Wanna hear something good?

Despite being in the media industry and writing for a newspaper...I don't actually subscribe to very many newspapers.
Occasionally, I will pick up the Tallahassee Democrat from the paper's selling racks whenever the front page has something that interests me, and I try to pick up the Gadsden County Times (my home-county paper) on Thursday evenings.
I have numerous subscriptions to magazines and and newsletters – but I, regrettably, need to work on my printed newspaper subscription base.
That being said...I did, recently, subscribe to a new type of newspaper.
The Good Newspaper is a national print newspaper that spotlights – as you might've guessed – only good news. I chose to subscribe when all of this “mess” of COVID and social distancing and fear and paranoia came into play, and I'm so glad I did.
When I got my first edition, I was reminded about how precious good news can be – even the Bible talks about it.
“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good thing,” (Isaiah 52:7).
It's incredibly important to keep a positive outlook, not just right now but for any season of our lives.
Sometimes, things may be dark and dire, but those moments shouldn't shadow the things that are good and great.
It's easy to turn on the television and see the news that an earthquake has rattled a community, that a plague has shut people up into their homes or that a death has shook a family down to its core.
But thats not all there is to life – plenty of good and wonderful things are happening too.
So here is a bit of good news that I've recently read and learned about – and maybe it can cheer up you as it did me:
• Restaurants and retail stores are getting the okay to reopen! I have seen many downtown Monticello merchants excitedly announcing to their customer base that they will be reopening after this brief closure. When you go out shopping this weekend, try to buy from the folks in your own community.
• Jefferson Somerset's cafeteria crew, transportation members and administration continues to give free meals to their students. The school has been transporting over 600 meals a day to Jefferson County students – and offering it all at no cost to parents or kids; talk about heroics!
• Jefferson County holds steady at 28 COVID-19 cases. Maybe it's too early to be singing praises, or maybe I need to “knock on wood” after happily saying this, but I believe its always a good time to mention good news. Only 26 of those 28 cases were county residents and there have only been seven COVID-related hospitalizations. A total of 192 tests have been administered in the county, and 164 of those tests have returned negative.
• Did you hear that the entire surface of Earth's Moon has been mapped? For the first tine, the entire lunar surface has been completely looked over and mapped by scientists with the United States Geological Society (in a partnership with NASA and the Lunar Planetary Institute). This is the first time that a blueprint for the moon has been offered, and this will help future explorers understand the moon all the better.
• The Monticello-Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce has been giving away free masks – really! While masks have become something like gold, the chamber's volunteers have been meeting together to sew and then give away their creations. From essential workers and first responders, to just local folks in need, the masks have been given away without asking for anything in return – talk about community!
• The coronavirus has shut down a lot of tourist-driven economy in Florida and Thailand – but you know what else it has done? Aid the endangered status of little leatherback turtle hatchlings. Since the shut-down, people have been away from the Floridian and Thai beaches where leatherbacks lay their eggs. Because of this, the adult turtle have been heading to the quiet beaches in order to lay their eggs. Thailand says that leatherback turtles are rare in Southeast Asia and that the turtles choosing to nest on their beaches is the first time this has happened in five years. So far, the Thai government has counted 11 new nests, more than any time within the last two decades.
• Florida's Juno Beach is the most densely nested sea turtle beach in the world, and the Loggerhead Marine Life Center says they have found 76 Leatherback nesting sights, which is a significant increase from last year.
• Loggerhead eggs have 60 days until hatching, and with a limited human presence even as beaches reopen, both places are confident that the eggs will remain safe until they hatch.
• Jefferson Somerset student Laylonnie Johnson has plenty of reason to celebrate! She was recognized as the 4-H District III Tropicana Public Speaking Contest winner of the year! Johnson is in the fourth-fifth grade division and won the county contest earlier this year.
• Staff at Aucilla Christian Academy recently made their rounds about the county, visiting the homes of the different Warrior Class of 2020 students to congratulate the seniors and spread love. While everyone wore masks or remained six-feet apart, the school staff held up signs proclaiming their love for their senior class throughout this unusual time.