My community took a hit this week when an unspeakable crime was discovered against sixteen children. The Ohio Attorney General called it the worst he’s ever seen. While they can’t share many details of this ongoing investigation, phrases like “third world conditions” and “pure evil” have been thrown about.

I live in the least populated county in Ohio. There are about 13,000 people in this county of 415 square miles. This is not a wealthy community and, like many places, we have plenty of problems.

But it’s such a nice place to live.

Our community is rural with just a handful of small towns. We are largely a bedroom community with only one traffic light and no Walmart. There’s a locally owned grocery, pharmacist and hardware. There are a couple of dollar stores and a number of mom and pop businesses. The University of Rio Grande just dedicated a new branch building here. There are very few large employers and a huge chunk of our population commutes outside the county for jobs. Remote work has been a Godsend for many. We are close though to towns with shopping, iobs and healthcare. Our idea of traffic involves farm tractors, school buses and Amish buggies. For many, money is tight and for many more that live beneath the federal poverty line, life is hard.

What we do have is rolling hills, miles of recreational trails through public lands, and a population that largely looks out for one another. It’s the kind of place where people still bring food when someone dies and where folks will check on their neighbors in a heat wave.

We have a growing tourism industry here. What we lack in shopping and amusement parks we make up for with outdoor recreation, unique places to stay (there’s a castle, tons of cabins, and even a hobbit themed Airbnb), and the small town authenticity that many folks from cities are craving.

It’s a good place to vacation. It’s a great place to live if you enjoy the quiet life.

This week has been rough though. This week, the decent citizens of my beautiful community have been rocked to their core.

Four people were arrested for endangering sixteen children who evidently all belong to their family. Sixteen kids from toddler up to an 18 year old were kept in their own filth in a 12 x 12 room. Reading between the lines, there is much more to the story.

First responders say that, a day later, they can still smell the place. There’s no getting rid of the smell. The prosecutor said it looked like something out of a third world country and that some of the kids were in such bad shape they may not have survived another day. The Ohio Attorney General said it was the worst thing he’s seen in his career. Neighbors say they didn’t even know there were kids in the house. There were no signs that children lived there at all.

The governor is offering whatever aid is needed to support the physical and mental well being of those kids.

It is sickening. It is tragic. It is one of the worst things I’ve ever heard and I’m struggling to comprehend that it happened here.

If you look around, our residents are seeking ways to help out and to support our first responders who have witnessed things this week that no human should have to see. People are collecting money to help those kids. They’re planning snacks and cold drinks for the first responders. They’re gathering to pray. They’re actively seeking ways to help in a situation that feels so hopeless.

The city media that doesn’t give us the time of day when amazing things happen here are suddenly sending multiple reporters from each agency for this one story. My Facebook feed is overrun with videos from press conferences and with mug shots of four individuals who look like monsters.

These people chose to live here but they aren’t from here. They’ve moved around a lot and somehow landed here in a small house in a small town with very big heart.

Now cue the hillbilly jokes. Cue the stereotypes. Cue the judgment against a population that would never condone such a thing had we known.

I have got to stop reading internet comments.

The Appalachian stereotype is alive and well. References to the movie Deliverance, statements that they look like everyone else here, and even remarks about the judge’s hair have been part of the discourse. Nasty remarks about the court system and the law enforcement community, about the intelligence of our population and about everything else you can imagine abound.

The media has long portrayed this community in a negative light. Internet comments have intensified the meanness toward our population and place but it’s nothing new. I’ve heard the judgement and the jokes for my entire life and have spent a lot of my career trying to prove them all wrong.

I think it’s important to note that these people have been moving around and abusing these children for a while now. It took them coming to Ohio’s smallest county with the fewest resources for anyone to notice and do something about it.

That’s the headline everyone is missing.

We may not have much but we pay attention and know how to get things done.

I am proud to be from Vinton County, Ohio. I’m proud of our citizens for looking for ways to be helpful. I’m proud of our first responders who played a part in giving those kids a chance at a new life.

Small communities are amazing places. I don’t care what the keyboard warriors say.

If you’re looking for a peaceful place, somewhere that’s not flashy with a good coffee shop and some amazing trails, consider coming here to see what life is really like in a small town. Rural America is so much more than the headlines tell you. So, if not here, go find another rural community and look for the good.

It’s there. I promise.