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Local students among those evacuated

By KAREN MCALLISTER
Published May 11, 2005

A group of eighth-graders from Lutheran Church of the Cross in St. Petersburg was among those evacuated from the Capitol grounds earlier today.

The group - 22 students and four chaperones - was on the fourth day of its year-end field trip to Washington, D.C. They were in line outside the Capitol waiting for a tour and a meeting with Rep. C.W. "Bill" Young, R-Indian Shores, when they heard sirens. Police officers then ordered them to head south, said Tim Carlson, a chaperone on the trip.

They walked three blocks and gathered with a "huge crowd of people," Carlson said. The group stayed informed about a small plane entering restricted airspace through a congressional aide's Blackberry and phone calls to relatives in Florida.

"Everyone did well in our group; they just kept moving south," Carlson said. "It all happened very quickly. I was just concerned about keeping the kids together and making sure they were headed the right way."

Police gave clearance for politicians and employees to return to work after about 40 minutes. Capitol tours, however, were canceled for the day. Instead, the students visited Rep. Young's office. And they're working on rescheduling their tour of the Capitol, Carlson said.

[Last modified May 11, 2005, 15:00:18]