Posted on 11/16/2001 1:24:02 PM PST by nicholle
Hi All. Just indulging in my morning fix of Fox News when a 15 second story about planes spraying an area in Tennesse ran. I immediately logged on to Freep, certain that it would have been posted here before it hit the news, but I found nothing. I have been searching for an online source, but to no avail. It is not on the Fox website. Anyone else see this on Fox News? Still searching for a source.
And authorities deemed the material harmless.
A quick synopsis...The material found by the residents of a 180 home subdivision was determined by authorities to be harmless....Two airplanes were sighted in the area at that time....the governor of tennessee quarintined the area and the resident were either locked in their homes are prevented from entering while authorities checked...The FBI is also involved....
What was concerning was the location of of Clark Tennesse which is the location of Ft. Campbell, home of the 101st Airbourne.......reported that the subdivision "sprayed" was were a lot of their dependants live......
The all clear was given this A.M. but the authorities are still searching for the two planes, which were picked up by the AWACS.....
NeverGore
A quick synopsis...The material found by the residents of a 180 home subdivision was determined by authorities to be harmless....Two airplanes were sighted in the area at that time....the governor of tennessee quarintined the area and the resident were either locked in their homes are prevented from entering while authorities checked...The FBI is also involved....
What was concerning was the location of of Clark Tennesse which is the location of Ft. Campbell, home of the 101st Airbourne.......reported that the subdivision "sprayed" was were a lot of their dependants live......
The all clear was given this A.M. but the authorities are still searching for the two planes, which were picked up by the AWACS.....
NeverGore
Come on Sam, comments like that dont breed hysteria! ;)
I have a friend here in North Florida who is an EMT and works for the hospital and fire department. He said its all day, every day that they get totally ludicrous calls about, "I saw whte powder her, I saw white powder there". He says its not jokes or pranks usually, is dimwits being scared by hysteria. For example, phone call came in with person saying, "There is white powder on the floor in the men's bathroom at the mall". Of course, instead of taking two minutes to discover that the maintenace crew had been working on the drywall, some idiot calls the authorities.
NeverGore
The answer to this question is important because if the number of these incidents has increased, then what runs through my mind is "Practice runs." If it's just that these incidents are being reported on more frequently, what runs through my mind is "paranoia".
Powder Causes Scare In Neighborhood
Some Clarksville residents were given a bioterrorism scare Thursday afternoon.
Around 5:30 p.m. residents in three neighborhoods found suspicious powder in their yards and two planes flying low overhead.
Fearing a bioterrorism attack, police and FBI were called to the scene.
A helicopter from Fort Campbell was dispatched to investigate the planes. The helicopter pilot reported back that there was nothing suspicious about them.
Officials cordoned off the area. People already at home were told to remain inside. People returning home were not allowed into the area.
A total of 179 homes were affected.
Initial tests on the powder showed negative for anthrax. A larger sample was sent to a lab in Nashville where tests showed the powder was not a biological agent.
Police found out there was a controlled burn in the area. An officials said the powder looked like fire ash.
The Red Cross helped set up food and shelter while residents waited to go back home.
The scene was cleared and people were allowed to return to their homes around 1 a.m. Friday.
The FBI is still investigating.
==============================
From The Nashville CBS Affiliate:
Just AlGore getting rid of the toxic waste at his zinc mine!
Subdivisions closed by anthrax scare
White powder reported dropped from planes over Ringgold area CHANTAL ESCOTO The Leaf-Chronicle
A white, granular substance reportedly dropped by one or two small low-flying aircraft Thursday evening covered homes, cars and streets of the Northwind and North Park subdivisions, preventing residents from leaving or returning to their homes.
Initial tests showed that the powder -- similar in appearance to potash -- did not contain anthrax, officials said. Clarksville Fire Department and hazardous materials crews collected about 100 grams of the substance so more tests could be conducted by state laboratory personnel.
Nearly 180 homes were blocked off, but the area most affected was the Timberline Place and Grassmire Court area, police said.
This is the second time the FBI has been called to investigate this type of threat in Clarksville since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The first incident was Oct. 12 when envelopes containing powder -- later determined to be harmless -- were found taped to two automatic teller machines.
On Thursday, residents of the affected area were told to turn off their heating and air conditioning units and stay inside to make sure the powder didn't spread. Family members trying to return to the area of Ringgold Road, 101st Airborne Parkway and Fort Campbell Boulevard were turned away and told to assemble at Grandpa's outdoor store on the boulevard. Later, Ringgold Elementary School was set up as a temporary shelter.
Director of Schools Sandra Husk came to the school and said a determination on whether to close the school would be made at about 4 a.m. today, similar to the procedure for a snow day.
Mayor Johnny Piper came assess the situation because of the potential contamination of so many residents.
"Our No. 1 concern is to guard people's safety," Piper said. "This is different from the other threats because of the method in which it was delivered. We're doing everything we can."
The report of the powder was received by 911 just after 5:30 p.m. After police did an initial investigation, fire officials, county and city hazardous materials teams and other emergency crews responded. Then police blocked off the questionable areas. Officers used a public address system to broadcast information and went door-to-door warning people about the potential threat and telling them to stay in their homes.
"It does concern me that our city residents have to go through this and be confined to their homes," Piper said.
The mayor estimated the area would be shut down until about 10 a.m. today.
Fire Chief Mike Roberts said although the substance tested negative for anthrax, it could still be dangerous. "There appears to be a lot of substance. We don't know what it is until it's tested, but it could be an organic phosphate or pesticide."
Investigators are trying to determine the type of aircraft that flew over the subdivisions and are working with Fort Campbell and Outlaw Field Airport officials.
Police Capt. Bob Davis said at least one of the planes was detected on Fort Campbell's radar. "We're hoping between now and daylight they'll be able to tell what (the substance) is," Davis said. "This is very serious and that's why we called in the FBI."
Chantal Escoto covers Fort Campbell and can be reached by phone at 245-0216 or e-mail her at chantalescoto@theleafchronicle.com
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