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So far this morning, a handful of parents have called and asked to pick up their children from

Tuesday, September 11, 2001


So far this morning, a handful of parents have called and asked to pick up their children from elementary school.
"I think that is overkill, but we have no objections to it," he said.
At Champion High School, principal Thomas Harrison said classroom televisions were turned on after the second plane struck the World Trade Center.
Harrison said he will get on the public-address system late in the morning and ask pupils to pay their respects for the dead.
Also, he will assure pupils not to become concerned because this area of the country is not a target.
Harrison said people will always remember where they were when the attack was initiated, in the same way many recall the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
At Warren G. Harding High School, most students spent the morning glued to televisions that are in most classrooms. An announcement was made at 10:40 a.m. that the attacks had taken place.
Reaction varied. Teachers say some students began crying when they heard the news.
"Some are afraid, and some have relatives and know people who work in New York and who may have actually been in the buildings when it happened," said principal Bill Mullane. "Some are really afraid, and some are not sure if what they see is real or not."
Others were unaffected.
"It has nothing to do with me; it is way far from here," said Kamyi Tursack, a senior.
Visited center: "The first time I saw it, I thought it was a bad joke," said Peter Ullmann, a senior exchange student from Germany.
Three weeks ago, Ullmann was in the World Trade Center.
Joseph Johns walked into his third-period class and saw on TV that one of the buildings was on fire. Soon after, he saw another plane crash into the building.
"It didn't seem real," he said. "I was hoping it was just computer generated."
It still hasn't sunk in, Johns said. "It won't for several weeks."
After the news got out, security guards stopped traffic in and out of the school parking lot. Only parents picking up their children and people making deliveries were allowed through.
"The people say it brings them back to World War II," said Todd Hughes, a security guard at the school. "A lot of them say they are going to church like they did [then]."
By noon, about 15 parents had picked up their children from the high school. Students weren't released because of questions about where they would go, he said.
Closures: The federal courthouse in downtown Youngstown was evacuated shortly before 11 a.m., and all Youngstown and Mahoning County government buildings were closed shortly after.
Duzzny said all county offices will be closed at least through today.
"We don't know about tomorrow yet," he said. "We're trying to everyone calmed down, and the best way we can do that is to get everyone home."
Tall buildings: An employee for Baker & amp; Hostetler in downtown Cleveland reported that some of the city's tallest downtown buildings were being evacuated in that city this morning out of concern.
In downtown Youngstown, Cambridge Management closed the 12-story Stambaugh Building, one of the city's largest, at about 10:30 a.m. today. A spokeswoman said officials decided to close the building because some local school districts were allowing parents to pick up their children from school. The closing was not related to a concern about attack, she said. The Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber of Commerce is located on the top floor of the Stambaugh building.
Gary Roberts, president of Metropolitan National Bank, said late this morning that there were no plans to evacuate the bank's 17-story building in downtown Youngstown.
"I think probably for major cities, it makes sense," he said.
There had been no requests from any government officials to evacuate.
'I was shocked': People at Niles Municipal Court monitored television reports of the moment-to-moment details of the carnage.
"I was shocked," said Paul Lawrence, clerk of courts, who learned of the attack shortly after it occurred. "I couldn't believe it when I first heard it, and the more I heard, the more unbelievable it became."
Sherri Chalker, head of security at the court and a McDonald police officer, agreed.
"It makes me think of the way security is here and how we have to better it," she said.
Chalker, of Niles, also worried about the proximity.
"It's too close for comfort," she said.
Her mother and stepfather returned late last night from a conference in New York City, and Chalker talked to her this morning. The building where the conference was conducted is right across the street from the World Trade Center.
"She's really breathing a sigh of relief," Chalker said. "She's scared."
Nick Terbovich of Lordstown, who was at the court this morning when he heard of attack, worries about terrorism filtering into schools around the country.
"It's just devastating," he said.
North Perk Cafe, downtown Warren, was empty after the news of the attacks this morning, with employees clustered around a radio at the front counter.
"It seems like everyone's gone home today," said Holly Zoba, the cafe's owner, who moved from Washington, D.C., a year and a half ago.
Traveling: She's still planning a weekend trip to the nation's capitol.
"They win if you [cancel]," she said. "But I'm sure I'm not going to go visit the White House."
Others say they're canceling even local trips.
Glen Wells, a 21-year-old delivery boy at North Perk, said he had just found out about the attacks but that he wasn't surprised.
"I don't know what's going on, but it's all scriptural," he said. "The end of the world is what it's all about."
Jen Ladon, 19, of Struthers, said, "It's the first thing we [our generation] have lived through that's really bad that's happened." She is concerned that if a war results, she and her friends would get drafted.
She mentioned that something similar to the tragedy might happen close to the Valley. "Cleveland is an hour away," she said.
Diana Davis, 22, of Canfield, said she prays that the firefighters she saw rescuing people on television would be safe, adding, "I'm praying for everybody." She added that she was afraid to travel through the air and that "I'm not going to to New York for a while."
Both work at the Koffee Korner in Canfield.
Ted Wellendorf, 46, of Canfield, said he wasn't sure what to make of the disaster. "I've never seen anything like this."
Nancy McPeak, an employee of the Trumbull County Educational Service Center, said she had just gotten off the phone with her 20-year-old daughter, trying to persuade her not to take the risk to drive from her home in Cortland to Kent State University today.
"Our nation is under attack," she said.