Attack On America
5
RMSH
Police on High Alert
Continued from Page 4
“That’s where Mr. Doll is
now.”
Pretty soon, all the admin
istration was walking around
the hallways on their two-way
radios. They were telling
everyone to get back in the
rooms. They seemed to have
a look of uncertainty in their
eyes. The time was 10:29am.
We all watched the TV as we
heard Tom Brokhaw say that
the North Tower was about
to collapse. Pretty soon after
that, we watched the TV
show the world famous
skyline of Manhattan change
forever, along with thousands
of people’s lives. Dust and
smoke got thicker to the point
we couldn’t see what had
happened, but then we say
that the second tower of the
World Trade Center had
collapsed.
It was about 10:30 now,
and from here on out, every
thing was just a blur to me.
Three students were on the
floor hugging each other and
saying a prayer. Another
class came in and looked at
the TV screen to see what
was going on. One student
came in saying “I can’t
believe it. I just can’t believe
it,” over and over. He then
looked up and crossed himself.
At about 10:45am, the
reports began to be confusing
again. They were reporting
that a fifth plane had struck
near Camp David, the Presi
dential Retreat in Maryland.
This, too, was proven a
misconclusion. It was also
reported that the plane that
went down in Pennsylvania
was near Pittsburg, not
Philaphedia
It was 10:55am. second
period was almost over. The
school finally got the cable
hooked up to the Channel One
televisions. Mrs. Martin and I
were making sure everyone
knew that channel the cover
age was on. By this time, it
was 11:10am, and time to
change to third period.
I ran to third period, since
I really wanted to get this
story started for the paper.
Most of the staff agreed with
me. We watched the news
coverage constantly, and I
was online keeping track of
new developments.
We worked the whole
period with no real time
connection. I got permission
from my fourth period teacher,
Mrs. Mosley, to go to another
room and watch the coverage
to keep track of what happed.
Governor Mike Easley
made an address at 2:15pm
and told North Carolinians that
we were safe. He also said
that military bases in NC were
on high alert.
The time was 2:50pm, and
the last bell rang. We all left
for the day. Parents eagerly
awaited their children to
return. News coverage
continued for a week straight.
The school was back to
normal by September n*, but
we will most likely never
forget the “Day of Infamy” of
our generation.
If you would like
to share your
stories of this
tragady, please let
us know.
Law enforcement agencies all
across the United States have
recently been placed on full alert.
Although Rocky Mount has not
been threatened by terrorists,
local police are taking
precautions. I asked Officer
Conger at RMSH , “What are
local police doing after the alert
was put out?” He said “Police
are mainly concerned about
negative public speaking against
Arabic people.” Anthrax has also
caused a huge scare across
America. Officer Conger said
“The public does not need to be
worried about the anthrax
because it is treatable, and it is
unlikely to be found in Rocky
Mount.” He also stated that it is
uncertain if the hijacked planes
are related to the anthrax cases.
If a terrorist attack ever came to
Rocky Mount, Officer Conger
said he “would immediately
calculate the number of people in
danger and get as much backup
as possible.” Although the
likelihood of a terrorist attack
coming to Rocky Mount is
unlikely, we can still feel safe
under the protection of our local
police department.
Senior
Classrooms
Skortly
After tliese
Attacks