Quiet near B-2 bomber's home

Label hed: Business as usual

By Scott Charton ~ The Associated Press

KNOB NOSTER, Mo. -- It was business as usual Sunday in this town near Whiteman Air Force Base -- the home of the B-2 stealth bombers used in the attacks on Afghanistan.

Residents ordered pizzas, lunched at local cafes and watched football in taverns while only occasionally discussing the bombings delivered half way around the world by planes based close to home.

Base spokesman Capt. Brett Ashworth said the base remains in a heightened state of security adopted after the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

"The mood here today is no different than if you would visit on any other day," Ashworth said.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfield said in Washington that 15 land-based aircraft, including B-2s from Whiteman, were used Sunday in strikes against terror cells in Afghanistan and its ruling Taliban militia.

Tough night of sleep

At the Panther Steak House in Knob Noster, the regular customers arrived for lunch at about the time the bombing began. The dining room TV was tuned to the news, and the cook was working despite a rough night of sleep.

Planes "kept going and going last night," said Saturn Elod, who lives right next to the base. "I cannot count them. I had to take Nyquil to go to sleep."

Elod, from the tiny Pacific-island nation of Palau, said her house shakes when the stealth bombers take off. The 37-year-old said she is afraid of terrorist retribution living so close to the base.

"But then again, I don't really think about it," she said. "If they were going to do something, I'd be the first to disappear. But you have to go sometime."

A handful of patrons sat by the bar at Patrick's Restaurant, said owner Jerry Kruse. The bar's two TV sets were split between football games and the news.

Kruse said his customers were not talking much about the bombings. A former airmen, he said he supports the decisions U.S. leaders have made in the fight against terrorism.

"Something's got to be done about it," Kruse said. "I'll back them on it 100 percent. They have 100 times more information than I'll ever have."

Business was strolling at its normal Sunday pace at Spiker's Pizza and Pub Sunday, said manager Ashley Epperson. The pub's TV was locked on football.

The 17-year-old's father, Sgt. William Epperson, loads bombs on B-2s at the base. She said he's been "pretty quiet" about what his planes have been up to.