Post office naming a fitting tribute

Published 9:35 pm Friday, April 26, 2019

The effort to rename the downtown Brookhaven post office in honor of three law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty is a touching tribute to their sacrifice.

U.S. Congressman Michael Guest and U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, both Republican lawmakers representing Mississippi in Washington, introduced similar bills earlier this month to designate the federal building at 201 West Cherokee St. as the “Deputy Donald William Durr, Corporal Zach Moak, and Patrolman James White Memorial Post Office Building.”

Durr was fatally shot in a domestic call in Bogue Chitto in May 2017. Moak and White died after they were shot while answering a call of “shots fired” on North Sixth Street in Brookhaven in September 2018.

Subscribe to our free email newsletter

Get the latest news sent to your inbox

Brookhaven and Lincoln County will forever be marked by these tragedies, and hopefully the post office building will forever be marked by the heroics of these three men.

“Because of their sacrifice, we want to make sure that their valiant deeds will never be forgotten. Therefore, we have introduced this legislation to rename this building in honor of these three men,” Guest said.

“But this is a fantastic community, obviously my heart is here 100 percent and to be able to honor these officers in any way possible is such an honor for me as a U.S. senator,” Hyde-Smith said.

We are thankful for Guest’s and Hyde-Smith’s efforts to rename the post office, and we encourage other legislators in Washington to get this bill approved.