TV station shuts down after threat

Jace Radke and Eric Leake

Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2004 | 11:04 a.m.

KTNV Channel 13 went without its usual morning newscast today as a result of a Tuesday morning evacuation of the station prompted by a suspicious powder in a hate letter.

Jim Thomas, vice president of communications for the Journal Broadcast Group, which owns the station, said the substance had not been identified. He did not know when employees would be allowed to return to their offices at the ABC affiliate.

"We're in the process of cooperating with the authorities, and they were instrumental for us today," Thomas said Tuesday. "Once we get the results back we'll have a better idea. We don't know exactly what the timeline is."

A station receptionist opened an envelope with an Oregon postmark on it and inside found a brown powder, Channel 13 officials said.

Thomas said the receptionist was treated for exposure by a hazardous materials team.

The powder was found about 10 a.m., and Metro Police and the Clark County Fire Department responded and closed the building at 3355 S. Valley View Blvd., near Desert Inn Road, authorities said.

The substance will be sent to Reno, where it will be identified by the state health lab, Metro Police spokesman Jose Montoya said.

The lab in Reno is currently the state's only reference level lab, and in the past substances have had to be shipped to Reno from Las Vegas for identification. Reference labs require vacuum sealed rooms to contain dangerous materials.

Clark County Fire Department spokesman Bob Leinbach said that the valley's hazardous materials team conducted on-scene tests of the substance and decided that it needed to be sent to Reno for identification.

The powder must be sent to Reno because the Southern Nevada Public Health Laboratory in Las Vegas is operating at a sentinel level, a level below reference, while it waits for federal Centers for Disease Control certification.

Sentinel labs can conduct presumptive tests to rule out dangerous substances, but cannot perform the specialized tests used in reference level labs to confirm exactly what a hazardous substance is, Clark County Health District officials said.

Officials say they are hoping to have the $2.3 million Las Vegas lab certified as a reference level lab, with the capability to identify dangerous diseases and bioterrorism agents, within the next two months.

The lab, located at a confidential location near the Charleston Boulevard interchange with Interstate 15, has the same capabilities as labs at University Medical Center and other hospitals while operating at a sentinel level.

Channel 13 moved its operations to the local WB affiliate, Channel 21, after the studio was shut down. The station was able to produce newscasts from there Tuesday night.

"The folks at KVWB were kind enough to help us out. It was a tremendous offer on their part, and actually all the stations in the market called us with one offer or another," Thomas said.

"I think it shows a lot of character for everybody in this market."

Thomas said that people at the station were surprised by the letter, but regrouped and were able to put together broadcasts "more or less from scratch."