After
the second hazardous material scare in two
months, members of the Hash House Harriers said
Monday they may change their ways.
By
Hurst Laviana
The Wichita Eagle
Members
of a Wichita running club promised Monday to rethink
their practices after their use of flour to mark a
running path through downtown Wichita touched off an anthrax scare for
the second time in less than two months.
Steve
Clark, a member of the Hash House Harriers, said he
and his fellow runners would consider changing the
locations of their runs and the way they mark their
trails after the scare Monday morning outside the
Finney State Office Building.
"We
are concerned about what happened," Clark said.
"We are going to make some changes."
Clark
said he didn't yet know how the group would alter its
routine, but he said he wanted to ensure that the
group doesn't cause any more hazardous materials
scares.
The
Hash House Harriers traditionally begin their runs by
sending out two "hares" who get a 15-minute
head start and use flour to mark a path the rest of
the group must follow. Group members say flour is
used because it is biodegradable.
Fire
officials said that, to some people, the sight of
white powder outside the State Office Building brings
back memories of an August 1998 scare in which
someone claimed to have infected the building with
anthrax. That claim turned out to be false.
Wichita
Fire Department Battalion Chief Rich Harris said
Monday's scare occurred about 10:20 a.m. when someone
called 911 to report a suspicious white substance on
the sidewalk. Harris said the streets were closed for
about an hour until fire officials confirmed the
substance was flour. A nearly identical scare, caused
by the same running group, occurred Dec. 17.
After
the December scare, the Hash House Harriers promised
to contact 911 dispatchers before making their runs.
Clark said the runners failed to alert dispatchers
before Sunday's run.
"Basically
it was an oversight," he said. "Last night
we just forgot." k their trails after the scare
Monday morning outside the Finney State Office
Building.
© The Wichita
Eagle