Laurels to the kindness of strangers like Lee Lanier of Reeds, outside of Lexington. Working on his farm one day, Reeds found a piece of paper with a cloud-shaped note on it. Young Cayden Usher had written the note to his late brother, Jacob, who died in March at the age of 7 during a heart procedure. Cayden had sent the note skyward with a balloon at grief camp. Rather than toss the note aside, Lanier thought the family might want the note and started searching for them. After finding Jacob’s obituary online, he contacted Norma Honeycutt at Partners in Learning Child Development Center, which was mentioned in the obituary, and she helped the note make its way back to Jacob’s family. Honeycutt saw more than chance at work in the chain of events. “I believe that God winks,” she said, “and this is just another way of God reassuring this family.”

Dart to cruelty to animals in all forms, including stabbing. Details are sketchy, but the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office has charged a Goodman Lake Road man with cruelty after he took a knife to 9-month-old back terrier mix. According to the report, he said the dog’s owner had told him to do it; the owner also faces animal cruelty charges. If the man was indeed told to “do away” with the dog for some reason, as the report said, he didn’t have to resort the violence. The Rowan County Animal Shelter on Julian Road could have taken the dog. The best course is for owners to take good care of their animals. If that becomes too much of a burden, though, there could be someone else willing to do it.

Laurels to the Salisbury Community Foundation, which awarded $125,000 in grants to 31 local nonprofits recently. The grants ranged from $1,000 to $8,000 each, covering everything from gym security equipment for Salisbury High to dental staffing for the Community Care Clinic. Generosity takes many forms in Rowan County, from coins dropped into kettles to large sums given by charitable foundations. How fortunate it is that Salisbury Community Foundation has been around since 1944, helping to make life better in Rowan County.