It's amazing at the things you can find if you just look around you.

By Staff
Franklin County, in comparison to other counties in the state, is rather small.
It's close-knit. It's not often you can go somewhere and see someone you don't know.
Whether they are old friends or new ones, it's hard not to run into someone on the road, in the grocery store or out to eat that knows you as good as your family.
It's tough to find this rich sense of community in a place so large, like Jefferson, Mobile or Madison counties.
It's much easier to find in the smaller communities and hometowns, but countywide it's a rarity.
That's part of what makes living in this county so special. More often that not, we take that for granted.
In the past 12 months, our little county has made some major headlines, headlines cities and counties much larger haven't been able to achieve.
The Alabama Superintendent of the Year is Dr. Wayne Ray, the head of the Russellville City Schools. Being recognized by your peers is great but to be named among the best in the state is a tremendous honor.
Judy Brown, ACTE Teacher of the Year, is a graduate of Vina High School. She may not live her now but the groundwork was laid for her success as she walked the halls at one of our county schools.
Orland Britnell, a lifelong resident of the county, is head of the state cattlemen's association. Not only is he the first person to hold this office from our county, he's the first one from this part of the state.
There's a laundry list of things, a long list of teachers, students and individuals that have been honored for great things.
I could fill this space three times over with all the good news in the community. Many of them are past headlines of this newspaper.
People are at the core of every strong community. Franklin County is blessed to have so many strong people at its core.