By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

Last weekend, I got to spend some time with a group of people who are in the process of completing one of the most generous acts I have ever witnessed.

The volunteer members of the Josh Carden Project are working with several area businesses to build a new house for some of our neighbors who were struck by a sudden and terrible accident.

Thompson High School senior Josh Carden and his grandmother, Louise Pickett, lost their grandfather and husband, respectively, when he was struck and killed by a car on Fulton Springs Road.

After the tragedy, Carden’s classmates at THS were able to raise more than $12,000 in a few days, which is nothing short of amazing. After hearing about the accident and the students’ generosity, several local volunteers got together with the mission to build a new house for Carden and his grandmother.

I’ve written about the project for the past few months, but the plan took on a greater sense of realism as I watched a bulldozer level trees on what will become Carden’s front yard last Saturday.

Carden is one of the friendliest, and funniest, people I have ever spoken with, and I am inspired by how happy he is every time I see him.

Nobody is more deserving of the community’s generosity, and I applaud the THS students and the volunteers with the Josh Carden Project for truly making a difference in our community.