THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, June 8, 1995 TAG: 9506070175
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SUSIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
June 2 could have been called ``Freaky Friday'' - the type of day that made some wonder whether the calendar really said June 13.
Here is a recap of some of the eerie day's unusual events at the Municipal Center:
About 9:30 a.m.:
Seven prisoners in a second-floor holding cell await Circuit Court appearances. One removes his clothing, stuffing it into a toilet in the cell and continuously flushing it until water floods the room.
About 10 a.m.:
Treasurer Ronald H. Williams, in a meeting below the holding cell, sees water pouring through the ceiling and down the walls.
About 11:17 a.m.:
A caller tells police, ``There is a bomb in the elevator.''
The fire alarm sets off an evacuation of the two-story building as firefighters and police secure the building and seal off the area.
11:50 a.m.:
Fire Battalion Chief L.E. Taylor directs activities from a red pickup, the command vehicle marked by a blinking green light on top. A State Police bomb expert is checking the building, he says.
12:25 p.m.:
A city employee has retrieved lawn chairs from her car trunk and sits with friends beneath a tree in the nearly deserted parking lot across the street.
While waiting for friends to bring them lunch, they recall another evacuation three weeks earlier when the fire alarm malfunctioned.
``That fire alarm taught us a lesson,'' one of the women says. ``I came out without my pocketbook then, squinting in the sun.''
12:45 p.m.:
A fireman walks up, toting a yellow and red Igloo water cooler and offers the women some icy water.
``I'll fill you up, then come back around with a refill before I leave,'' says the volunteer water boy, passing out small paper cups.
12:51 p.m.:
The bomb expert walks outside and signals ``all clear.''
The watching women begin returning to the building, soon joined by others returning from fast food restaurants.
1:03 p.m.:
A customer in the treasurer's office hears about the bomb threat and appears unnerved.
``I'm going on out,'' she says, quickly slipping out the door.
1:20 p.m.:
Eugene Evans, a robbery victim who had been waiting to testify in court, walks along the shaded sidewalk and waits for court to reconvene at 2 p.m. ``They just told us to go outside and across to the other side of the street,'' says Evans, leaning on his four-pronged cane.
5:03 p.m.:
Police report that an 18-year-old had been arrested and charged in connection with the bomb threat. He is taken to Western Tidewater Regional Jail on the felony charge. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by MICHAEL KESTNER
City employees wait in lawn chairs Friday while a member of the
state police bomb disposal unit leaves after checking the Municipal
Center.
by CNB