9 Good News Stories: Being Niko; Refusing Bows; Living With Snakes

ACROSS AMERICA — This is good news for all of us, but especially for little girls, who experience scoliosis about 10 times more often than little boys: With the help of a Marina del Rey, California, surgeon, Chelsea, a new doll in the Barbie line, looks like they do.

Dr. Luke Macyszyn consulted with Mattel to design the doll, fitted at the waist with the same type of brace real kids wear to prevent or at least slow further curvature of the spine. He told Patch’s Rachel Barnes that Mattel had a genuine desire to make the doll as clinically and anatomically correct as possible and that the introduction of Chelsea is a big win for inclusivity.

“I think this doll kind of normalizes the whole thing, saying, ‘hey, just like there’s regular Barbie dolls, there’s dolls that have scoliosis,’ ” Macyszyn said. “Just like there’s people who don’t have scoliosis, there’s some people that do, and this is just part of life and part of the human experience.” » By Rachel Barnes for Venice-Mar Vista Patch

‘I Want To Be Niko’

Niko Heinzman is like a lot of 11-year-old boys. He loves to surf. He loves to play guitar. He loves to hang out with friends. But there’s something else the Toms River, New Jersey, boy enjoys: Helping others, which he has been doing in a multitude of ways since he helped his parents, Randy and Suzanne, sort through donations for Hurricane Harvey Relief in 2017, running a hotdog stand to raise his own share for the cause, and since has raised money for everything from national campaigns like Toys for Tots to his local volunteer fire department. Patch’s Karen Wall reports that on Tuesday, Volunteer Fire Company 1 made Niko an honorary member and given the President’s Award for his volunteer spirit. “Most days kids wake up wanting to be firemen, wanting to be us, to live the dream,” Ian Monzo, the fire company’s president, said at the ceremony. “I want to be Niko. He inspires me to be a better person because of the selfless, kind acts he does for our community.” » By Karen Wall for Toms River Patch

‘I Don’t Like To Take Bows’

Charles Berry, 74, would legit qualify for the “good neighbor award” if the city of North Merrick, New York, decided to hand one out. He smelled smoke, then saw flames that had already engulfed his neighbor’s garage quickly spreading toward her home. He grabbed a garden hose and started spraying the house with water, “the only thing I could do,” he told Patch’s Jerry Barmash. If not for a tree that shielded him from the heat of the fire, “I wouldn't have been able to do anything,” he said. And as for the people who hailed him as a hero for his efforts for saving the house, he said this: “I don’t like to take bows. I did what I could do.” » By Jerry Barmash for Merrick Patch

Life With Snakes

As a kid who grew up in suburban Chicago watching Mutual of Omaha’s “Wild Kingdom,” Dave DiNaso (top photo) wanted nothing more than to grow up working with wild animals, especially reptiles. So it should come as no surprise that for the past three decades, he and his team with the Traveling World of Reptiles Show have taken boxes of snakes to thousands of classrooms, scout meetings, birthday parties, senior centers, private parties and libraries, using the serpents to teach people, especially kids, about ecology. “Reptiles have been a passion of mine since I was a young child,” DiNaso told Patch’s Lorraine Swason. “When I was a little kid, I would bring home salamanders and turtles. I wouldn’t keep them long and let them go where I caught them. Here I am in my 50s, doing what I wanted to do when I was 5.” » By Lorraine Swanson for Oak Lawn Patch

Action After Tragedy

Merve Ayra woke up in her Bergen County, New Jersey, home Monday morning to discover she had lost her 4-year-old niece, aunt and uncle in a massive earthquake on the other side of the world. “I wanted to be with my family,” she told Patch’s Logan Williamson. “And not being able to go was like torture.” Rather than paralysis, the tragedy spurred Ayra into action. She’s raising money for her home village of Harmanli in Turkey, one of the areas hardest hit by 7.8- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes that have killed at least 21,000 people in her native country and Syria. “Please do not spare your help even if it is small,” Ayra pleaded, in Turkish, on her GoFundMe page, which had raised about $2,2000 by Friday morning to help survivors. “Your generosity can make all the difference in the lives of these individuals.” » By Logan Williamson for Mahwah Patch

‘Really — It’s Priceless’

Instead of an eyesore, people walking near the long fenced off construction site on York Avenue on New York’s Upper East Side will now see the artwork of about 60 fifth-graders who attend public school in the area. The project came about after Julie Menin, a member of the New York City Council, tasked the students with depicting “what NYC means to you.” They were on board right away. The art fence cost less than $5,000, “but really — it’s priceless,” New York City Department of Design and Construction Commissioner Thomas Foley told Patch’s Peter Senzamici. The fifth graders’ work features landmarks like the Chrysler Building and Empire State Building, but also busy street scenes with cars, taxis and food carts. » By Peter Senzamici for Upper East Side Patch

Cards Fill Void You May Not See

Maxime Francis, of Wilton, Connecticut, named her new greeting card company I Have No Filter, and it’s built on the theory that attorneys shouldn’t be the only people profiting from about 50 percent of U.S. marriages that end in divorce. Yes, this woman with the moxie to verbalize what many of us think, said that. “There are cards for just about everything,” she told Patch’s Rich Kirby. “You break your arm, you get a card. You stub your toe, you get a card. But there really weren’t a lot of cards for a divorce-iversary.” She had to create her own to send to her ex-husband, and it made her feel a lot better about things. So, Kirby asked Francis, is I Have No Filter a business or a therapy? “I think it can be a little bit of both, right?” she said. “If you buy the card, it might be therapy for you. But it’s a business for me.” » By Rich Kirby for Wilton Patch

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To Be Honest …

To be honest, Dianne Gordon has said to reporters, keeping the nearly $15,000 she found in a bag while walking home from work would have been life-changing. The White Lake Township, Michigan, woman had been getting to and from her job at a grocery store on foot since her car broke down last winter. But to be an honest person, she knew she had to turn it over to police. Cards inside the bag showed the money belonged to a couple who had gotten married earlier that day. Hearing her story, the wife of a local police officer set up a GoFundMe campaign to buy her a new Jeep with an extended warranty; it’s raised more than $82,000 so far, and any money left over will be given to Gordon. » By Dylan Siwicki for White Lake-Highland Patch

Meet ‘Sleetwood Mac’ And The Gang

When you get as much snow as Minnesota does — it’s in the midst of its snowiest winter in decades — you can’t blame the folks who clear the roads from having some fun. The state’s Department of Transportation recently announced the winners of its “name a snowplow” contest. Among the eight winning entries were “Sleetwood Mac,” “Clearopatha” and “Better Call Salt.” The other five are mighty clever, too. » By William Bornhoft for Minneapolis Patch

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