Pearl River County is fortunate to have the number of civic-minded people as residents.

There are several examples of this community-minded spirit.

Monday, a scene straight out of a movie occurred when a family pet brought home a human femur from the woods nearby.

It was the second time such an incident occurred this year in the same area and by the same dog.

Two attempts to search the area, one in the summer and again on Monday, turned up the location of the rest of the remains, achieved through teamwork.

This teamwork was between law enforcement officials, the county coroner’s office, emergency management personnel and volunteer firefighters.

In the years that I’ve been covering Pearl River County, there was a time that some local agencies did not cooperate as well. But that was years ago and fortunately things have changed for the better.

This fact is made more substantial now that our agencies have resources previously unavailable locally, such as an arson dog with the Picayune Fire Department and now a bloodhound with the Pine Grove Volunteer Fire Department capable of tracking scents in the woods.

The Pine Grove Volunteer Fire Chief took it upon himself to train his dog to track people and other scents. So far his training has resulted in five successful missions of finding who or what he was searching for.

This isn’t the only instance of our community members stepping up to provide their services. Volunteer agencies, law enforcement officials and community members do this each and every day.

Each time an accident occurs, people who don’t get paid show up to lend a hand. The same is said for fires. Volunteer firefighters assisted the Picayune Fire Department in the response to the grass fire over the weekend, and several brush fires were worked by volunteer agencies. And the same is true of each and every other volunteer in civic clubs and groups who hold fundraisers to assist the less fortunate.

Knowing our agencies, volunteers and community help each other is a comforting fact.