A decision by the Brookhaven Board ofAldermen to allocate $30,000 for a new weather siren for the cityrepresents a good first step toward providing residents withnecessary warnings in the event of inclement weather.

    The city has been without such a warning for a number of years, andthe new siren will offer some level of protection againstthreatening weather. A recommendation on a location for the sirenand a decision to move ahead with its purchase could be ready byearly next month.

    While the siren decision is a good one, it still is only the firststep in what is needed to provide the city – and the county – withnecessary weather warning coverage.

    Ward One Alderman Dorsey Cameron acknowledged that fact during arecnet work session when he advised including money in futureannual budgets to raise the city’s siren total to four. And WardSix Alderman David Phillips requested additional funding for someform of a weather alert system.

    Whether these additional monies will be included in new budgetsremains uncertain, but the requests are definitely worthy ofserious consideration.

    Also worthy of serious consideration is action by supervisors toprovide weather warning protection for Lincoln County residents.City officials said they had not approached the county because ofthe ongoing election cycle.

    But weather-related disasters do not wait for elections nor carewho’s in office when they strike. For that reason, supervisors needto press on toward implementing a weather warning system for thecounty.

    Brookhaven officials have taken the first step, but many more areneeded in the journey toward weather security for the city andcounty.