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Medford police on high alert for terrorists By MARK FREEMAN A clean and well-dressed man in his late 20s walked a dog north on the bike path near East 10th Street in Medford about 10 a.m. Sunday, but the man's dark complexion and oddly focused expression gave one passerby enough of the willies to call police. Instead of politely telling the caller thank you like they did in the days before Sept. 11, Medford police officers Sunday instead gave it a case number, wrote up a report and passed it among officers at the next police briefing. "That tells you something about the difference between then, and now," Medford police Lt. Mike Moran said. "It may be absolutely nothing. But we're documenting these kinds of things a little more now than in times of less crises." This is the new look of "heightened awareness," when law-enforcement agencies in the Rogue Valley and across the country move to their highest levels of alert in anticipation of more terror attacks at home. As American and British bombs fall on terrorist strong-holds half a world away, local police are keeping their eyes and ears tuned to the Rogue Valley in search of anything unusual that just might be part of another attack on America. Jackson County Sheriff Bob Kennedy says police have identified some "potential sympathizers" to terrorist Osama bin Laden in Jackson County. "But whether they try anything here," Kennedy says, "is anybody's guess." FBI officials said there were no specific threats, but urged all local law enforcement agencies to move to their highest level of alert, and "be prepared to respond to any act of terrorism or violence." To Oregon State Police troopers, that means keeping on hand an international list of names of potential terrorists and their associates so troopers can cross-check it against people they come into contact with during their normal course of business. "Obviously, we're looking for anything that could pop up and we're trying to identify suspicious things," OSP Lt. Dan Durbin said. "But right now, we're pretty much out doing our job as usual." Jackson County officials have added new layers of security at an already tightened Medford airport, where airport director Bern Case said the upgrades are "nothing the public would be aware of" and he was not willing to share them Monday. But the airport did get Federal Aviation Administration approval Monday to re-open its rent-a-car lot after the vehicles were inspected, Case said. And public access continues to be denied to Lost Creek dam and the dam's powerhouse, which are also getting OSP patrols. In Medford, uniformed officers are getting more information than normal at their regular daily briefings. Patrol officers are keeping an extra eye out for communications centers, utilities, transportation hubs and for suspicious activity around any large gatherings, Moran said. Officers are also getting reminders about ecoterrorists and anti-government terrorists who might use the current climate as an opportunity to send their message with violence, Moran said. "We're not forgetting about those potential threats either," he said. Police are also keeping in regular contact with local FBI agents, yet still find time to coral their usual cache of criminals. "There's no hiatus for the criminals," Moran said. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.