Neighbors get the job done on the Pascagoula

There are people who look at a problem and say, somebody should do something.

Then there are those who do something.

Dr. Thomas Singley and his Moss Point neighbors Pat Russum, Lary Stringer and Thomas Robertson, for example.

Singley saw a need for signs to help boaters navigate the maze of bayous and marshes between the East and West Pascagoula rivers. He could have gone to the Department of Marine Resources and asked the agency to mark the waterways. Instead, he went to the DMR and got permission to do it himself.

Then he enlisted his friends, raised a little money, had some signs printed and bought poles to put them on. Now, those who enjoy the river system will have a better idea of where they are at. 5th Bayou. Crooked Bayou. In all, 23 places have been marked.

“I like to get around this river,” Singley told the Sun Herald’s Karen Nelson. “I like people to know where they are in the river. The value of this is that if someone gets lost, they can tell people where to come get them.”

Tourists are beginning to discover the Pascagoula River system. They take to river to spot alligators. They visit the Audubon Center. They are on the lookout for beautiful birds. They can celebrate some quirky history. It is a hub for a burgeoning ecotourism industry.

It is the largest, and one of the last, free-flowing rivers in the lower 48 states, a designation that attracts outdoors-lovers from all over. Thanks to the work of these men, they’ll find a more welcoming and safer river system.

They proved it doesn’t take an act of Congress to recognize and fix a problem.

Everyone should see the world through their eyes.

This story was originally published March 3, 2017 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Neighbors get the job done on the Pascagoula."