Sometimes we are simply not able to appreciate a good thing when it is staring at us right in the face.

We simply cannot say thank you when the moment calls for it.

And, when it comes to our government agencies, we sadly look for the catch, the finer details. We wait for the other shoe to drop when some situations are simply far too good to be true.

Such is the case with the recent announcement by Vicksburg Warren School District and its partnership with Johnson Controls. Over the next 16 years, the partnership will aim to save more than $10 million in energy costs.

And the best part, the $8.5 million contract comes at no cost to the local school district.

The bond used to fund the program was a zero interest bond and program officials were even able to find a private organization willing to fund the required 10 percent match of the program, again saving the school district more than $850,000.

But for some, including one who chose to write a letter to the editor that was published in The Vicksburg Post, details of the plan didn’t prevent them from finding creative and sometimes blatantly wrong ways to criticize the plan.

There were inaccuracies in their criticisms and even personal attacks that were well out of bounds even if those personal attacks involved public officials.

Is the Qualified Zone Academy Bond program taxpayer funded? Yes. But it is funded by federal tax dollars. So those paying their federal income taxes in California have just as much a hand in paying for this program as those from Mississippi. But, this money is being used here in Mississippi, here in Vicksburg and in our schools rather than somewhere else. We are getting the bang for our federal tax bucks that we always cry about.

It would be nice for those who seek to stir up trouble and create conflict to instead redirect their energies toward learning about what is actually happening rather than just popping off. Their criticism is doing nothing to help Vicksburg and Warren County.

To those who worked so hard to find this program with Johnson Controls and those who worked to ensure the partnership came at no cost to the Vicksburg Warren School District, we offer our congratulations.