Our community is filled with dozens and dozens of volunteers. The self-sacrificing citizens who volunteer truly are invaluable to our community.

Natchez couldn’t survive without volunteers; however, sometimes we come across a situation in which we have to scratch our heads and think, really?

Such is the case of the Adams County Search and Rescue Unit’s boat. Apparently, the motor on the volunteer unit’s boat died while crews were assisting with a bridge inspection after a barge struck the Mississippi River bridge.

With no power, the boat and its passengers were helpless against the flood-swollen Mighty Mississippi.

The early morning situation could have been deadly, but fortunately, disaster was averted.

But the volunteers who make up the unit wisely said, “We’re not going out in that boat again.”

The motor is shot and simply needs to be replaced, members of the unit said.

Here we are months later, and the volunteers are forced to beg money from the public to purchase a new motor. The new motor costs $9,000, a seemingly small price for the city and county to invest in safety.

Are the leaders of the city and county not able to scrounge up $9,000 from their collective budgets to purchase a new motor?

Just because we’re one of the earliest settlements on the river doesn’t mean we need to act like it. Let’s get a little more progressive and forward-thinking, folks. If there’s a group of people who are willing to volunteer and risk their own lives to help others, the least we could do is provide them with the tools to get the job done.