THE SELMA TIMES-JOURNAL

Not hearing it once may be all it takes for loss of lives.

That’s why Pam Cook of the Emergency Management Agency wants to move on purchasing five discounted, slightly used tornado sirens for Dallas County.

Commissioners agree, but now they have to find the $42,000 to buy them from Calhoun County. They’re $8,400 each.

Curtis Williams, who lives in Orrville, said there are places near his home where the one tornado siren there is of no use as a warning device.

The county commission authorized Probate Judge Kim Ballard to find a way to pay for them, even if they have to borrow the money. Cook learned of the surplus from Calhoun County, which she said is holding the sirens for her to get approval to buy them.

When Ballard find the financing the target areas for the sirens would be Five Points, Burnsville and Sardis.

Dallas County has 14 severe weather sirens, but Cook said there are still areas like Five Points that need them. Their range is good for up to a mile, but depending on obstructions some can be heard five miles away.

The sirens are spread out in the rural communities. Dallas County bought its first siren in 1993. A new siren with installation can cost $50,000 each, Cook said.