Anthrax Scare Hits Campus Area Office

A package addressed to freshman Sarah Pickle, a McIver Residence Hall resident, was ripped and had powder spilling from it, said office assistant Maia Ellis.

Ellis, who discovered the package Sunday night, followed instructions she had previously received and separated the powder from the package with a piece of paper and called the University police.

After being inspected by officials, the package turned out to be a CD that Pickle was expecting, and the powder turned out to be packing material. "I did not really think it was anything dangerous, but I was just taking precautions," Ellis said.

Pickle said she entered an online contest about three weeks ago at http://www.splendidezine.com and knew she would be receiving a CD, but she did not know exactly when it would arrive. She said she was not concerned about the package's threat. "It was pretty bizarre that they would send me a package that they suspected would contain anthrax."

But Pickle said she thought officials handled the situation responsibly. "I think they were good about taking the right precautions."

Peter Reinhardt, director of the Department of Environment, Health and Safety, helped determine that the package was not dangerous. "We took it here, and the next day (Pickle) called our office," Reinhardt said. "Sure enough, it was the CD she was expecting."

The policy for dealing with suspicious packages is to send a police officer and an EHS official to examine it, Reinhardt said. The recipient is then contacted to ascertain whether the package is a threat to anyone's safety. "If it's a credible threat, the police will forward it to the FBI, but we have not had a credible threat yet," Reinhardt said.

This is the first suspicious package to be reported from a residence hall on campus, Reinhardt said. As a result, EHS officials sent an e-mail to all campus employees instructing them to call the police about any suspicious packages.

The post office in the basement of Student Stores already has been taking precautions against anthrax or other potentially dangerous mail.

Nick Weaver, an employee of the post office, said employees are more strictly enforcing previous regulations. "Any package weighing over 16 ounces has to be accompanied by a University ID," Weaver said. "It's an old postal regulation they are just now enforcing."

The Student Stores post office is not the only institution sticking to this rule, Weaver said. At other post offices, identification, such as a driver's license, is needed to mail larger packages.

Weaver said the exact reasons for the changes are not clear. "Whether a decision was because of September 11 or not, we never know," he said. "Pretty much what you all hear on the news is what we have been told."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.