Editor:

I read in a recent newspaper article that Sheriff Allison is going to have to make drastic changes in the way his Department is going to be operated. Major cut-backs in funding via the Board of Supervisors have been set to take effect Oct. 1. Pearl River County needs all the Deputies we can get at this time and age with all the crime that’s happening all over the state. Not only the crime but what about the traffic. This has increased many, many times since Hurricane Katrina blew all of the evacuees and the construction workers into South Mississippi, both legal and illegal.

I have an idea that will give the Sheriff all of the funds he needs to have a top of the line department with the best equipment that the deputies would need to fight crime and do their job protecting the honest God fearing folks of Pearl River County.

Have the deputies strictly enforce all traffic laws in the county, it would not take long and it would make a lot of people mad but the sheriffs office would have a surplus of funds that would not only pay for their salaries but give them the opportunity to purchase new and better and safer equipment, and just maybe get some people that they have been looking for with warrants off of our County roads.

For instance, there are two stop signs near my house, you can park where you can see both of them easily, out of 10 vehicle that pass these signs 2 vehicles might come to a complete stop, the others don’t give a care, they are invisible to them. If one or two sheriff deputies would park there they would need a trailer to bring the empty tickets books to the traffic court. This is happening all over the county, not just near my house at these two signs.

And don’t you like those speeding18 wheeler trucks that travel the back roads avoiding the scales because they are overloaded or the log book is not up to date. Also those 4 wheel drive trucks that have those monster tires on them coming up behind you, riding right on your rear bumper trying to intimidate you to speed up because you are driving the posted speed limit, and you are watching out for kids playing on the sides of the road, but they are in a big hurry to get where they are going and you are keeping them from getting there.

There was a double fatal accident on Richardson Road recently that took the life of a couple of young people. The deputies said that excessive speed was probably the cause, because it happened in daylight. I don’t how many of you use the road but you should take a ride down there and see what was placed there to help avoid any further accidents from occurring at this culvert, “it’s plum sad”, they put up a couple of curve signs and 4 little arrow signs, instead of putting up a handrail system that would keep a vehicle from going into the creek and killing some more folks. The signs, the posts to hold them up and the salary of the man who placed them might have cost $200.00, is this the price of two lives?

Something has to be done!

Tom Brewer