I’ve been a Pearl River County resident for more than 20 years, so I more or less know my way around town and various areas of Pearl River County.

Even so, there are times when I need the assistance of a street sign.

It’s in these instances that while I know the general area of a specific street, I’m uncertain as to the exact location of said road.

So, it’s pretty frustrating to get to the anticipated area of the road, but as I rely on the anticipated presence of something so simple as street sign, and it’s not there, forcing me to have to make the block.

Within the city of Picayune, a number of signs are missing, and the number seems to be rising.

While missing street signs can be a nuisance to longtime residents, just imagine the frustration visitors and potential residents must feel as they try to find their destination sans directional markers.

Sure, most people these days have access to a GPS of some sort, either mounted to their windshield, inside the dash or via a cellphone application. But we all know electronic devices are not 100 percent reliable.

The accuracy varies depending on location, and as roads are relocated or built annually, the maps a GPS application relies on are not always up to date.

This is where the good old street sign comes in handy.

If you can see the sign, you know where you are.

While this may seem like a rant to lambast our city employees, it’s not.

I recognize the fact that these hardworking individuals have more to worry about than replacing wayward signs.

They have potholes to fix, broken water lines to mend and any number of other things that rank much higher on a priority list.

As for the replacement of signs along major highways, I pose an idea.

While waiting for new signs to be procured, city employees may consider relocating another sign by the same name from a side street to fill the void.