WDBJ 7 morning news for 12/13/99

[Headlines]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]

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

Coming up on News-7 Mornin' ... a plane goes down in the Poconos ... killing everyone on board.
(----------------)
[ANCHOR=Melanie]

And one local couple is relishing the thought of a life together ... after getting married at the Roanoke Weiner stand.
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

Rain is on the way, with showers already starting in the higher elevations this morning...
An area of low pressure will slow move out of Texas, and bring us wet weather through tomorrow.
The work week forecast, up next.
[ANCHOR=Steve]
(ad lib live tease)
[2-shot]
[ANCHOR=Melanie]

[PA-Crash]

[ANCHOR=Scott]
[NEWSCAST=am]
[WRITER=sgo]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=None]

All three people who were onboard a private jet are dead after a crash in the Poconos.
Their plane went down yesterday afternoon in Pennsylvania.
Nobody on the ground was hurt, but debris was scattered for miles.
Colette Cassidy has more.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Gouldsboro, PA; 00]
[SUPER=01-Bill Wombacker/Eyewitness; 20]
[SUPER=01-Bob Decker/Eyewitness; 29 --quick!]
[SUPER=02-Denise Gaughan/Eyewitness; 54]
[SUPER=01-Colette Cassidy/Reporting; 1:20 -- quick]
[RUNS=1:32]
[OUT Q=for cbs news]

[VA-Trooper]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=tha]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=none]

The state trooper who suffered third degree burns when he crashed his patrol car died yesterday.
Daniel Lee Williams crashed his vehicle Friday night, while pursuing a motorist who turned to avoid a police checkpoint in Cumblerland County .
Authorities who discovered the wreckage say Williams was pinned beneath his burning vehicle.
Williams was 38 and leaves behind a wife and three children.

[E-House-Fire]

[ANCHOR=Scott]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=kwe]
[TAPE#=99-49 24:32]
[GRAPHIC=fire]

A Montgomery County family lost everything in a fire.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Montgomery Co.]

It happened shortly after seven last night on Unicorn Lane-- just off Yellow Sulphur Road.
Fire officials say the fire started in the back of the house and spread quickly through the home.
Crews from Christiansburg and Blacksburg were able to save the structure but the family lost all their possessions.

No one was home at the time... and investigators say it appears it was accidental.
(------------)

[Columbine-Tapes]

[ANCHOR=Scott]
[NEWSCAST=am]
[WRITER=sgo]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Time Magazine has seen what parents of Columbine High School vicitms have been asking to see for months:
Video tapes made by killers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold just days before the massacre.
Chris Schauble reports the magazine's access to those tapes is leaving parents angry and confused.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Brian Rohrbough/Victim's Father; 29]
[SUPER=01-Chris Schauble/Reporting; 1:47]
[RUNS=2:06]
[OUT Q=For CBS News]
((RAGE AGAINST MINORITIES, PEERS WHO PICKED ON THEM, EVEN THEIR FAMILIES ARE AMONG THE REASONS ERIC HARRIS AND DYLAN KLEBOLD SAY THEY WENT ON THEIR BLOODY RAMPAGE.
THAT ACCORDING TO TIME MAGAZINE, THE ONLY MEDIA AGENCY ALLOWED TO VIEW FIVE TAPES MADE BY THE KILLERS...WHO MOST OF ALL WANTED TO BECOME CULT HEROES.
VICTIM'S FAMILIES SAY THEY'VE BEEN ASKING FOR MONTHS TO SEE THE SAME VIDEO TAPES AND ARE NOW DISGUSTED WITH INVESTIGATORS. (Brian Rohrbough) "It looks like that may be the only way to get the information that we've asked for...would be to have some type of a lawsuit. If for no other reason, just for the purpose of discovery. so we can find out exactly what happened to these kids."
(Shoels phoner) "I think we should have been the first to see it. I mean you know we asked to see these things right u
p front and we were denied by those investigators in the sheriff's department."
"TIME" CORRESPONDENT TIM ROCHE VIEWED THE KILLERS'S HOME VIDEO TAPES. FROM ERIC HARRIS COMES THE INTENT: "WE'RE GOING TO KICK-START A REVOLUTION"...SAYING THEY WOULD HAUNT THE SURVIVORS AND "CREATE FLASHBACKS FROM WHAT WE DO...AND DRIVE THEM INSANE."
FROM DYLAN KLEBOLD, THE HATRED OF WHAT HE CONSIDERED STUCK-UP CLASSMATES: "IF YOU COULD SEE ALL THE ANGER I'VE STORE
D OVER THE PAST FOUR YEARS...I'M GOING TO KILL YOU ALL. YOU'VE BEEN GIVING US S--- FOR YEARS."

NEW INFORMATION THE VICTIM'S FAMILIES DEMAND TO SEE.
(Brian Rohrbough) "Hopfully you'll never face this tragedy. But once you do...the most important thing to know is, why
it happened...how it happened...and what is going to be done to keep it from happening to someone else. And at this point we have none of those questions answered,"))

[1-Sports]

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

In sports, Michael Vick talks about his Heisman experience, and William Fleming head football coach George Miller is honored.
Roy Stanley has details.
Good Morning Roy.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Good morning]
[RUNS=1:53]
[OUT Q=later on mornin]

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

[One-Steve]

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

[Microwave]
[SUPER=15-Steve/Pardon;]
[SUPER=11-Martinsville;]
[SUPER=01-Anne Miller/Assistant Director;]
[SUPER=11-Martinsville;]

(toss to stocks)
[STOCKS] [COMM] ((Archive: Piedmont arts center))

[Cuban-Boy]

[ANCHOR=Scott]
[NEWSCAST=am]
[WRITER=sgo]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=None]

Little Elian Gonzalez still doesn't know if he'll go back to Cuba, where he was born ... or stay in Miami, where he is now.
But for one day, at least, he was where every six-year-old wants to go:
Disney World.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Orlando, FL]

Elian got a V-I-P tour of the theme park.
The trip was paid for by Mel Martinez, a Florida official who left Cuba when he was 15.
Elian was found on Thanksgiving Day -- clinging to a raft in the Atlantic Ocean.
Now, he's at the center of an international custody battle.
His father wants him sent back to Cuba.
His family in Miami wants him to stay in the U-S.
(------------)

[S-Execution]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=tha]
[TAPE#=99-52 27:53]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Opponents of the death penalty have launched a new campaign.
The lights illuminating Rome's Coliseum will change from white to gold for two days whenever someone in the world is spared from execution.
The campaign is sponsored by the Vatican, Amnesty International and others.
A video was played during yesterday's ceremony in which Sister Helen Prejean (pray-ZHAHN) gave the campaign a thumbs up sign.
She's the American nun whose fight to end the death penalty was dramatized in a movie.
(------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/February 1;]

Earlier this year-- Prejean came to Virginia to speak at Roanoke College about her views and experiences.
(///SOT////)
[IN Q= I've accompanied]
((I'VE ACCOMPANIED 5 PEOPLE TO EXECUTION, JOSEPH ODELL WAS ONE OF THEM, THIS MAN YOU EXECUTED HERE IN VIRGINIA.))
[SUPER=01-Sister Helen Prejean/Author; ]
[RUNS=08]
[OUT Q= in Virginia.]
(-----------)
[anchor=Kimberly]
[ss=none]

Last week, Andre Graham became the 14th death row inmate to be executed in Virginia this year.
That's the most in any year since the state resumed executions in 1982.

[S-Weiner-Wedding]

[ANCHOR=Scott]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=jsu]
[TAPE#=99-46 37:36]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Wedding bells echoed through a Roanoke landmark yesterday afternoon.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

Standing right below the menu board at Roanoke Weiner Stand -- Gus Chackness and Beth Carter exchanged their vows.

And for this couple -- this tiny restaurant was the ideal place to gather family and friends for the holy ceremony.

The two first met at the Weiner Stand four years ago -- when Beth came to the restaurant to buy a coke. And ever since then the two have been inseparable.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 15:02:04]
[IN Q=Beth is the type person]
((BETH IS THE TYPE OF PERSON THAT LIKES UNUSUAL THINGS. IT'S THE FIRST TIME A WEDDING HAS EVER BEEN HELD HERE AND IT WAS SOMETHING DIFFERENT))
[SUPER=01-Betty Wirt/Bride's Mother]
[RUNS=:09]
[OUT Q=something different.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The newlyweds are headed to Cancun for their honeymoon.
(------------)

[Health-Check]

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

In medical news, some holiday myths are being dispelled.
Doctor Dave (Ny-duh) Hnida has that story and more in this morning's Health check.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=01-Dr. Dave Hnida/Reporting; :00 ]
[RUNS=1:23]
[OUT Q=CBS News, New York.]
((Holidays aren't just for kids, they're for us grown-ups too. And there are plenty of adults who really throw themselves into the season. And even though its generally a happy time, you've probably heard the holidays are a notorious trigger of emotional misery, with high rates of depression and suicide. But that's not really the way it is. In fact, rates of suicide and clinical depression tend to be a little lower in December than many other months of the year. Rates really don't begin to rise until after January first. And then peak in the spring, April and May. Even though, suicide and depression rates don't skyrocket during the holidays, that's not the same with our stress levels. Some of eat and drink too much, spend money we don't have and just generally do a lot of running around. So what can you do to keep your stress levels out of the red zone? Stress is almost aggravated by fatigue, so it's important to rest your body, maybe even sneaking in a short nap each day. Rest your mind, even if it's just 10 minutes at the end of the day where you sit and do nothing. Keep alcohol to a minimum. And recharge your batteries with a little exercise, above and beyond walking the malls. ON CAM There is no way to make the holidays 100%stress free, but these common sense tips can make the holidays easier to survive. I'm Dr. Dave Hnida for CBS News.))

(ad lib to weather)

[Two-Steve]

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

[Microwave]
[SUPER=15-Steve/Pardon;]
[SUPER=11-Martinsville;]
[SUPER=01-Anne Miller/Assistant Director;]
[SUPER=11-Martinsville;]

[Double Boxes=KMC & SPA]
(toss to Kimberly)
((Archive:Piedmont arts center, paperweights)) [2-HEADLINES]
[2-shot=SGO/Kmc]
[SUPER=#4049; Morning Headlines]
[ANCHOR=Scott]

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

In Pennsylvania ... a plane crashed in the Pococnos.
All three people on board were killed.
People who live nearby were told to stay inside.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Kim]

If you're traveling out of the country for the holidays ... a warning from the State Department:
Terrorists may target Americans on vacation.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Scott]

And ... hot dog! A wedding with all the fixins at the Roanoke Weiner Stand.
(----------------)
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

That's what's making news on this Monday December 13.
[ANCHOR=Scott]

News 7 Mornin' will be right back.

[2-PA-Crash]

[ANCHOR=Scott]
[NEWSCAST=am]
[WRITER=sgo]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=None]

One witness looked out his living-room window and saw what he called a "huge ball of flame."
He was describing a plane crash in Pennsylvania that killed three people flying in a private jet.
Colette Cassidy has more.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Gouldsboro, PA; 00]
[SUPER=01-Bill Wombacker/Eyewitness; 20]
[SUPER=01-Bob Decker/Eyewitness; 29 --quick!]
[SUPER=02-Denise Gaughan/Eyewitness; 54]
[SUPER=01-Colette Cassidy/Reporting; 1:20 -- quick]
[RUNS=1:32]
[OUT Q=for cbs news]

[2-VA-Trooper]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=tha]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=none]

Two days after he was severely burned in an accident, a state trooper has died.
Daniel Lee Williams crashed his cruiser Friday night, while pursuing a motorist who turned to avoid a police checkpoint in Cumblerland County .
Authorities who discovered the wreckage say Williams was pinned beneath his burning vehicle.
Williams was 38 and leaves behind a wife and three children.

[2-E-House-Fire]

[S-Firefighters]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Mron]
[WRITER=jsu]
[TAPE#=99-51 11:53]
[GRAPHIC=none]

The city of Worcester, Massachusetts is mourning the loss of six firefighters who died in the line of duty.
And for one local firefighter it's a reminder of the time he almost lost his own life battling a blaze.
Joy Sutton has the story.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=As searcher recovered.]
[SUPER=03-Worcester, MA/Saturday; :00]
[SUPER=01-Robert Early/Roanoke Firefighter; :18]
[SUPER=04-July 1998; :26]
[SUPER=@Joy2; 1:25]
[RUNS=1:31]
[OUT Q=JS News 7]

(( As searchers recovered the bodies of the six firefighters who died in the line duty inside a warehouse in Worcester, Massachusetts-- one local fire fighter was reminded of his own close encounter with death while battling a fire.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 2:54:57]
[IN Q=I remember the porch falling ]
((I REMEMBER THE PORCH FALLING, LANDING ON TOP OF ME, TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHERE THE GUY WAS BEHIND ME))
[RUNS= 11]
[OUT Q=me]
Roanoke firefighter Robert Early was fighting a fire at this house on Campbell Avenue last year -- when without any warning the porch collapsed trapping him underneath.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 2:58:17]
[IN Q=There is always]
((THERE IS ALWAYS THAT ONE TIME. WHEN NO MATTER HOW CAREFUL YOU'VE BEEN, NO MATTER HOW MANY PEOPLE YOU GOT HELPING YOU TO BE SAFE SOMETHING HAPPENED))
[RUNS= 11]
[OUT Q=happened]

Early says fellow firefighters were able to pull him out from the burning debris. And he views himself as fortunate to have suffered a broken back and broken ribs-- considering he could have lost his life.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT2:59:43]
[IN Q=I feel like]
((I FEEL LIKE I'M LUCKY EVERYDAY THAT I CAN COME BACK TO WORK))
[RUNS= 4]
[OUT Q=back to work]

But Early says the firefighters who lost their lives in Massachusetts hits home -- reminding him that it can happen anywhere at anytime.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 2:58;52]
[IN Q=It was an accident]
((IT'S AN ACCIDENT HOPEFULLY YOU CAN DO LIKE THEY'VE DONE FROM OTHER ACCIDENTS TRY TO FIGURE WHAT HAPPENED AND LEARN FROM IT SO IT DON'T HAPPEN TO YOU))
[RUNS= 11]
[OUT Q=to you]

And as the city of Worcester mourns the death of six fallen heroes -- it's a reminder to Early of the risks he takes serving the city of Roanoke.
Joy Sutton, News 7.))

[2-S-Execution]

[ANCHOR=Scott]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=tha]
[TAPE#=99-52 27:53]
[GRAPHIC=none]

A new campaign hopes to shed some light on the death penalty.
The lights illuminating Rome's Coliseum will change from white to gold for two days whenever someone in the world is spared from execution.
The campaign is sponsored by the Vatican, Amnesty International and others.
A video was played during yesterday's ceremony in which Sister Helen Prejean (pray-ZHAHN) gave the campaign a thumbs up sign.
She's the American nun whose fight to end the death penalty was dramatized in a movie.
(------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke/February 1;]

Earlier this year-- Prejean came to Virginia to speak at Roanoke College about her views and experiences.
(///SOT////)
[IN Q= I've accompanied]
((I'VE ACCOMPANIED 5 PEOPLE TO EXECUTION, JOSEPH ODELL WAS ONE OF THEM, THIS MAN YOU EXECUTED HERE IN VIRGINIA.))
[SUPER=01-Sister Helen Prejean/Author; ]
[RUNS=08]
[OUT Q= in Virginia.]
(-----------)
[anchor=Scott]
[ss=none]

Last week, Andre Graham became the 14th death row inmate to be executed in Virginia this year.
That's the most in any year since the state resumed executions in 1982.

[Three-Steve]

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

[Microwave]
[SUPER=15-Steve/Pardon;]
[SUPER=11-Martinsville;]
[SUPER=01-Anne Miller/Assistant Director]
[SUPER=11-Martinsville;]

[double Boxes=SPA & SGO]
(toss to scott)

[ANCHOR=Scott]
[SS=None]
(ad lib toss to bump)
[BUMP-Chyron]
[COMM #6]
((Archive:piedmont arts center chairs))

[Terrorism-Travel]

[ANCHOR=Scott]
[NEWSCAST=am]
[WRITER=sgo]
[TAPE#=net]
[GRAPHIC=None]

If you think Christmas or New Year's Eve in a foreign country sounds like a good idea ... your government wants you to think again.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

Intelligence officials have what they call "specific and credible" information.
They say terrorists are planning attacks on Americans traveling abroad during the holidays ...
Though some say a warning from the State Department isn't specific enough to be useful.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 3:15:11, 3:15:59 -- BUMP SOTS]
[IN Q=WE ARE CONCERNED]
((MADELEINE ALBRIGHT:WE ARE CONCERNED. THERE ARE A LOT OF ACTIVITIES GOING ON AND MORE SPECIFIC INDICATIONS. WE DON'T WANT TO DISCOURAGE PEOPLE, BUT TO BE MORE VIGILANT. //////// 3:15:59 -- BRIAN JENKINS/TERRORISM EXPERT: AMERICANS SHOULD TAKE .... I DON'T THINK IT CALLS FOR ALTERING ANY PLANS. ))
[SUPER=01-Madeleine Albright/Secretary of State; 00]
[SUPER=01-Brian Jenkins/Terrorism Expert; 13]
[RUNS=24]
[OUT Q=altering any plans]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The State Department says if you do go abroad, keep a low profile and avoid large holiday gatherings.
(------------)

[2-S-Weiner-Wedding]

[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=jsu]
[TAPE#=99-46 37:36]
[GRAPHIC=none]

It was one wedding not soon to be forgotten.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Roanoke]

Standing right below the menu board at Roanoke Weiner Stand -- Gus Chackness and Beth Carter exchanged their vows.

And for this couple -- this tiny restaurant was the ideal place to gather family and friends for the holy ceremony.

The two first met at the Weiner Stand four years ago -- when Beth came to the restaurant to buy a coke. And ever since then the two have been inseparable.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT 15:02:04]
[IN Q=Beth is the type person]
((BETH IS THE TYPE OF PERSON THAT LIKES UNUSUAL THINGS. IT'S THE FIRST TIME A WEDDING HAS EVER BEEN HELD HERE AND IT WAS SOMETHING DIFFERENT))
[SUPER=01-Betty Wirt/Bride's Mother]
[RUNS=:09]
[OUT Q=something different]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]

The newlyweds are headed to Cancun for their honeymoon.
(------------)

[Tech-Success]

[ANCHOR=Scott]
[NEWSCAST=Morn]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=None]
[GRAPHIC=Tech Football]

15 years ago, on-field heroics by Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie boosted applications to the school by 30 percent.
Virginia Tech officials are hoping success on the field will do the same for their school.
They believe the publicity will pay off in applicants, alumni gifts and other revenue.
Already, sales at the school bookstore are up 33 percent over last year.
A Tech official said annual licensing revenues of 340-thousand dollars should at least double.

[3-Sports]

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

In other sports news, Roy Stanley has highlights from week 14 in the N-F-L, including the Skins win over Arizona.
Good Morning Roy.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Good morning]
[RUNS=2:00]
[OUT Q=great day everybody]

[ANCHOR=Melanie]
(weather toss)

[Local-Recap]
[SUPER=#4059;Local Recap]
[2-Shot=SGO/Kmc]
[ANCHOR=Scott]

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

A Montgomery County family lost everything in a fire last night.
Fire officials say it appears the fire started in the back of the house and spread quickly through the home.
Crews from Christiansburg and Blacksburg were able to save the structure but the family lost all of their possessions.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]

As the city of Worcester Massachusetts remembers six fallen firefighters, a Roanoke firefighter is remembering his own close call.
Robert Early was fighting a fire at this house on Campbell Avenue last year -- when the porch collapsed on top of him.
Early says the fire fighters who lost their lives in Massachusetts hits home -- reminding him that it can happen anywhere at any time.
(----------------)
[VO-NAT]
[ANCHOR=Scott]

The Roanoke Weiner Stand has played host to thousands of customers and a number of celebrities-- now it's played host to a wedding.
Standing right below the menu board at Roanoke Weiner Stand -- Gus Chackness and Beth Carter exchanged their vows.
The two first met at the Weiner Stand four years ago -- when Beth came to the restaurant to buy a coke.
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
(Kimberly mic hot)
(///////////////)
(Kimberly ad lib weather)
(-------------)
[Double Boxes=Scott/Kimberly and Steve]
(toss)
[ANCHOR=Steve]
(live ad lib, tease tomorrow)
(ad lib bye) [Double Boxes=Scott/Kimberly and Steve]