Summer season arrives – things will get busier out and about for a while

Although last weekend was the traditional Memorial Day holiday, I’m going to take this week to put out my annual reminder to our local readers about the start of our summer season and what that means to the traffic on our county roads and waterways.

With the arrival of the summer season, remember that we are going to be sharing our roads and our lakes with a host of visitors from all over the country, who are coming here to enjoy our beautiful surroundings, camping and boating opportunities.

Remember – these folks drive funny (and often talk funny), but they bring with them pockets full of money that they leave for the most part, in our county when it comes time for them to return to wherever home is for them.

Our economy needs their influx of funds. We need their summer jobs that businesses open because of increased traffic.

We need their gasoline sales. We need their food sales in our grocery stores and restaurants. We need their heads on the pillows of our motels, hotels, cabins and houseboats. We need their boats to rent our storage spaces and we even need them to come down and maybe buy a new boat or PWC.

Shoot, they may like us and our countryside so much they even buy some property and move here – I know several people who have done just that, and they are now not just visitors, but home-owning taxpaying citizens doing even more to help our economy.

If you see one on the side of the road – put your Clinton County Welcoming Committee hat on and stop to see if you can offer any assistance.

But the most important thing to remember is to be patient, and be safe.

As I’ve said here for many, many years – give yourself and them, a little extra space on the highways and the lakes. Give yourself a little extra time to get to town in case you get behind a lost tourist pulling a boat and trying to find the correct exit to their Lake Cumberland or Dale Hollow destination.

Let’s have a great summer this time around, and with a little extra attention being paid to the crowded roads and lakes, let’s make this one a safe summer.

In the words that I’ve used here for many, many years with the similar column, from Sgt. Phil Esterhaus (Michael Conrad) as he turned his officers loose for another tour of duty each week on one of my favorite shows from many years ago, Hill Street Blues . . .

“Let’s be careful out there”

In the meantime – let’s take it outside for a few months!