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October 23, 2001 by Aspen C. Emmett From opening mail to setting foot on airplanes, the events of Sept. 11 and recent anthrax threats weigh heavily on the minds of many Americans. The heightened awareness has triggered a chain reaction of paranoia, false accusations and hypersensitivity that has been felt across the country, including here in Cortez. Two "suspicious" men wearing turbans and speeding along in a small Datsun truck caused one motorist enough alarm to call the authorities last week and other citizens have reported receiving questionable mail, although there have been no significant findings from any of the reports thus far. The Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office has responded to two reports related to questionable mail and the Post Office called in the Cortez Police Department in one case. "We’ve just had the two incidents where people called in saying they had suspicious mail from an address they didn’t recognize," said MCSO Detective Lt. Kalvin Boggs." One person said they had a letter from Georgia and another person said they had a letter from somewhere else. None of it amounted to anything." Boggs said that authorities never made contact with the two men in the Datsun and added that it was likely nothing to worry about. "It was just a concerned motorist who saw two people wearing turbans," Boggs said. "Again, it didn’t amount to anything." Boggs said the sheriff’s office is complying with guidelines set forth by the health department in the event that there is contaminated mail. "It goes into a plastic bag and you either throw it away, give it to us or turn it in to the health department," he explained. The airport is being manned now by the National Guard, Boggs said, but local law enforcement is not on any sort of alert. The Colorado Attorney General’s office issued a warning Monday, to "people who engage in false reporting chemical, biological or other dangerous-weapon threats or perpetrating actions intended to threaten the lives or well-being of others." "Anthrax hoaxes and other threats will not be tolerated," said Attorney General Ken Salazar. Crimes such as false reporting of explosives, weapons, or harmful substances is a Class 6 felony and punishable by one year to 18 months in jail. Boggs, however, did not want to discourage anyone who feels he or she has a legitimate concern from reporting it to authorities. |
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Copyright © 2001 the Cortez
Journal. All rights reserved. |
