WDBJ 7 morning news AM cutins for 11/23/99

[7-E-City-Water]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]

[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=99-38 1:16:52]
[GRAPHIC=Water Restrictions]

Mandatory water restrictions are still in effect for Roanokers, but as the drought has fallen from the headlines, so have conservation efforts.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Carvins Cove]

The water level at Roanoke's main reservoir is now 17- point- nine feet below the spillway.
Typically, Roanokers have been saving between 20 and 40 million gallons of water a week... compared with the same period a year ago.
But recently, that figure has dropped.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 03:58:32]
[IN Q=It's something I have to say]
((CARRIE PRATT/ROANOKE RESIDENT: IT'S NOT SOMETHING I HAVE TO SAY I THINK ALL THE TIME, BUT MAYBE I'LL START THINKING ABOUT IT MORE NOW.))
[SUPER=01-Carrie Pratt/Roanoke Resident;]
[RUNS=:07]
[OUT Q=about it more now.]
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[GRAPHIC=HOLD]

City officials hope a new round of reminders will encourage water customers to conserve again.

[7-E-220-Ax]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=chr]
[TAPE#=99-57 :09]
[GRAPHIC=Accident]

Police think it may have been a chain reaction -
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]
but they're not sure what caused the accident that left four cars damaged on Route 220 South in Roanoke last night.
Two people were taken to the hospital, apparently with non-life-threatening injuries.
The accident closed the Elm Avenue entrance to 220 South for more than an hour.
(------------)

[7-Kabuki-Accident]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=kwe]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=None]

A man is in the hospital this morning after his face caught fire while eating at the Kabuki Japanese Steak House in Christiansburg.
Apparently the man was sitting too close to the grill during the routine fire ball demonstration by the chef.
He was taken to Montgomery Regional Hospital with first and second degree burns.
Managers at the restaurant say they have been doing this demonstration for 18 years and nothing like this has happened before.
So far no action has been taken against the restaurant.

[7-E-Verna-Lewis]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=99-42 1:08:18]
[GRAPHIC=Verna Lewis]

Attorneys for Doctor Verna Lewis are claiming the government injected race into the tax evasion case against her.

The attorneys say the government made references to voodo and witchcraft in the case.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/July 21]

Prosecutor Karen Peters summed up the case at trial by saying Doctor Lewis had misled people, accusing Lewis of "hoodooing" her accountant.
The defense says that comment associates Lewis, "an African- American Physician, with the Black witch doctors of Africa... and the deep South."
So far there has been no response from the government.
(------------)

[7-E-DeMoranville]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tha]
[TAPE#=99-43 1:03:50]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]

The man accused of plotting to kill Montgomery County Circuit Judge Ray Grubbs has had run ins with the legal system before.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Radford;]

29-year old Chris (dee-more-ann-ville) DeMoranville waived his right to a preliminary hearing yesterday.
A judge then forwarded the case to the next grand jury.
He's accused of hiring Derek Chapman to shoot Judge Grubbs in the head.
The judge was NOT hurt.
DeMoranville has an extensive criminal record-- which includes convictions for assault, embezzlement, larceny and possession of marijuana.
(-----------)

[7Weather]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tar]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]

Here's a look at your Tuesday forecast. Today's weather is unseasonable mild starting out with clouds and drizzle, but becoming partly sunny. Highs today around 70. Tonight expects to be partly cloudy with light winds. Temperatures in the low 50s.

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[45-E-Hokie-Tickets]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tte]
[TAPE#=99-41 52:49]
[GRAPHIC=Hokie Ticket Frenzy]

It's deadline day for those hoping to apply in advance for Tech bowl tickets.
But only alumni contributors and season ticket holders are eligible.
Tina Tenret explains.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Try getting tickets]
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg; :01]
[SUPER=01-Harry Parks/Class of '48; :33]
[SUPER=@Tina2; :55]
[RUNS=1:05]
[OUT Q=Tina Tenret News7 Blacksburg]
(( Try getting tickets to see Virginia Tech play in the Sugar Bowl and you'll hit this block.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 14:23:21]
[IN Q=I don't know]
((NAT SOT: I DON'T KNOW WHAT BOWL WE'RE GOING TO. WE MAY GO TO ANOTHER BOWL. WE HAVE QUALIFIED FOR A BCS BOWL BUT I D
ON'T KNOW WHICH ONE. THERE'S THREE OF THEM THERE, REALLY FOUR. AND I DON'T KNOW WHICH ONE WE'RE GOING TO.))
[RUNS= :12]
[OUT Q=WE'RE GOING TO]
Virginia Tech is not selling tickets to ANY bowl game -- yet. But about 6-thousand alumni contributors and season ticket holders have applied in advance. Harry Parks -- class of 48 -- bets he'll get a seat.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 14:27:00]
[IN Q=Nobody will have]
((NOBODY WILL HAVE A BETTER FOLLOWING AT THE BOWL GAME THAN US ... AFTER WE LEFT THEY WEREN'T SO CRITICAL.))
[RUNS= :16]
[OUT Q=SO CRITICAL]
Tickets go to advance applicants first -- then students -- then the general public. Meantime the football team's focusing on a short-term goal -- beat Boston College this Friday to stay undefeated. Tina Tenret News7 Blacksburg.))

[45-5-Tech-Audit]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=sgo]
[TAPE#=599-15 53:36]
[GRAPHIC=Tech Audit]

In other news from Virginia Tech, campus police say they'll seek indictments against a man who taught engineering classes at the University.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Police say Arthur Degener (DEGG-ner) -- seen here in a 19-88 yearbook picture -- may have embezzled in state funds.
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg]

Degener went back to Tech last year, working on his P-H-D and teaching undergraduates.
During that time, the school authorized him to buy supplies for a lab renovation project.
But this summer an internal audit suggested he may have spent money on himself.
Now ... Tech police say Degener may have embezzled about 98-thousand dollars.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[graphic=hold]

No charges have been filed against (Deg-ner) Degener.
He declined to talk to News-7.
Degener's lawyer did not return our calls.

[45-E-Health-Connections]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tfl]
[TAPE#=99-]
[GRAPHIC=NONE]

Staying healthy just got a little easier for students in Henry County.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Henry Co.; ]

Health Connections is a mobile clinic designed to provide roving health care to all nine thousand students in 21 schools.
Schools officials announced yesterday the clinic is staffed with one part-time and six full-time nurses.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT tc 00:11:14]
[IN Q=A lot of the children]
((SHERRY VESTAL/REGISTERED NURSE: A LOT OF THE CHILDREN SEE THEIR PHYSICIANS RIGHT BEFORE THEY START SCHOOL AND THAT'S THE ONLY ONE THEY GET UNTIL THEY NEED ONE FOR SPORTS IN HIGH SCHOOL, SO THAT'S OUR GOAL IS TO TRY TO PROVIDE A PHYSICAL FOR EVERY STUDENT. BECAUSE HEALTHY STUDENTS LEARN.))
[SUPER=01-Sherry Vestal/Registered Nurse; ]
[RUNS=:16]
[OUT Q=students learn.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Vestal is not only a nurse, but she's the only one licensed to handle the rig at the present time.
(------------)

[45Weather]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tar]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]

Taking a moment now to check the forecast...
Clouds, drizzle, and patchy dense fog early, then turning partly sunny later with highs around 70.
Partly cloudy overnight, with mild lows in the lower 50s.
The extended forecast is partly cloudy tomorrow...with showers possible by Thanksgiving.
Highs in the 60s and 70s...lows in the 40s.

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[8-E-Danville-Junkyard]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=99-40 1:45:13]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Danville junkyard owners want City Council to "scrap" a proposal to tax them.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Danville;]

Council is considering a tax of 250-dollars a year.
That would allow the city to regulate the junkyards more closely.
Junkyard owners say the proposal unfairly singles them out. They say if car graveyards are regulated, then ALL outdoor storage should face the same tax.
City Council says it was part of an effort to beautify the city by making junkyards put up fences or trees.
They'll vote on the proposal after a public hearing next month.
(------------)

[8-Ramdass-Execution]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=VA Death Penalty]

Another execution in the state is set for tonight.
A man convicted of killing a convenience store clerk during a 1992 Fairfax County robbery will be executed.
Bobby Lee Ramdass has one last appeal pending before the U-S Supreme Court and a clemency petition on file with Governor Gilmore.
In a letter to Gilmore, Ramdass said that seeing other death row inmates leave to be executed made him realize that he had no right to kill anyone.

[8-Jail-Hanging]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=kwe]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=None]

The Henry County Sheriff's Department is investigating an apparent suicide at the county jail.
Van Warren Tatum of Bassett hung himself in his jail cell yesterday afternoon.
He was traken to Memorial Hospital of Martinsville and pronounced dead on arrival.
Tatum was arrested yesterday morning on a misdemeanor charge for violating a protective order.

[8-E-DeMoranville]

(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Radford;]

29-year old Chris (dee-more-ann-ville) DeMoranville waived his right to a preliminary hearing yesterday.
A judge then forwarded the case to the next grand jury.
He's accused of hiring Derek Chapman to shoot Judge Grubbs in the head.
The judge was NOT hurt.
DeMoranville has an extensive criminal record-- which includes convictions for assault, embezzlement, larceny and possession of marijuana.
(-----------)

[8-E-State-Revenues]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#=99-45 50:31]
[GRAPHIC=State Budget]

Virginia's budget is increasing.
The Gilmore Administration reports revenue collections up almost 11-percent for the first four months of this fiscal year.
That's mostly due to individual income tax collections rising more than 16-percent over last year.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/November 1998;]

That means wages are on the rise -- which state budget writers say should lead to the best shopping season in Virginia this decade.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT 03:33 ]
[IN Q=Solid consumer]
((RON TILLETT/VIRGINIA FINANCE SECRETARY: SOLID CONSUMER FUNDAMENTALS ARE EXPECTED TO BOOST HOLIDAY SALES ABOVE THE STRONG RESULTS OF LAST YEAR'S HOLIDAY SEASON. IT REALLY IS THE BEST OF TIMES IN VIRGINIA.))
[SUPER=@Tillett;]
[RUNS=:10]
[OUT Q=best of times in Virginia.]
(-------------)
[TALENT=Melanie]
[SS=Tobacco Settlement]

Meanwhile, the Gilmore administration wants to spend a big chunk of the state's tobacco settlement money and federal highway funds up front, rather than spreading the settlement money over 25 years.
Under the plan presented yesterday, the state would take the 600 million in a lump sum.
The arrangement is similar to the way Lotto winners can take a reduced prize up front, rather than the full amount over a longer term.

[8Weather]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tar]
[TAPE#=]
[GRAPHIC=]

Let's take one more look at your Tuesday forecast this morning...
Clouds, drizzle, and patchy dense fog early...otherwise partly sunny and unseasonably mild with highs near 70.
Partly cloudy tonight with lows in the lower 50s.
The five day forecast is calling for a cooldown by Thanksgiving...along with increasing clouds and a chance of showers.
Highs in the 60s and 70s..lows in the 40s.

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