SHELBYVILLE, Ky. — When Jeremy Harrell started Veteran’s Club four years ago, he wanted to make veterans like himself feel able, connected and understood.

However, the work he’s put in to help more than 2,300 veterans is now radiating out into the greater community.

"Let's get together. Let's formalize a plan. Let's go where people are hurting and let's do the most good that we can," he said.

After the tornadoes struck their home state the second week of December, members of the Veteran’s Club immediately began to organize. They started making phone calls, got together hundreds of thousands of dollars of supplies, found flat-bed trucks, and deployed a few hours away to the Mayfield, Kentucky area.

"This is really why we do what we do in these moments. It's not when things are okay. We kick in with things are not," said Harrell.

By handing out supplies, helping rebuild and being an ear to those who lost everything, it not only helped the victims of the storms, but it also helped the vets take advantage of their skills from the military.

"What it did for the veterans and the community to come alongside as it go, 'Wait a minute, maybe everything I learned in military, wasn't a negative. Wow. This was really cool, what we were able to do as a team!' We just felt like we were qualified to step in immediately," he said.

“Stepping in” is something Veteran’s Club has been doing since it began. After being told his physical and mental scars from serving in Iraq would prevent him from leading the life he wanted to, he started building a community that would prove them wrong.

"I'm just going to make sure that people know that that's not the case, that you can do anything you want to do with the proper amount of support and the determination," he said.

From equine therapy, to tiny homes for veterans without a roof over their head, to seeing a need for a female veteran-specific program. Harrell aims to be the light at the end of any long stretch of darkness others like him might find themselves in.

As we approach the new year, the organization has plans to continue to grow and to serve, both the veteran population and their neighbors in need. He encourages any veteran who may not have found their community to know that there is always a place for you in theirs.

"Find a group of people who are doing what you're passionate about and all these things that have been holding you back and all the lies that you've been told about what you can and can't do, they will fall away," said Harrell.

NEW YORK (AP) — Hairstylist Roberto Novo is best known for his long list of celebrity clientele that includes Grace Jones, Calvin Klein, Britney Spears, and Naomi Campbell.

But during the pandemic, the Argentina-born Novo, 62, has also been known for his kindness, styling hair-free for older New Yorkers while his two French bulldogs keep everyone company.

It started last summer when he and his dogs visited a client who had been isolated for months.

STF/AP

Seeing how happy it made her, he asked if there were others in the building who might be interested in a hairdo.

Novo said bringing joy to senior citizens during these challenging times "doesn’t get any better than that."

Novo takes his dogs - Machitwo and a pregnant Tulula - with him to Marena Erdogan’s apartment and quickly turns her living room into a salon.

Emily Leshner/AP

Erdogan's neighbor Andrew Langerman said Novo gave him his first haircut in months.

While Novo cut hair and the pups were being petted, Erdogan entertained everyone by playing tunes on her white baby grand piano.

After Novo was finished, Erdogan ordered pizzas for the group.

Novo calls his initiative "Free haircut and puppy love."

ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. —

One of two planes that collided in the air near Denver deployed a parachute and slowly drifted to the ground, where two people walked away from the aircraft, a sheriff's office spokesman said Wednesday.

The other plane, a small cargo turboprop, landed at an airport, according to Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Deputy John Bartmann. The lone person on board that plane was also unharmed.

The collision occurred over Cherry Creek State Park at about 10:25 a.m., he said. Bartmann said it was not yet known which aircraft was responsible.

"You expect something a lot worse. This was amazing," Bartmann said. "We've had several plane crashes in our jurisdiction. Never have we seen a parachute be deployed and bring the plane down safely."

The plane that used a parachute was a Cirrus SR22.

"It came down nice and slow," he said.

The other aircraft was a Metroliner, officials said.

A tweet from the National Transportation Safety Board said the incident happened as the planes were landing. The agency is sending a team of investigators.

The debris field stretched "pretty far," Bartmann said. He said if people find plane parts in the park, they should not touch them, and instead call the sheriff's office.

Watch the video above to learn more about this story.

We are living in historic, strange and, let’s face it, depressing times.

The coronavirus has impacted every person in our community in some way. Local businesses are shut down. Many of us are working or living in isolation. Opening Day, our region’s unofficial holiday, didn’t happen Thursday.

I don’t know about you, but I need to see something positive mixed in with stories about the virus’s spread, people dying and so many others out of work.

That’s why last week we launched Acts of Kindness.

When I am out speaking in the community, I tell people every corner of our community is neither all bad or all good. Our job as journalists is to paint that picture accurately.

That remains true when it comes to the impact of COVID-19. There’s a lot of darkness out there. But there are also everyday people doing heroic things to help their neighbors.

We have a responsibility to tell you those stories -- in addition to the stories about the virus’s impact.

This initiative builds on Kristyn Hartman’s weekly feature, Positively Cincinnati.

Kristyn has been one of our chief storytellers on Acts of Kindness.

She told us about La Soupe’s efforts to bring more meals to people in need. And then how a local restaurant donated its kitchen to help even more.

She told us about a 5-year-old leaving inspirational sidewalk chalk messages.

Raven Richard told the story of a teen who started a program to take deliveries to people who would be at-risk if they were to contract the virus. She also followed up on a story by Josh Bazan about the need for University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music students to borrow keyboards. Raven’s story detailed how the students received an outpouring of keyboard donations.

Ally Kraemer reported on a Brown County woman collecting pet food to help people be able to keep their pets.

Jake Ryle reported on restaurants raising money and helping medical personnel and employees who have lost their jobs.

We have all of these stories -- and more-- collected here on our Acts of Kindness page.

So if you feel like the news is all bad these days or you just need a pick-me-up, go to this page and hopefully you will find something to smile about.

We all need a few more smiles right now.

Mike Canan is the Senior Director of Local Media Content at WCPO 9. Contact him at mike.canan@wcpo.com. Follow him on Twitter or Instagram at @Mike_Canan.