Vicksburg Mayor Laurence Leyens announced Friday that a command center has been set up in the Convention Center to organize city and county relief efforts during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

There were no harsh words as Leyens said he would like to put politics aside and discuss the current and potential problems that face the local area.

Three days earlier, he lashed out at the Director of the Warren County Emergency Management Agency, L.W. Callaway, saying Callaway “put this county at risk” because of inadequate preparations, planning and communication.

“It’s time for us to get organized,” Leyens said. “This began because everybody’s trying to help, but it’s not organized.”

Callaway was at the meeting Friday and said he had some concerns about creating an emergency command center at the Convention Center away from the normal offices in the basement of the Warren County Courthouse.

“We don’t have a phone line in here right now,” Callaway said.

During a meeting with agency heads, plans were discussed on how to get several phone lines into room five at the center. But, Callaway said he already has several lines at his office. “I’m afraid we’re going to backlog ourselves,” he said.

Callaway was agreeable to the change, but questioned the open forum held by the mayor at 1 p.m. Friday. He said there are laws that govern how emergency operations must be run and not everyone is familiar with those rules.

It was decided that Leyens and Warren County President David McDonald would jointly run the command center that is planned for 24-hour operation.

Police Chief Tommy Moffett, Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace, Vicksburg Fire Department Chief Keith Rogers, Vicksburg Warren School District Superintendent James Price and representatives from the convention center, the United Way, the Red Cross and Entergy, among others, gathered for the meeting Leyens said was intended to get everyone caught up on what’s going.

Leyens identified issues as electricity, fuel, evacuee care, communication and getting students in school.

He also said the city faces the potential of a large influx of new evacuees from coastal areas who will need jobs and more permanent housing.