NATCHEZ &8212; Mississippi Court of Appeals Judge Tyree Irving conducted the swearing-in ceremony to install Everett T. Sanders as new city attorney for Natchez on Tuesday.

&8220;Everett and I have been friends for years,&8221; said Irving, who presides in the Second District.

District Two Circuit Court Judge Lillie Blackmon Sanders, the city attorney&8217;s wife, held the Bible, and numerous family members and his law firm employees were on hand for the ceremony at the opening of the regular meeting of the Natchez Board of Aldermen.

In his attorney&8217;s report, Sanders thanked the board for the appointment. &8220;I want to express my appreciation for the confidence you invested in me by electing me your counsel,&8221; he told the aldermen. &8220;I will make every effort to see that your trust and confidence are not misplaced.&8221;

4In other business, the board approved Natchez Police Chief Mike Mullins&8217; request to adopt new state legislation that will allow law enforcement officers to wear official uniforms and carry their arms when working in private security jobs during their off duty times.

&8220;This is not just about an officer making extra money,&8221; Mullins said. &8220;When there are a lot of things going on in town, it&8217;s a public benefit to have 11, 12 or maybe 15 officers out there rather than just the 7 or 8 on duty.&8221;

4Aldermen heard from Ross McGehee, chairman of the Adams County Soil and Water Conservation District Commission, who pointed out the increasing program revenues from projects funded through the District and the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Those projects include $282,941 spent in 2005-2006 on Environmental Quality Incentive Projects; $1.6 million on Emergency Watershed Protection projects installed for the city and $1.4 million for EWP projects installed for the county.

&8220;We&8217;ve worked all over the city,&8221; McGehee said, including stabilizing grounds around private homes and working on city streets.

McGehee also gave an update on the Geographic Information System, a joint project of the ACSW district, the city and the county.

&8220;Our governor has referred to ours as an example of how city, county and other agencies can work together to attain a common goal,&8221; McGehee said.

Rick Freeman of the traffic department asked for the board to sign off on a $96,000 grant for the second phase in updating safety signs in the city. The board agreed.

The grant calls for a $24,000 match, which the city can pay with in-kind services, Freeman said.

The department made a complete inventory of safety signs, he said. &8220;Finally, we have an inventory on paper to show what we have out there,&8221; he said.

With the grant money, new posts, where needed, and new signs &8212; such as &8220;no parking,&8221; &8220;stop,&8221; &8220;stop ahead&8221; and others &8212; will be replaced where necessary.

4Brett Brinegar, grants writer, said a $20,000 grant has been approved for cleaning up five illegal dump sites in Ward 2. &8220;These were the worst ones,&8221; she said. &8220;We will apply again for a second round.&8221;