Lowndes County Emergency Services Director Cindy Lawrence packed a lot of information into her 30-minute appearance at Thursday’s Columbus Exchange Club meeting at Lion Hills Center, detailing the work of the LCES, informing the audience how to prepare for emergencies and outlining how her agency operates.
But in the end, it was a question from the audience about one tool the LCES doesn’t have that generated the most interest.
Asked if her agency has a text system to notify and inform citizens during an emergency, Lawrence said it was something she’d love to have at her disposal.
“That would be a great thing to have and we’ve been talking to our elected officials about it for some time now,” Lawrence said. “It’s a budget issue.”
Lawrence noted that similar notification systems, which rely on text messaging to warn people of disasters and provide information on road closures and other related information, are already in use in the Golden Triangle.
Mississippi State University’s “Maroon Alert” and Mississippi University for Women’s “W Alert” have been used for well over 10 years now, providing students, faculty and staff with real-time information on everything from weather emergencies to active shooter warnings.
Lawrence said a similar text notification system that would allow county residents to sign on for notifications would cost $50,000 for the initial purchase of software and equipment and $15,000 annually for the service.
For Exchange member, Jo Spearman, it seemed like a bargain.
“For the safety of the citizens, it’s something we should have,” Spearman said. “And as someone pointed out, yes, it is our money. It seems to me, if you’re only talking about $65,000 the first year and then $15,000 a year after that, it’s well worth the money. That’s not a lot.”
In the absence of such a system, Lawrence said the best way to stay apprised of weather emergencies is to buy a weather radio.
“They’re not expensive and you can find them at most stores,” she said. “Really, in my mind having a weather radio is just like having smoke detectors in your house. Everyone should have one.”
LCES provides emergency services in a broad array of areas, Lawrence said, including coordinating the National Weather Services, the Federal Emergency Management Authority, the Mississippi Emergency Management Authority as well as working with law enforcement and other community service providers. The LCES holds regular training exercises throughout the year. Lawrence said another part of her job includes her appearance at the Exchange Club.
“I regularly speak at churches, community organizations and schools to get the word out about what we do and how people can prepare for these emergencies,” she said.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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