The Natchez Democrat

Federal officials should make money available quickly to local agencies charged with ensuring homeland security, Concordia Parish Sheriff Randy Maxwell said Thursday.

On the day the Sept. 11 commission report was released to the public, Maxwell said he hopes recommendations from the panel investigating the terrorist attacks.

&uot;They need to get the money to local people,&uot; he said, &uot;the ones that, when something happens, will be there and do the work.&uot;

In fact, the Sept. 11 report notes that the &uot;last best hope&uot; for those in the World Trade Center towers on that fateful day were &uot;private firms and public servants, especially the first responders: fire, police, emergency medical service and building safety professionals.&uot;

While many people may consider the Miss-Lou a low-profile target because it is a small community, Maxwell said the area is actually &uot;very vulnerable.&uot;

With two bridges and a nuclear plant to the north and south, &uot;we’re a hot spot,&uot; he said.

&uot;(Terrorists are) not going to try the obvious targets,&uot; he said.

But Maxwell said Miss-Lou law enforcement agencies have a powerful tool in homeland security: cooperation.

&uot;Everybody works as a team,&uot; he said.

Not only do parish agencies work together, they also work with law enforcement departments in Natchez and Adams County, he said.

Adams County Sheriff Ronny Brown agreed that law enforcement agencies have worked well together.

&uot;We just started having monthly (homeland security) meetings in Mississippi,&uot; he said.

What police and sheriff’s officers are being told, he said, is that &uot;if you can imagine it, it can happen.&uot;

&uot;We’re doing things now (to prepare) that the public doesn’t even know about,&uot; Brown said.

Federal officials have done a good job informing local agencies about security efforts, he said.

&uot;We’re aware now more than ever,&uot; Brown said. &uot;Hopefully we won’t ever get it.&uot;

That awareness is good for law enforcement &045;&045; but Maxwell said he wishes his grandchildren weren’t growing up in such a changed America.

&uot;We have truly lost our innocence,&uot; he said.

Every agency &045;&045; from the FBI and CIA to local sheriff’s and police departments &045;&045; has to change its way of thinking, Maxwell said.

&uot;We’ve got to do all we can possibly do,&uot; he said. &uot;The country’s got to wake up.&uot;