If I have heard it once, I have heard it a thousand times from readers: I don’t read the newspaper anymore, because it is filled with bad news.

Of course, this is untrue. Local newspapers such as the Times News pride themselves on being true community pipelines to readers. We are here to celebrate accomplishments as well as shine a light on matters that are not as exemplary.

The word “news” implies information from all directions, an acronym for North, East, West, South. There have been scores of surveys among newspaper readers about their reading habits. We have found that what they say versus how they act when reading a newspaper is contradictory. They say they want “positive, feel-good” news stories, but when they were tested on their preferences, they almost always chose a murder, a shooting, an assault, a motor vehicle crash, etc. over the awarding of an Eagle Scout, the naming of a student to the dean’s list, the choice of a school’s valedictorian, etc.

Over the years, there have been more than a dozen attempts to start “good news” newspapers that dealt exclusively in “good news.” In every instance, they failed in less than a year.

That said, I want this column to focus on “snow angels” in our area. As a result of the many heroic tales I have heard about neighbor helping neighbor during our two recent big snowstorms, I wanted to dedicate this column to letting you know about the many acts of random kindness that went on during the last week or so.

Throughout the five-county Times News region, especially in hard-hit Carbon and Monroe counties, people went out of their way to help their family, friends, neighbors, even strangers.

Hundreds of thousands were without power throughout the PPL and Metropolitan Edison service areas, some for days, meaning they had no heat, hot water — or in some cases no water at all — or other amenities of life which we too frequently take for granted.

An elderly East Penn Township couple told me about a stranger who drove throughout their neighborhood with a snowblower, volunteering to clear driveways and front steps and stoops. When offered money, he merely said, “No, thanks. Just pay it forward some day if you can.”

One resident in Penn Forest Township told me that she heard a knock on her door. Another resident, who lived about a mile away, had containers of hot soup which she was distributing to neighbors without power to “help warm the innards,” as she put it.

Several teenage boys were walking through their neighborhood in Palmerton asking to shovel driveways and sidewalks. If residents wanted to make a charitable donation, fine; if not, no problem, it was on the house.

An 86-year-old Summit Hill man said at least four neighbors checked in with him to make sure he was OK. They also volunteered to get anything he might need to make it through the rest of the storm. One brought his snowblower to clear his sidewalk. Although I have heaped a fair amount of criticism on Mount Airy Casino in Mount Pocono over the years for some of its shortcomings, management and staff really rose to the occasion after the brutal March 2 snowstorm.

Scores of stranded motorists were invited to hang out in the casino’s pool area, given bedding to stay overnight and food and drink to stave off hunger. They were allowed to stay until road crews could reopen Route 611, Interstate 80 and several key side roads which led to these major arteries.

A New Jersey motorist, who was stranded with her two children, heaped unending praise upon the resort workers. “They were so accommodating and understanding of our situation. It restored my faith in the human race,” she said.

There are probably thousands of other instances of “snow angels” coming to the aid of those in need. We would like to chronicle these “good news” stories in a later column.

Send me the circumstances of your encounter with one of these “angels,” along with your name and either an email address or a phone number so I can verify the information.

My email address is bfrassinelli@ptd.net or tneditor@tnonline.com.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com