I was at the police station on Tuesday and was talking to Public Safety Director Jeff Davis. He asked if I had been aware of the Greensburg tornado and the fact that the tornado sirens in town blared for 15-20 minutes before the twister struck. I said I heard that.

Davis said the sirens probably saved many lives. He's got a good point.

It validates why the Fort Scott Police Department keep the sirens running during a tornado warning if the storm is threatening Fort Scott. When the National Weather Service issues a tornado warning for Bourbon County, police activate the sirens for one cycle. The one cycle is not the "all clear" signal. There is not an all clear signal.

Last year, residents questioned why the department continued running the sirens for long stretches of time. None of the storms produced a confirmed tornado, leading some to believe the storm sirens equated to "crying wolf."

Some residents go outside when they hear the sirens. I witnessed this last year when the sirens rang and I was on my way home. I noticed kids riding their bikes, glancing up in the sky while their parents were doing the same thing sitting on their porches.

This is plain stupidity. Ignoring storm sirens should not be practiced. Just go inside and take shelter.

What if the people in Greensburg would've ignored the sirens and had been outside when the E-F 5 twister came through. They would've been blown away.

If the storm sirens in Fort Scott continue to sound, it's a good indication that the storm could be threatening Fort Scott.

Police department officials work hard to monitor severe weather to protect residents. I believe they would not try to scare the public by sounding the sirens longer than necessary.