With our friends in neighboring Lawrence County still recovering from a Christmas Day tornado and Southwest Mississippi in the midst of several days of rain, weather awareness needs to remain at the top of local officials’ to-do list.

     While improved weather awareness mechanisms won’t happen overnight, Brookhaven appears to be at least moving in the right direction toward needed sirens. Citizens will recall that Brookhaven and Lincoln County remain without any form of siren to provide weather warnings.

     That could be changing for the city, where $100,000 in grant funds have been secured to cover almost all of the costs for the purchase of five sirens.

     Civil Defense Director Clifford Galey said he hopes to begin accepting bids a second time for tornado sirens within a month. An earlier round of bids was rejected after the city received mixed options including electronic-generated sound sirens and mechanically-generated sound sirens.

     Galey said he’s close to making a decision on whether to allow electronic sirens within the bidding parameters.

     He offered at least the possibility he might be able to make a recommendation to aldermen that they authorize the advertisement for bids when they meet next Tuesday. However, he said that might be a little optimistic.

     If not then, he’s hoping he’ll be prepared by the aldermen’s next meeting.

     “I know I’ll have it ready by the fifth of February,” Galey said.

     Galey said he’s proceeding with caution and doesn’t want a repeat of the failed first round of bidding.

     “Just making sure we have everything right this time so we don’t have to redo it,” he said.

     It appears that city leaders, at Galey’s direction, are taking prudent course over weather sirens. However, with the threat of more severe weather and ever-present possibility this time of year, siren action needs to come sooner rather than later.