Authorities cite overreaction to new threat

On Friday, a Cape Girardeau resident informed police that a letter had come with "white powder" in it.

Could it be anthrax?

On Sunday, Sikeston police and fire department personnel swarmed to the local Wal-Mart, where witnesses reported that a low-flying crop duster dropped a red box onto the store's roof.

Could it be a bomb?

Cape Girardeau police plan to turn the envelope over to the local FBI, though they tend to doubt it is anthrax. Dozens of law enforcement scoured the roof of Wal-Mart and the surrounding area and found nothing.

Two apparent false alarms, but still they emphasize the issue: As American bombs and missiles fall on Afghanistan, bomb scares and anthrax have brought the war home. That has left law enforcement struggling to discern hoax from hysteria while trying to keep in mind the very real possibility of terrorism.

"The fear factor is very real here," said Cape Girardeau police chief Steve Strong. "People are seeing anthrax all over TV, and it scares them. We're dealing with it the best we can. If the terrorists wanted to make us afraid, they're accomplishing it."

Strong said the department has had calls from residents afraid of a possible threat. One was the letter with the white powder. Strong declined to say where the letter came from, but said he was skeptical it was anthrax.

Another call came from a woman on Monday who was fearful of a letter she got from Texas from a religious organization.

But Strong said people need to realize that the threat is not as great in a place like Cape Girardeau.

"People are going to have to use some good common sense here," Strong said. "I'm a little more careful than I was two months ago, but you've got to be reasonable."

Strong said people should consider where the letter is from as well as determine their own risk factor.

"If I were a state or federal elected official and the letter is postmarked Afghanistan, then I would be careful," Strong said. "But if you're a farmer from Crump, like I am, then the threat level is probably not as great."

Firefighters affected

Cape Girardeau fire chief Michael Lackman said people need to educate themselves.

"We need to get this thing under control," Lackman said. "The threat is not as great as people think. People need to know how small the threat really is and not overreact."

Lackman said, while calls from concerned citizens to his department have been minimal, other departments in the country are having service sacrificed while they investigate false alarms.

"People are overreacting to the threat, but we have to respond to the overreacting," Lackman said. "But we still have a lot of other things to do."

Assistant Cape Girardeau fire chief Mark Hasheider said that local law enforcement is educating itself and the public about what anthrax can or cannot do.

"It's getting out of hand," he said. "Hysteria is starting to pick up across the country. Just because it comes from out of state does not mean it's an anthrax letter. Use a little common sense."

Hasheider said that doesn't mean legitimate cases should go unreported.

"If it's serious, we're glad to check it out," he said.

What to look for

There are also a few tips, he said. Suspicious letters should be bagged and thrown away. They can also be rinsed with bleach and water, Hasheider said.

Criminal links

Peter Krusing is the spokesman for the FBI in St. Louis. He said people are overreacting to the threat. The FBI has received a large number of false alarms across the country, he said.

"Just having white powder in a bag or on some book is not enough," he said. "There has to be a factor that indicates there's some link to criminal activity. We're not even picking up letters unless there's some real reason to."

The FBI has developed a new protocol of handling packages and letters with powder inside, he said. He said many bulk mailers place cornstarch inside envelopes to keep materials dry, and the glue on the envelopes can break down and cause a powder-type substance.

As of Monday, the FBI will only accept cases if the letters are mailed from a credible threat source, Krusing said. He said if the source of the letter is a foreign national or the state of New Jersey -- where anthrax letters have been mailed from -- it would be considered a credible source.

Strong said people should continue to live normally. "If you do anything else, they win," he said.

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137