Taylorsville will be getting a new tornado siren. William Tapscott is the Coordinator for the Taylorsville Crime Watch. He says that the town’s original sire, which was approximately 50-years-old, stopped working about six-months ago. Due to the age of the siren, fixing it was not possible.

Tapscott says that his group worked with Bartholomew County emergency management director Dennis Moats and Bartholomew County’s Emergency Operations Center Director Ed Reuter to get the specs for a new siren. The original plan was for the Taylorsville Crime Watch to raise the money needed for an updated siren system, possibly utilizing used parts.

Tapscott says that his group got a nice surprise a few weeks ago. He says that Moats, Reuter and German Township Trustee Chris West met with the Bartholomew County Commissioners. Tapscott says that the Commissioners pledged $10,000 from the county’s telecommunications fund to purchase, install and maintain a new tornado siren. He adds that the siren will be synched with the county’s emergency system to provide the most advanced warning available for Taylorsville residents. Tapscott says that the new siren is expected to be installed on a cell tower in March.

Tapscott went on to say that Taylorsville Crime Watch is raising money for a second siren that would be installed at the Edinburgh Outlets. If you would like to donate, he says you can simply stop in any local Main Source Bank and offer a deposit to the organization.