Appreciated story on reaction to election

Congratulations to The News-Gazette on the wonderful article "Witnessing the birth of a new hope" on the front page of the Nov. 9 paper. Feature writers Melissa Merli and Rebecca Mabry did an excellent job reporting the thoughts of local African-American citizens, who reflect the national sentiment for positive change and progress for all Americans. The pictures, by several able News-Gazette photographers, add "more than a thousand words" to the story. Even the layout of the article, from headline to placement of the photos, was excellent. I would not be surprised if this article wins a national award.

I applaud the editor of the paper for the wise decision to place this historic article of both local and national interest on the front page where it deserves to be.