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Stewart building evacuated for white powder

FORT STEWART, Ga. — Authorities evacuated a building after the discovery of a white powdery substance in an envelope at a school classroom at Fort Stewart on Thursday.

Military police said only that an “incident” was being investigated, according to post spokeswoman Nancy Gould.

A person attending a class at the school said she was told that field tests initially were positive for anthrax. Such tests have been known to produce false positive results.

The Fort Stewart public affairs office issued a statement, saying: “The Sgt. 1st Class Paul R. Smith Army Education Center here had to cancel classes this evening when an unknown substance was found in the building. The building was evacuated and all safety measures were taken as a precaution. Two teachers, two students and an education center employee who found the substance went through a decontamination process and medical evaluation and were released on scene. The incident is under investigation by law enforcement.”

A woman attending a class at the school told the Coastal Courier in Hinesville that she and about 40 other people were inside the building at about 4:30 p.m. when she was told an envelope containing a white, powdery substance had been found in an upstairs classroom.

“The manager came downstairs and got all the directors from all the different colleges and said there was an emergency and they needed to guard all doors,” Frenchie Jones told the newspaper.

Jones asked the manager about the emergency and was told about the envelope and the field tests.

Jones said people in the building were detained for more than an hour, and as she left she saw five people being taken to a decontamination area, a yellow tent surrounded by people in white suits.