By David Cho
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, February 14, 2003; Page A01

School administrators in the Washington area yesterday stepped up preparations for possible terrorism, and most school districts told parents that they would be prevented, or strongly discouraged, from picking up their children in the event of a biological or chemical attack.

In Fairfax County, Superintendent of Schools Daniel A. Domenech told the School Board last night that he would deploy more security forces around schools, limit parking near buildings and cancel outdoor activities and field trips if the nation's terrorist alert were raised to its highest level, Code Red. He said he also would consider closing schools.

Loudoun County school officials yesterday added a "shelter-in-place" plan against chemical attacks to their usual emergency procedures. Schools would be locked down and signs posted on the doors in Spanish and English saying that nobody would be allowed to enter or exit.

Some schools stockpiled PowerBars and bottled water and handed out duct tape to teachers in case they need to seal windows. Several districts canceled field trips, including one for an Anne Arundel high school that was to put nine students on a flight to London yesterday.

The preparations came amid intensified but still vague warnings of terrorist attacks in the United States. The sense of heightened alert was most visible in grocery stores, where canned goods and water spent little time on the shelves.

The Beltsville Costco sold as much water in one day as it usually sells in six -- three tractor-trailer loads -- and lines at the cash registers were more than a half-hour long at midday.

Employers and government agencies continued to tighten security and make contingency plans.

D.C. police officers pulled over suspicious-looking trucks entering the city, for example, and increased surveillance of government buildings and the homes of top officials.

On Friday, the Maryland Department of the Environment directed nuclear power plants, major water systems and chemical-storage facilities to review their security measures.

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management said the federal government would be open as usual today. On Capitol Hill, members of Congress were told to keep a low profile -- by varying their routines and removing vanity license plates -- and to prepare a "go bag" of supplies and sensitive documents. Staff members were told how to use hoods to protect against biological or chemical agents.

In Montgomery County, police officers have been issued hazmat gear, including gas masks, and two "Bio-Packs" that contain antibiotics for use in a chemical or biological attack. The Bio-Packs -- one of which is to remain at home, one on duty -- contain doses of doxycycline that are to be taken only at the direction of the county's public health officer, said Officer Derek Baliles, a department spokesman.

But much of the concern focused on children. All week, school administrators have met with public safety and public health officials and sent memos and e-mail to parents urging calm and explaining emergency plans. Most of the communications said children would be kept inside in the event of a chemical or biological threat, but the letters varied in the strength of their warning that parents should not try to pick up their children during a lockdown.

District school officials said that children would be kept inside in an emergency but that parents could come get them. "It's parents' prerogative to take care of their kids any way they want," Chief Operating Officer Louis J. Erste said.

In Fairfax, Loudoun and Howard counties, parents are being told not to try to collect their children at school if terrorists strike with chemical or biological weapons. In Montgomery and elsewhere, officials said the kind of emergency will determine what they advise parents to do.

Sometimes, said Arlington County schools spokeswoman Linda Erdos, children are safest in school.

Some districts said regular lockdown drills are planned to prepare for possible chemical attacks -- reminiscent of the "duck-and-cover" Cold War exercises of the 1950s and '60s.

Westland Middle School in Bethesda had its students this week practice closing blinds in their classrooms, locking doors, papering over windows and doors and assembling away from windows. Ninth-graders at Sherwood High School in Sandy Spring have watched a video to prepare them for similar drills next week.

Some schools stocked up on food and supplies, but most districts said there isn't space for much extra. Prince George's County officials said their schools receive food deliveries every five days, and they always have a two-day supply.

Charles County schools spokeswoman Katie O'Malley-Simpson said that since Sept. 11, 2001, all schools have stocked flashlights, batteries, walkie-talkies and weather radios.

Domenech, in Fairfax, said emergency plans are meant to protect children for hours, not days. Still, Janet Johnson, principal of Little Run Elementary School in Fairfax, ordered bottled water for 500 students and staff and changes of clothes in case students come into contact with harmful chemical agents. Each classroom has a roll of duct tape.

"I think about preparations that families are making at home," Johnson said, "and these are my children here."

Caution was the rule in St. Mary's County, where school officials have suspended field trips indefinitely. Great Mills High School teacher Sean Twigg said he dreads telling students they won't be going to a Model United Nations conference in Alexandria.

Northwestern High School in Hyattsville even stopped issuing hall passes yesterday. The halls were so empty that "you wouldn't even think that school was in session," Principal Bill Ritter said.

All the preparation unnerved some parents.

"I was thinking how it's prudent to plan," said Betty Grigg, who has four children in Fairfax schools, "but it's terrible to think that they would be locked down in a school and I would be inaccessible to them."

Montgomery Superintendent Jerry D. Weast promised parents that he would communicate regularly with them and urged them to pay careful attention to their children's emotional health. "We know that coping skills can be taught and encouraged," he said.

Catherine Rizzo, principal of Old Mill South Middle School in Millersville, said the preparations didn't feel out of the ordinary, after the 2001 terrorist attacks and October's sniper shootings.

"It's becoming almost a way of life," she said.

Staff writers Justin Blum, Susan DeFord, Hamil R. Harris, Rosalind S. Helderman, Nelson Hernandez, Spencer S. Hsu, Fredrick Kunkle, Theola Labbé, Vikki Ortiz, Mary Otto, Linda Perlstein, Elaine Rivera and Valerie Strauss contributed to this report.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/printstory.hts/metropolitan/1825138
Houston Chronicle
March 19, 2003, 8:49AM

Schools ready for emergencies

Area districts tell parents not to pick up children during lockdowns

By ZANTO PEABODY and RUTH RENDON
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle
Steve Campbell / Chronicle

Duct tape has replaced duck and cover as the official warning call of wartime, as educators from Kingwood to Galveston are preparing their schools for the worst -- a gas or chemical attack. Last week, as the threat of war loomed closer, principals began sending notes home to parents: "We're as ready as we can be for war. If terror hits, leave your kid with us." The Houston Independent School District told parents not to pick up children in case of an emergency.

Superintendent Kaye Stripling gave that instruction and a few others in a letter to parents last week, before the national terror alert was raised to orange. Stripling and others have said an attack on a local school is unlikely. Nevertheless, campuses have added to their security practices following every major episode of campus violence.

The shooting at Columbine High, the D.C. sniper and the disintegration of the World Trade Center brought into focus the vulnerability of the nation's campuses. Some schools had nothing more than a fire drill before the 1999 Columbine killings. Now plans include sealing off buildings to block out biological weapons.

HISD's current policy addresses more than 33 specific emergency situations, including that of a choking child. Eric Andell, undersecretary in the U.S. Department of Education, recently told a group of teachers that security soon may become the primary new concern for schools. The department announced last week that $30 million is available this year for schools to beef up emergency preparedness and another $30 million is proposed for next year. As Bebe Pinter of the Harris County Education Department put it, "There really has been no standard for what a safe school is."

Pinter, manager of the department's Center for Safe and Secure Schools, said the county began developing standards in 1999. Instead of duck-and-cover drills, Pinter said, educators now do role-playing games in which one teacher acts as a terrorist and another as a victim. "They practice ways to control the situation," Pinter said. "We can't just say, `Be ready for terror.' We have to be ready for what that means, any bad emergency or crisis. Instead of preparing for the generic word `terror,' we have to prepare for a building blowing up or someone starting a fire or something like that."

Pinter's office has enlisted the help of the FBI and corporate security specialists to develop plans for 450 schools in the county, accounting for more than 700,000 students. The buzzword on campuses as terror warnings proliferate is shelter-in-place, a modern variation of the bomb shelter. But instead of running into a fortified structure, school officials lock all the doors to the buildings, shut windows and turn off the ventilation -- the industrial-strength version of duct tape and plastic wrap. During the lockdowns, no one is allowed in or out. That is why Stripling and her counterparts advise against parents trying to pick up their children during an emergency.

Hilbert Bludau, HISD assistant superintendent for school support services, said a sealed-off building would protect students in bad weather or violent situations, as well as when contaminated air is a threat. "This city is criss-crossed with pipelines, tanker trucks and petrochemicals," said Bludau, who as a principal locked down Key Middle School in east Houston in 2000 when a rail car leaked noxious gas. "We will have more times to use the shelter-in-place in normal times than we hope to have in war times."

In addition to the lockdowns, Bludau said HISD, whose policy predates the county department's, uses a mass e-mail to alert schools of trouble. The district has approved spending $100,000 for emergency radios that can connect all schools simultaneously. Suburban districts likewise have been telling parents what to expect with increased alert status nationwide. In Galena Park, Superintendent Shirley Neeley sent a letter to all students, parents and employees with information on the district's response to a crisis situation. "I know these are trying times due to the imminent threat of war with Iraq and speculation of possible terrorist attacks on the United States of America," Neeley said in a letter written both in English and Spanish. The letter was sent after the country's alert status was elevated to orange, the second-highest level designated by the Department of Homeland Security.

Staci Stanfield, a district spokeswoman, said the increased level of alert issued last month led school officials to remind parents and the community about the importance of shelter-in-place and the procedures. "What we wanted was to reiterate the importance of shelter-in-place, the lockdown and those definitions to our community. We deal with those issues a lot. We're very good at shelter-in-place and very good at lockdowns because of our location close to the Ship Channel," she said Monday. "We are accustomed to that."

Galena Park officials also distributed posters that explained the security measures. The red-and-yellow posters were given to schools, day-care centers, churches and businesses, Stanfield said. In Clear Creek, Superintendent Sandra Mossman said schools will be equipped with bottled water and other necessities "in the event of a shelter-in-place order." Mossman said it is "very unlikely" that security precautions would have to be taken. "However, we want you to know that school personnel are prepared and your children will be cared for appropriately should an unforeseen problem occur," she wrote.

I have heard about this before. When I was in the Guard, we were told that we would be doing "security" at the exits in town, basiclly keeping the citizens from leaving during Martial Law. I know the email below sounds kind of far fetched, but THINK about the real message here. IT IS NOT GOOD to go to ANY public building and put yourself on a list. Basically you're surrendering yourself to whatever they want to do with you. And if you think that all of you can walk away after signing up, you're seriously mistaken!

If Martial Law is started, the best thing to do in most cases is to EITHER leave your City as soon as possible, or if you intend on staying in your home and holding your ground, HIDE your vehicle well and AWAY from your house and secure the windows and doors well enough that people can't break in (even with a batting ram.)

I'm NOT signing up anywhere, nor does my Son go to public schools anymore so that is not a issue. Do what you have to do to get out and away as fast as you can! I would say to keep gas in your car (even fill up at every chance) and keep enough fuel in it to get as far away from a City as possible. And as I have ALWAYS said, find a couple of routes to use as exits from your city with as little as possible major intersections. And NEVER chose one that has a bridge or major highway. You won't be allowed to use them to exit your City! During our training, we were told that the highways would be closed to Military/Law Enforcement/UN traffic only.

And if you are NOT familiar with what PACMARS are, go to yahoo and do a search and familiarize yourself with what they are and while you are mapping out your routes out of town, actually drive each route to make sure that there's not construction nor a closed bridge, etc...and while you're driving EACH route (as a drill) be careful to check the backs of EACH sign for PACMARS and write down the angle and numbers/letters that are on them. Make a list with EACH sign and what it shows on the back and when you get home look up what the PACMARS mean. Using that info, you may be better able to choose an exit route that would be less traveled and this safer.

Please don't excuse this as paranoia. It could save your life and when Martial law comes down, it will MUCH too late to do this then.

You can pass this along to others if you want.

Just be careful and vigilant. Get a police scanner if possible (a used one at either your local pawn shop or online from a Ham Radio Operator) and get it programed as soon as possible with you local frequencies.

Store up batteries and pick up one of the cheap solar battery chargers (used on ebay if possible) so you can listen to it without worry of loss of power, etc. Because stopping my the local convienence store on your way out of town to opick up batteries is not a smart move.

Be safe and think clearly. Try to be non observed and get out as soon as you can. The first 10 minutes is the best time, because the exits all shouldn't be manned by that time. Hince, you should have a plan, bug out bag, some food and scanner/radio.

Godspeed!
~CL

<< >From : Patriot573@cs.com
[TexasConstitutionalMilitia]

Warning:Don't Register with FEMA at Post Office

Your children will be essentially held as hostages by the US gov/military, to be used as bait to bring parents to school to register for the MARTIAL LAW/NEW WORLD ORDER agenda, or to be ARRESTED AND TAKEN AWAY Under NO circumstances should parents be sending their children to public schools under major terror alerts, etc.

I have already reviewed reports and photographs of military contingency exercises, in which military helicopters landed on schoolyards, entered the schools, ousted the teachers, and took over the classrooms. They then explained to the children what was happening.

PARENTS WERE THEN CONTACTED TO COME AND PICK UP THEIR CHILDREN.

IF THEY ARE ON MAJOR PICK-UP LISTS (such as FEMA's infamous "RED-BLUE" lists to be taken away to the camps and terminated.)

Children prove to be a POWERFUL TOOL OF PERSUASION, and most parents would do ANYTHING to GET THEIR CHILDREN BACK! SO BEWARE!!! Also, under a MARTIAL LAW/state of EMERGENCY, do NOT report to your LOCAL POST OFFICE to be REGISTERED! My friend Brian, a former SECURITY GUARD with Cheyenne Mountain's NORAD high security underground base in Colorado Springs, warned me that HE WAS ONE OF THE MILTARY OFFICERS TRAINED TO REPORT TO THE US POST OFFICES UNDER MARTIAL LAW. He told me that once there, as people reported to register under MARTIAL LAW/NATIONAL EMERGENCY declaration, their names would be searched for on FEMA RED/BLUE (and similar)PICK-UP LISTS. Those on various pick-up lists would then be taken away to waiting vans or busses, and taken away to nearest detention centers/detention camps to be dealt with accordingly (in many cases, terminated.)

He admitted how he was taught to deal with the "unruly resisters" (terrified people who go to the post offices only to find their names on the lists and seek to escape.)

"We were trained to place one bullet in the back of any resister's head if they offered resistance at the post offices."

This also goes for ANY OTHER LOCATIONS BESIDES POST OFFICES WHERE PEOPLE WILL BE REQUIRED TO REPORT IN A STATE OF MARTIAL LAW.

===== HOMELAND SECURITY ADVISORY
This transmission screened prior to receipt by addressee pursuant to applicable sections of the USA PATRIOT Act

Greetings Folks:

Compare this story that I just received from Pastor Butch Paugh with the story, "Your children to be held as hostages". It is okay you can go back to your TV show, your children will be okay in a FEMA concentration camp. If you have never seen the movie entitled, "Red Dawn" now may be a good time to watch it. Yep! Your children will do just fine in a FEMA concentration camp! Be sure to kiss them good-bye tomorrow morning, it may be the last time you will ever see your children. SELAH!

If the nation escalates to "red alert," which is the highest in the color-coded readiness against terror, you will be assumed by authorities to be the enemy if you so much as venture outside your home, the state's anti-terror czar says.

"This state is on top of it," said Sid Caspersen, New Jersey's director of the office of counter-terrorism.

Caspersen, a former FBI agent, was briefing reporters, alongside Gov. James E. McGreevey, on Thursday, when for the first time he disclosed the realities of how a red alert would shut the state down.

A red alert would also tear away virtually all personal freedoms to move about and associate.

"Red means all noncritical functions cease," Caspersen said. "Noncritical would be almost all businesses, except health-related."

A red alert means there is a severe risk of terrorist attack, according to federal guidelines from the Department of Homeland Security.

"The state will restrict transportation and access to critical locations," says the state's new brochure on dealing with terrorism.

"You must adhere to the restrictions announced by authorities and prepare to evacuate, if instructed. Stay alert for emergency messages."

Caspersen went further than the brochure. "The government agencies would run at a very low threshold," he said.

"The state police and the emergency management people would take control over the highways.

"You literally are staying home, is what happens, unless you are required to be out. No different than if you had a state of emergency with a snowstorm."

http://www.southjerseynews.com/issues/march/m031603e.htm#

March 9, 2003 -- The city has a mass evacuation plan ready that includes sending people to sites such as baseball stadiums and racetracks if an exodus is necessary - but you won't know where or how to go until disaster strikes, The Post has learned. With war in Iraq looming and a retaliatory attack in the Big Apple possible, the city's Office of Emergency Management says it's prepared to clear out any section of the city that may come in harm's way.

But OEM Commissioner John Odermatt said details of the post-9/11 plan, including emergency escape routes, cannot be released until any attack occurs.

"Because evacuation plans are event-specific, we don't pre-identify routes for citizens, simply because you may be endangering their safety," Odermatt said.

In the event of an attack, the OEM says people should not try to flee on their own, but should stay in their homes or offices and monitor radio broadcasts for details of the evacuation. The Post has learned that elements of the New York plan include:

* "Reception centers" citywide where people would be directed to go for further information, first aid, and to be assigned to shelters operated by the Red Cross, if needed.

Sites include Yankee and Shea stadiums, and Belmont and Aqueduct racetracks.

* Several warehouses in secret places around the city are packed with supplies such as electric generators, water, food and tools. A mobile command bus also stands ready.

* Vaccination centers in the event of a smallpox or other bioterror attack.

The OEM and the city Health Department "have plans in place for mass vaccinations and medication should it become necessary," Odermatt said. Under those plans, the city would send teams of health personnel to schools and other sites to assess and treat potentially thousands of people within hours.

The city has stockpiled Cipro, an antibiotic used for anthrax, and other medications, including anti-radiation pills, sources said.

* Steering the flow of people and traffic.

Among possible steps, traffic direction on some roads, highways and bridges may be reversed to move vehicles out more quickly. As on 9/11, ferries could be pressed into service. Subways could be closed if they are deemed a terror target.

It's unknown whether restrictions will be placed on the use of cars, particularly in Manhattan.

Despite the planning, police sources admit there's the likelihood of gridlock and chaos. "I don't know how you're going to evacuate the city without panic erupting throughout New York, New Jersey and Connecticut," one source said.

* A system to instruct people in danger zones how to evacuate safely - and whether to leave by bus, subway, car or foot.

City officials met with local radio and TV station personnel about two weeks ago to discuss hooking into the federal Emergency Alert System. Under the system, city officials could broadcast messages on virtually all local stations within minutes.

Where IS Bobby?

George W. Bush is visiting an elementary school and announces to the class, "You can all ask me questions."

A boy named Bobby raises his hand and says, "I have three questions for you":
1 ) How did you win the election with less votes than Gore?
2 ) Isn't it true that you want to declare war on Iraq in order to get their oil?
3 ) Why hasn't the U.S. caught Osama Bin Laden yet?

Then the bell sounds and all the kids run out to the playground.

Fifteen minutes later the kids come back to class and again Bush says, "You can all ask me questions."

A boy named Charlie raises his hand and says, "I have five questions for you":
1 ) How did you win the election with less votes than Gore?
2 ) Isn't it true that you want to declare war on Iraq in order to get their oil?
3 ) Why hasn't the U.S. caught Osama Bin Laden yet?
4 ) Why did the bell go off 20 minutes early?
5 )

Where's Bobby?

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