FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - Fighter jets were training nearby the night
dozens of Stephenville-
The announcement did little to satisfy residents of Texas dairy
country who swear that what they saw in the sky Jan. 8 was no airplane. Some
said it even bolstered their claims, because several people reported seeing at
least two fighter jets chasing an object.
``This supports our story that
there was UFO activity in that area,'' said Kenneth Cherry, the Texas director
of the Mutual UFO Network, which took more than 50 reports from locals at a
meeting last weekend. ``I find it curious that it took them two weeks to 'fess
up. I think they're feeling the heat from the publicity.''
Officials at the
Joint Reserve Base Naval Air Station in Fort Worth initially said none of their
planes had been in the area, but on Wednesday they said 10 F-16s were there that
day. The officials said they were mistaken and wanted to set the record straight
``in the interest of public awareness.''
Maj. Karl Lewis, a spokesman for the
301st Fighter Wing at the base, declined to comment on the nature of the
military training or say whether it took place on other days.
Lewis had said
earlier this month that residents might have seen an illusion caused by two
commercial airplanes and reflections from the setting sun. On Wednesday, he said
he should not have speculated about the reported sightings.
From
well-respected business owners to a county constable, several dozen people say
they saw a flying object that was larger, quieter, faster and lower to the
ground than an airplane. They also said its lights changed configuration, unlike
those of a plane.
``I guarantee that what we saw was not a civilian
aircraft,'' Steve Allen, a pilot and freight company owner, said
Wednesday.
The planes' training area in the Brownwood Military Operating Area
includes Stephenville'
Anne Frazor, who owns a fabric store in Stephenville, about 70
miles southwest of Fort Worth, said many in town have seen military aircraft
zoom overhead from time to time as part of training operations. But she said
that wasn't what she saw Jan. 8.
``I couldn't begin to say what it was, but
to me it wasn't planes,'' Frazor said.
Since the reported sightings two weeks
ago, the 17,000-resident city is having fun with the international publicity.
Some high-schoolers made T-shirts depicting a flying saucer beaming up a cow
with the messages: ``Stephenville: the new Roswell'' and ``They're here for the
milk!'' Several stores put new messages on their marquees, including ``Aliens
welcome.''
This week Tarleton State University is even hosting a lecture by a
UFO researcher on the U.S. government's secret response to UFOs, based on
previously classified documents obtained under the Freedom of Information
Act.
The U.S. Air Force says it has not investigated UFO sightings since 1969
when it ended Project Blue Book, which examined more than 12,600 reported UFO
sightings - including 700 that were never explained. That program started a few
months after the 1947 crash near Roswell, N.M., of an aircraft the government
said was a top-secret weather balloon but others have claimed was an alien
spacecraft.
``What we want is the government to admit there are UFOs and what
they know about them,'' Cherry said.
01/23/08 17:36
EST
Copyright 2004 The Associated Press.
The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast,
rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The
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