13 Good News Stories: Their Votes Count; Zoom Zumba; Hello, Dolly

ACROSS AMERICA — Can you stand one more election story that has no side other than one we can all agree on? And that is this: Rachel Russello is a good, patriotic American.

The 92-year-old Guilford, Connecticut, woman voted in her first presidential election in 1946, the year President Harry S. Truman defeated Republican challenger Thomas E. Dewey.

And she hasn’t missed voting in a single presidential election since. Not one.

On Election Day, Russello voted in her 18th presidential election. Her grandson, who voted in his first, was by her side. By Ellyn Santiago for Guilford Patch.

Below, we continue our collection of 13 good news stories from Patch editors across America, starting with a few more election-related stories that won’t make you see red — or blue.

Future Rachel Russellos

Down the coast in Florida, several first-time voters experienced the same thrill Rachel Russello did when she cast her first ballot in 1946. They include a nonviolent felon whose voting rights were recently restored; basketball star, entertainer and entrepreneur Shaquille O'Neal; an 18-year-old Black woman inspired by civil rights activists who “had to march and literally fight for us to vote”; and several others. By Tiffany Razzano for Sarasota Patch

They Voted To Help

America’s retirees have been a fixture at polls over the ages, but they’re also vulnerable to infection from the coronavirus. This past Election Day, several high school students in Santa Monica, California, stepped in as election workers. They’re not yet old enough to vote; but as Cleo Fouts explained it, she couldn’t just “sit around and sulk,” so she decided to volunteer as an election worker to help her community and still be involved in what she called “one of the most important elections in history.” By Nicole Charky for Santa Monica Patch

Nice Is Election Day Winner

Kathy Mackie has been working the election tables in Belleville, New Jersey, for two decades. And between the coronavirus, partisan fighting and fears of civil unrest, she was biting her nails Tuesday as local voters hit the polls. But now that it's over, the veteran poll worker has an unexpected adjective to describe Election Day in Belleville: "pleasant." By Eric Kiefer for Belleville Patch

Hello, Dolly!

Ever since Laura Steele-Liebman and her husband, Jonathan, put Dolly, the doll his mother made 30 years ago, on display in the front window of their home in Hoboken, New Jersey, they’ve seen a lot of foot traffic on their street from local children fascinated by the different outfits she sports. Naturally, she was costumed for Halloween and, in the time of COVID-19, wore a face mask. She also has her own Instagram account. By Caren Lissner for Summit Patch

Zoom Zumba

Every weekday at 10:30 a.m., they start showing up: smiling faces with graying or white hair, peering into their computers from their kitchens, living rooms and bedrooms across Newton, Massachusetts, swaying to music. Some blow kisses, others wave, nearly all are smiling. By 11 a.m., more than 100 are logged in, and about half have the cameras on their computers turned on. And when the dulcet tones of Frank Sinatra start drifting out of the computer, that's their cue: In unison, a swing of the arm to the right, a swing of the arm to the left, and the Zumba class has started. By Jenna Fisher for Newton Patch

Papa’s Big Run

Matt Grennell knew he wanted to do something big to honor his dad, who died unexpectedly in January. He wanted to raise money for something Mark Grennell was passionate about. So the Homer Glen, Illinois, man ran 100 miles on his dad’s birthday, calling it Papa’s Big Run, to raise money for Let Them Come Ministries, a charity his dad created to raise money for an orphanage and mission in Mexico. By Andrea Earnest for Homer Glen-Lockport Patch

John, 3:16: Was It Real?

“Just let me go,” John Ormond told his daughter, Savonna Ormond. She knew it was the desperation talking as her father battled COVID-19 and that he wasn’t ready to die. He fought for four months and was in and out of consciousness. When he fully came to, he couldn’t remember what he’d been through. He remembers seeing a Bible quote from John, 3:16 on the wall — whether it was really there, he can’t say — so he prayed. And he survived after being hospitalized for 132 days. By Ellyn Santiago for East Haven Patch

Hacks That Saved Halloween

For you folks who aren’t familiar with Hoboken, New Jersey, it’s a 1-square-mile area across the river from Manhattan that’s packed with 53,000 Halloween-loving people. Its longtime Halloween Ragamuffin Parade was canceled in the interest of coronavirus social distancing, and it looked like trick-or-treating would be tricky and not that much of a treat for the kids. But the adults put their heads together and came up with some clever hacks for candy chutes that you just have to see for yourself. By Caren Lissner for Hoboken Patch

Under The Hood Of A Mustang

Ford’s Mustang sports car is known for what’s under its hood, but a Dania Beach, Florida, resident found a lot more than horsepower: python power. The gigantic Burmese python coiled around the engine compartment was nothing to mess with. These turbo-charged snakes indigenous to Southeast Asia fuel themselves on alligators, whitetail deer and bobcats. It all worked out OK for the owner of the Mustang, who now has a pretty great “believe it or not” story to tell. By Payton Potter for Miami Patch

Hello, There’s A Lizard On The Line

Think you've had a harrowing week? You've got nothing on a chameleon that spent three days hanging on for life to a San Mateo County, California, power line. A concerned soul called the Peninsula Humane Society to report there was a lizard on the line, and it’s now leading the good lizard life at a shelter. By Gideon Rubin for San Mateo Patch

Officer, Arrest This Officer

Pasco County Sheriff’s Office Cpl. Joe Liddick and his family had a crime to solve and find the culprit responsible for swiping and eating the Halloween cookies. Little did the police officer know the thief was his partner, who’s been at his side as a member of the bomb squad and in the protection of dignitaries. There was no escaping the truth, though. It was as clear as cookie crumbs on his mouth, shown on the surveillance video set up for a sting. K-9 Chris was busted. By D’Ann Lawrence for New Port Richey Patch

A Perfect Send-Off

Kristen Hassen is leaving her post as director of a city-sponsored animal shelter in Tucson, Arizona, to take a job in Texas for American Pets Alive. She is the 2020 winner of the Maddie Hero Award from Maddie’s Fund, a national nonprofit. “Some days you feel like you just can’t do it anymore,” she said, “and on days like this, you realize that the work that we’ve done there is really a beacon of hope to so many other people working in shelters.” By Lindsay Walker for Tucson Patch