Transcripts For WSLS WSLS 10 At 7 PM 20160218

A lot of unanswered questions. Clerk of Circuit Court Erica Williams responds to the Montgomery County board of supervisors request for information on the high turnover rate in her office and her attendance records. But as the board quickly found out. She didnt have much to say. Yesterday. Board members received a letter from williams lawyer. Saying she is not prepared to provide this information. She believes Personnel Matters are private. And that the board was not specific enough about its request for her work attendance records. Although the board asked for a response by today. It cannot require one. Chris tuck board of supervisors she is a constitutional officer, and while we can ask her to respond, she didnt have to. The board is expected to discuss williams response at its upcoming meeting on monday. In christiansburg Bethany Teague wsls 10. The university of texas announces it has approved rules. Concealed handgun license holders to bring their weapons into classrooms. The decision was announced by the universitys president following a review of the controversial campus carry law. The senate bill was passed last year. It will go into affect august 1 st. In a letter addressed to ut students. Faculty and staff. The president says. While he does not believe handguns belong on campus. He is obligated to enforce the law. As a professor, as a teacher myself, i dont want guns in classrooms that i would be teaching in, and so i certainly empathize with them. Butt to but in the end, as the president of the university, as the head of a state agency, i do have a responsibility to carry out the law the president says. The next step is to form a Campus Carry Implementation Task force. The group will be in charge of assembling faculty and student representatives to help train and communicate the new policies. Off in the debate over privacy versus public safety. Apple says it will not help investigators break into the i phone of one of the San Bernardino shooters. A federal judge ordered the company to gain access to syed farooks locked phone. The fbi wants apple to invent software that bypasses a security feature which erases data after ten wrong passcode attempts. Apple says it could endanger phone privacy for millions. Thomas austin Computer Science professor San Jose State University its like if you put a key under your mat. How do you make sure only the right people use that key . Apple says its been working with the government but says the new Technology Officials want is too dangerous to create. Microsoft announces its upgrading the pentagons computers to windows 10. Secretary ash carter ordered the upgrades for all 4million computers at the pentagon. He says the upgrades will happened within the next year. The pentagon is traditionally among the last of microsoft operating system. This gives microsoft time to work out bugs in the system. Republican president ial candidate donald trump is returning to the commonwealth. Trump will be in Virginia Beach next week ahead of the march first primary. The gop front runner is set to appear at regent university. Ben carson will also be at regent later this month. John kasich is scheduled to host a town hall meeting monday at virginia commonwealth university. New at seven. The state Senate Passes a bill that would allow Medicinal Marijuana to be produced and manufactured in the commonwealth. Possession of medical marijuana is legal in virginia but theres no way for patients to obtain it without breaking the law. If passed. Patients have a way to get the drug. Virginia is one of 40 states with medical marijuana laws. Also new at seven. A tennessee man pleads guilty to a misbranding drug charge in the commonwealth. According to us attorney John Fishwick junior. Cecil mcconnell faces a number of drug related mcconnell could spend up to 3 years in prison and face a 10 thousand dollar fine. Now to a story youll see first on wsls 10. A 40million dollar expansion at the western lab of Forensic Science in roanoke is now complete. The lab analyzes evidence associated with crimes for 185 Law Enforcement agencies. Its the second busiest lab in the commonwealth. Wsls 10s ananda rochita has a look inside the project and has more on how the renovations could help backlog issues. Ananda ananda rochita roanok e expansion at the western lab of Forensic Science is almost complete. This lab is one of the busiest in the state averaging 15 thousand cases a year. Patrick said the extra space allows them to add more than 6 Million Dollars in new equipment. Kevin patrick directo r of western laboratory of Forensic Science 14 20 41 with the ability to add more equipment rather than six examiners working on waiting in lane waiting on an instrumentation we have six pieces so you only the new building will also make room for more examiners. Chad harris, a Laboratory Forensic scientist, says its a relief. Chad harris laborato ry forensic scientist 14 30 00 the new building is definitely a great improvement over our old space its much more spacious so we have room to grow and expand 14 30 07 the lab is also very busy handling the increase in meth related cases. It investigated 278 cases last year and now even designated a specific lab in the new building for meth. Ananda rochita roanok e as part of the renovations, a former Roanoke County school was demolished. However they were able to save 60,000 bricks to serve as benches outside. In roanoke ananda rochita wsls 10. Widespread Power Outages continue to affect nearly 7 thousand people in southwest virginia tonight. There are still more than 250 locations the majority in roanoke city and county without power. Cold house the last two days and resorted to warming up in the car. They bought a cooler to prevent food spoliage. Altogether theyve spent 200dollars on extra supplies and gas. Charles nichols lost power the reason that its not going to be on till friday is fill in the blank. We were not given any kind of answer. Its very frustrating to say heres the problem, but were not going to provide you with what the solution is going to be. State farm insurance tells us food spoilage is typically covered subject to your deductible. Appalachian power says 650 workers are helping restore power for everyone by friday. Turning now to your forecast. Another sunny day for us. And the warmer temperatures are quickly melting the snow. Storm team ten chief meteorologist Jeff Haniewich joins us now. Jeff. What can you tell us about the rest of the night . After last nights clipper system that brought some parts of the mountains mountain empire a light accumulation, it was nice once again to see the sun come back today. And temperatures did warm into the 40s, so the melting continues across the area. But we are still dealing with the ramifications of the precipitation earlier in the week in the form of river flooding. The Roanoke River at randolph is forecast to have moderate flooding, while the dan river at paces and south boston are forecast to have minor flooding. Well keep a close eye on this for you, but any flooding is expected to end any time between thursday struggling with finances is finally back on track. Natural bridge is now caught up on more than a Million Dollars worth of debt. The owners of the Historic Hotel missed their yearly payment of more than nine they also owed taxes to Rockbridge County and various vendors for renovation work. After donating the Natural Bridge caverns to the state. They were able to recoup one Million Dollars in tax credits to help pay off those debts. Theyve also received helped from private donors. Jennifer bell Virginia Conservation Legacy Fund its been a collaborative effort to get everything done. In january and february we were able to receive donations in order to make those payments. For more information on their financial plan. Visit us online at wsls dot com. A local firefighter tells his story after falling two floors in a burning home. Roanoke county firefighters were called to a fire along green hill drive nearly a week ago. Firefighter robert mauck fell through two floors and was caught in the floorboards. Mauck says. His training kicked in and he was able to free himself. Robert mauck, Roanoke County fire fighter i could see around and i noticed in the basement, in the area i was, i could not see any fire. I didnt me. I decided the best thing for me to do at that point was to try to get my own self out. With only bruises to show. Mauck is lucky to be standing. Ironically, his firefighting days are numbered. Hes accepted a new position as deputy fire marshall. Still ahead serving home cooked meals for generations. How the Alleghany County community will remember the the Alleghany County Community Remembers the life of a local legend. She was known simply as granny. And she passed away yesterday at 109yearsold. Store. Her sons say. Generations of locals stopped in to eat her home cooked food and no one left hungry. Wayne averill son when they would come to averills store and everything if they didnt have money enough to buy the food mom would give it to them. Punky averill son shes not known by miss averill, shes always granny to every body. I reckon thats the reason she got the name because she treated every body as her grandchildren. She enjoyed working the store so much she started there in 1941 and didnt stop until 2006 and the doctor made her. And if you have a local story idea for our making a difference segment. Let me know. Send me an email to lwardat wslsdotcom. Or you can message me on facebook. At lindsey ward wsls or call me here at the station. 5405121555. Now a look ahead to a story that jenna more than one hundred local nonprofits want you to give. A look at the first Roanoke Valley gives day. And why they want you to participate. Plus. Heart attack survivors have to make big changes. How quickly you should be getting moving. And the one thing you need to do first. Join us thursday morning on virginia today from 57 am. Right here on wsls 10. Jeff will have another check of your storm team 10 forecast in just a few minutes. Then. Millennials are taking over the Housing Market. A look at the new trends young adults are looking for when Energy Efficiency doesnt pick favorites. It should apply to everyone. Im zach bacon with appalachian power. Im an Energy Efficiency coordinator here in virginia. To me, its all about being able to help our customers learn Energy Efficiency. This partnership with appalachian power allows us to touch more families in this region that really need it. woman when we first moved in, the house wasnt very livable. It had holes in the ceilings. It was very cold. They saved our house. announcer we may be a power company, but the true power in our communities after last nights clipper system that brought some parts of the mountains southern parts of the nrv and mountain empire a light accumulation, it was nice once again to see the sun come back today. And temperatures did warm into the 40s, so the melting continues across the area. But we are ramifications of the precipitation earlier in the week in the form of river flooding. The Roanoke River at randolph is forecast to have moderate flooding, while the dan river at paces and south boston are forecast to have minor flooding. Well keep a close eye on this for you, but any flooding is expected to now to a wsls 10 consumer watch. Millennials the generation of americans between the ages of 18 and 34 are entering the Housing Market in huge numbers. Theyre now the Biggest Group of real estate buyers. Consumer reports tells us what millennials are looking for in a home and how to maximize your if youre selling your home, keep millennials in mind. Theyre 75 million strong and house hunting. Millennials want movein ready. They want to cook in that kitchen from day one and entertain in the backyard that very weekend. Consumer reports says the right renovations can boost your homes value by 35 percent so spend your makeover money where it will count the most. A Consumer Reports survey of more than 15hundred millennials nationwide found a modern, updated kitchen tops their list of ideal home features. And you dont need to spend a lot. For as little as 5thousand dollars, you could add a new suite of stainlesssteel appliances, new flooring, and a new countertop. Youll have a clean, contemporary look that could lead to a three to seven percent bump in the sale price. Have a bigger budget . Think about knocking down a wall. Millennials are also looking for an open floor plan with could increase your selling price another four to six percent. Another good way to add value is by expanding the living space, maybe by finishing the attic or basement. And its always a good idea to use materials that dont require a lot of like countertops made of quartz, which shrugs off heat, scratches, and stains. Also consider ditching dust catching wall towall carpet in favor of durable hardwood floors. And dont overlook the power of paint. A fresh coat, particularly in hightraffic areas, can boost your selling price another one to two percent. With this consumer watch Erin Brookshier wsls 10. The duchess of cambridge tries her hand in news. The Online Outlet shes teaming up with. To raise awareness about awareness. The duchess of cambridge will be a guest editor at the huffington post. This is part of her initiative young minds matter. It focuses on the Mental Health of young children. The duchess writes that Mental Health problems are still taboo even though unresolved mental issues can impact a childs life. The blog will be followed by a series of articles about childrens Mental Health. Heres what you can expect to see on prime time tonight. Thanks for joining us for wsls 10 at seven. Dont forget to join jeff, john, epic coughing fit. What this specialist says hillary needs to know. Theres actually a breathing technique that he says will shut off the cough like a light switch. Then the fake do guy houser. You say youve been practicing medicine without a license . He even has a doctors office. You examined a patient today. And death of a contestant from the bachelor. How they tried to save her life. Plus here they are. The other winners of the largest jackpot in history. Finally come`forward. I lost over ten pounds