New security alert makes few changes

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Law enforcement and city officials in Missouri, already operating under a heightened state of alert, plan few changes following the latest nationwide terrorism alert.

Several residents and at least one private security agency said the recent warning from Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge means little to them, since they didn't make any changes after the attacks and have no plans to do so.

Ridge said the FBI put 18,000 law enforcement agencies "on the highest alert" Monday because of threats culled from intelligence sources across the globe.

"We went to a heightened state of alert and security on September 11th, and we have not backed off of that," said Mike Karl, emergency manager for Kansas City.

He said the city will maintain the heightened state of alert until there is some indication that the potential for a terrorist attack has diminished.

"I don't see that happening for years," Karl said.

Maj. Anthony G. Ell, commander of the special operations division of the Kansas City Police Department, said he would ask the public to be more aware of the people around them when they are near government buildings or attending large public events. And he said people should continue to follow the guidelines the United States Postal Service put out after the initial anthrax exposures.

Police at Lambert Airport in St. Louis consistently test security with undercover officers. Employees who challenge the officers, who try and access secure areas without identification, are rewarded with $20 and other items, including tickets to St. Louis Cardinals and Rams games.

Airport police Maj. Sharon Gaines said the police at Lambert are always on a high level of alert, but the occasional word about a new threat helps keep the department on task.

In Dexter, Mo., a town of 7,356 at the top of Missouri's Bootheel region, people do feel a degree of safety because they don't live in a major metropolitan area, said Bill Pippins, Stoddard County's emergency management director. Still, he said police and other "first-responders" have made an effort to keep their guard up and review procedures and potential targets since Sept. 11.