After more than two weeks of empty shelves, a new shipment oflicense plates arrived at the Lincoln County Tax Assessor’s officeTuesday. Officials, though, expect the new car tags to goquickly.

Tax Assessor-Collector Nancy Jordan said 1,108 license platesarrived at the courthouse by mail Tuesday morning. Six hundred ofthe car tags have already been sold and will be mailed outWednesday morning, leaving only 508 tags for distribution.

Jordan predicted the small inventory would not last very long.Residents with expired tags have already descended upon her officeto purchase new ones.

“When you don’t have but just a few, they’ll be waiting in lineto get those like there will never be another one made,” shesaid.

Next week, when the current supply of tags is expected toexpire, Jordan said her office would revert to selling tag decals.Motorists with expired tags may prepay for their forthcominglicense plates and receive the tag decals and receipt as proof ofcompliance in case they are stopped by law enforcement.

“We know what series of tags are coming to our county, so we canenter a tag number into our computers and issue a registrationreceipt and decals,” Jordan said. “Keep those in the glovecompartment – you can show the receipt and decals if you get pulledover.”

Jordan stressed the new decals are not to be placed on existingtags.

Anyone who mistakenly places the new decal on the old series tagwill have to purchase a new set of decals from the tax assessor’soffice for $2.50. She said the new decals should be stored andplaced on the new tags, when they arrive, as indicated.

Jordan also pointed out that prepaid tags were to be mailed outWednesday morning, and could not be picked up at the tax assessor’soffice. She advised prepaid tag-holders to be patient; the tags areon their way.

After the expected shortage of the coming weeks has run itscourse, Jordan said a new shipment of 2,000 tags – scheduled toarrive on June 6 – should put an end to the shortages. Another2,000 tags are also scheduled to arrive a week later on June13.

“After that, there will be plenty of car tags for everyone,”Jordan said.

Jordan said the tag shortage hit not only Lincoln County, but 20counties throughout Mississippi. The shortage was caused, she said,because the company contracted with the state to manufacture thetags – Waldale Manufacturing, Ltd., of Amherst, Nova Scotia, Canada- got behind in tag production.

“We order the tags as needed, and they backlogged the orders dueto the fact that they had so many to do,” she said. “But thecompany should be caught up by the time we need to order more.”

Jordan said county residents were taking the tag shortagewell.

“Everyone has been really understanding,” she said.

Glenn Avants, a local offshore worker, picked up his new tagTuesday after being unable to do so in the previous week. Avantssecured his new tag just in time – he left for the Gulf of Mexicoto work Tuesday night.

“My tag would have been expired by the time I get back,” hesaid. “I was holding my breath.”

In the meantime, Lincoln County’s tag shortage has not had agreat impact on local law enforcement.

Brookhaven Police Chief Pap Henderson said the department hasencountered no difficulties in checking the decals and receipts ofthose who are awaiting the arrival of their prepaid tags.

“We knew they were out (of tags), and we’ve really had noproblem with it,” Henderson said. “It’s just normal. We’ve had towork with people, but it’s really nobody’s fault.”

Likewise, no difficulty has been experienced by the LincolnCounty Sheriff’s Department.

Sheriff Steve Rushing said he was aware of the county’s tagshortage beforehand, but his department has not been troubled. Fewexpired tags have even been recorded by the department, hesaid.

“We haven’t really come across a whole lot of them yet,” Rushingsaid. “We haven’t had any trouble, and now the tag office isselling tags again.”