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Drill readies Ashland for real crisis Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Medford police SWAT team members took part in scenarios designed to simulate a terrorist attack. In this exercise, emergency response teams react to a hostage situation at Southern Oregon University's environmental sciences lab. ASHLAND - A drill that involved a terrorist threat and hostage crisis Wednesday tested this town's ability to deal with an emergency. The drill coincidentally followed the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, said Ashland Fire and Rescue Chief Keith Woodley. Originally planned for spring of this year and then for September, the drill was delayed by an early fire season and the events of Sept. 11. The Ashland Emergency Preparedness Committee considered the possibility that simulating terrorism could incite it, Woodley said, but found that wasn't a valid reason to cancel the exercise. Wednesday was the first time the city had executed a drill dealing with terrorism. "I think we waited long enough after Sept. 11 that people were emotionally ready to deal with it," Woodley said. Citizen volunteers informed residents of the drill by putting up signs and patrolling areas where the exercise's events were unfolding. Ashland police Chief Scott Fleuter tried to minimize SWAT team members' contact with the public, especially children, he said. Simulated emergencies took place from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Southern Oregon University, the Ashland School District office, Ashland Community Hospital, city and public facilities, the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory and the Science Center of Southern Oregon. The forensics laboratory was closed for a short time, but the drill did not affect activities at schools or SOU, Woodley said. The Emergency Preparedness Council is considering performing a countywide drill - possibly a simulated natural disaster - next year, Woodley said. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.