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- Nov 9, 1999
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Troops to Guard Groundhog Punxsutawney Phil
PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. (Reuters) - Troops will be deployed in a small Pennsylvania community in February to guard a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil, which each year attracts huge crowds of people who believe the animal can forecast the weather.
``We just never know what may pop up in these times, so we are getting prepared,'' said Jamie Levier, a spokesman for the state police in Punxsutawney, a rural community about 90 miles (144 km) northwest of Pittsburgh made famous in a movie called ''Groundhog Day'' that starred Bill Murray.
A team of state police, bomb-sniffing dogs and National Guard troops will be stationed near Gobbler's Knob Feb. 2 to ward off problems at this year's Groundhog Day festivities.
Levier said all knapsacks will be hand checked by police and spectators will not be permitted to drive to the groundhog site. More than 100 school buses will be available to transport people. All passengers will be inspected as they enter the buses, Levier said.
Bill Cooper, president of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, said he expects more than 30,000 spectators at this year's forecast event. If the groundhog can see its own shadow on that day, winter will last another six weeks before spring, according to legend.
In the past 116 years, the rodent and its ancestors have seen a shadow 101 times.
``There was only one year we did not have the event and that was in 1942 because we did not want to give our World War II enemies any favorable weather forecasts,'' Cooper said.
Although some local residents had thought about canceling the event because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, Cooper said that city leaders felt the event would show the world the nation's ``resiliency.''
``Everything has changed in America, but Groundhog Day is one way of showing the world we are getting back to normal,'' said Cooper. ``Still, I guess having a groundhog who eats strawberry yogurt may not sound very normal, but it does put a smile on a weary nervous town and nation these days,'' added Cooper.
PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. (Reuters) - Troops will be deployed in a small Pennsylvania community in February to guard a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil, which each year attracts huge crowds of people who believe the animal can forecast the weather.
``We just never know what may pop up in these times, so we are getting prepared,'' said Jamie Levier, a spokesman for the state police in Punxsutawney, a rural community about 90 miles (144 km) northwest of Pittsburgh made famous in a movie called ''Groundhog Day'' that starred Bill Murray.
A team of state police, bomb-sniffing dogs and National Guard troops will be stationed near Gobbler's Knob Feb. 2 to ward off problems at this year's Groundhog Day festivities.
Levier said all knapsacks will be hand checked by police and spectators will not be permitted to drive to the groundhog site. More than 100 school buses will be available to transport people. All passengers will be inspected as they enter the buses, Levier said.
Bill Cooper, president of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, said he expects more than 30,000 spectators at this year's forecast event. If the groundhog can see its own shadow on that day, winter will last another six weeks before spring, according to legend.
In the past 116 years, the rodent and its ancestors have seen a shadow 101 times.
``There was only one year we did not have the event and that was in 1942 because we did not want to give our World War II enemies any favorable weather forecasts,'' Cooper said.
Although some local residents had thought about canceling the event because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, Cooper said that city leaders felt the event would show the world the nation's ``resiliency.''
``Everything has changed in America, but Groundhog Day is one way of showing the world we are getting back to normal,'' said Cooper. ``Still, I guess having a groundhog who eats strawberry yogurt may not sound very normal, but it does put a smile on a weary nervous town and nation these days,'' added Cooper.