13 Good News Stories: Beer Stops A Fire, And So Does A Dog
ACROSS AMERICA — There’s a good chuckle in what happened to a California man as he protected his home against approaching flames, though there is not one single other thing that is funny about the second-largest wildfire in California history.
Chad Little saw the levity in the agent he used keep the massive LNU Lightning Complex fire from claiming his home along with 1,000 others it had already destroyed.
A couple of dog bowls still had water in them, but that wouldn’t be enough to stop the fire line racing toward his family’s home. “I was panicking and trying to find water, and I thought, ‘What do I have a lot of?’ ” Little said.
He found relief in cans of hops, barley, water and rice. “It dawned on me," he said, "that I had two cases of Bud Light.” By Kat Schuster for Suisun City Patch
When we look deep enough, we find reasons to smile during challenging times. Here are 12 more good news stories from Patch editors across America.
Dog Had A, Ahem, Hankering There Was A Fire
Hank the dog has new superhero status around a DuPage County, Illinois, neighborhood. Everyone’s calling him “Hank the Wonder Dog,” with good reason. His family woke up early to find him agitated and upset in his kennel. He shot out of the gate when it was opened and ran for the back door. Fearing there might be a person intending harm on the other side the door, his family was nervous — but then saw why Hank was so perturbed. The neighbor’s house was on fire. Everyone got out OK, but if not for Hank’s warning, “this would have been a very different story,” the local fire chief told Patch. By Rebecca Bream (Hughes) for Woodridge Patch
How Many Ways Can You Say ‘You’re Valued’?
Ninety, as it turns out. In Florida, Lauren Hubbard (top photo) helped the Junior League of St. Petersburg celebrate 90 years of service by dusting homes, car windshields and neighborhood hangouts with pink notes of gratitude filled with inspirational messages such as “you are valued,” “you are loved” and “you are magic.” By Skyla Luckey for St. Pete Patch
You Haven’t Had Good Watermelon Until …
Watermelon tastes like summer. But the slice Clinton Brown, a Georgia pastor and truck driver, sank his teeth into five months ago in Brooklyn lacked everything he loved about a favorite snack he had learned to grow as a child on his family's farm in Mississippi. And it was expensive to boot. “I said to my sweetheart, ‘I want to bring some watermelon to Brooklyn,’ ” Brown told Patch. So he began bringing truckloads of watermelons to the borough, thinking he could make some extra cash while his other shipments were slowed by the coronavirus. Brooklyn residents soon learned how good watermelon tastes, and Brown has a booming new business. By Anna Quinn for Prospect Heights-Crown Heights Patch
Teen Celebrity Chef Is Back In The Kitchen
Fear isn't in Fuller Goldsmith's vocabulary. The 16-year-old Tuscaloosa native, a teen celebrity chef in his own right, is back in the kitchen after overcoming cancer for a fourth time. And, he told Patch, he’s not going to let the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic slow down his plans as he forwards his budding culinary career. His cancer has been in remission since he participated in immunotherapy clinical trials in early 2019. "I'm at home cooking and cooking at Southern Ale House a lot," he told Patch. "I've just been trying to come up with new recipes during this quarantine." By Ryan Phillips for Tuscaloosa Patch
They’ll Soon Get The Papers For A Paper Company
It’s one thing to have a voice in your workplace. It’s something else entirely when you own it. The three employees at Newark Paper Co. are about to become owners through a partnership with Invest Newark, a local economic development group. The coronavirus pandemic forced the company to reinvent itself, and Newark Paper Co. is now supplying a variety of hard-to-find items to local businesses and performing arts venues. Once the company starts making a profit, ownership will be turned over to the employees. By Eric Kiefer for Newark Patch
A Dear Story About A Deer
Dawn Rasmussen never intended to load a 3-month-old fawn in the passenger seat of her Subaru Outback and cruise around central Oregon. But a wildfire was moving closer, and Thor, the fawn, was too young to fully take care of himself, and she couldn’t leave him behind. Rasmussen and her husband found Thor as a hungry, dehydrated newborn abandoned by his mother. Or perhaps the fawn found the Rasmussens. They’re raising Thor and teaching him what he needs to know to survive on his own in the wild. By Colin Miner for Across America Patch
34 Years Of Getting Kids Safely Across The Street
In 34 years as a school crossing guard, no one in Mokena, Illinois, remembers Phyllis Karpola ever taking a sick day. She earned the love and respect of hundreds of students over the years who count her as a trusted friend. When Karpola retired, village leaders honored her in a proclamation. “It’s a happy time for me, but it’s also a sad time for me,” she said. “I’m going to miss my parents. I have met so many people in Mokena by being a crossing guard.” By Andrea Earnest for Mokena Patch
Lucky Numbers In Grandparents’ Anniversary
We may never know the identity of the winner in two Illinois Lottery games. But the story on how the winner chose the numbers is heartwarming. The lucky winner’s grandparents were married on July 16, 1941 — leading to the choice of 7-1-6 on a Pick 3 ticket that paid off $290. A Pick 4 ticket purchased on the grandparents’ anniversary date, July 16, used the numbers 1-9-4-1. Bonanza! The ticket paid $1,080. “I just had a good feeling about it. I was thinking about my grandparents, who helped raise me, and we were very close,” the winner said. By Lisa Marie Farver for Lisle Patch
WWII Vet Gets Her Own Day On 105th Birthday
Athena Wright became a registered nurse right out of high school and joined the U.S. Army just before the attack on Pearl Harbor. She worked as a nurse at several station hospitals in Australia and in the jungles of New Guinea, where she met her husband, a major in the medical corps. On her 105th birthday, the mayor of Scottsdale, Arizona, where she lives in an assisted living facility, declared it “Athena Wright Day.” By Lindsay Walker for Phoenix Patch
Give This A Listen, Teens
Four years ago, Param Desagani, now a high school senior in Newport Beach, California, was “deeply affected” when he read stories about teen suicide and the suicide of a firefighter, and he started a website called “Help Keep A Life.” Today, he worries about the effect of social isolation resulting from the coronavirus pandemic and added a podcast to help those experiencing a mental health crisis. “It’s necessary to maintain social distancing, but it’s important to message, chat and stay in touch with friends while you're studying from home,” he said. By Ashley Ludwig for Newport Beach Patch
A Church’s Blessing And Its Curse
The Rev. Bernard Wilson worried along with business owners what would happen when he closed the Connecticut church where he is a senior minister to in-person services in March. How long would the coronavirus pandemic last? How was he going to offer active, vibrant religious services? Would the flock come back? What he found out surprised him. Was it a blessing or a curse? By Rich Kirby for Weston Patch
This Little Piggy Went For A Rodeo Ride
The sheriff’s office in Wildomar, California, had some fun after a pig got away from its owner, posting a video clip of the roundup with this message: “Wildomar motor deputy sprung into action today when a pig managed to elude its owner along Bundy Canyon Road. The #slipperyswine proved no match for the tan and green #pigwrangler Deputy Hansen safely reunited the pig with its owner. No deputies or pigs were injured during this #roadsiderodeo. For more posts give us a like and share. Y'all come back now ya hear!!" By Toni McAllister for Lake Elsinore-Wildomar Patch
If you liked these stories, you may like our Patch Local Heroes project celebrates people in your community who go out of their way to help others without any expectation of the public thank-you they deserve. Do YOU have a local hero you would like us to know about? Nominate a local hero in your community right here.
This article originally appeared on the Across America Patch
