Minus a few CD collections, there is no anthrax in DeKalb.

That fact hasn’t stopped paranoid residents from reporting suspicious packages to police.

DeKalb police Lt. Jim Kayes said they have received two calls from residents who thought they received anthrax through letters.

In the first incident, police say a man found a pile of greeting cards in his car, and in the second incident, a resident became frightened after she received an advertisement from a phone company. This caused both residents to call police, fearing they might have come in contact with anthrax.

“People are scared right now,” Kayes said. “They need to relax and use common sense. Most people targeted have been in the media and government … It would be unusual to target DeKalb.”

There have been no incidents reported at NIU, University Police chief Donald Grady said.

Grady added, people who have heard anything about instances at NIU have fallen victim to a rumor.

The situations reported to DeKalb police were handled properly, Kayes said, and should there have been any real threats, they would be ready for that, as well.

To ensure that officials around the county were prepared, a meeting was held Thursday bringing together officials from DeKalb Police, University Police, DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department and health officials from around the county.

“We got together to make sure we’re all on the same sheet of music, and we’re prepared to handle anything,” Grady said.

Grady wants the campus community to know they shouldn’t fall into the trap of being so afraid that they immobilize themselves, and he ensures that campus leaders are doing a fine job of dealing with any fears stemming form the Sept. 11 attacks.

“We’ve done all we need to do to ensure people on campus will be safe as they can be,” Grady said.