The traffic safety issue involving students at Verona Elementary School requires more than a we-don't-have-the-money response from every official agency so far engaged in a search for funding to build adequate sidewalks along Raymond Avenue - Verona's busiest thoroughfare - which about 250 to 300 students must cross twice each day.

The busy street has a semblance of a narrow sidewalk, but it is mostly deteriorated and one part of the shoulder used by students to get from their homes to school is nothing more than a bare dirt trail.

There's no crossing device to stop traffic, and there's no guaranteed crossing guard for top use times before and after school.

Assertive and aggressive community action is essential.

Several steps should be taken immediately:

* First, Verona's city officials must find a way to guarantee an on-duty crossing guard at peak use times to stop traffic and regulate the flow of students crossing the street. We recognize the necessity of budgeting and the reality of limited resources, but surely a budget amendment or adjustment can be made for children's safety.

* The mayor and aldermen should consider borrowing enough money to build sidewalks serving the school area, particularly on Raymond Street and on 10th Street, which connects directly into the Verona School's campus. The upcoming summer break would allow time for construction.

* School supporters (parents, teachers, business owners, elected leaders and the Lee County School District) should immediately work with the City of Verona and undertake a crossing guard development program and gain whatever certification is necessary to staff the crossing point at Tenth Street and Raymond, the principal point on the walking route.

* The Mississippi Department of Transportation, the Lee County Board of Supervisors, and the Verona Board of Aldermen should look again to find the necessary funds to build adequate sidewalks and place electronic traffic control devices where Tenth Street enters Raymond. (Raymond is the same street as Gloster in Tupelo, which is also Highway 145.) MDOT is right about the delay in funding through the main federal highway funding act, but it might not be approved in the fall. It might not be approved in 2010. It has been delayed indefinitely by congressional politics.

Tenth Street also crosses the Kansas City Southern Railroad, which has no crossing arms, and high vegetation makes the intersection an almost blind crossing. Strong efforts should be made to secure the automatic crossing arms for that intersection.

Persistence is the main asset in resolving this issue.