Newspapers and the media in general often are maligned for always reporting the bad news that goes on in our community and world.

But we’ve made a commitment to giving readers the good news that happens in Western Tidewater, too.

On Wednesday, reporter Nicholas Langhorne wrote about a 13-year-old Southampton Middle School eighth-grader from Capron who won a regional spelling bee and will represent our area at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., this June.

Walter Francis charmed us last year after placing second in the regional bee. He took the second spot this year in the local bee behind sixth-grader Kirby Brooks of Ivor, but Kirby, 11, opted to participate in a program called Odyssey of the Mind on the regional bee day. That meant Walter could go to the regional bee and he didn’t disappoint, taking the top spot after several tough rounds.

A win in the national bee would mean a full scholarship to the college of Walter’s choice, among other prizes.

We commend both Walter and Kirby for their academic achievements and wish them success in the future.

They are role models for other kids at SMS and elsewhere, and we look forward to hearing where they will go from here.