Suspicious white powder found in letter to Courier

June 7– When Courier reporter Thad Mitchell received a letter at the newspaper this morning that contained a suspicious white powder, the Hardin County Emergency Management Agency was prepared for the situation.

The local EMA last year received a Homeland Security grant of $65,000 that allowed the county to purchase a computerized testing unit that in just minutes identified the substance as Gold Bond Foot Powder.

It was the first time the sophisticated testing machine the size of a small suitcase had been put to actual use since its acquisition, according to Hardin County EMA Director Melvin Martin.

"I know that 99 percent of these incidents turn out to be hoaxes," Mitchell said, "but as Melvin was putting the powder into the machine, it was a tense couple of minutes."

Addressed to Mitchell, the letter may have come from an inmate at the Whiteville Correctional Center in Hardeman County. The medium security state prison is managed by Nashville-based Corrections Corporation of America.

The letter, purported to come from a representative of the "Adamite American Revolutionary Army," did not threaten Mitchell or the newspaper, but warned that the Memphis city water supply would be "blessed" with spent nuclear fuel rods from Oak Ridge.

It also warned of a biological attack on Memphis via anthrax, smallpox and Ebola disease, plus an assault on the electrical grid.

The letter specifically identifies Memphis television station WMC-TV-5 in Memphis as a "target" and closes with the sentence, "Andy Wise, RIP." Wise is the news station’s investigative reporter for consumer issues.

The Savannah Police Department was notified and the criminal matter is under investigation.

The Courier also advised the WMC-TV newsroom of the incident.