City block closed by white powder

Two teaspoons of baby powder closed Fountain Square Mall for an hour and a half Tuesday afternoon. \nPolice and firefighters cordoned off the building after an employee of Finelight Marketing, 101 W. Kirkwood Ave., found suspicious white powder in an envelope shortly before noon. Authorities did not let shoppers or employees enter during the ordeal, nor did they allow 40 to 50 people on the third floor of the mall, where the powder was found, to leave.\nThe Bloomington Township Fire Department's Hazardous Materials Response Team, clad in plastic suits and filtered respirators, tested the material for the presence of the infectious bacteria Anthrax and other known dangerous chemical and biological agents. The tests concluded with 99.9 percent certainty that the substance was talcum powder, said Bloomington City Fire Department Deputy Chief Roger Kerr. The hazardous materials response team's spectroscopy equipment was even able to narrow the substance down between two brands -- Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder and Goldbond Medicated Powder, said Bloomington Township Fire Department Chief Faron Livingston.\nEmergency vehicles blocked off West Kirkwood Avenue between South College Avenue and South Walnut Street while the police, firefighters and security guards prevented people from coming to or going from Fountain Square Mall.\nFirefighters gave the evidence to Bloomington Police Department detectives, who are now trying to track down the person who sent the envelope. The envelope came with a "rather obscene" but nonthreatening note, said BPD Sgt. David Drake.\nKerr said the envelope and its accompanying letter came from New York state. BPD Finelight Vice President for Human Resources Kathy Shepley said the envelope was returned to the company from one of its direct mailings and that it was not directed at a specific employee. Finelight views this as an isolated incident, she said.\n-- Staff Writer Sarah Core contributed to this report.