Is it harmless ?Forwarded by Flying Booger
Powder Mystery Solved
By William Hermann and Christina Leonard
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 10, 1997
Phoenix police and firefighters will remember it as "the Mystery of the
White Powder."
The call came about 10:30 a.m. Monday. A citizen alerted the Phoenix Fire
Department that Daisy, his golden retriever, became ill after eating white
powder off a sidewalk in the Moon Valley area, near Ninth Avenue and
Thunderbird Road.
"The man told us his dog sniffed and licked the stuff and came back in the
house and vomited," Division Chief Terry Garrison said. "The guy put two
and two together and figured there might be something very wrong with that
white powder."
The firefighters hit the street. Those first at the scene found a daunting
sight: White powder all through the neighborhood.
It was deposited in odd, arrowlike stripes on the sidewalks, and a breeze
had apparently scattered it onto lawns and landscaping stones.
"Our people said, 'Hey, this could be hazardous material. We better take
some precautions,' "Garrison said.
The fire department sent 12 big fire engines to the scene, carrying a total
of about 60 firefighters.
The Phoenix Police Department sent eight motorcycle officers, one
motorcycle sergeant, one motorcycle lieutenant, two field officers, one
field sergeant, one detective and a public information officer, a spokesman
said.
The cops closed off an area of about 2 square miles. Children at the local
elementary and middle schools were kept inside. Neighbors were warned not
to get near the mysterious white stuff.
Some firefighters gathered samples of the powder. Most sat for hours under
the shade of trees and firetruck umbrellas, navy blue T-shirts soaked with
sweat from the 106-degree heat.
Some chatted with nearby golfers.
Some complained.
Many cheered when the fire department's "goody" truck showed up, stocked
with fresh Gatorade and trail mix.
One local resident emerged from his house, gazed around in wonder, and
asked police who had been murdered.
Television news reporters reported the white powder crisis as their 5 p.m.
lead story on at least two stations. It led the 10 p.m. news on most
stations.
The fire department called in a hazardous-material company to vacuum up the
substance. Children were removed from harm's way and driven home on buses
or by worried parents.
Finally, at 11 p.m., the six men operating the huge vacuum cleaners were
finished. The firefighters and the cops packed up and departed. Residents
went to bed.
And as they slept, an anonymous caller to the fire department solved the
mystery of the white powder. Garrison said it was a woman who declined to
leave her name.
"She said she was with a jogging club, and they had put flour on the
sidewalks Saturday to mark where people were supposed to jog in an event
they had," Garrison said.
"She said she was real sorry, and hung up."
- Copyright, The Arizona Republic
Update from Flying Booger:
At 08:01 PM 9/10/97 -0700, RC Mounter wrote:
>Flying Booger - I'm guessing that by now you are probably reading this on
>you lap top computer whilst awaiting arraignment on god knows how many
>felony charges. You've been in Phoenix for how many days now?
>So have you identified the hasher who eventually called the fire dept to
>let them in on the shocking details of the "toxic powder"? I hope she used
>a pay phone.
My Esteemed RC,
By now you've probably heard the all-too-predictable aftermath - a live
hasher (E. Bunny) came forward to be interviewed, the city fathers want
payment for services rendered, and the dog owner is planning on milking the
situation for all it's worth.
What had me concerned is that early on, before Energizer squawked ident,
the reporter - apparently on her own - traced the powder to the hash house
harriers and had enough connections to track down a Phoenix hasher. I
don't know who that hasher was, but he or she mentioned my name. The
reporter called my wife in Las Vegas and got my work number in Tucson. All
this in the space of one afternoon. I am *so* glad I didn't return that
reporter's call!
Let's get the hash back underground where it belongs!
On On, Flying Booger
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* How is My Paranoia? Call 1-800-LOOK-OUT! *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
p.s. I wasn't even there . . . this time!
Another update by Just Flossing:
There is a few people now who want us to pay for the HazMat clean up (around
$10,000US).
Also the owner of the dog that "got violently ill" has suggested that we pay her
for restitution.
Our GM (Energizer Bunny) was actually interviewed on local news programs. We
should have the interviews on the net soon...
On On
Just Flossing
PH3 (Phoenix H3)
PDH3 (Poison Dog H3)
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