Staff file photo Fort Detrick hazmat firefighters get washed down following a suspected anthrax incident.

But everything from a half-eaten Twinkie to baby powder discovered in a public restroom was cause for concern in Frederick County where people were still jittery from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks months before. With Camp David and Fort Detrick in the neighborhood, some believed the area was a likely target.

In the New Market incident, a postal clerk noticed that a large white envelope addressed to the White House was stained with an oily substance and called county fire and rescue services.

"That certainly fits in the realm of a suspicious package. I wouldn't question that at all," an FBI agent told The News-Post at the time. The post office was evacuated and the road in front of it blocked off.

Reports of suspicious envelopes at post offices and businesses reached the point that the Frederick County/Fort Detrick hazmat team was called to eight incidents over 10 days that October.

Although reports were taken seriously, it was obvious that officials were getting somewhat weary.

David Reichenbaugh, who at the time was a detective sergeant at the Maryland State Police barrack in Frederick , told The News-Post "We're asking people to use some common sense here. We're having half-eaten Twinkies turned into us, getting calls to restrooms where someone's just powdered their baby's bottom. We can't keep doing this."

Calls to officials ran the gambit of a powdery substance being found in a portable toilet at Colorfest in Thurmont , to a family unnerved after finding an unmarked jar of jelly on their porch.

At the time, Reichenbaugh said MSP ran a "threat-level assessment" after getting calls.

"Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle is a target. The 7-Eleven clerk on U.S. 40 West is probably not," he said.

Police and other officials were not the only ones getting calls during the anthrax scare. At Neoterik Health Technologies in Woodsboro , a company that manufactures gas masks, orders poured in.

Neoterik's Kenneth Vaughan was quoted as saying that many were panicky calls, completely different from the ones they received from painters wanting protection from fumes.

"People are calling looking for assurances and context ... some would say, 'My baby is only 9 months old.' Or, 'My husband is going to New York.' Or, 'I lost 20 friends in the World Trade Center,'" he told the newspaper.

Some businesses in Frederick took precautions with the handling of mail during that time, providing gloves for employees as they opened letters and packages.