New road signs for Fish Springs

You can tell that I like to write about small town happenings, but little things are sometimes a big deal here in Fish Springs. Last week the county road department installed street signs at the north end of Fish Springs for the first time. My husband and I moved here in 1981 and for the past 27 years we've had no street signs telling people where to turn when they're getting close to our house at the far north end of Fish Spring Flat.

Old Juniper Road was well-marked off Windmill Road but now we have an official sign saying Finch Drive and then another one saying Magpie Lane and also Bobwhite Lane. Thank you, road department. The new road signs will really come in handy for our out-of-town friends and relatives who come to visit us.

I remember how lost one of our daughters was the first time she and her husband came to visit us and attend her sister's high school graduation. Cindy and Greg drove up from San Diego right after work and didn't arrive to Fish Springs until the middle of the night. It was the beginning of June and it snowed that night. You know how dark the sky is out here, especially in the middle of the night while it's snowing and there are only a few houses with lights on back in 1982. Cindy and Greg were driving on all dirt roads, very snow-covered dirt roads, and many of them didn't have road signs.

Sometimes not only are the roads difficult to find in the dark, but so are the house numbers. They've got to be visible from the street, especially in the darkness of night. I remember when I was a volunteer EMT/firefighter here in Fish Springs, how scary it was when we had difficulty locating residents who were in need of emergency medical service. Many of the homes are located far off the road and it's difficult to see the numbers on their front porch. Please put your house number near the entrance to your driveway. Perhaps you could attach it to your newspaper box. It's also a good idea to turn on the emergency flashers of your car parked in your driveway as a signal to first responders.

In the event of a medical emergency, precious time might be lost looking for the correct address. Make it clear. The life you save may be your own.

-- Linda Monohan may be reached at 782-5802.