Jackson Free Press

Every aspect of the physical world breaks down into numbers. A malfunctioning LED traffic light costs a certain amount of money to repair or replace. To keep traffic flowing, an ideal number of minutes must occur between the activation of a red traffic signal at Congress and Pearl Streets and the activation of the red signal at President and Pearl Streets. An ideal gradient is necessary for storm water to effectively run into the city's drainage system, and it is a process that needs to be maintained and kept free of poisonous urban run-off chemicals from paint, motor oil and antifreeze to keep the federal government happy.

Jackson's Infrastructure Manager Darion Warren is the guy in charge of these processes and much more. He's the city's numbers guy when it comes to keeping all the numbers representing the physical world happily lined up and in order.

"The magic to running infrastructure is response, and having the staff and equipment in place to provide efficient and effective response to complaints," said Warren, 29, a Belhaven University graduate with a master's degree in management.

Warren acknowledges that the city has a limited amount of staff and equipment because of recent budget shortfalls, however. Knowing this, he says the never-ending battle against the universe's constant desire to fall to bits comes down to a matter of correcting the aberrant part of the universe properly the first time.

"It's a matter of priorities, and being able to identify what we need to do to fix the problem and reduce the chance of having to come back to fix the same issue," Warren said.

In 2005, Warren served as the acting manager for the city's Public Works Department. He left the position in 2008 to serve as infrastructure manager for Hinds County's Public Works Department.

He returns to a city facing federal scrutiny for past environmental offenses regarding its silt-filled and contaminated storm-water runoff, and a literal flurry of potholes. He's also the guy who, presumably, keeps the city's traffic lights synched. I alerted him to the seemingly out-of-synch traffic light at Farish and Pearl streets, but Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. said recently that the lights are synched to discourage drivers from reaching the sound barrier by the time they fly across Gallatin Street.

You can get some of Warrens' personal attention by calling 601-960-7684 whenever your car's front end disappears down a pothole. His guys and their shovels and trucks full of hot asphalt will pull your car out--if needed--and fill the offending crevice.