Early A.M. News Script

Mon 08-MAR-2010 Early A.M. News Script

-------- The 8:25 News Scripts Follow ------------

1} MCDONALD_VO

Good Morning, Im Judy Simpson,,, Trial is underway for a Vermont man charged with first-degree murder for the beating death of his landlord. 50-year-old Paul McDonald was living in Danville, New Hampshire in 2008 -- when police say he killed his landlord -- Richard Wilcox reportedly as part of a plan to get a new motorcycle. Court records show McDonald assumed his landlord's identity before the murder. Prosecutors allege that after beating the man and slashing him with an axe -- McDonald stole his landlord's truck and traded it for a motorcycle. McDonald claims he was acting in self defense because Wilcox tried to have sex with him. Today the jury will visit the spot where Wilcox was killed.

2} EMBEZZLE_FONT

A worker at Jay Peak is facing embezzlement charges... Police say 38-year-old Jennifer Smith -- a ticket sales clerk at the ski resort -- was reportedly charging customers the normal full price for lift ticket -- but was then giving them a discounted ticket and pocketing the difference. The north Troy resident was released and is cited to appear in Orleans District Court on charges of Felony Embezzlement.

3} NORTHCOUNTRY_FONT

The job market in New York's North Country -- is bleaker than it's been in years. Newly released unemployment statistics show Clinton County's jobless rate stood at nearly 11 percent in January. It's the highest January unemployment rate the county has seen in nearly 20 years. It's up from 9-point-7 percent in the same month last year. Essex County also reported a nearly 11 percent unemployment rate in January -- up slightly from 2009. But it's the highest January rate for the county in 11 years. And in Franklin County -- the jobless rate stood at about 10 percent. It's the same rate the county saw in February of 2009 -- which was the county's worst rate in years. TThose unemployment rates are higher than both state and national figures. However -- retail trade and construction are usually slow in January.

4} MAPLE2_VO

March has brought a welcome change in the weather -- And in Vermont that means maple sugar season is here. Leo Henry is a third generation sugar maker in Alburgh. His Sugar House is off a back road -- a stone's throw from Quebec. Already they've made a hundred gallons of maple syrup. This year he added a key improvement -- a new reverse osmosis system.

5} HENRY_SOT

((Leo Henry/Henry's Sugar House: "It's almost all automatic. Once you set it, it knows when to stop washing and it continues to bring the sugar content at the level you wish.")) ((Kevin Henry/Leo Henry's Family: "it sells itself. You just -- Vermont maple syrup sells, simple as that.")) The Henry's say -- no matter how much they collect and make -- they always end up selling out.

6} WEATHER

Hi gary

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