Score one for Weld County

Sometimes, to write an effective editorial, all you have to do is start with a simple fact.

Weld County's poverty rate is lower than Larimer County's.

Neener neener neener.

OK, sorry about that. We went from a solid, intelligent discussion on how to write a well-crafted edit to playground teasing. That was pretty immature of us.

But we can't help but be a tiny bit giddy about the news. Weld's poverty rate improved so drastically, from 16 percent in 2006 to 12 percent in 2007. That's the first time Weld's poverty rate actually dipped for the first time since 2000.

And after hearing about how Larimer's roads are paved with gold, diamonds and mirth, and how Weld's are covered in tinfoil, this is another example of how Weld seems to be catching up, at a time when the economy seems to be punching everyone else below the belt. Hence the neener neener neener. Sorry about that.

We'll put on our serious hat for a second and say while we're extremely pleased to see that the poverty rate is going down, we know that this measures 2007, and a lot can change in a year, so that rate really doesn't tell us how we're doing right now. We also know that while 12 percent is better than 16 percent, that's still a lot of struggling families.

But we're also excited about Weld's future. We can't help but think that new employers such as O & I and Vestas helped with that rate, as well as good things happening at the Swift plant after years of doom and gloom. Not only that, but Leprino Foods, Co., mozzarella cheese plant should make things even better.

We were once a county known as much for its foreclosures as for its growth rate that was once the highest in the country. Now our poverty rate is making headlines for the right reasons, and Weld has to be viewed as a place of opportunity, not a place to laugh at on your way to Fort Collins.

Look, we know times are still tough. Gas prices, health care, food prices, high-paying jobs are rare, we know, we know. But a little good news about the economy is nice.

And we couldn't be happier than the good news is in our county now.

But we've done enough gloating. It's time to go back to work.