Severe weather that passed through the area Friday night left behind damaged houses, but also brought together Kingston residents to help their fellow neighbors.

The storms, however, cannot dampen a week filled with great news from our community:

• Lil Dagos’ restaurant owner Modie Mascagni found more than a friend in Tony Gamberi when Mascagni took him under his wing a year and a half ago. Gamberi, who is autistic, spends several days a week with Mascagni and his family and sees himself as shared owner of the restaurant. It’s stories such as these that make us appreciate our community so much.

• Trinity Episcopal Day School senior Sarah Rodriguez is one of 16,000 students across the country selected as a semifinalist in the annual National Merit Scholarship Program. The program is a scholarship competition for recognition and university scholarships, and Rodriguez will now compete to become a finalist in the program. We hope Rodriguez continues to advance and wish her the best.

• Several Natchez businesses will be featured in a segment of MSNBC’s Sunday morning show “Your Business.” The segment focuses on the ability of Main Street shop owners to diversify their businesses, allowing them to thrive. We’re glad the whole country will soon get a glimpse into the lives of our local business owners and residents.

• Two tornadoes touched down in Adams County, one of which damaged Sen. Melanie Sojourner’s house in Kingston. We’re thankful community residents volunteered their time to gather up the senator’s possessions so they would not be further damaged.

As cooler temperatures are forecasted, we welcome the beginning of autumn, just around the corner. Let’s work to continue doing great things in the community.