When Assistant Town Clerk Freida Rhinehart saw a caked up, white, powdery substance fall from a batch of letters at Waynesville Town Hall, she alerted her bosses. Immediately, fire and emergency officials locked down the building, going into a series of procedures that have become common among emergency personnel in Western North Carolina over the last few weeks. It took a couple of hours before town hall opened.

“Police locked us down, and they cut off the heat,” said Waynesville Town Manager Lee Galloway.
Waynesville Fire Chief Bill Fowler said the substance turned out to be paper residue, but it was sent to Asheville for testing by that town’s technicians. Galloway said Rhinehart and anyone else opening mail at town hall now wears gloves and a mask, a common practice as fears about the possible spread of anthrax have multiplied since it has been discovered in several locations around the country.

Police around Western North Carolina say they were responding to a dozen cases a day when anthrax was first reported a month ago. Reports are slowing down, but the fear is still widespread.

Maj. J.P. Gallardo of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department said they have investigated several suspicious reports.

“We have not had any hoaxes where people actually intentionally sent any powdery substances, but we have gone out to where people were suspicious about items that in the past they would not have worried about,” said Gallardo.

Capt. Bob Scott of the Macon County Sheriff’s Department said that law enforcement agency has investigated as many as 14 calls about anthrax in a single day. He too said there have not been any hoaxes.

“We go out, collect them and take the items away,” said Scott.

On two occasions emergency officials suited up in biohazard suits.

Scott said law enforcement officers realize that they are the first line of defense for the public, and so they have worked to educate themselves and come up with a set of procedures for investigating anthrax calls.

“We formed a committee with the health department, the hospital, emergency management officials and law enforcement early on,” said Scott. “We meet every two weeks to make sure we know what everyone is doing. ”

Waynesville Police Chief Bill Hollingsed said his department is investigating at least two “hoaxes,” where mail with white powder was received by different individuals. He said the cases are being given a high priority.

“We are investigating these right now,” he said.

Hollingsed said it is an educational process for police and the public right now. For instance, a couple of people have brought suspicious mail into the police station. He said people need to realize that transporting a suspicious material could lead to more contamination.

“We are getting more comfortable with the protocol for investigating these incidents, but it is something that we are all having to learn about and train for,” said Hollingsed.

 

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The Smoky Mountain News