PHIL WIELAND: Accentuating the positive in times that are negative

On the day the suicidal owner of an exotic animal farm set all his charges free and a fed-up judge revoked Lindsay Lohan's probation and put her back in a cage, it was nice to contemplate that at last the world is being set aright.

Sadly, by the time you read this, the animals probably will all be killed or recaptured and caged and Lohan's confinement is only temporary, but, as Blue Collar Comedy Tour comedian Bill Engvall might say, "here's your positive sign" for the future nonetheless.

Finding positive signs in these difficult days is sometimes tougher than finding a Republican presidential candidate who's smarter than a first-grader, but I might have found a few in Porter County.

• The County Council agreed this week to dip into its general fund surplus to cover an expected $2 million shortfall in the E911 budget in 2013. There's your positive sign. The decision came a few days after the new E911 director told the council he really needs $20 million or $40 million to replace the whole system. Apparently, with the current system, some areas of south county have trouble seeing the dispatchers' smoke signals.

• The council also approved $2 million for drainage work next year, a million from the interest earned on the hospital sale and a million from the county economic development income tax. The goal is to follow that with a similar check for the next four years to pay for expected improvements in South Haven. There's your positive sign.

Then they need to find another $10 million for drainage projects elsewhere in the county. In the meantime, a portion of the original funding will be used to provide those residents with snorkels and swim fins.

• The Occupy Wall Street protests over an economic system that rewards corporate greed and even criminal behavior and malfeasance have spread around the world and even reached Valparaiso, Chesterton and Gary last weekend. There's your positive sign. If only the protesters were billionaires so Congress might actually pay attention to them.

• A Portage dentist volunteered to repair a Liberty Township boy's tooth, chipped when he was in an accident caused by a drunken driver in January. There's your positive sign. The boy's father suffered painful ankle injuries that make it impossible to work, and he might not get the operation needed to repair the ankle. He plans to sue the drunken driver, who was sentenced to 14 years in jail, where the only income he'll have to share is his taxpayer-supported Happy Meals.

Who said there's no good news anymore.

The opinions are those of the writer. He can be reached at phil.wieland@nwi.com or (219) 548-4352.