are a problem, but who has the solution?

By Julie Finley

The Natchez Democrat

After several failed attempts with county officials, Cheryl Mullins decided to take the matter of speeding into her own hands.

Mullins, the owner of Ma and Pa’s Place on Kingston Road, said she knows the &uot;Please slow down&uot; sign she made and placed on the side of the road is a little country, but she had to try something.

&uot;It does not do any good though,&uot; Mullins said. &uot;Something has got to be done, they need to come out and patrol.&uot;

The request for radar Mullins made to county officials is actually against state law, but many state sheriffs are trying to change that.

A bill introduced by the Mississippi Sheriffs Association allowing sheriffs to use radar has died in committee the last three years. But they are trying again.

&uot;There are only two states in the nation where it is not allowed and we are one of them,&uot; said Lauderdale County Sheriff Billy Sollie, president of the state sheriffs association. &uot;As it is now once drivers leave a state highway or a city limit they are aware that the posted speed limit sign is nothing more than a target for a beer bottle or an egg.&uot;

Sollie said the response from the legislature in years past was that they did not feel it was best for the citizens of Mississippi.

As for Mullins and other residents of Kingston, Liberty, Cranfield or Martin Luther King Jr. roads, the areas with the most speeding calls, radar may be the only answer.

&uot;They just don’t care,&uot; Mullins said of Kingston Road’s speeders. &uot;I don’t know why people cannot respect this road. There have been so many deaths.&uot;

In 2001 nine people were killed in one-person car crashes on Adams County roads, according to the Mississippi Public Safety Commission.

At the February Board of Supervisors meeting, the board agreed to look into possible legislation allowing Adams County to have radar in certain areas.

Sheriff Ronny Brown expressed concerns that radar would become a revenue generating business for the county, saying he was not a fan of radar.

&uot;It’s the kiss of death for a sheriff,&uot; Brown told the board. &uot;But radar would make it easier to get out there and enforce it.&uot;

Board President Darryl Grennell said the board supported stopping speeders.

&uot;The board isn’t concerned about generating revenue. We are concerned about safety,&uot; Grennell said.

Brown said later he would rather solve the problem through educating the public, but if radar was necessary and available he would use it.

Sollie said the sheriffs association did not have 100 percent support from the state’s sheriffs in their push for radar.

&uot;I’ve heard all the excuses that sheriffs have,&uot; Sollie said. &uot;Some sheriffs feel they don’t have the resources or capabilities of using that tool.&uot;

Mullins said she thought speeders would slow down if they saw a sheriff’s patrol car on the road.

&uot;All they have to do is sit out here like a decoy,&uot; she said.