ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, December 24, 1996 TAG: 9612240109
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C2 EDITION: METRO
Stay invalid; Court forgot to set a date
RICHMOND - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday lifted a stay of execution for Coleman Wayne Gray because no execution date had been set.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had granted Gray a stay of execution even though he had not yet been scheduled to die.
``Virginia law requires that an execution date be set after the 4th Circuit makes its determination, but we couldn't do that because the 4th Circuit went ahead and stayed the execution,'' said Virginia Deputy Attorney General Gary Aronhalt. ``That kept Virginia from following its own law.''
So the state took the case to the Supreme Court, and Chief Justice William Rehnquist ruled the stay invalid because no execution had been scheduled.
Aronhalt said the state will set an execution date for Gray, who was convicted of killing Richard McClelland in Suffolk during a 1985 kidnapping and robbery.
- Associated Press
NASA test plane sinks with 'chute
ATLANTIC - A NASA model of an F-18 airplane sank in the Atlantic Ocean about 6 miles off the coast of Wallops Island during a flight test Friday, the space agency said Monday.
Flotation devices on the plane failed to deploy, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said in a statement. A 65-foot-diameter parachute and 100-foot shroud lines were still attached.
NASA tried to recover the model over the weekend but failed. No one was injured. The 900-pound model, worth about $400,000, is flown remotely from the ground after it is dropped from a helicopter. The test program is being conducted by the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton.
- Associated Press
Grinchy thieves take Santa fund safe
CHARLOTTESVILLE - Thieves made off with the Albemarle County United Way's cast-iron safe containing about $1,200 in checks made out to the Santa Fund, police said. The theft was discovered Monday.
The safe did not contain any cash, said Cathy Train, president of the Thomas Jefferson Area United Way. Officials think it would be difficult for the thieves to cash the checks.
The Santa Fund buys clothing and other essential items for needy children in central Virginia.
- Associated Press
Surry reactor back in business
SURRY - The No.2 nuclear reactor at the Surry Power Station went back into service Monday after being down since Dec. 13 to replace a pipe in its coolant system. The reactor is one of two nuclear units at the Virginia Power facility.
Jim Norvelle, a Virginia Power spokesman, said the cost of the shutdown, including replacing the reactor's lost power production, was about $3 million.
A series of leaks in the 20-foot pipe over the past year prompted the replacement. Both Virginia Power and Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials said the leaks never posed a threat to Surry workers or people living near the plant.
- Associated Press
Boat captain saves man from icy river
CHESAPEAKE - A boat captain dived into the Elizabeth River and spent almost a half-hour in dangerously cold waters rescuing a man who had been knocked off an icy interstate highway bridge.
Joseph J. Brisson, 36, of Portsmouth jumped into the 40- to 50-degree waters Sunday after Carnell Taylor, 43, of Franklin, fell 70 feet from a bridge on Interstate 64.
Brisson helped Taylor get his face above water, and encouraged him to keep talking. He also managed to slide a piece of wood under Taylor to help keep him afloat.
Taylor, who was part of a crew working on a paving project, was thrown from the bridge about 7:45 a.m. when a pickup truck slid on ice covering the bridge and hit Taylor and another worker, said state police spokeswoman Tammy Van Dame.
Brisson, who works for Ireland Marine Inc., was on a barge below.
- Associated Press
LENGTH: Medium: 83 linesby CNB