is a fourth grader at Westside Elementary School who participates in Food Brings Hope's FBHonors program ... two front teeth and gets braces. This story encouraged me to smile more!

After reading the story (Herald, Dec. 29) about the state Republican Party threatening Durango School District 9-R, it seems any hope for a civil conversation with Hope Scheppelman was short-lived.

But I believe its success comes from a deeper yearning from an American public searching for hope and humanity during difficult times. A country looking for a story to help us fly.