Wednesday, October 17, 2001

Schools get jitters about airplanes; packages checked By JOHN MUNFORD jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com Authorities were called to several biohazard scares Monday, including a scare at the Jenkins Road school complex of an airliner flying overhead with an odd-colored jet stream Monday afternoon. Witnesses said that the a substance was seen in the air looking like cobwebs, said Maj. Bruce Jordan of the Fayette County Sheriff's Department. The investigation revealed that the airliner was flying high overhead and was not emitting a substance, Jordan said. Melinda Berry-Dreisbach, spokesperson for the Fayette County School System, said the incident occurred when some students were on buses in the area. Students were taken back to their respective schools, and each building's air conditioning and ventilation systems were closed in accordance with the schools' emergency plans, she said. After authorities gave the all-clear, the students were released to their normal after-school activities, Berry-Dreisbach said. The sheriff's department also investigated between 8 and 10 reports of suspicious packages Monday night, Jordan said. None of the suspicious packages warranted further investigation, Jordan said. One of the packages was a sample of seasoning salt, he added. What do you think of this story? Click here to send a message to the editor. Back to News Home Page | Back to the top of the page