Folks across the river in Concordia Parish learned this week that a good dose of patience and persistence will eventually pay off. After more than eight years of &uot;applying, reapplying, begging, pleading,&uot; officials announced the parish will receive more than $5.1 million in state and federal funds to improve the sewage treatment facilities in Ridgecrest.

Although it’s a bit of an unorthodox Easter present, the citizens of Ridgecrest have 5.1 million extra blessings to be thankful for this Easter season.

And apparently the money comes not a minute too soon.

For years residents have endured life with an inadequate, hazardous sewer system.

From leaky pipes that sometimes leave raw sewage standing in ditches to the constant fear that the substandard system may be making residents ill, the good folks of Ridgecrest deserve better.

And soon the money the parish received should help improve the quality of life and health for about 1,000 people serviced by the system.

The money included $3.1 million in grants and $1.1 million in loans from the U.S. Rural Utilities Service and a nearly $1 million Community Development Block Grant from the Louisiana Office of Community Development.

Obviously some folks in the parish have learned that the persistence pays off and grouping several sources of financing together pays off even more.

The successful effort should serve as an example for other parish projects in the future.