WDBJ 7 morning news for 05/19/99

[Headlines]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]

(----------------)
[VO-NAT]

The new ``Star Wars'' movie is getting rave reviews from fans.
(----------------)
[ANCHOR=Melanie]

And the search for a missing Pittsylvania County woman continues.
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

After some scattered showers and thunderstorms last night, we're left behind with cloudy skies this morning and fairly mild temperatures.
It will be rather breezy though, on the backside of the cold front that moved through.
The complete forecast, up next.
[ANCHOR=Steve]
(ad lib live tease)
[2-shot]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]

[Star-Wars-React]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=eea]
[TAPE#=99-16 TC26:17]
[GRAPHIC=Star Wars Premiere]

Star Wars, Episode One, The Phantom Menace premiered just after midnight.
Can the film really live up to years of expectations and a multi-million dollar marketing campaign?
Eric Earnhart tells us what movie-goers had to say.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=they waited for hours]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.; :00]
[SUPER=01-Melissa Smith/Fan; :31]
[SUPER=01-Jason Hutchins/Fan; :38]
[SUPER=01-Eric Wolley/Fan; :44]
[SUPER=01-Amy Ratcliffe/Fan; :50]
[SUPER=@Eric1; 1:01]
[RUNS=1:10]
[OUT Q=EE, News 7]
(( They waited for hours for tickets....
They waited for hours for the best seats....
They've been wait for years to see the beginning of story we ALL know the ending to...
At 12:01 this morning, the waiting was over....
The Phantom Menace was here....

[natsot]

Two hours and fifteen minutes later they emerged.... tired, and, for the most part, thrilled.

[SOT 02:28:16]
[IN Q=it was incredible]
(( MELISSA SMITH/FAN; IT WAS INCREDIBLE, EVERYBODY NEEDS TO COME OUT AND SEE THIS MOVIE, IT'S AWESOME DID IT LIVE UP TO THE HYPE? I THINK IT WAS EVEN MORE SO..))
[RUNS= :07]
[OUT Q=even more so.]

[SOT 02:29:23 ]
[IN Q=it was awesome]
(( JASON HUTCHINS; IT WAS AWESOME, I LIKED IT A LOT, THE SWORD FIGHT GAVE ME CHILLS. ))
[RUNS= 05]
[OUT Q=gave me chills]

[SOT 02:31:14]
[IN Q=let me just]
(( ERIC WOOLLEY/FAN; LET ME JUST TELL YOU, WHEN THE MUSIC STARTED PLAYING AT THE END THERE, YOU'VE JUST GOTTA SEE IT.
AMY RATCLIFFE/FAN; IT WAS THE MOST UNBELIEVABLE THING I HAVE EVER SEEN, IT WAS WORTH EVERY CENT AND EVERY SECOND THAT WE WAITED. WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO SEE IT AGAIN? TOMORROW. ))
[RUNS= 17]
[OUT Q=tomorrow]

[standup] ONE SURE SIGN OF A SUCCESSFUL FILM, PEOPLE STANDING AROUND OUTSIDE THE THEATER TALKING ABOUT IT, AT 2:00 IN THE MORNING. IN ROANOKE COUNTY, ERIC EARNHART, NEWS 7.))

[E-Missing-Woman]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=99-11 59:18]
[GRAPHIC=None]

No clues yet in the disappearance of a Pittsylvania County woman.... four days after she vanished.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Caswell Co., NC;]

Yesterday, authorities scoured parts of the Dan River and surrounding areas for signs of 37-year-old Patty Jo Pulley.
She disappeared last Friday.
Her pickup was found Saturday just across the border in North Carolina... less than two miles from her home.
Members of her church have raised a 10-thousand dollar reward for information on her whereabouts.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 52:51 - 53:06]
[IN Q=We hope we find her]
((SHERIFF HAROLD PLASTER/PITTSYLVANIA CO.: WE HOPE WE FIND HER IN SAFE HANDS. AT THIS POINT, WE'RE PUTTING IT DOWN AS VERY SUSPICIOUS. WE DON'T HAVE ANY PHYSICAL EVIDENCE TO SHOW THAT THERE'S ANY FOUL PLAY INVOLVED RIGHT AT THIS POINT.))
[SUPER=01-Harold Plaster/Pittsylvania Co. Sheriff]
[RUNS=:15]
[OUT Q=right at this point]
(XXXXXXXXXXX)
[TAKE PHONE NUMBER FULL SCREEN]
If you have any information, please call Crimestoppers at 1-800 791- 0044.
(-------------)

[E-Hidden-Valley]

[ANCHOR=]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=tte]
[TAPE#=99-19 12:29]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Soon you may waste less time waiting at a busy Roanoke County intersection.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.;]

State officials are putting a stoplight at the corner of Route 419 and Hidden Valley School Road.
They say year round activities at the junior high school clog this area with cars.
The stop light is designed to boost safety and reduce delays.
State officials also plan to widen the intersection.
(------------)

[1-Sports]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=chr]
[TAPE#=sports cut in]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Taking a look at sports this morning--
The route 460 series resumed yesterday as Salem and Lynchburg met for the first time this season--
And a Roanoke Express assistant coach is a hot commodity around the E-C-H-L--
Here with all the details is Mike Stevens.
Good Morning Mike.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Howdy everybody]
[RUNS=1:56]
[OUT Q=in just a little bit]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
(Melanie ad lib toss to Kimberly/Wx)

[One-Steve]

[ANCHOR=Steve]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=spa]
[TAPE#M99-2]
[GRAPHIC=NONE]

[On Record] [Roll Cold out of Break]
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=welcome back]
[SUPER=15-Steve/Pardon; :00]
[SUPER=01-Judy Clark/Young Audiences of Virginia; :15]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke; :29]
[RUNS=2:35]
[OUT Q=News 7 Mornin' Returns]

(tape tosses to stocks)
[STOCKS] [COMM] ((Archive: young audiences art))

[Right-to-die]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Right to Die]

All Georgette Smith wanted was to be heard.
Now, just a week after a judge heard emotional appeals from Smith and her relatives... she will be granted her dying wish.
Smith needs a ventilator to breathe after being shot in the neck... she may choose to die as early as today.
Craig Eicher has the details.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Orlando, FL; :00]
[SUPER=01-Craig Eicher/Reporting; 1:16]
[RUNS=1:24]
[OUT Q=For CBS News.]

[kosovo]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=Serbia Under ATtack]

The Pentagon says a NATO peacekeeping force in Kosovo could involve up to 50-thousand troops, not the 28-thousand contemplated before the air war began.
(------------)
[SUPER=03-Kosovo, Yugoslavia;]
[yesterday's 10a.m newspath 10:05:31]
The U-S share was originally set to be four-thousand.
Under the new plan, it could be up to 75-hundred.
The peacekeeping force would maintain order in Kosovo after the air strikes end.
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Washington DC/Last Night;]
[4:09:12]
On Capitol Hill, the house has approved a 15 BILLion dollar package to pay for the conflict in Yugoslavia.
Some of the money would also be used for recovery from the killer storms in the midwest.
Senate passage could come as early as today with President Clinton's signature all but assured.
(---------------)

[WIPE WIPE WIPE WIPE WIPE]

[E-Red-Cross]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=99-10 TC1:50:35]
[GRAPHIC=wipe wipe wipe]

[WIPE WIPE WIPE]

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

For one Red Cross official in the Roanoke Valley, the crisis in the Balkans is bringing a special assignment.

Tom Brown left Roanoke yesterday morning to join the international relief effort helping refugees from Kosovo.
His assignment will take him to northern Albania, where he will assist with the distribution of food.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 08:28:25]
[IN Q=It's a unique experience for me]
((TOM BROWN/AMERICAN RED CROSS: IT'S A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE FOR ME. THE RED CROSS HAS TRAINED ME AND NOW I HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PUT THAT TRAINING INTO ACTION. TIME FOR ME TO GO.))
[SUPER=01-Tom Brown/American Red Cross]
[RUNS=:10]
[OUT Q=for me to go.]
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Brown is one of 13 American delegates to the international relief effort. He's not scheduled to return to the Roanoke Valley until late this summer.

[Health-Check]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=chr]
[TAPE#=NET]
[GRAPHIC=Mornin Health Check]

In medical news, a treatment for the common cold is on the horizon.
Mika Brzezinski has that story and more in this morning's Health check.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Mika Brzezinski/Reporting; :00 ]
[RUNS=1:21]
[OUT Q=CBS News, New York.]

(ad lib to weather)

[Two-Steve]

[ANCHOR=Steve]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=spa]
[TAPE#NONE]
[GRAPHIC=NONE]

[On Record]
[SUPER=15-Steve/Pardon;]

(I'll call for Supers)
[SUPER=03-Davenport & Co., 5:30 PM;]
[SUPER=03-101 S. Jefferson St.;]
[SUPER=16-(540) 725-9240/Young Audiences of Virginia;]

[Double Boxes=KMC & SPA]
(toss to Kimberly)
[2-HEADLINES]
[2-shot=Mel/Kmc]
[SUPER=#4049; Morning Headlines]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]

Here's a look at today's top stories.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]

From Capitol Hill to Lynchburg, officials try to determine what steps to take to make schools safer.
Another Congressional committee heard from high school students yesterday about preventing school violence, as the Senate struggled with a bill to deal with young offenders.
The testimony on capitol hill pointed back to days of horror at several schools.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Kim]

No clues yet in the disappearance of a Pittsylvania County woman.... four days after she vanished.
Yesterday, authorities scoured parts of the Dan River and surrounding areas for signs of 37-year-old Patty Jo Pulley.
She disappeared last Friday.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]

And George Lucas can do no wrong.
That's pretty much the consensus of ``Star Wars'' fans as they streamed out of early-bird openings of the new prequel, ``Episode One -- The Phantom Menace.''
Theaters across the country scheduled midnight showings for ``Star Wars'' fanatics.
(----------------)
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

And that's what's making news on this Wednesday May 19.
[ANCHOR=Melanie]

News 7 Mornin' will be right back.

[school-violence]

[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=mel]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=None]

On Friday students in Springfield, Oregon will remember the day one year ago that may forever change their sense of security.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Springfield, OR/May 28, 1998;]
[4:15:48]
On May 28th, 19-98 fifteen year old Kip Kinkel opened fire in the lunchroom at Thurston High School.
[SUPER=03-Washington DC;]

Students from the High school traveled to capitol hill yesterday to testify before a House subcommitte about juvenile violence.
(////////SOT//////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
((Super: Ryan Atteberry/Springfield, OR Student I REALIZED SOMETHING TERRIBLE HAD HAPPENED AND I NOTICED BLOOD COMING OUT OF MY SIDE. I REALIZED I WAS SHOT))
[SUPER=01-Ryan Atteberry/Shooting Victim;]
[RUNS=]
[OUT Q=i was shot.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Littleton, CO/April 20;]
[STOCK FILE OF LITTLETON]
The Senate continues to feel pressure from school shootings, like the one in Oregon and the most recent in Colorado, as it debates various gun control efforts.
Lawmakers will go at it again this morning.
Yesterday, they passed a requirement that all handguns be sold with safety locks or secure containers.
[Super=03-Port Huron, MI;]
[4:14]
Meantime, prosecutors in Michigan, told a judge yesterday they are convinced they would have had a mass murder on their hands in a local middle school if they hadn't arrested 4 teenagers last week.
The two youngest defendants were in court yesterday where the judge ordered them to be held on 100-thousand dollars bond.
(------------)

[E-L'burg-Schools]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=99-24 7:25]
[GRAPHIC=School Safety]

While the Columbine High School massacre has heightened fears about American schools, researchers say U-S classrooms are safer than the streets.
But they do point to a troubling development.
They say there's been a doubling of the presence of gangs in school since 1989.
Lynchburg educators hope popular crime prevention program will make hill city schools safer.
Steve Smallshaw reports.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=It's already helped]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg/File Tape; :00]
[SUPER=01-Lt. Andy Vest/Lynchburg Police; :17]
[SUPER=01-Tracey Shaw/Lynchburg School Board Member; :41]
[SUPER=01-Susan Morrison/E. C. Glass Principal; :58]
[SUPER=@ssm2; 1:05]
[RUNS=1:10]
[OUT Q=News7, Lynchburg.]
(( It's already helped nab criminals and solve dozens of crimes.. now officials want to expand the Crimestoppers program into Lynchburg's two high schools.
Students who observe crimes or suspicious activity would be encouraged to call a toll- free number and report it.

[SOT 18:45:51]
((LT. ANDY VEST/LYNCHBURG POLICE: HOWEVER SOME STUDENTS ARE WORRIED THAT THEY'LL BE LABELLED AS A SNITCH OR AN INFORMANT, AND THIS WOULD GIVE THEM TOTAL ANONYMITY.))
[RUNS= 12]
[OUT Q=total anonymity.]

But some school board members were worried the crime line would replace the face- to- face relationship students already have with teachers and administrators.
They also fear it could encourage students to rat out their peers, even if the information is false.
[SOT 18:59:30]
((TRACEY SHAW/SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER: IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S INSTINCTIVELY TROUBLING TO ME, TO ESTABLISH A SYSTEM WHEREBY NINTH GRADERS OR WHOEVER ARE MAKING ANONYMOUS CALLS AND REPORTING ON OTHER NINTH GRADERS.))
[RUNS= 11]
[OUT Q=other ninth graders.]

But both high school principals support the idea.. they see it as just another tool for keeping their kids safe.

[SOT 19:01:18]
((SUSAN MORRISON/E.C. GLASS H.S. PRINCIPAL: IT'S NOT TO GO INTO AND TO CREATE A POLICE STATE, IT'S TO TRY TO CREATE A WAY TO KEEP OUR CAMPUS SAFE.))
[RUNS= 08]
[OUT Q=our campus safe.]

The board approved the Crimestoppers pilot program.. it takes effect next fall.
Steve Smallshaw, News7, Lynchburg.))

[E-SCHEV]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#=99-13 1:03:24]
[GRAPHIC=Va. College Funding]

Virginia is considering tying its money for public colleges to how they perform.
A new funding model was recommended yesterday by the State Council of Higher Education.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 12:20:52]
[IN Q=We're talking about]
((KATE GRIFFIN/STATE COUNCIL ON HIGHER ED.: WE'RE TALKING ABOUT APPLYING SOME FREE MARKET PRINCIPLES TO THE WAY WE DO BUSINESS, TO THE WAY WE FUND HIGHER EDUCATION, KEEPING IN MIND THE IMPORTANCE OF A QUALITY EDUCATION. SO IT WILL BE A TOUGH SELL IN THAT CHANGE IS ALWAYS DIFFICULT. HOWEVER, YOU CAN'T IGNORE THE EXCITING IMPLICATIONS OF IT.))
[SUPER=01-Kate Griffin/State Council of Higher Education;]
[RUNS=:17]
[OUT Q=of it.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The funding would be based on five measures:
Graduation rates, and student retention rates, or how many first year students are back for the second year.
Exit exams... like GREs.
And post graduate placement... or where students get jobs when they get out of school.
And finally, faculty productivity-- making sure professors are teaching enough, publishing enough, and providing community service.
(------------)
[TALENT=Melanie]
[SS=None]

Colleges are asking how their base budgets would be set... and who gets to set their tuition rates?
But a spokesman for Virginia Tech says the school is generally supportive of tying funding to measures of success.

The General Assembly would have to sign the plan.

[E-Council-Reaction]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=tte]
[TAPE#=99-15 29:16]
[GRAPHIC=College Funding]

Some state legislators say the money a school gets from the state should NOT hinge on performance.
Senator John Edwards says, after all, a school may not be getting enough money to do its best.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 12:59:00]
[IN Q=I think]
((I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT WHILE WE CONSIDER PERFORMANCE AS A FACTOR, IT'S MORE IMPORTANT THE INSTITUTION'S NEEDS BE LOOKED AT VERY CAREFULLY AND THAT THERE BE A LONGTERM PLAN WHEN IT COMES TO THE COMMONWEALTH FUNDING INSTITUTIONS.))
[SUPER=@Edwards;]
[RUNS=:14]
[OUT Q=commonwealth funding institutions]
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[GRAPHIC=hold]

Edwards says a school should know how much money to expect from the state in advance so it can make long-term plans.

[S-311-Fatal]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=eea]
[TAPE#=99-21 14:43]
[GRAPHIC=Fatal Accident]

A Catawba man is dead after apparently losing control of his pickup truck in Roanoke County yesterday afternoon.

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

83 year old Ashby Thomas ran off the road onto the shoulder on Route 311 near the Craig County line.
When he pulled the truck back onto the road, he crossed the center line, hitting an on-coming car head on.
Thomas was killed .. and the driver of the other car, an unidentified woman, was airlifted to the hospital with serious leg injuries.
Police say an airbag saved the woman's life.
(------------)

[E-Drowning-Follow]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=THa]
[TAPE#=99-14 56:09]
[GRAPHIC=Drowning]

"I love you" were among the last words Jimmy Gilmore shared with his father before leaving for McCoy Falls Monday.

It's a conversation the older Gilmore will always treasure since it was the last time he spoke with his son.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Montgomery Co./Monday;]

26- year old Jimmy Gilmore died while struggling to save a young woman who apparently couldn't swim.
Witnesses were eventually able to pull the 18- year old woman from the river but were unable to reach Gilmore.
Gilmore's father says his son cherished his four year old daughter.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 15:01:14]
[IN Q=I asked ]
((BOBBY GILMORE/VICTIM'S FATHER: I ASKED GOD LAST NIGHT, WHY, I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S HAPPENED.))
[SUPER=01-Bobby Gilmore/Victim's Father; :00]
[RUNS=10]
[OUT Q=it's happened.]
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[SS=None]

Bobby Gilmore says friends, family and neighbors are helping him cope.

[Social-Security]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=Social Security]

A school bus driver from Washington D-C and a nurse in Roanoke were indicted yesterday for stealing social security benefits.
Sixty-four year old Ruby M. Perry was Sir Walter Faison's live-in nurse. They lived together on Wilmont Avenue in Roanoke- -until he died in 1994. The government says she continued to collect Faison's social security check- -almost 20-thousand dollars.
In the other case, Nancy J. Fletcher is accused of stealing her BROTHER's social security benefits after his death. The checks were being mailed to post office boxes in Madison Heights and Lynchburg.

[Three-Steve]

[ANCHOR=Steve]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=spa]
[TAPE#M99-2]
[GRAPHIC=NONE]

[On Record] [ROLL COLD OUT OF BIRTHDAYS]
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Today on]
[SUPER=15-Steve/Pardon; :00]
[SUPER=01-Donna Graham/Ancestral Footprints; :16]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke; :38]
[SUPER=01-Obayanna Olumide/Ancestral Footprints; 1:15]
[RUNS=2:53]
[OUT Q=no problem at all]

[Steve Live]

(I'll call for Supers)
[SUPER=03-Davenport & Co., 5:30 PM;]
[SUPER=03-101 S. Jefferson St.;]
[SUPER=16-(540) 725-9240/Young Audiences of Virginia;]

[double Boxes=SPA & MEL]
(toss to Melanie)

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[SS=None]
(ad lib toss to bump)
[BUMP-Chyron]
[COMM #6]
((Archive: young audiences art))

[2-Star-Wars-React]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=eea]
[TAPE#=99-16 TC26:17]
[GRAPHIC=Star Wars Premiere]

The waiting is now over .
Last night thousands of Star Wars fans around the country lined up for midnight showings of Episode one the Phantom Menace.
But Can the film really live up to years of expectations and a multi-million dollar marketing campaign?
Eric Earnhart tells us what movie-goers had to say.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=they waited for hours]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.; :00]
[SUPER=01-Melissa Smith/Fan; :31]
[SUPER=01-Jason Hutchins/Fan; :38]
[SUPER=01-Eric Wolley/Fan; :44]
[SUPER=01-Amy Ratcliffe/Fan; :50]
[SUPER=@Eric1; 1:01]
[RUNS=1:10]
[OUT Q=EE, News 7]

(( They waited for hours for tickets....
They waited for hours for the best seats....
They've been wait for years to see the beginning of story we ALL know the ending to...
At 12:01 this morning, the waiting was over....
The Phantom Menace was here....

[natsot]

Two hours and fifteen minutes later they emerged.... tired, and, for the most part, thrilled.

[SOT 02:28:16]
[IN Q=it was incredible]
(( MELISSA SMITH/FAN; IT WAS INCREDIBLE, EVERYBODY NEEDS TO COME OUT AND SEE THIS MOVIE, IT'S AWESOME DID IT LIVE UP TO THE HYPE? I THINK IT WAS EVEN MORE SO..))
[RUNS= :07]
[OUT Q=even more so.]

[SOT 02:29:23 ]
[IN Q=it was awesome]
(( JASON HUTCHINS; IT WAS AWESOME, I LIKED IT A LOT, THE SWORD FIGHT GAVE ME CHILLS. ))
[RUNS= 05]
[OUT Q=gave me chills]

[SOT 02:31:14]
[IN Q=let me just]
(( ERIC WOOLLEY/FAN; LET ME JUST TELL YOU, WHEN THE MUSIC STARTED PLAYING AT THE END THERE, YOU'VE JUST GOTTA SEE IT.
AMY RATCLIFFE/FAN; IT WAS THE MOST UNBELIEVABLE THING I HAVE EVER SEEN, IT WAS WORTH EVERY CENT AND EVERY SECOND THAT WE WAITED. WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO SEE IT AGAIN? TOMORROW. ))
[RUNS= 17]
[OUT Q=tomorrow]

[standup] ONE SURE SIGN OF A SUCCESSFUL FILM, PEOPLE STANDING AROUND OUTSIDE THE THEATER TALKING ABOUT IT, AT 2:00 IN THE MORNING. IN ROANOKE COUNTY, ERIC EARNHART, NEWS 7.))

[E-Davidson's]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=THa]
[TAPE#=99-12 TC1:08:10]
[GRAPHIC=Business News]

A Roanoke-based business WON'T be closing its Blacksburg location as originally expected.
(------------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg/January 25;]

Davidson's had announced in January that it would be shutting down its Blacksburg location.
But the popular men's store that's been part of downtown Blacksburg for 40- years will remain open thanks, in part, to two local residents.
Wayne Patty, Senior and his son have signed on as partners with Davidson's beginning June first.
(------------------)

[3-Sports]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=Mornin]
[WRITER=chr]
[TAPE#=sports cut in]
[GRAPHIC=None]

The Avalanche tumbled down upon the Hillcats last night in Carolina league action as they met for the first time this season--
And in the majors, Joe Torre ((TORE-ree)) returned to the Yankees' bench after battling cancer.
Here with the details is Mike Stevens.
Good Morning Mike.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=A very pleasant g.m.]
[RUNS=1:38]
[OUT Q=take care, bye.]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
(weather toss)
[Local-Recap]
[SUPER=#4059;Local Recap]
[2-Shot=Mel/Kmc]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]

Now here's another look at today's top local stories:
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]

After waiting hours for tickets and hours more for the best seats, Star Wars fans finally got to see the long-awaited prequel.
Two hours and fifteen minutes later they emerged.... tired, and, for the most part, thrilled.
Many stayed well past the end of the movie, talking about their experience.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

Funding for Virginia's public colleges may soon depend on how they perform.
The State Council on Higher Education wants to base funding on five measures-- Graduation rates, student retention rates, exit exams, post graduate placement, and faculty productivity.
A spokesman for Virginia Tech says the school is generally supportive of tying funding to measures of success.
The General Assembly would have to approve the plan.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]

Lynchburg schools are trying a popular crime prevention program to increase school safety.
Students who observe crimes or suspicious activity would be encouraged to call a toll- free number and report it.

But some school board members were worried the crime line would replace the face- to- face relationship students
already have with teachers and administrators.
But both high school principals support the idea.. they see it as just another tool for keeping their kids safe.

The school board approved the plan and it will go into effect next fall.
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
(Kimberly mic hot)
(///////////////)
[2 shot=Mel/Kmc]
(Kimberly ad lib weather)
(-------------)
[Double Boxes=Melanie/Kimberly and Steve]
(toss)
[ANCHOR=Steve]
(live ad lib, tease tomorrow)
(ad lib bye) [Double Boxes=Melanie/Kimberly and Steve]