WDBJ 7 morning news AM cutins for 12/03/99

[7-11Tultex]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]

[NEWSCAST=Morning]
[WRITER=jsu]
[TAPE#=99-43 1:19:24]
[GRAPHIC=Tultex Chapter 11]

Sources close to Tultex say Chapter 11 Bankruptcy may be in the future for the company.
Published reports say Tultex laid off at least 900 employees yesterday and the company is expected to make a major announcement today.
As Joy Sutton reports many employees are anxious to hear what the company has to say.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Mary Minter]
[SUPER=03-Martinsville;00]
[SUPER=01-Mary Minter/Tultex Employee:14]
[SUPER=01-Billy Rose/Tultex Employee:1:02]
[SUPER=@Joy2]
[RUNS=1:30]
[OUT Q=n7 Martinsville]

(( Mary Minter says it was just one week ago that she received this letter informing her she would be laid off until some time in early January.
But now Minter doesn't know if she'll have a job to go back to
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 1:15:26]
[IN Q=What I understand ]
((WHAT I UNDERSTAND FROM THE UNION ... WE'VE LOST EVERYTHING))
[OUT Q=we've lost everything]

Minter says she's already heard of other employees who have been let go.
She says her main concern is losing her health insurance -- insurance she says her husband desperately needs.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 1:17:25]
[IN Q=He has to]
((HE HAS TO TAKE MEDICINE... BECAUSE OF HIS HEART CONDITION))
[OUT Q=his heart condition]

Minter says the company has left the employees out in the dark - no one really knows what the company is planning to do.
Billy rose agrees and say this has many employees upset.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 1:09:41]
[IN Q=Everybody's mad]
((EVERYBODY'S MAD.. THEY GOING TO DO))
[OUT Q=going to do]
Tultex is the 2nd biggest employer in the area. And that has many employees wondering where they will go for work -- if Tultex leaves. Joy Sutton, News 7, Martinsville.))

[7-11Henry-Fire]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=99-38 1:35:06]
[GRAPHIC=Henry Co. Fatal Fire]

Henry County authorities are continuing their investigation of a deadly house fire.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Henry Co.;]

41-year-old Joann Alice Craig and 31-year-old Jeffrey Curtis Clark were asleep in a front bedroom when the fire broke out late Wednesday night.
Neighbors heard them inside and tried to pull them out ... but both died of smoke inhalation.
Another man who lived there escaped by jumping out a second-floor bedroom window.
The Fire Marshall says the blaze started in a den at the back of the house.
Although a wood stove was being used for heat, investigators say it probably did NOT cause the fire.
(------------)

[7-11Missing-Student]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=jmc]
[TAPE#599-12 1:54:39]
[GRAPHIC=None]

The Virginia Tech student who disappeared last week has been located.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=@file;]

20 year old Rebecca Myers vanished from a family cruise on Thanksgiving Day.
Her parents found her yesterday at a gathering of the Rainbow People, a group of modern-day hippies she had shown some interest in.
Police say Myers is fine, and she's apologized to her family and friends for failing to keep in touch.
(------------)

[7Weather]

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

Here's a look at your Friday forecast...
Partly sunny, breezy, and warmer today.
Highs in the low to mid 60s.
Tonight, partly cloudy with a light breeze.
Lows 40 to 45.

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[SUPER=314-Partly Sunny/Breezy/60-65/Partly Cloudy/Light Breeze/40-45;]
[SUPER=#555; reset]

[45-11Rite-Aid]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=khu]
[TAPE#=99-41 1:13:59]
[GRAPHIC=Rite Aid-Expiration Dates]

Virginia Rite Aid Drug Stores have been selling products well past their expiration dates.
Keith Humphry went shopping to see how many products at Rite Aid are past their prime.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=We came]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke Co.; :00]
[SUPER=01-Sandy Brinkley/Pediatric Dietitian; :21]
[SUPER=@keith1; :31]
[SUPER=03-Lynchburg; 1:02 ]
[RUNS=1:16]
[OUT Q=KH N7.]
((
We came away from the Cave Spring Corner store with Glucose meter strips that had just expired... female condoms that expired in JULY... and Similac baby formula that should have been used by the 1st of October.
Pediatric Dietitian Sandy Brinkley says outdated formula could make for a malnourished sick child.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 01:17:09]
[IN Q=And it's always]
((AND IT IS ALWAYS BEST FOR THE PARENTS TO BE SURE AND CHECK THOSE DATES.))
[RUNS=:04]
[OUT Q=those dates (hold that smile!)]

The expiration dates on infant formula are regulated by law.
Rite Aid knows all this from experience. The attorney general of West Virginia found the company was selling outdated infant formula and other items. That was after district attorneys in California got a restraining order against Rite Aid to stop the store from selling expired products including baby formula and condoms.
In both states, the company promised to redouble its efforts to ensure proper inventory procedures and get out-date products off the shelves.
After our visit, Roanoke-area Rite Aid employees scrambled to get rid of out-dated merchandise.
In Lynchburg, however, there are still some grossly out-dated things: store-brand Cold Formula with a date stamp almost a year old- -another one almost TWO years old.
Keith Humphry NEWS 7.))

[45-11Barnabei]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#=99-44 1:09:35]
[GRAPHIC=Virginia Death Penalty]

Once again Italian citizens are speaking out against Virginia's death penalty.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Norfolk/1993]

The inmate is Derrick Barnabei, sentenced to die in 19-93 for the rape, strangling, and beating murder of the 17 year old he was dating.
Sarah Wisnosky was from Lynchburg, and a student at Old Dominion University in Norfolk.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[GRAPHIC=Hold]

It's just the latest Virginia death row case to draw intense interest in Italy -- including, in one case, a plea for clemency from the Pope.
The region of Tuscany gave Barnabie more than five-thousand dollars to pay for D-N-A tests this week.

[45-PCB-Contaimination]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=none]

State officials have identified an Altivista company as the likely source of P-C-B contamination in the Staunton River.
They've also extended a health warning about eating fish from the river.
Property around B-G-F Industries' riverfront plant contains significant amounts of the cancer-causing chemical. As a result, the fish advisory was expanded to a 79-mile stretch of the river.
Company officials say P-C-Bs haven't been used at the plant since the early 70's, when the facility was under different ownership.

[45Weather]

[8-11Elder-Abuse]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=mjo]
[TAPE#=99-46 30:09]
[GRAPHIC=None]

An elderly Martinsville woman who was found in her home covered in bedsores, urine and vomit has died.
Now, Martinsville police say they're investigating the death of 75-year-old Elizabeth Stolbun for neglect.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Martinsville;]

She was found bedridden inside her house last week after officials and health workers got a warrant to enter the home.
She later died in surgery.
A search warrant filed with the Martinsville clerk's office says her husband turned people away several times when they came to check on her.
(------------)

[8-11-581-Rocks]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=tte]
[TAPE#=99-40 1:53:15]
[GRAPHIC=Legal Scales]

The four young men who threw rocks at cars on 5-81 now face felony charges.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/Oct. 25;]

17 vehicles were damaged.
21-year-old Irvin Divers and 20-year-old Travis Scott admit they threw rocks but say that 15-year-old Dion Saunders threw them first.
They testified against Saunders in a preliminary hearing as part of a plea agreement.
The three men and 19-year-old James Smith each face seven felony charges.
(------------)

[8-11Barnabei]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#=99-44 1:09:35]
[GRAPHIC=Virginia Death Penalty]

Virginia's death penalty is once again gaining the attention of Italian citizens.
This time they are giving financial help to the convicted killer of a Lynchburg woman.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Norfolk/1993]

The inmate is Derrick Barnabei, sentenced to die in 1993 for the rape, strangling, and beating murder of the young woman he was dating.
Sarah Wisnosky was from Lynchburg, and a student at Old Dominion University in Norfolk.
(------------)
[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[GRAPHIC=Hold]

It's the latest state death row case to draw interest in Italy -- including, in one case, a plea for clemency from the Pope.
The region of Tuscany gave Barnabie more than five-thousand dollars to pay for D-N-A tests this week.

[8-PCB-Contaimination]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=none]

State officials have issued a health warning about eating P-C-B contaminated fish from the Staunton River.
They've identified an Altavista company as a likely source of some contamination.
Property around B-G-F Industries' riverfront plant contains significant amounts of the cancer-causing chemical.
As a result, the fish advisory was expanded to a 79-mile stretch of the river.
Company officials say P-C-Bs haven't been used at the plant since the early 19-70s.

[8-11SI-Sales]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=jda]
[TAPE#=99-47 21:15]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Virginia Tech's football team and fans are celebrating a phenomenal season.
But fans may have some trouble finding the latest look at the Hokies' success.
The December edition of Sports Illustrated is flying off the local newsstands.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Blacksburg]

At Volume Two Bookstore in Blacksburg, an initial shipment of 400 magazines was spoken for in about 30 minutes.
Additional magazines sold out quickly.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Obviously on football days]
((PAUL CLARK/VOLUME TWO BOOKSTORE: OBVIOUSLY ON FOOTBALL DAYS WE HAVE A LOT OF EXCITEMENT, BUT NOT AS FAR AS ONE PRODUCT. WE'VE NEVER HAD ONE PRODUCT MOVE THIS FAST THAT I'M AWARE OF.))
[SUPER=01-Paul Clark/Volume Two Bookstore]
[RUNS=:07]
[OUT Q=that I'm aware of.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The magazine features a photo of wide receiver Andre Davis on the cover, and a lengthy article on Tech's rise to national prominence.
(------------)

[8Weather]

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

Taking a look now at today's forecast...
Sunny and warmer today with highs in the low to mid 60s.
Tonight, partly cloudy and breezy with low temperatures in the low to mid 40s.
Looking ahead...
[SUPER=X5000; set dissolve]
[SUPER=314-Partly Sunny/Breezy/60-65/Partly Cloudy/Light Breeze/40-45;]
[SUPER=#555; reset]