24 state, federal and local agencies staged Mississippi's largest emergency response training exercise ever, this week in Vicksburg. 275 first responders participated. Vicksburg Mayor Laurence Leyens said he helped organize the event to try to keep from repeating the inadequate governmental response experienced in Hurricane Katrina. Leyens told WLBT News, "I don't believe that our community or the state of Mississippi is any more prepared today, than we were the day Katrina hit this community. I know the governor cares about this, and I know thats been his rhetoric, that we are gonna get Mississippi prepared. but the bureaucrats and these unncessary egos, that are involved are absolutely getting in the way of real public safety." Lt. Col. Gordon Ditto told WLBT he thought the exercise was a success and it helped relieve "the anxiety of coming together, everybody doing a face to face and discussing the actions, on an objective, once an event happens." Even the F.B.I. participated and acting agent in charge in Mississippi Steve Gomez told WLBT, "we have new radio systems since Katrina came through, and this gives us an opportunity to test those systems."
