A county staffer who takes responsibility for fighting an uphill battle to keep drivers safe was honored Monday by the Barton County Commission.
Ken Fritz — also known as “the sign guy” received the Employee Relations Committee Employee Recognition Award for the third quarter, due to the work he put in to keeping up with the replacement of stolen and vandalized county road signs.
ERC Chairman Stan Behrends told the commissioners that Fritz regularly gets called out, day and night, to replace damaged or stolen signs that are at crucial points in the county. Behrends said Fritz is well known as “the best guy to go to” when sign work is needed.
Fritz told the commissioners that he does stay busy replacing signs around the county. “We get a lot of damage,” he said.
He said the county has head to replace between 300 and 400 signs just this year. “We put new 911 signs up and they shoot them or steal them,” Friz noted. “We’ve got a lot of problems.”
The expense is not a small one for county taxpayers, either, he said. “They’re not cheap signs.”
Behrends, making the presentation, added Fritz’s nomination was made due to “his comprehensive knowledge of sign placement, appreciation of public safety and dedication to the county.”
Behrend said it is not unusual at all for Fritz to be out at night if there is a report of a vital safety sign needing to be replaced.