Officials and residents from the Town of Sumrall have had a chance to get more information on – and sign up for – the town’s upcoming Neighborhood Watch program and Community Emergency Response Team, with a recent kickoff meeting held June 4 at the Lion’s Park pavilion.
During the meeting, several group leaders answered questions from participants regarding what the programs can provide, and what residents should expect when they are implemented. Guest speaker for the event was Dave Nichols, who serves as the citizen corp program manager for the State of Mississippi, who was joined by officer Justin Yawn, the Sumrall Police Department Neighborhood Watch coordinator.
“The meeting went well – we had several citizens in attendance who came out and ask questions, and we started the sign-ups (for the programs) that day,” Mayor Joel Lofton said. “Most everyone who attended did sign up for one or both of the programs.
“So we were very pleased with that. It seems that when people have been informed about the opportunities, their interest continues, if not even grows.”
Residents who are interested in either or both programs can still sign up at Sumrall Town Hall or Sumrall Police Department, or by calling (601) 758-3591 or emailing townofsumrall@gmail.com.
“We have not set a cut-off yet (for signups; we’re just going to evaluate those numbers,” Lofton said. “For the CERT training, based on the funding, there’s a maximum number that we can accommodate at this time.
“We want to reach as many folks as we can, but we also don’t want sign-ups to run into infinity and keep us from getting started. I would say probably within a month from the kickoff – just a rough guess – we would probably be moving to the next step.”
The programs are made possible by a grant from the Mississippi Office of Homeland Security, which is dedicated to preventing terrorist attacks within the state, reducing communities’ vulnerability to terrorism or any disaster that may occur, and recovering from any such events.
“These are activities that will keep our community safe and make us more resilient in emergency situations,” Lofton said in a previous story. “We’ve had community requests regarding neighborhood watch; various members had expressed interest.
“So we sought the opportunity to engage in in a neighborhood watch program, and we’re very fortunate to receive funding to do so.”
The Neighborhood Watch program is an informal crime prevention initiative in which watch groups observe their neighborhoods and communicate with neighbors to report any suspicious activity that may occur in the area. According to the National Neighborhood Watch Website, www.nnw.org, community members serve as the “extra eyes and ears” of the community and should report any such behavior to local law enforcement.
The website states that “bringing community members together to re-establish control of their neighborhoods” promotes an increased quality of life and reduces the crime rate in that area.
“In our part of the world, neighbors have always taken care of neighbors,” Lofton said. “Neighborhoods that participate will be noted with signage, and within those neighborhoods there will be a … point of contact where they can work with police to address community concerns.
“If the community, through Neighborhood Watch, notes disturbing activity or potential problems, they’ll have resources to communicate, and it’ll go up the chain (of command). So it just adds a little structure to what many of us have already informally done, which is take care of each other.”
Meanwhile, the Community Emergency Response Team program educates volunteers about disaster preparedness for any hazards in the area, with topics such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization and disaster medical operations. In addition to that, Lofton hopes that program will also inspire community members to volunteer and sign up for organizations such as the town’s volunteer fire departments.
“We’re running a mostly volunteer fire department, and … volunteerism seems to be a little less prevalent today than it was in years past,” he said. “So the CERT team, while they would not be members of the volunteer fire department, it kind of gives folks a little taste of training and opportunities to support their own community.
“We look at that as good in itself, but (also) possibly a way to help promote individuals who do well with CERT, and are interested in it and enjoy it, and we hope they might consider joining the volunteer fire department and receive additional training. In the event such as (the tornadoes) in Silver City and Rolling Fork, it takes a couple of hours, or a day or more, for resources to roll in from the outside. So CERT works to develop an ability within a community to take care of yourself, and then take care of your neighbors.”
