Wednesday, September 12, 2001
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Wednesday, September 12, 2001 |
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Terrorism hits home to Fayette residents By JOHN MUNFORD
Local reaction to the news of the alleged terrorist attacks throughout the country Tuesday morning hit home at Melear's Restaurant. Magistrate Court Judge Kenny Melear was "concerned" but not worried about his granddaughter, Holly, a former Fayette resident who is stationed at the Bethesda Naval Hospital near Washington, D.C. where the Pentagon offices were attacked. Holly Melear is a dental technician at the National Naval Dental Center there, the judge said. A phone call to the office where Holly Melear worked Tuesday afternoon confirmed that she was just leaving the office after 1 p.m. Melear tried to contact her earlier in the morning, but he couldn't get through because all phone circuits were busy. He had last spoken to her Sunday, and everything was fine with her, he said. Melear said he has been worried about the nation's lack of military preparedness, particularly in light of military budget cuts that have taken place over the past few years. "It's a terrible thing," Melear said as news accounts flowed through the speaker of a TV set behind him, next to a photo of his granddaughter in Naval dress uniform. "Many lives are lost today." David Prince of Fayetteville said he believes the government has let the military cutbacks "go too far." John McLucas, a Fayette County native, said he hoped whichever group was responsible for the attacks "had made their best effort already." "I don't think there's a group large enough to pull off a military strike nationwide," McLucas said. "But that remains to be seen. ... I'm concerned." Ink Bundy, a Fayetteville resident for 30 years, said she hopes President George Bush "does what he has to do." "You can't prevent it, I guess," she said. "But I hope he does whatever he can and I'm sure he will."
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