[7-E-L'burg-Baby]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=99-45 38:36]
[GRAPHIC=None]
Lynchburg police say they have solved the case of an abandoned baby found six years ago.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg/November 1993]
In November of 1993, 15-year old Shekita Champion told police she found a newborn baby girl in a trash heap behind her home.
Police always suspected Champion was the baby's mother but could never prove it until recently.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 13:36:08]
[IN Q=The original story]
((CAPT. EARL BURNETTE/LYNCHBURG POLICE: THE ORIGINAL STORY DIDN'T QUITE ADD UP, IT WAS SOMETHING THAT YOU COULDN'T QUITE PUT YOUR FINGER ON. THERE WAS NO PHYSICAL EVIDENCE, THERE WAS NO ADMISSION ON HER PART, YOU HAD NO PROBABLE CAUSE TO PURSUE HER ANY FURTHER LEGALLY. WE HAD NO PROBABLE CAUSE FOR A CHARGE BUT WE JUST FELT HER STORY WASN'T RIGHT.))
[SUPER=01-Capt. Earl Burnette/Lynchburg Police Department]
[RUNS=19]
[OUT Q=story wasn't right.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Burnette says D-N-A tests show Champion is the girl's mother.
She was arrested yesterday in Washington D-C and awaits extradition back to Virginia.
(------------)
[7-Switched-Babies]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=Switched Babies]
The custody battle over one of the two little girls switched at birth moves into a Buena Vista courtroom today.
Paula Johnson is seeking custody of her biological daughter, Rebecca Chittum.
Rebecca and the daughter of a Buena Vista couple were switched at the U-V-A Medical Center in 1995.
Rebecca is being raised by the parents of the Buena Vista couple.
Johnson wants to raise both girls.
We'll have more on the story on News-7 at Noon.
[7-E-Buried-barrels]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=99-41 37:28]
[GRAPHIC=Roanoke City Seal]
The Environmental Protection Agency is pressing for felony charges and criminal sanctions against the city of Roanoke for burying chemical waste.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/December 1997]
The investigation dates back to the discovery of contaminated waste stored in 55-gallon drums, then buried underground at the service center on Courtland Avenue.
Sources say the city will probably have to answer to criminal charges for storing waste in buried barrels... either by entering a guilty plea to criminal information or going to trial.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[GRAPHIC=HOLD]
City officials have begun putting together an environmental awareness program for city workers and local residents-- one which may include municipal employees from around the region.
[7-Draft-Fire]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=Fatal Fire]
His one year old son was killed in a fire and now an Augusta County volunteer firefighter faces arson and murder charges for the fire.
Michael Ledford was among those who responded to the fire at his apartment on October tenth.
It broke out a few hours after the family celebrated Zachery Ledford's first birthday.
His wife was severely injured in the fire and is still hospitalized.
The 23-year-old Ledford is being held without bond at the Augusta County jail.
[7Weather]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tar]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]
Taking a look now at your Thursday forecast...
Expect a mostly cloudy day with some isolated showers.
Highs today should reach the upper 60s.
Tonight, the clouds linger with light winds.
Low temperatures drop to the low 40s.
[SUPER=X5000; set dissolve]
[SUPER=314-Mostly Cloudy/Isolated Showers/65-70/Lingering Clouds/Winds NE 5-10/40-44;]
[SUPER=#555; reset]
[45-Fetal-Protection]
[ANCHOR=melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=kwe]
[TAPE#=99-48]
[GRAPHIC=None]
A bill called the Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 19-99 calls for the fetus and the mother to be considered separate entities under the law-- when a person hurts or kills both mother and fetus.
The bill was the topic of debate last night at Hollins University.
Kate Weidaw reports.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=when a criminal]
[SUPER=01-Fiona Givens/Virginia Society for Life; :00]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.; :10]
[SUPER=01-David Nova/Planned Parenthood; :26]
[SUPER=07-Gregory Tully; :54]
[SUPER=07-Tammy Evans; 1:03]
[SUPER=@Kate1; 1:10]
[RUNS=1:27]
[OUT Q=kwe news 7.]
(([SOT 22:39]
[INQ=]
((FIONA GIVENS/VIRGINIA SOCIETY FOR LIFE: WHEN A CRIMINAL ASSAILANT KILLS A PREGNANT WOMAN THE ASSAILANT SHOULD BE PUNISHED TWICE ONCE FOR KILLING A PREGNANT WOMAN AND AGAIN FOR DEPRIVING HER OF HER PREGNANCY.))
[OUTQ=]
[RUNS= 10]
Fiona Givens is a strong supporter of a proposed bill that requires harsher punishments for criminals that commit acts of violence against pregnant women.
Her opponent - David Nova from Planned Parenthood - says the bill could eventually undermine a woman's right to choose.
[SOT 16:11]
[INQ=]
((DAVID NOVA/PLANNED PARENTHOOD: WE SEE IT AS A DIRECT ATTACK AGAINST ROW VERSUS WADE AND ULTIMATELY INTERVENING ON THE WOMAN'S RIGHT OF ABORTION SERVICES.))
[OUTQ=]
[RUNS= 8]
During the debate in front of Hollins students, Givens said the bill does not penalize a woman wanting or having an abortion - it simply makes criminals liable for killing a fetus. Nova says it still has implications for the abortion debate.
Students attending tonight's debate had mixed views on the proposed legislation.
[SOT 46:34]
[INQ=]
((GREG : I LIKE THAT BECAUSE OF THE WAY IT ADDRESSEES CRIMINAL AND MAKES THEM RESPONSIBLE FOR ALMOST TWO CRIMES.))
[OUTQ=]
[RUNS= 9]
[SOT 47:24]
[INQ=]
((TAMMY EVANS: THE BABY IS TOTALLY DEPENDENT ON THE MOTHER AND I DON'T SEE HOW THEY ARE SEPARATE BEINGS WHEN THEY CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT ONE ANOTHER.))
[OUTQ=]
[RUNS= 6]
[STANDUP]
[INQ=]
((KATE WEIDAW/REPORTING:PRO CHOICE ADVOCATES SAY THE BILL IS A TRAP SET TO DIVIDE AMERICANS ON ABORTION WHILE PRO LIFE SUPPORTERS SAY THE BILL IS JUST ABOUT PREVENTING ATTACKS ON PREGNANT WOMAN. MEANWHILE CONGRESS IS CONSIDERING THE BILL. KATE WEIDAW NEWS 7.))
[OUTQ=]
[RUNS=]))
[45-E-L'burg-Baby]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=99-45 38:36]
[GRAPHIC=None]
A six year old case of an abandoned infant in Lynchburg has been solved.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg/November 1993]
It was November of 1993, when 15-year old Shekita Champion told police she found a newborn baby girl in a trash heap behind her home.
Police always suspected Champion was the baby's mother but could never prove it until recently.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 13:36:08]
[IN Q=The original story]
((CAPT. EARL BURNETTE/LYNCHBURG POLICE: THE ORIGINAL STORY DIDN'T QUITE ADD UP, IT WAS SOMETHING THAT YOU COULDN'T QUITE PUT YOUR FINGER ON. THERE WAS NO PHYSICAL EVIDENCE, THERE WAS NO ADMISSION ON HER PART, YOU HAD NO PROBABLE CAUSE TO PURSUE HER ANY FURTHER LEGALLY. WE HAD NO PROBABLE CAUSE FOR A CHARGE BUT WE JUST FELT HER STORY WASN'T RIGHT.))
[SUPER=01-Capt. Earl Burnette/Lynchburg Police Department]
[RUNS=19]
[OUT Q=story wasn't right.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Burnette says D-N-A tests show Champion is the girl's mother.
She was arrested yesterday in Washington D-C and awaits extradition back to Virginia.
(------------)
[45Weather]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tar]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]
Time again to look at today's forecast..
Skies will stay mostly cloudy today, with isolated showers possible.
Expect highs in the upper 60s.
Lingering clouds overnight, with lows near 42.
Over the next five days, we'll see a mixture of clouds and sunshine with highs in the 60s...overnight lows in the 40s.
[SUPER=X5000; set dissolve]
[SUPER=314-Mostly Cloudy/Isolated Showers/65-70/Lingering Clouds/Winds NE 5-10/40-44;]
[SUPER=#555; reset]
[8-Bedford-Student]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=None]
In Bedford County, an 8th-grade student at Jefferson Forest High School was charged with distributing L-S-D after apparently trying to pass off a plain piece of paper as the hallucinogenic drug.
The 13-year-old was suspended yesterday pending a December hearing before the Bedford County School Board.
The piece of paper was sent to a laboratory for analysis.
[8-E-Wilkins]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#=99-44 48:56]
[GRAPHIC=Wilkins]
History is in the making for Virginia's House of Delegates.
Amherst Delegate Vance Wilkins now appears to have his party's vote locked up to become the state's first Republican House Speaker ever.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Richmond;]
Wilkins' top opposition, Jack Rust of Fairfax, threw his support behind Wilkins yesterday.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=The most important]
[SOT 13:03:05]
((DEL. JACK RUST/R-FAIRFAX: THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT CAN HAPPEN IS THAT WE COME OUT AS A UNIFIED CAUCUS.))
[sot from steve feed]
((DEL. VANCE WILKINS/R-AMHERST: I TALKED TO JACK LAST NIGHT AND I SAID DON'T WORRY ABOUT NOT DOING THIS, BECAUSE THERE WILL BE PLENTY FOR YOU TO DO'. [:07] THERE ARE A MULTITUDE OF THINGS WE NEED TO LOOK AT AND WE DON'T NEED TO TRY TO DO EVERYTHING ALL AT ONE TIME, ROME WASN'T BUILT IN A DAY AND WE WON'T CHANGE THE WORLD IN A DAY EITHER. [:16]))
[SUPER=01-Del. Jack Rust/(R) Fairfax; :00]
[SUPER=@Wilkins; :06]
[RUNS=:21]
[OUT Q=day either.]
(-------------)
[TALENT=Melanie]
[SS=HOLD]
Bedford Independent Lacey Putney was a possible compromise candidate for Speaker.
Putney has now also withdrawn his name from contention.
[8-E-Allstate]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=sgo]
[TAPE#=99-42 54:39]
[GRAPHIC=Allstate Reorganization]
A national insurance company is slashing four thousand jobs.
Allstate is in the process of reorganizing, but the company says no Roanoke Valley jobs will be lost.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.]
The service center in Roanoke County shut down for more than an hour yesterday while employees found out what was going on.
Everyone was listening to a conference call ... and waiting to find out if Allstate's reorganization would cost anyone a job.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 54:05//////53:26]
[IN Q=no one]
((RICK ZAHARIAS/ALLSTATE VICE PRESIDENT: NO ONE WAS TOLD TODAY THAT THEY'D BEEN LAID OFF OR THEY WERE LOSING A JOB. ////// WE'RE GOING TO TAKE SOME WORK OUT AND BRING NEW WORK IN. SO THE WORK WE LOSE IS GOING TO BE REPLACED WITH NEW WORK. SO WE'RE NOT LOSING PEOPLE.))
[SUPER=01-Rick Zaharias/Allstate Vice President]
[RUNS=12]
[OUT Q=NOT LOSING PEOPLE]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
About 85-percent of the people who work at the service center will see the scope of their job change ... but the company insists their jobs will stay here.
The company is changing the way it does business ... selling insurance online and through an 800-number.
(------------)
[8-S-New-Bridge]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#=99-39 46:18]
[GRAPHIC=Highway Improvement]
You can call it a "bridge to the future" for Virginia transportation.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Botetourt Co.;]
This northbound ramp on Interstate- 81 is the testing site for a new fiberglass- reinforced bridge.
A section of concrete was replaced by what's called E-Z Span.
It weighs just a fraction of concrete, and tests show it's as tough as steel.
V-DOT officials think it may better withstand the wear from water and road salt.
If all goes well with the year-long experiment, officials say the fiberglass bridge will be installed at a permanent site.
(------------)
[8Weather]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tar]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]
Taking a break from the news to check the forecast...
Mostly cloudy today with isolated showers possible and highs in the upper 60s.
Lingering clouds overnight, with lows cooling into the lower 40s.
The five day forecast looks partly sunny for Friday...with clouds increasing again by Sunday.
Highs in the 60s...lows in the 40s.
[SUPER=X5000; set dissolve]
[SUPER=314-Mostly Cloudy/Isolated Showers/65-70/Lingering Clouds/Winds NE 5-10/40-44;]
[SUPER=#555; reset]
by SS