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September 20, 2008

Live bomb donated to Battle of Plattsburgh Association

By RYAN HUTCHINS

PLATTSBURGH -- A Civil War-era bomb that may have a live fuse was found this week among several items donated to the Battle of Plattsburgh Association.

Keith Herkalo, the city clerk and the association's president, brought the item to the City Police Department Friday.

"As long as you don't do something stupid, it's relatively safe," Herkalo said of the explosive.

Officers still took precautions, closing Pine Street for about an hour while the bomb was secured at the department. The Stafford Middle School was not evacuated, but students weren't allowed to leave through the rear exits.

Officers spoke with an ordinance disposal specialist from the U.S. Defense Department, according to a police department news release.

"It was discovered there was no immediate threat of explosion," the release says.

Police will store the item until Monday when the Defense Department is scheduled to remove it.

The explosive is a Bormann-type cannon ball about the size of a softball. The bombs were shot from cannons and exploded in the air, sending ball bearings raining down on the enemy.

"If you don't know what you're doing, you definitely don't want to play with it," Herkalo said.

A city woman donated the bomb, and two other cannon balls from the War of 1812, to the association last week, Herkalo said. With the Battle of Plattsburgh last weekend, he hadn't found time to examine the items until this week.

Prior to the bomb being given to the police department, Herkalo kept it secure in his van, he said.

The woman who donated the items had them in her home for years, Herkalo said. "Her interest was to make sure these cannon balls got into a museum," he said.

Herkalo hopes that the ordinance disposal unit will be able to defuse the bomb so it can be put on display, possibly by the Clinton County Historical Association. The two cannon balls that appear to be from the War of 1812 will likely be displayed by the Battle of Plattsburgh Association.

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