Tuesday's edition of the Butler Eagle contained more bad news than most people would have hoped to see.

There was an article about a 24-year-old woman who might face execution if she is convicted of killing her newborn child. Other articles dealt with a plot to kill GIs at a New Jersey military base, a suicide bomber who killed 16 people in Iraq, a bus engine fire that delayed senior citizens' trip to Presque Isle Downs in Erie and a serious water main break in Butler.

But it was an article at the top of the front page that was the source of heartwarming satisfaction for many readers.

"Police track down boy, 10, needing heart" was the headline above the article. The article recounts how state police and Sprint helped Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh locate a Harrisville boy Saturday who was awaiting a heart transplant.

Children's officials initially had sought the help of the state police in locating John Paul May when they were unable to make contact with the May family. Also having no luck in their search for about an hour, the police opted to contact Sprint to obtain the GPS (global positioning system) coordinates of the cell phone John's mother had in her possession.

With Sprint employees reacting quickly and correctly in response to the police request, state police Cpl. James Green was able to locate John and his mother, Sue May, at a concert in the University Union multipurpose room at Slippery Rock University.

John and his mother were transported to Children's in an ambulance escorted by the state police, and the transplant surgery was performed successfully Saturday night. At last report, John was listed in stable condition.

In these days since John received his new heart, it is well to reflect on all that went right because of people gifted with the talent of quick thinking — people who were tenacious in their determination not to fail.

First there were the Children's Hospital officials who, when they weren't successful in reaching the May family, had the foresight to seek assistance from the state police.

Then there were the troopers who made calls and checked numerous locations, trying to find the family, before seeking Sprint's assistance.

The final link was the well-trained Sprint employees who performed the functions necessary for tracking down the Mays expeditiously, while the window of time for locating John was continuing to close.

Hospital officials had told the police that John's transplant needed to occur Saturday evening or the heart would be given to the person next on the list for whom it would be suited.

For that to have occurred would have been a tremendous setback for John, who had suffered from coronary disease since last year, and who had been on the transplant list for about a year.

Now John has new, re-energized hopes for a long, healthy, productive life, and no doubt many thousands of people now familiar with his story are hoping and praying for his full recovery and for everything good to come his way.

The concert interruption that occurred as Green located John and his mother electrified the room, said Steve Hawk, concert conductor and music professor at the university.

"I've been in the entertainment business for 30 years and never had such an emotional, shocking event happen at something live," he said, noting that the audience didn't give a standing ovation, but a "jumping ovation," when Green announced the news to the crowd.

For people who weren't in the audience, as well as people who were, Saturday's events should be a source of comfort and confidence in the abilities of people inside and beyond the county's borders charged with carrying out lifesaving responsibilities.

The success story so far enveloping John May is the kind of news most people would prefer to hear about much more frequently.