The 12th anniversary of the tragic events that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001, came and went last week with moments of silence and prayer across the Miss-Lou.

Despite the somber moments, last week was still filled with great news from our area:

-Holy Family School teacher Sherry Gaines knows her job is more than simply teaching math and spelling. Gaines brings the word of God to her 3- and 4-year-old students to help instill Christian values at a young age and has been doing so for 15 years. Keep up the good work, Gaines.

-Former Adams County Sheriff Tommy Ferrell couldn’t help but be involved in his community after retirement. Ferrell serves as chairman of the Natchez-Adams County Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors and volunteers his time to support the chamber at ribbon-cuttings, grand openings and other chamber events. We thank Ferrell and all the volunteers for their dedicated service.

-Cathedral School ninth-grade student John Ashton Hicks spent three weeks on the campus of the University of Mississippi this summer as part of the Lott Leadership Institute for Rising Ninth Graders. Hicks was among 80 students from across the state who participated in the program. We hope Hicks learned some valuable lessons during his time at Ole Miss.

-West Elementary School fifth-grade students displayed a class project commemorating the anniversary of September 11. The students made replica models, storyboards and posters that depicted something from Sept. 11, 2001. We’re glad to see students learning from events in our country’s past.

Let’s use the good news from last week to propel us to making even better news this week.