All-day, we are accosted by headlines like “California is on fire,” “Senate fails to pass another stimulus bill,” “The coronavirus continues to spread” and “WHS returns to school remotely.” In a world where stories like these are at the epicenter of our lives, maintaining a positive outlook on life can be hard. Let’s face it, when negative headlines are the only ones we hear about, it is easy to feel down as a result. With the current outbreak of COVID-19 afflicting our well-being, we all need to hear some good news. With the pandemic, came encouraging stories like those of young people shopping for their neighbors, volunteers making PPE for hospitals and communities coming together. In order to brighten up your day, here is a current event that, indisputably, qualifies as good news.

A couple of weeks ago, a medical evacuation plane rushed to the remote, southern Alaskan village of Igiugig to save a sick child. They boarded the child onto the plane and flew her to a hospital in Anchorage. She has now been released from the hospital and is healthy and at home. However, this happy ending was only possible because of the noble actions of the child’s neighbors and fellow community members. Around midnight, the villagers noticed that a plane was circling the airfield, flying low, but not landing. The runway lights had been recently damaged, and without working lights, the plane could not land. The good samaritans of Igiugig sprang into action. They gathered together in the middle of the night and parked their cars up and down the runway — high beams and headlights on — illuminating the way for the plane in place of the broken lights. Had it not been for their last-resort, heart-touching effort, the young girl might not have arrived at the hospital in stable condition. So, here’s to Igiugig; without stories like yours, good news would be hard to come by.