About 99 percent of the time, the theft of a gas grill does not warrant a full-blown article in the paper, let alone space on the front page. But that one time out of 100 arrived at our newsroom last week in the form of an envelope stuffed with letters written by residents at the Mercy Apartments in Auburn.

There was something about those notes that made it clear - this was a story.

As you may have heard by now, someone stole a gas grill that residents at this senior citizen apartment complex had purchased after raising the funds themselves. The crime had actually taken place a week earlier, but we were not aware of it until those letters arrived in the mail.

One sentence in one letter particularly got my attention.

“They donated what they could,” the writer wrote, referring to the residents, “and have worked hard to earn the money to buy the grill so they could have the taste of outdoor cooking which they once had.”

I turned the material over to our police reporter, Nathan Robson, who quickly went to work and put together a story that we published on page A1 of Thursday's edition.

The reader reaction was swift and substantial. Page views soared for the online version of the story. Comments posted by online readers poured in. And the phone was ringing from readers who wanted to help.

By the time we got in touch with one of the Mercy residents who had spoken to us for the story to tell her about the offers of assistance, she had some good news of her own to share:

• Police had found the stolen grill after receiving a tip from a person who heard about the story.

• An anonymous donor, in the meantime, had given the residents a new grill.

• Another donation came in to enable the residents to purchase a video game system with a sports game included that would help them stay active.

What had started as a story that made people angry at the shallowness we can see in this world, turned into a story that illustrated how generous people can be.

“I want to thank everyone for everything they have done ... the police, the public, everyone that helped put faith back into us,” apartment resident Betty Schwartz said.

Betty, I couldn't have said it better myself.

Executive editor Jeremy Boyer's column appears Tuesdays in The Citizen and he can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 231 or jeremy.boyer@lee.net