[HEADLINES]
[TALENT=Melanie]
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
State police are looking for clues in the James River in connection with Appomattox County murder.
(----------------)
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
And thousands of Virginia drivers had their licenses inadvertently suspended.
(/////////////)
[TALENT=Patrick]
[SS=None]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[SS=None]
News 7 at noon is next.
[VDOT-Hearing]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#99-10 TC31:17]
[GRAPHIC=Interstate 73]
The highway is still years away from construction but Interstate 73 received most of the attention at a public hearing this morning in Salem.
State transportation officials are considering how to allocate highway construction funds.
[Double Boxes=Melanie and JoeD/Microwave]
Joe Dashiell says they were encouraged to come up with a new approach to the issue.
[Live=JoeD Full/Microwave]
[SUPER=@Joe1;]
[SUPER=05-Salem;]
( ad lib)
(Rollcue:proposed construction of interstate 73. )
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=State legislators]
[SUPER=03-Salem; :00]
[SUPER=@armstrong; :19]
[RUNS=:37]
[OUT Q=build it they will come]
[Live=JoeD Full/Microwave]
[SUPER=05-Salem;]
( ad lib)
[Double Boxes=Melanie and JoeD/Microwave]
[DMV-Suspension]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=DMV Seal]
A computer glitch at the D-M-V accidentally suspended 17-thousand Virginia driver's licenses.
The errors came after an upgrade in the D-M-V's computer software.
The problem was discovered Friday, after two people called to complain.
A D-M-V spokeswoman says the problem has been corrected.
Motorists who think they've been affected by the computer glitch should call the D-M-V.
[Appox-Murder]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=99-11 TC15:41]
[GRAPHIC=Murder Investigation]
State police divers are searching the James River today for evidence in an Appomattox County murder case.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Amherst Co.]
The search is concentrated in an area off River Road in Madison Heights.
Authorities say "a reliable source" told them evidence related to the 1998 murder of Nick Olivarri had been thrown in the river.
Olivarri's wife and another man were charged with his murder two weeks ago.
The gun used to kill him has "not" been recovered.
Divers plan to search about a 100- yard stretch of the river today.
(------------)
[Flight-427]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Crash Investigation]
More than four years after U-S Air flight 427 crashed near Pittsburgh, the National Transportation Safety Board is set to release its final report.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Aliquippa, PA/September 1994]
The Boeing 737 jetliner plunged into a ravine near Pittsburgh, killing all 132 people aboard, including three from our area.
The crash drew intense scrutiny because the accident was one in a series of incidents involving the rudders of Boeing 737s.
The report is expected to center on two issues-- The need for more safety regulations and just how specific the board should be in making suggestions for those regulations.
(------------)
[Kosovo]
[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=None]
U-S officials called today's talks in Belgrade a last chance to avert NATO air strikes.
But U-S envoy Richard Holbrooke will leave Belgrade without an agreement from President Milosevic on the NATO brokered peace plan.
From the White House today President Clinton made another appeal for peace.
Lisa Hughes reports.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Washington DC;]
[SUPER=03-Belgrade, Yugoslavia;]
[SUPER=01-Tony Blair/British Prime Minister;]
[SUPER=01-Sen. Patrick Leahy/(D) Vermont;]
[SUPER=01-Sen. Kay Hutchinson/(R) Texas;]
[SUPER=01-Lisa Hughes/Reporting;]
[RUNS=1:36]
[OUT Q=CBS NEWS, WASHINGTON.]
(((LOCATOR: WASHINGTON, DC)
(SOT, CLINTON)
The president began his day working to convince congressional leaders that time has run out in Kosovo, Republicans and Democrats arrived at the White House as talks wrapped up in Belgrade.
(LOCATOR: BELGRADE, YUGOSLAVIA)
(NATSOT, HOLBROOKE WALKING)
Again this morning, U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke appealed to yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic, to pull back Serbian troops or face NATO air strikes.
(Sot, Tony Blair, British Prime Minister)
(LOCATOR: KOSOVO)
(NATS, SERB FIGHTING)
In Kosovo, the violence continues.
(NATS, BOMBING)
The thunder of bombs echoes across frozen fields. Hopmes are on fire.
And now, thousands of refugees, trying to escape Kosovo, are being turned back from the border at Macedonia. Their future is uncertain.
(Sot, possible congressional leader)
The Senate will continue debate on Kosovo this afternoon.
(Sot, possible congressional leader)
CBS NEWS, WASHINGTON.))
[Train-Ax]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Train Accident]
There has been another train crash in Illinois near last week's deadly Amtrak crash.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Momence, IL;]
Three people suffered minor injuries when an eastbound Conrail train collided with a southbound Union Pacific train.
The site is just eleven miles from where the Amtrak train collided with a semi, killing eleven passengers.
(------------)
[tease1]
[HARD MUSIC UNDER]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
Questions continue to swirl following the apparent suicide of actor David Strickland.
That's just one of the stories still ahead on News-7 at Noon.
(--------------)
[VO-NAT ]
And a desperate search continues in Alaska for six people still missing after a weekend avalanche.
(---------------)
[Talent=Patrick]
[Wx-Tease]
[Weatherpro]
[music up full]
[comm1]
[AK-Avalanche]
[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=None]
A massive search continues today in Alaska for six people still missing in a weekend avalanche.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Turnagain Pass, AK;]
[4:11:35]
Two snomobilers were found dead shortly after the slide Sunday and two more bodies were recovered yesterday.
Some 100 volunteers are searching today.
The avalanche happend in a popular recreation area some 50 miles southeast of Anchorage.
(------------)
[Missing-Tourists]
[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Local and federal officials are still looking for the third missing sightseer in Northern California.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Modesto, CA;]
[4:02:37]
One of the burned bodies found in the trunk of a charred rental car discovered last week has been identified as Carole Sund.
Sund, her 15 year old daughter and an Argentine exchange student disappeared five weeks ago while visiting Yosemite Park.
Investigators are still trying to identify the second body.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[4:04:38-49]
[IN Q=There's a realistic..]
((ROGERS:THERE'S REALISTIC POSSIBILITY OF...MOVING TOWARD AT THIS TIME.))
[SUPER=01-Dick Rogers/Tuolumne Co. Sheriff;]
[RUNS=:11]
[OUT Q=AT THIS TIME.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[4:04:52-]
Authorities have also released these newly developed pictures.
They are apparently the last pictures of the victims taken at Yosemite.
(--------------)
[actor-dead]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=None]
One of the actors who starred opposite Brooke Shields in the T-V show suddenly Susan has reportedly committed suicide.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=04-NBC]
[4:09:02]
Twenty nine year old David Strickland played Todd, a music critic, on the N-B-C sitcom.
Strickland also had a small role in the recently released feature film "Forces of Nature" starring Sandra Bullock.
[SUPER=03-Las Vegas, NV;]
[4:07:13]
Strickland's publicist says the actor was found dead yesterday in a Las Vegas motel room, hanging from a bed sheet he had strung from a ceiling beam.
(------------)
[Academy-Counselor]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=None]
The Wilderness Leadership Academy is back in the news.
This time, a couselor at the school for troubled boys is charged with having sex with a 16-year old resident.
Authorities say 23-year old Sarah Ann Robinson was charged last week, two days after a sheriff's deputy noticed an academy vehicle with steamy windows parked on the side of a road.
She had been a counselor at the facility for about four months but was immediately fired after admitting to the incident.
The Wilderness Academy issued a statement saying they performed the appropriate background checks and found no previous innapropriate behavior.
The statement also says the Academy does not condone Robinson's behavior and it does not reflect the moral and ethical beliefs of the rest of the staff.
[Tease2]
[SOFT MUSIC UNDER]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
Bobby Hussey is gone and so is Tennessee.
Stick around for those stories later on in sports.
(-----------------)
[VO-NAT ]
And after getting a crash course in brush-fire fighting earlier in the week, some Roanoke County firefighters get a lesson on help from above.
We'll have that story when the news returns.
(-----------------)
[MUSIC UP FULL]
[COMM BREAK #2]
[Fire-Training]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Brush Fires]
Despite recent rains, the woods are tinder-dry.
Brush fires were reported in Franklin and Mongomery Counties.
In Roanoke County last night, firefighters were learning to work with one of their most powerful tools.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.]
Fort Lewis firefighters in Roanoke County learn how a fire-fighting chopper works, and what it needs when it arrives on scene.
The drops are impressive.... 800 pounds of water, pumped up by a foaming agent, fanning out in a wide, flame choking blanket.
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co./Thursday]
This is, however, not a new experience for these firefighters.
They've already seen it, in action last week, when the Green Hill forest fire almost got away from them.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=The helicopter]
(( DANNY CARROL/ASST. CHIEF; THE HELICOPTER REALLY SAVED OUR DAY THE OTHER DAY, WITH THE WINDS BLOWING LIKE THEY WERE, IT WAS REALLY PUSHING THE FIRE, WE HAD SOME HOMES IN THE AREA... TREMENDOUS HELP. ))
[SUPER=01-Danny Carroll/Assistant Chief;]
[RUNS=:11]
[OUT Q=tremendous help]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Pilot John Reed has equal admiration for the men facing the flames on the ground... and says he works hard to make those buckets count.
(------------)
[S-Thornhill]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Noon]
[WRITER=eea]
[TAPE#=98-83]
[GRAPHIC=Housing]
A pioneer in the struggle to improve northwest Roanoke is the namesake for a new housing development.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke;]
Florine Thornhill founded the Northwest Neighborhood Environmental Organization.
Yesterday city officials broke ground on what will be Thornhill Place, a 20-unit apartment complex.
The organization was able to win low income tax credits for the project, the first group in Roanoke to do so.
It is currently wrapping up a neighborhood needs assessment.
(------------)
[Stocks]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=chr]
[TAPE# none]
[GRAPHIC=stocks]
On Wall Street at Noon, the Dow was DOWN 153 points.
[tease3]
[SPORTS MUSIC UNDER]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
Still ahead in sports, the track formerly known as Charlotte makes plans for a monstrous expansion.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
Plus, racing legend Bobby Allison is headed our way next month.
We'll have the details of his appearance, when News 7 at Noon continues.
(---------------)
[MUSIC UP FULL]
[COMM BREAK #3]
[Hussey]
[ANCHOR=Patrick]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=mst]
[TAPE#=SP-32]
[GRAPHIC=TECH HOOPS]
The Virginia Tech men's basketball program lost 32 games over the past two seasons.
Yesterday the Hokies lost their head coach.
Mike Stevens has more from Blacksburg.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=BITE]
[SUPER=01-Jim Weaver/Va. Tech Athletic Director; :00]
[SUPER=03-New York, NY/March 1995; :22]
[SUPER=01-Andre Ray/Va. Tech Junior Forward; :57]
[SUPER=@mike1; 1:44]
[RUNS=1:55]
[OUT Q=....NEWS 7 SPORTS."]
(-------------)
[Tenn]
[ANCHOR=Patrick]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=sma]
[TAPE#=SP-41]
[GRAPHIC=Womens' final four]
If all things were equal, Virginia Tech would be headed to San Jose. That's because Duke, a team the Hokies beat earlier this year, upset the top-seeded Tennessee Volunteers in the East Regional Finals.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Greensboro, NC/ESPN; :00]
Duke was up by as many as 13 in the first half and lead 35-24 at the half.
(shah-MEE-kwah) Chamique Holdsclaw was held to one basket in the first half, and was only 2 for 18 for eight points in the game.
The Blue Devils made the most of their opportunites. Watch Georgia Sweitzer hit nothing but net
[SUPER=33-Duke/69/Tennessee/63;]
from the top of the key, three of her twelve before intermission.
Duke stormed ahead in the second half ,and the Blue Devils join Shane (Bat-ee-ay) Battier, Trajon Langdon and the men's team in the final four with the 69-to-63 win over the defending national champs.
(------------)
[WIPE WIPE WIPE]
[Purdue]
[ANCHOR=Patrick]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=sma]
[TAPE#=SP-35 34:19]
[GRAPHIC=wipe wipe wipe]
[WIPE WIPE WIPE WIPE WIPE]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-San Jose, CA/ESPN; :00]
Purdue's 29 game winning streak was on the line against Rutgers in the West.
And the lady Knight Shawnetta Stewart hits the jumper off the dribble to put Rutgers up early.
Stewart would lead all scores with 24. Rutgers went to the break up by eight.
[SUPER=33-Purdue/75/Rutgers/62;]
But Purdue learned a lesson at halftime. Stephanie White McCarty makes the spin move, draw the foul and score.
McCarty hit another spinner. Purdue advances to the Final Four with the 75-62 win.
(------------)
[Anchor=Patrick]
[ss=hold]
In the other games last night, Louisiana Tech crushed U-C-L-A 88- 62 , and Kelly Miller's 33 points led Georgia over Iowa State 89-to-71.
[JMU]
[ANCHOR=Patrick]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=sma]
[TAPE#=SP-28 1:49:30]
[GRAPHIC=JMU]
There's a new football coach at James Madison.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Harrisonburg/Yesterday; :00]
Mickey Mathews met with the media in Harrisonburg yesterday. He succeeds Alex Wood, who posted a 23 and 22 record ov
er the last four seasons, but was 3 and 8 this past year. Wood left to become an asistant with the Minnesota Vikings,
but Mathews says the fun is in college.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q="anytime]
[SUPER=01-Mickey Mathews/New JMU Football Coach; :00]
[RUNS=:14]
[OUT Q=...win games"]
(-----------)
[VO-NAT]
Mathews inherits a football team that has 17 starters coming back, 8 on defense, 9 on offense. He was the defensive coordiantor at Baylor and beat out local asistant coaches like Virginia's Danny Wilmer.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q="i told]
[RUNS=:09]
[OUT Q=...right for the job"]
(---------)
[Extra]
[ANCHOR=Patrick]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=dal]
[TAPE#=extra]
[GRAPHIC=NCAA Basketball]
Another coaching change, this one taking place in the midwest.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[super=04-File Tape;]
Steve Alford is back in the Big 10.
Iowa has hired the 34-year-old-- who posted a 78 and 48 record during his four years at Southwest Missouri State.
The two time All American at Indiana succeeds Tom Davis, the winningest coach in Iowa history.
(------------)
[Charlotte]
[ANCHOR=Patrick]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=sma]
[TAPE#=SP-31 tc 58:18]
[GRAPHIC=Charlotte Motor Speedway]
There's a major project in the works on the track once known as the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Concord, NC;]
The track-- now called the Lowe's Motor Speedway-- is adding 98-thousand seats.
The facility is the nation's second largest track behind the Indy oval.
The expansion isn't expected to be complete until 2007.
The seating will extend completely around the track.
(------------)
[Allison]
[ANCHOR=Patrick]
[NEWSCAST=noon]
[WRITER=sma]
[TAPE#=SP-34 27:35]
[GRAPHIC=Bobby Allison]
And racing fans, take note.
Winston Cup Legend Bobby Allison is slated to make an appearance at the Franklin County Speedway April 17th.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke; :00]
The 1983 Cup champion will kick off the the track's 30th anniversary.
(------------)
The events will include a Late Model Stock car race with a record purse of three thousand dollars.
by SS