Some Fishkill residents have a certain understanding with the head of the town's Highway Department that may help make this weekend's storm manageable.

In the Bedford Lane neighborhood, which is full of sharp curves and steep hills, residents seem to be at ease with the possibility of ten inches of snow dropping on Fishkill this weekend.

"The hill's pretty steep," resident Dan Roache said as he prepared his snowblower, "but Fishkill does a pretty good job of keeping it all clear. When we need to get out, we'll get out."

Several residents raved about Fishkill Highway Superintendent Carmine Istvan by name, praising his work and his informational Facebook posts that sometimes go viral from the department's page that has amassed 11,000 followers.

In his third year on the job, Istvan prefers to tell the community what his crews are doing while they do it.

No secrets.

His team was prepping 16 trucks Thursday to plow 85 lane miles of town, village and county roads.

His crews were also doing maintenance on back-up trucks because, as Istvan is promising, at least one truck will break down, possibly in a high-priority problem spot like the Bedford Lane area.

Locals are not the only ones who appreciate Istvan's upfront style and his social media savvy.

"We have other counties and other towns that look at what we're doing," Istvan said. "It's all about education and getting the residents prepared for the worst case scenario."

Istvan also wants people to know how and why his team does its job a little differently than other highway departments do.

They are using special blades on the plows that adjust like a razor to avoid scraping off road salt they just put down.

"They go up and down with the contour of the road," Istvan said.

They are using specially treated salt that sticks to the road, requiring less salt and reducing run-off that can pollute local waterways.

Previously the owner of a snow removal business and now leading the highway department, Istvan has found that honesty — on social media or in person — works.

In the same fashion he is promising a truck failure this weekend, he is also warning residents to be ready to shovel the giant walls of snow that will be plowed onto their driveways and that at least one mailbox will be banged up by a plow truck.