By BJ Austin, KERA News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-894745.mp3
Dallas, TX – The Dallas FBI office is asking for the public's help to identify those responsible for sending a "white powder" in envelopes delivered to two Garland School District campuses Tuesday. KERA's BJ Austin reports.
An envelope that arrived at the front office of Ethridge Elementary in Garland contained a suspicious white powder. Police and firefighters were called, and the school was evacuated, as TAKS testing was getting underway.
Reavis Wortham, with the School District, says while they were dealing with that incident a call came in from Armstrong Elementary in Sachse.
Wortham: As soon as we identified the first envelope, we sent an email out to all locations, telling them to be on the look out for an envelope with a specific return address. The school resource officer at Armstrong Elementary identified a letter that he took into his officer, secured it, and contacted responders.
Wortham says that school was also evacuated. Field tests at both schools confirmed the powder was not hazardous. The letters had a "Dallas" return address.
The District is coordinating with the Texas Education Agency about a make-up day for testing at those two schools. Wortham says he cannot speculate if the "powder" incidents were related to TAKS testing.