUPER=83-Down 0.31 foot/Down 1.25 feet;Lake levels][Virginia-Tornadoes]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=afr]
[TAPE#=98-82 1:05:41]
[GRAPHIC=Virginia Tornadoes]
It's March-- Severe Storm Season is almost here.
If this spring is typical, you'll see severe weather warnings scrolling along the bottom of your screen.
Some will be severe thunderstorm warnings. There may be a few tornado warnings as well.
[Two Shot=Keith/Andrew]
Andrew Freiden is here with a look at "Virginia Tornadoes."
[Anchor=Andrew/Full]
[SUPER=@Andrew1;]
Southwest Virginia tornadoes are mostly very small. And tornado deaths in the commonwealth's history are few and far between.
[Take GFX FULL]
That doesn't mean they can't ruin your day.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT TC 1:05:41]
[IN Q=I felt the back]
[SUPER=10-Marsha Walker/Henry Co./June, 1996; :01]
[SUPER=01-Mike Emlaw/NWS Meteorologist; :39]
[SUPER=03-Stoneville, NC/Last Year; 1:10]
[RUNS=1:43]
[OUT Q=warning system]
((
[SOT 48:39 96-34]
((MARSHA WALKER: I FELT THE BACK OF THE HOUSE SHIMMYING. I JUST GRABBED MY BABY, AND RAN TO GET MY OTHER LITTLE GIRL. TO GET IN ONE PLACE. AND WHEN I LOOKED OUT AND SAW IT ALL, IT WAS ALL OVER WITH.))
[RUNS 12]
Marsha Walker is in an exclusive group. She's been through a Virginia tornado.
The Commonwealth only gets 6 to 8 a year-- they are generally small, have narrow paths, cause only minimal damage, and they are rarely on the ground for more than a few seconds.
((36:42 On 96-42))
Our News 7 cameras caught this funnel cloud in Pittsylvania County.
It is rare video-- most tornadoes in Virginia aren't even seen.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 18:59:33 mike emlaw tape]
((MIKE EMLAW: THE RAIN A LOT OF TIMES RAIN GETS WRAPPED AROUND THE CIRCULATION AND SO IT'S NOT VISIBLE, EVEN IF YOU ARE ON A HIGHER ELEVATION LOOKING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.))
[RUNS 08]
((96-51. 3 shots of Mike surveying damage 39:40, 39:48, 40:19))
Mike Emlaw surveys storm damage for the National Weather Service-- to help classify the size of a tornado after it touches down.
((Fujita scale graphic))
Wind Speeds in Tornadoes range from 300 miles per hour for the largest tornadoes to under 100 miles per hour
Typical Virginia Tornadoes are on the lower end of the list.
((Mtn Tape))
Our Mountainous terrain slows the formation of large tornadoes.
((NC Tornado File Tape-- Nat sound at 7:38))
Chance are slim we'll see a tornado like the one that leveled Stoneville, NC last spring.
((Aerial Shot 8:40))
It was an F-3. Wind speeds topped out near 200 miles per hour-- and widespread damage resulted. But folks living in that region got advance warning from the National Weather Service.
[SOT 19:08:25 Mike tape]
((WE'RE GOING TO SEE A PRETTY GOOD CIRCULATION IN THE STORM BEFORE THE TORNADO FORMS. SO WE DO A GOOD JOB WARNING FOR THOSE, AND THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT DO A LOT OF THE DAMAGE.))
[RUNS :09]
But Virginia's smaller tornadoes sometimes only last several seconds-- So they sneak through the cracks in the warning system.))
(----------------)
[ANCHOR=Andrew]
Tomorrow night at six, we'll see one of those small tornadoes that slipped through the cracks,
[Two-Shot=Keith/Andrew]
as well as some recent straight line wind damage in Floyd County.
[Stocks]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=NONE]
Tech stocks led a late-afternoon retreat on Wall Street.
[TAKE DOW & NASDAQ PAGE ]
[RUNS=:25]
[SUPER=x5102;]
[SUPER=430-y/27.17/9297.61/y/36.15/2259.03;]
The Dow fell 27 points, to 92-98. A bigger loss for NASDAQ, down 36 points.
[SUPER=431-ha/41c/hc/81d/h%/67g/i1#/54f/ib/17$;]
[SUPER=432-ha/38b/i@/4a/h@/38*/ir/52d/h1@/49#;]
[SUPER=433-i1c/99#/i1c/61c/i#/27r/id/10d/h@/39!;]
[SUPER=434-u/13/i1r/66r/h*/36!/i1f/83#/i$/85$;][Jason-Project]
[ANCHOR=Keith]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=ejo]
[TAPE#99-3 57:19]
[GRAPHIC=Jason Project]
Some local students will get an unusual opportunity to learn about the Amazon rain forest this week, thanks to satellites and the internet.
It's called the "Jason Project", and our own Patrick Evans is in Peru to show us how it works.
[VO-NAT]
Patrick arrived just today.
His reports start Thursday on News 7, but he's already getting to work.
[Double Boxes=Keith & Patrick/Satellite]
He's at the project site with a preview.
[Live=Patrick Full/Satellite]
[SUPER=@Patrick1;]
[SUPER=05-Napo Camp, Peru;]
( ad lib)
[SUPER=01-Robert Ballard/Jason Project Founder;]
(---------------)
[VTR-VO]
[SUPER=04-Jason Project Video;]
[SUPER=03-Napo Camp, Peru;]
(---------------)
[Live=Patrick full/Satellite]
[SUPER=05-Napo Camp, Peru;]
( ad lib)
[Take Full-Screen-Starts Thursday]
[Double Boxes=Keith & Patrick/Satellite][Sports Tease]
[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]
Coming up tonight on this busy Tuesday, Chip Sullivan is coming back to the valley, Richard Morgan loses his job at East Carolina.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
And in less than an hour the Express takes on the Toledo Storm at the Roundhouse in a seven o'clock faceoff.
(------------)
[S-Chip]
[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=sma]
[TAPE#=SP-34 20:03]
[GRAPHIC=Chip Sullivan]
Former PGA tour player Chip Sullivan is returning to Roanoke to become the head golf professional at Ashley Plantation in Daleville, a new course opening in May.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Greensboro, NC; :00]
Chips spent 1997 on the PGA tour. He made 11 cuts and was ranked in the top five in driving distance. Last year, he was in Greenville, South Carolina and served as the Greenville Country Club Golf pro.
Sullivan, who currently has a Nike Card, is planning to play in three upcoming tour events, first the MCI Classic in Hilton Head, followed by the Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic the next week, and finally the Entergy Classic in new Orleans.
(------------)
[S-ECU]
[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=Six]
[WRITER=dal]
[TAPE#=SP-28 tc 1:38:12]
[GRAPHIC=ECU]
Another familiar face may also be coming back to the valley.
Former Salem and U-V-A standout, Richard Morgan is among the assistant coaches at East Carolina who's in need of a job.
Head basketball coach Joe Dooley resigned today after a 13 and 13 season and his assistants are now out of a job.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q="In the business...]
[SUPER=01-Charlie Morgan/Richard's Brother;]
[RUNS=:19]
[OUT Q=...a good job."]
(-------------------)
[S-Express]
[ANCHOR=mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=sma]
[TAPE#=SP-41 19:18]
[GRAPHIC=Express/Storm]
Tonight, the Express will try and beat Toledo for the first time this season. Scott Gordon joins Steve Mason to tell us how Roanoke is gonna get it done.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=first audio]
[SUPER=@Steve1; :00]
[SUPER=01-Scott Gordon/Express Head Coach; :23]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/Storm vs. Express; :40]
[RUNS=1:37]
[OUT Q=...mike, lets go back to you"]
(----------------------)
[S-Gibbs]
[ANCHOR=Mike]
[NEWSCAST=6pm]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=SP-42]
[GRAPHIC=BUSCH SERIES]
Joe Gibbs ever growing NASCAR empire is expanding again.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Huntersville, NC; :00]
This afternoon the former Redskins chief announced that he has signed Sterling Marlin to drive a new Busch Series car for him for six races this season.
Marling will have sponsorship from Richmond based Circuit City.
Bobby Labonte will continue driving Gibbs' full-time team sonsored by MBNA starting Saturday in Vegas.
(------------)
[Wx-Tape]
[SUPER=305-61/39/80/1992/13/1980;]
[SUPER=306-56/28/34/SE-7mph/29.86s/7:22am/5:46pm;]
[Forecasts]
[SUPER=#578;]
[SUPER=X5000;]
[SUPER=330-Clouding Up/Light Winds/42-44/Moderate Rain/Showers/50-54;]
[SUPER=331-Increasing/Cloudiness/43-46/Breezy With/Showers/54-56;]
[SUPER=332-Increasing Clouds/Wind SW-15/38-42/Rain Then/Snow Showers/42-44;]
[SUPER=333-Clouding Up/Rain Late/38-40/Morning Rain/Snow Showers/40-42;]
[SUPER=334-Rain/Late/40-42/Rain Then/1-2" Snow/38-40;]
[SUPER=X5001;][Close]
[ANCHOR=]
[NEWSCAST=6]
[WRITER=]
[TAPE#]
[GRAPHIC=]
(Weekday 6 only)
[SUPER=x4032; e-mail/Most Watched/Copyright/WEEKDAYS]
SUPER=x4033; Fax/Most Watched/Copyright/WEEKDAYS
(Weekend 6 only)
SUPER=x4031; Fax/Copyright/WEEKENDS
SUPER=x4030; e-mail/Copyright/WEEKENDS
by SS