With severe weather always a possibility, having sirens andearly warning systems in place is an ever-present need. Remindersof that fact come any time a tornado, a thunderstorm or othernatural disaster strikes.

Brookhaven has a siren in place for early weather warnings, butit is “ancient” and is currently inoperable. Even when it did work,some parts of the city were unable to hear it.

Aldermen in the past have had preliminary inquiries into a sirensystem to cover the entire city, but for whatever reasons – costlikely being one of them – discussions have never progressed beyondthe early stages.

More recently, civil defense officials looked at hurricanerelief money as a potential source for a citywide siren system.However, they were unsuccessful due to a lack of funding.

Lincoln County outside the city limits is without any kind ofsiren system. Weather radios offer the ability for residents tostay informed on weather conditions, but they are of little benefitto those in the public at large who do not own the devices.

Severe weather can strike at any time, as evidenced by lastweek’s tornado in Simpson County.

Perhaps it is time for community leaders for take another lookat weather sirens for the city and county … before another roundof bad weather strikes a little closer to home.