FAR TOO OFTEN, we find ourselves purveyors of doom and gloom and come to suspect there's some truth in the saying, "No news is good news."

Some media outlets have even gone so far as to hire "good news reporters," who usually find their reports buried beneath a mountain of "hard news" items.

But thankfully, we do occasionally find something that qualifies as news that's both "good" and "hard."

Such was the case this week when we covered a session of Dufferin County Council's General Government Services Committee at which county CAO Linda Dean reported that provincial inspectors had rated the Dufferin County Ambulance Service as one of the best in the province.

Having spent three days on an inspection that included riding with the paramedics to witness how they handled the broad spectrum of emergency and other health issues they encountered, the nine-member team was really impressed.

"The general tone of the comments from each of team leader's reports could be .described as glowing," Ms. Dean reported. The completeness of personnel records was "flawless," and vehicle maintenance was "the best we've ever seen."

With respect to personnel, Ms. Dean said the inspection team was especially impressed by the fact that eight of the paramedics had completed the voluntary Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear First Responder Training Program and another eight are enrolled in it.

Response times were also commended, the result no doubt of now having three stations, at Orangeville, Shelburne and Grand Valley.

In a mastery of understatement, Ms. Dean remarked that the inspectors' comments confirmed that the people of Dufferin "are very well served" by the ambulance service.

She noted that the service has made strides since it was downloaded by the province in 2001.

Today, the county has nine fully equipped ambulances, staffed by 56 paramedics, including 33 who have completed the ACP (Advanced Care Paramedic) course that so often has been proven to save lives.