[JYO] Loudoun On Alert After Terrorists Attacks (Leesburg2day)

Loudoun On Alert After Terrorists Attacks


Sep 11, 2001 -- A state of emergency has been declared by Loudoun County as 
fire-rescue and law enforcement resources are directed to assist in the 
rescue efforts in the wake of today's terrorists attacks. The declaration 
allows the county to tap additional funding as it calls in extra staff to 
help with the disaster relief and security efforts, Loudoun County Fire 
Rescue spokesman Mary Maguire said. Sheriff Steve Simpson said that deputies 
have been deployed throughout the county on a heightened sense of alert. 
There have been no threats of terrorism in Lououn County, he said. The 
Federal Aviation Administration’s Leesburg air traffic control center and 
Dulles Airport are locked down, Loudoun Hospital Center is on full alert and 
all law enforcement and emergency workers are being called to duty as the 
ripples of today’s terrorist attack begin to hit Loudoun. Loudoun County 
Public Schools has canceled all after school activities and afternoon 
kindergarten, but is encouraging parents to leave their children in school 
today. No one will be permitted to enter school buildings without being 
identified. Counselors will be made available to students who have relatives 
working in the Pentagon, where a airplane crashed this morning just after two 
airplanes crashed into the two towers of the World Trade Center. “Right now 
we figure the safest place children can be is in school,” said LCPS spokesman 
Wayde B. Byard. Maguire said they are making preparation and are opening an 
emergency operating center. All fire-rescue staff are being called into work. 
Staff and volunteers have been sent to Dulles Airport and Arlington County. “
I have never had a sick feeling like this before,” said Maguire. Dulles 
Airport and Leesburg Airport have been closed. There are also reports that 
some of Loudoun's largest employers, America Online and WorldCom, which 
handle much of the world's Internet traffic, have evacuated their Ashburn 
offices. Leesburg businessman Brain Devaux, operator of the Mighty Midget 
Kitchen, said he and his wife Robin flew out of Boston this morning, leaving 
just minutes before one of the airplanes that was reportedly hijacked and 
flown into the World Trade Center. The Mighty Midget has established a fund 
at Middleburg Bank to provide aid for victims and their families. Devaux is 
encouraging other businesses to put out a collection jar. Once a national 
fund is established the locally-raised money will be transferred to that 
account, he said. “We were looking at the New York City skyline at five 
minutes to eight. That is a little too close.” American Airlines has 
confirmed that Flight 77 that left Dulles Airport this morning in route to 
Los Angles was involved in this morning's attack. The aircraft with 58 
passengers two pilots and four crew members aboard is believed to have been 
hijacked and crashed into the Pentagon. Relatives are being directed to call 
1-800-245-0999 for more information. Dulles-based Atlantic Coast Airlines 
reported that all its planes are safely on the ground after the FAA grounded 
all flights shortly after 9 a.m. "We are suspending all operations until at 
least 5 a.m. tomorrow and possibly later," said ACA spokesman Rick deLisi. 
The Leesburg Town Council and the Loudoun County School Board have canceled 
their meetings tonight. The Leesburg Town Hall has been closed, according to 
Public Information Officer Nicole Ard. There will be no trash collection 
today. People are not being told to move their cars out of the Town Hall 
parking complex, Ard said. “This is not a good day. We have so many employees 
with relatives in the Pentagon and some in the World Trade Center,” said 
Mayor B.J. Webb. “We’re just trying to get through the day here. I didn’t 
think this kind of thing would happen.” The Loudoun Sheriff's Office has 
established a command center at its office on Catoctin Circle and has set up 
a special phone number, 703-779-0018, to handle citizen's questions. The line 
should not be used for emergencies.

Other related posts: