All too often, many of us think that government is on one side of the playing field and the private sector is on the other — often in a grudge match against one another.

The truth is, for our society to work well and thrive, we need to work hand-in-hand.

Natchez recently saw an example of that through the volunteer work of two long-time downtown business owners.

Their work started simply enough — they saw a need in government and helped meet it.

Dennis and Darby Short’s business burned in November 2014. While any structure fire is scary and dangerous, a fire in Natchez’s historic downtown can quickly become highly destructive as buildings abut one another and fire can quickly spread.

Fortunately the Shorts’ fire was relatively contained, though devastating to their business. In the process, however, the couple discovered the Natchez Fire Department lacked modern thermal sensing equipment that could improve the great work firefighters do day in and day out.

The Shorts stepped up and donated their own money and led fundraising efforts to purchase seven thermal imaging cameras for the fire department.

Their gift is potentially lifesaving for a future fire victim.

We offer “thanks” to the Shorts for their work, but we also hold them up as a great example of how people in our community see a need and meet it, even if that need is really on someone else’s watch — like the city government in this case.

If more of us were observant and involved, imagine what great things could happen in Natchez.