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County prepares in case of terrorist attack

By Rose Hooper
Anthrax meeting William Henigbaum of Sylva, left, conductor of the Western Carolina Civic Orchestra, plays a violin duet with his eldest daughter, Cathy Arps, also of Sylva. Henigbaum, a professional violinist for 66 of his 80 years, performs with the Asheville and Hendersonville symphonies and the Brevard Chamber Orchestra and teaches advanced violin students. The Civic Orchestra, composed of musicians from Jackson, Macon, Haywood, Clay, Graham, Swain and Bumcombe counties, will present its fall concert Sunday, Nov. 4, at 3:30 p.m. at the new Swain County Center for the Arts (next to Swain County High School). The program will feature a number of Arps's Suzuki violin students. - Herald photo by Lynn Hotaling We may not have to plan for terrorism in our county, but we have to plan for it elsewhere ­ like Atlanta and Charlotte - because those people will probably come to the mountains for safety.

That was the consensus expressed by Jackson County law enforcement personnel during the Community Dialogue on Terrorism held Nov. 1 at Southwestern Community College.

"If a large area like Atlanta is hit, people there could be contaminated and might try and flee to the mountains. We are on heightened awareness for that," said Sheriff Jim Cruzan. "If that happens, wešll have to determine just how open we want our borders to be."

Locally, law enforcement have heightened security at Glenville Dam and the Jackson County Airport, the sheriff said.

County health department director Randall Turpin said he felt the county's water supply would be in good shape, even in case somebody tried to contaminate it.

"Our source is the Tuckaseigee River, and we already have filters in place that pull out bacteria," said Turpin, pointing out that the health department has dealt with communicable diseases for the past 80 years. "If harmful chemicals are added to the stream, we have holding tanks that test the pH value... so wešd know chemicals were in there before they got released."

One of the best things about the heightened awareness, said county emergency services coordinator Mike Ensley, "is how well this county is working together."

Cullowhee Postmaster Ron Story said, "Our chances of getting anthrax are rare, but that doesn't mean we don't need to be prepared." Postal employees are wearing gloves, washing every two hours, and can wear masks if they choose, Story said.

Microwaving mail does not kill anthrax spores, the audience learned. If anyone receives suspicious mail at home, they should take it to the first response unit, not the hospital, Ensley said.

Also during the evening, Dr. Ken Gilligan gave a presentation on anthrax, an acute infectious disease caused by spore-forming bacterium. He explained the three types, cutaneous (skin), inhalation and intestinal, and the three treatments, Cipro, Doxycycline and Amoxicillan.

Emergency and law enforcement personnel had investigated seven suspected incidents of anthrax in the county as of Nov. 1. None proved to be the real thing, Cruzan said. The last investigation was at Western Carolina University where someone had discharge a fire extinguisher into a studentšs vehicle.

"It was a sick joke," said Cruzan. "But we have the authority to prosecute a hoax, just like the real thing."

School Superintendent Mack McCary said the schools had, and would use, that same authority.

The Community Dialogue on Terrorism was presented by Community Health Link.

Back to Archive: 11/08/01.