It seems as if every time we turn on the radio, television or pick up a newspaper, there is more bad news about the economy. It’s virtually inescapable.

Businesses across the nation are cutting jobs, shutting down their operations, or selling out to larger corporations, leaving their employees to the mercy of the new management.

In the Black Belt, which is one of the most economically depressed regions in America, negative headlines regarding businesses are not uncommon.

Fortunately, we were given a breath of fresh air this week when Yeargan Construction bucked this trend.

It seems that someone forgot to tell owner Angie Yeargan that we are in a recession. Someone forgot to tell her that businesses in the Black Belt are supposed to throw up the white flag and close down shop.

While a lot of people in America were busy waiting for the hammer to fall, Yeargan was fighting the good fight. The result of this company’s efforts will be a new contract to repair nearly 600 FEMA trailers that are currently based at the Selfield Industrial Park.

It’s not just Yeargan Construction that will benefit from this good news. Refurbishing and repairing 583 trailers will require a great deal of manpower that is not already on the company’s payroll.

Already, Yeargan said, she is searching for 20 experienced carpenters to get to work. She said once the company gets the materials in place for the project, the new employees should be able to begin working by Oct. 31.

The nation’s economy is in a rut. Because of this, business owners have two options: They can sit back and wait for things to fall apart, or they can meet these problems head on. Thankfully, for 20 carpenters looking for work, Yeargan was not afraid to charge forward.