This week's good things: great STEM partnership, a stalwart at The Village, local connection to 'Wicked' and more [editorial]

THE ISSUE: It's Friday, the day we take a few moments to highlight the good news in Lancaster County and the surrounding region. Some of these items are welcome developments on the economic front or for area neighborhoods. Others are local stories of achievement, ingenuity, perseverance, compassion and creativity that represent welcome points of light as we face serious issues in Pennsylvania and deal with troubling and divisive matters in our nation and world. All of this uplifting news deserves a brighter spotlight.

Leading off, we loved the by LNP | LancasterOnline's Ashley Stalnecker about an ongoing partnership between Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology and the School District of Lancaster. The Adopt-a-Kindergarten class program began 13 years ago; it's been going on so long that Stalnecker wrote about an individual who was a student in that first kindergarten class and is now enrolled at Thaddeus Stevens.

The partnership aims to introduce young students to work and activities relevant to trade and technical careers. "Each year, Thaddeus Stevens and the School District of Lancaster select elementary kindergarten classes for participation in the program based on interest or need," Stalnecker noted.

The kindergarten students receive lessons focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics education. They also get visits from artists, to promote social and emotional learning. And computer science principles are continually stressed.

"At the end of the year, students take a field trip to Thaddeus Stevens and can participate in a kindergarten graduation ceremony at the college," Stalnecker wrote.

This year, more than 150 students across four School District of Lancaster elementary schools are participating in the program.

"If we can begin the conversation about career and technical education in kindergarten and then continue to work with those students as they advance into high school, there's a greater chance that they would consider those types of careers when they graduate," said Melissa Day, who oversees the Adopt-a-Kindergarten program as the college's director of kindergarten through 16 and strategic initiatives.

Day's take is on point. Local partnerships such as this one are incredibly valuable for Lancaster County students and the county's future economic vitality.

Supporting and encouraging such programs at public schools is in everyone's best interest. Kudos to everyone involved.

Read Stalnecker's full here .

In other good things:

— LNP | LancasterOnline frequently profiles some of the most interesting members of our community and the past week has been no different.

Staff writer Kevin Stairiker wrote a delightful profile of George Soukas , a fixture at The Village nightclub since 1972.

If you were downtown for music and entertainment, you know Soukas. He was there, as Stairiker writes, "collecting the cover charge, slapping backs, dropping jokes and booking bands."

While Soukas himself has never sought the spotlight, he's been right in the middle of it during a half-century career on the nightclub scene, and Stairiker's covers all the big moments.

— Movie and musical fans will want to check out staff writer Mary Ellen Wright's about 1985 Garden Spot High School graduate David Shirk, who served as animation supervisor for the highly anticipated holiday film "Wicked," Part 1 of an adaptation of the blockbuster musical of the same name.

Shirk has been nominated for two Oscars, winning once — he was part of the visual effects team that won in 2014 for the film "Gravity." Read more in Wright's , which also includes the "Wicked" trailer.

— We loved staff writer Enelly Betancourt's about how Lancaster Lebanon Habitat for Humanity has helped Kala Martin-Toney achieve her dream of owning a home.

"On Nov. 20, Martin-Toney will participate in a Habitat groundbreaking ceremony to mark the beginning of the construction of her future home on the 300 block of Freemont Street in southwest Lancaster city," Betancourt wrote.

It's part of a $4 million campaign by the local Habitat for Humanity to build or renovate 30 homes through its Open Doors campaign between 2021 and 2026.

The nonprofit is doing amazing work.

Purchasing a home in order to invest in her family's future has been Martin-Tony's goal for a long time and "it's finally happening. This is for my kids. It's something I wanted to do for them," she said.

Read the story and find out how you can help Habitat for Humanity here .

— Finally, if you love model trains as much as we do, you'll want to check out Jenelle Janci's rundown of 5 model train displays to visit this holiday season in Lancaster County .

There are two sites in Elizabethtown and also train layouts in Columbia, Ephrata and Willow Street. Maybe you can catch them all, and get on track for being in the festive spirit over the holidays.