NATCHEZ &8212; Members of Adams County&8217;s Certified Emergency Response Team hope their services won&8217;t be needed again &8212; but they want to be ready just in case.

So on Saturday the search-and-rescue team held its monthly training session, this time teaching the team&8217;s volunteers compass and map skills on the grounds of sheriff&8217;s Foster Mound firing range.

Carl Champlin, a sheriff&8217;s deputy and executive director of the team, said volunteers must undergo a 25-hour initial course and attend the group&8217;s monthly training sessions and meetings to serve on the team.

In the past, the team has also taken part in disaster drills to better prepare them to help in disaster situations.

That training, he said, makes them ready to assist law enforcement agencies in and around Adams County in search-and-rescue operations and evidence searches.

&8220;We&8217;ve already been called three times to assist with the sheriff&8217;s office, but fortunately they found (the missing people) by the time we set up&8221; operations on the scene, Champlin said.

The team also performs other tasks &8212; for example, manning phones for the Adams County Civil Defense Office during and after Hurricane Katrina.

The next goal of the team, which is sponsored by the Adams County Sheriff&8217;s Office, is to train an all-weather team that could perform searches in the most extreme conditions, he said.

To become a member of CERT, a person must fill out an application and undergo a background check. Applications are available at the Adams County Sheriff&8217;s Office.

Those interested in joining the team can also get more information at CERT&8217;s monthly meetings, held at 6:30 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month at the Civil Defense Office, which is located in the sheriff&8217;s office building on State Street.

Volunteers such as Sam Saucier, who has been part of the team since September, say it&8217;s worth all the training to be able to help the public in times of need &8212; not just her own neighbors, but people in surrounding areas, too.

&8220;I&8217;m a homemaker, but I grew up hunting and fishing and tracking,&8221; Saucier said.

&8220;I&8217;m doing this in hopes that I&8217;ll be able to help somebody,&8221; she added. &8220;If it ever comes to it, I&8217;ll be ready.&8221;