Bill Morem

Christy French, Atascadero Unified School District’s Teacher of the Year last year, has been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Bonnie Adams is a volunteer for Cayucos Food Distribution, as well as a volunteer with the Salvation Army. As such, her empathy for those in need of basic goods and services speaks for itself.

File this under “Double U” for Upbeat Updates.

With a close-cropped thatch of silver hair, glasses and an engaging grin, John V. Stechman could easily be mistaken for a family doctor or the friendly pharmacist you’ve known all your life.

If you happen to live in a neighborhood that’s reasonably close to Cal Poly, you may think partying and puking are the curriculum of choice for students. And while it’s true that the National Institutes of Health has found that adolescent brains don’t really evolve a sense of sound judgment until the mid-20s, Poly really can’t claim the dubious distinction of being known as a party school.

Now here’s some day-brightening news: The San Luis Obispo-based Kids’ Cancer Research Foundation recently raised and donated $35,000 to the Texas Children’s Cancer Center at the Baylor College of Medicine. The money was raised through the generous offerings of more than 160 local individuals, businesses and the Hind, Hearst and Amgen foundations.

I have relatives who thought their toddler was an absolute marvel in how ordered he kept his belongings. Toys, shoes, and really anything that could be lined up or stacked was fair game for his neatness bent.

One of the greatest rewards of being an ink-slinger is bringing to light those among us who do the right thing. This is one such story. It’s a tale of tears and ultimately tail-wagging triumph.

You won’t often find book reviews of local authors in this space for the simple reason that we have so many fine authors living in the area that to single one out would do an injustice to the others.

I was chattin’ and chewin’ the other night with lifelong friend Jane Maxwell, nee Nettleship (whose father Johnny was the much-beloved sports editor of the Telegram-Tribune for more than 30 years) when the topic turned to bullying.