Local mail security a high priority

By Staff
Oct. 28, 2001
Clarence Butler, coordinator, Lauderdale County Emergency Management Agency
It's hard to feel safe when something as routine as collecting your mail carries the risk of spreading anthrax, but being alert to "something that looks wrong" is sound advice in these uncertain times.
Clarence Butler is right to share as much information as possible about suspicious letters and packages so that local residents are informed. All of the national officials dealing with the anthrax scare from the president to New York's mayor to the Centers for Disease Control to the FBI and Postal Service have similar messages, and there is no telling how much the risks have been reduced simply because people know more about the problem.
This is a time when the lack of information could be lethal.
We encourage local officials to continue sharing as much information as possible  not to frighten anyone, but so that we all have the benefit of the very best available information on the suspicious letters or packages now under investigation.