The Mississippi River reached its crest on Monday, and, fortunately, lessons learned from past experiences helped with planning and preparation for this event.

Measures taken to raise levee heights and to alleviate weak spots in the levees helped lessen the impact of this 57.8 foot crest, which is the third highest crest recorded on the river at Natchez.

That’s certainly good news, but it was not the only good news from the past week. Here is a look at some of the past week’s other good news stories.

* A father and daughter were reunited last week after Jacob Colón returned from a year of U.S. military deployment with time spent in Kuwait.

When Colón left, his 4-year-old daughter, Abigail “Abbie” Noel Colón, could barely talk. Upon Jacob’s return, however, Abbie was talking up a storm expressing her happiness at her father’s return.

* Natchez has named Ventris Green the city’s new fire chief.

Green is a good choice for the position, having filled in since last August when the former chief Aaron Wesley was placed on administrative leave and eventually retired. Green has 22 years firefighting experience and has led the city through battling a fire at the historic Prentiss Club building in downtown Natchez, hiring nine new firefighters and helping the city purchase a new $1 million fire engine, which will help improve the city’s fire insurance rating.

Best of luck, chief Green.

* Natchez High School junior Kaylyn Stampley has a bright future.

Stampley placed fourth in photographic technology at the district-wide Technology Student Association competition in Vicksburg, and she hopes to do even better at the state level later this month. Outside of the camera’s lens, however, Stampley has her mind set on becoming a lawyer.

We wish her much success in both endeavors.