Ellington

Hinds County supervisors sent a grant application Tuesday to U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Mississippi, for up to $1.6 million to replace the county's 67 emergency sirens. Supervisors Robert Graham, Peggy Calhoun and George Smith visited Thompson, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, two weeks ago to discuss funding new sirens with a grant from the Department of Homeland Security. Graham is optimistic about their chances.

"By virtue of the fact that Mr. Thompson is a resident of Hinds County, and this directly affects him, as well as all other citizens, I believe that our chances are pretty good," he said.

According to The Clarion-Ledger, seven of the county's sirens are currently not working. A few are outdated, some installed as early as 1952; some were also damaged during Hurricane Katrina; and others have been raided for copper. Graham told the Jackson Free Press that supervisors are looking into the possibility that even more than previously reported are not working.

At $30,000 each, replacing the outdated sirens is not cheap, says Larry Fisher, director of emergency operations for Hinds County.

"I've been trying for years to come up with funding and funding avenues for outdoor warning sirens," he said.

Fisher submitted a different grant proposal for replacement sirens to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency last month, but it has not yet been approved.

Previous Comments

ID

118882

Comment

If we get the new sirens, I wonder what the county will do to keep copper thieves from tearing them up.

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2008-04-23T18:25:45-06:00