That’s Life: Good news happens all the time

By Dianne Owens (Editor)
Editor
Published: September 8, 2008

Here’s a good news story ... for anyone who loves happy endings ...

“My 12-year-old blind black Lab was missing for 14 hours, overnight ... after searching frantically on my own, at the suggestion of a friend, I called 911 and asked for police patrols to be looking for him. He was located within minutes by Officer Daniel Ray, safe and apparently asleep in the middle of Tom Gasque Avenue near the Family Dollar store. Blessings on our 911 dispatchers and on Officer Ray and the Marion Police Department!”

See, there is good news happening all around, all the time …  Sometimes, thought, it’s just so much easier to focus on the yucky. And I disagree every day with anyone who says bad news sells. It might. Sometimes. But for the consistent, long-term sale, you have to have good news, too. For instance, someone came in recently to purchase 25 newspapers to pass a story along to family and friends. That’s good news.

When bad news is published, few people run out and buy additional newspapers, but they sure like to spread the rumor, the story they heard and embellish it as they spread it. What’s good in Marion County? Well $8,000 was raised this past weekend by folks from here and who passed through here for cancer research. That’s good news.

Students in Marion School District 7 are taking college credit courses, there are shops being built around the new Wal-Mart, there’s a new bed and breakfast getting ready to open in Mullins, there are students who get up every day against incredible odds to make it school to better themselves. There are folks, who despite some incredible challenges, go to work every day ... day after day choosing to do the right. Those are good news stories.

Yes, Marion County has high unemployment, an elevated high school drop out rate, hoodlums and hooligans, but they, like the poor, will always be with us. There are success stories in Marion County, too. For the dropouts, a Star Academy is being formed. For those who participated in the ACT-SO competitions, there was bronze. There are the renovations of an historical home in Mullins. There was a martial arts exposition in Marion that showcased talents and skills.

No, Marion County isn’t perfect. No other county in the state can claim that title. No city, no community. There are always challenges, issues and obstacles. But the power of the positive is just as strong as the power of the negative. Good news is worth repeating. And it’s happening, sometimes in the middle of Tom Gasque Avenue, right here in Marion.

Have a good news story? Send it to us by e-mail at or fax it to us at (843) 423-2542.