Barnesville evacuated for suspicious packages - WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

Barnesville evacuated for suspicious packages

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September 20, 2002

(Barnesville-AP) -- Downtown Barnesville will be reopened within the hour. The small middle Georgia city has been evacuated since this morning while police investigated a few suspected bombs.

Nine suspicious canisters were found, but none were found to contain explosive devices. The canisters forced businesses to evacuate in a three- to four-block area of the city, about 50 miles south of Atlanta.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation Rusty Andrews says if the devices are hoaxes, they "Have certainly been fixed up to resemble live explosive devices." The devices all looked the same. Witnesses describe the devices as cylinders that had wires and size-C batteries sticking out.

An annual arts and crafts fair -- Barnesville Buggy Days -- is scheduled to begin tonight and draw up to 60,000 people. The police chief says there are no plans to cancel the fair at this point. Barnesville has about 6,000 residents.

updated at 3:55PM by dave.miller@walb.com