Anniversary passed quietly for Southern Nevadans

Jace Radke and Keith Paul

Thursday, Sept. 12, 2002 | 10:06 a.m.

Law enforcement remains at a high state of alert in Las Vegas today, but other than a late flight and some skittish nerves the Sept. 11 anniversary passed quietly in Southern Nevada.

Sheriff Jerry Keller said people were a little more edgy Wednesday not only because of the anniversary, but also because of Tuesday's move to the nation's second-highest level of terrorism alert -- code orange.

"It was a day full of emotions as we remember people who we didn't know but (we) remember their sacrifice," Keller said. "I hope that no one overresponds or overreacts, but people want to make sure that it doesn't happen again."

Commander Bill Conger, Metro's head of homeland security, said he heard of the various incidents Wednesday in other part of the country.

"I think they are being really cautious," he said. "It's better to be cautious now than apologize later."

That caution was in evidence when strange behavior by passengers caused Northwest Airlines Flight 979, an Airbus A320 traveling from Memphis, Tenn., to Las Vegas Wednesday morning, to be diverted to Fort Smith, Ark.

Las Vegas FBI spokesman Daron Borst said that it was "business as usual" for the FBI Wednesday, and that there was no credible evidence of a terrorist threat involving Las Vegas.

The Nevada Joint Terrorism Task Force, a conglomerate of personnel from federal and local law enforcement agencies who work together to assess and prevent threats, continues to operate a 24-hour-a-day command post at FBI headquarters today, Borst said.

The command post went into operation Tuesday morning, shortly after the country went to code orange status.

FBI officials said the command post will continue to operate for as long as necessary, and added that after last year's attacks it continued running for several months.

There were no incidents reported to Metro Police relating to any terrorist activity in the area, said Lt. Vincent Cannito, a department spokesman.

The department has taken some extra precautions including increasing security at some of their buildings and stopping citizen ride-alongs with officers, but Metro has not increased the number of officers on the streets.

"We will continue with the measures until Nevada is taken off code orange," Cannito said.

At Hoover Dam the Bureau of Reclamation reported that visitation was down about 20 percent Wednesday. The dam tour was closed and will remain closed until code orange is lowered, Bureau of Reclamation spokesman Bob Walsh said.

At McCarran International Airport security remained tight, and passengers continued to be checked for such items as metal nail files, knives, straight razors and metal scissors. Metro also added three officers to its force at the airport.