Three Dover officials say they’ve found a serious homeland security threat to
chew on: gumballs.
They worry the colorful round treats could be poisoned by an enterprising
terrorist who sees them as bait for unsuspecting targets — young kids.
So, with the approval of the mayor and the skepticism of the police chief in
this central Morris County town of 18,000, the three aldermen are in the middle
of a nine-month inspection of Dover’s coin-operated gumball and candy machines.
Thus far, they have surveyed 103 local businesses about their machines.
Led by Alderman Frank Poolas, who envisioned the project and enlisted the aid
of fellow Aldermen Jack Delaney and Michael Picciallo, the trio began their
investigation six months ago and plan to report their results to Mayor James
Dodd Jan. 1.
Already they say they’ve discovered more than 100 unlicensed coin-operated
machines in town — many filled with gumballs, jawbreakers and other candies they
call perfect for potential terrorists.
The security threat should be “looked at seriously in light of what has
happened so far,” said Poolas. “Someone who wanted to do harm really could.”
However, Police Chief Harold “Butch” Valentine said the police department has
no reason to believe terrorists are even contemplating contaminating candy.
“We’ve never received any information to the contrary. The gumballs are
safe,” he said.
The odds are remote that candy machines would be targeted by terrorists, he
added. “You’d probably win the lottery first,” Valentine said.
Thomas Zellman, director of the Morris County Department of Law and Public
Safety, agreed that gumball machines are “certainly not” a threat to homeland
security.
I was not impressed at all by Alberto Gonzales' testimony yesterday. He does not illicit any confidence or respect. Surely with the pool of lawyers we can do a lot better than this.
I know I'm going to get a lot of flak about this, but I don't see why news shows (like Fox) continue to treat American Idol episodes as "news".
I guess I'm so jaded that I expect to see more news about what is going on in the world (besides Iraq) instead of how cruel Simon was to some poor girl. I mean who really cares about Simon?
