Letters to the editor
Jan. 14
Remember the word of God
As the New Year begins, I’m once again following my practice of reading through various books of the Bible, as well as other books written by Biblical scholars. One of my favorite authors is Dr. J. Sidlow Baxter, a Scottish preacher who is now enjoying his eternal rewards.
Baxter writes in his book “Awake My Heart,” “Have you noticed that in each of the nine letters which the Apostle Paul wrote to the Church, he expresses identical invocations?”
“Grace to you, and peace, from God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 1:7).
Baxter writes that there are three wonderful and extremely needful truths in Paul’s earnest prayer for those people, namely, the fatherhood of God, the Lordship of Christ and the true blessing of all Christians. We may also benefit from these truths as we begin 2010. Folks in Lake County, Mont. and our nation desperately need these three truths as we face the perplexing months ahead with unprecedented unemployment, political animosity and hostility, rampaging cost of living, spiritual degeneration and unparalleled fear of the future, etc. Will all of these circumstances force us as a people to acknowledge the sovereign God and to seek his favor? Surely, God the father cares for his children!
God, our ever loving, ever present, compassionately interested in our concerns, father, will accomplish his divine purposes for our ultimate good; we believe this.
The second truth expressed is the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Regardless of what people may think about Jesus, God the Father has identified him as both son of God and the son of man. Baxter writes, “May we never cease to marvel that our Savior and Lord is the eternal Son of God, in whom there is the perfect union of human sympathy and divine power.”
How often we think that if we only had more money, more authority, greater ability, or different circumstances, we would be better off? No, our real need for these troubling times is “grace” and “peace.” That’s the third wonderful truth of this invocation; Jesus promises this and more to each of us as we begin a New Year.
Harvey A. Town, Polson
Dayton Christmas thanks
I would like to thank the patrons of the Idle Spur, Sharyle Miller, residents of Dayton, Elmo, Proctor and BDE (Big Arm Dayton Elmo Community Committee) for their help and support of the Second Annual Dayton Christmas give away.
Cash donations were down this year, but we were still able to help four families. Each family received 25–30 cans of food, a turkey roll, 10 pounds of potatoes, an 18 pack of eggs, 1 pound of bacon, a 2 pound loaf of cheese, a loaf of bread, a bag of oranges, a frozen can of orange juice, a pumpkin pie, and turkey gravy. Each child got two flannel shirts, a hat, a scarf, mittens and a stuffed Christmas toy. Some children also got snow boots. We did not have all the sizes for some of the smaller children.
Once again, thank you to all that participated, and thanks to the volunteers who have signed up to help foil the “tree terrorist” plans next year.
Pam O’Mara, Big Arm
Thanks to Butch
I would like to thank our bus driver/substitute, Butch, for all of his random acts of kindness he creates for the kids. He is a great supporter to all of the athletes and when he is able to be at the games, he is always rooting for the players.
I’m writing this letter because he deserves a thank you for everything he does. He has given so much to me and others, whether it is buying the class candy, the volleyball team a new ball rack, or just a sincere smile and a pat on the back.
I believe I speak for a lot of kids when I say that Butch is a part of all the teams and brings the best out of everyone. He has inspired me to give more than to take, and I am sure he has done the same for many others.
Once again, I would like to thank Butch for being an all around great guy, bus driver and substitute.
Royelle Esterby, Charlo High School student
Searching for war answers
Open letter to Rep. Denny Rehberg: I am writing to you in care of the editor, because the only response I receive when I write to you is another form letter which seems a waste of my taxpayer dollars on postage to send. Your marketing materials I receive in response to my e-mails to you seem like just more junk mail trying to sell me something I’m not buying, no matter how slick and glossy the card with your Marlboro Man photos or how quality the heavy bond you use to send your canned reply. I want a real answer.
I want an explanation. If Congress has the power to declare war, and we are at war with “terror,” and you are my Congressperson, I expect you to fulfill your responsibility to me and the rest of your constituents. You represent us, you answer to us, and the very least we deserve is an explanation.
Explain to me, please, how killing 11-year-old children in Afghanistan makes us in any way safer?
Explain to me how there is any justification for our operations, which resulted in the killing of 30 civilian Afghani people in the last 2 weeks (I’ll not get into here the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, nor the Pakistani bystanders or innocent people in Yemen we’ve shot, burned, blown up, widowed and orphaned in the recent past).
Do not condescend and imply I can’t understand or don’t deserve a clear and honest, logical explanation. I am an educated, informed citizen who pays your salary and I demand an answer from you. Do you think you don’t need to have our approval for what you are allowing in our name and paying for with our tax dollars?
To me, sir, it is only logical to realize for every innocent civilian we kill, or kidnap-torture-cage without due process of law, for each of those people there are many more who are related to them or care about them or come to know of them who will justifiably hate us and wish our destruction. Why is this concept so incomprehensible? Since when did humanity become un-American?
Cheryl M. Wolfe, Polson
Mission Valley pantry thanks
The Mission Valley Food Pantry has again completed a successful year.
The people and businesses in our communities have given generously to meet the needs of families in Arlee, Ravalli, Dixon and St. Ignatius. Even with the downturn in the economy and the increased use of the pantry, our shelves are well stocked with basic foods.
The local schools and several businesses have conducted food drives and given donations. Junior high and high school youth have helped unload the network truck, and given extra manpower as needed.
The pantry is again the recipient of a grant from the Catholic Diocese of Helena. Their “Operation Rice Bowl” program gave $550 with the stipulation that it be used entirely for the purchase of food.
Since our staff is all volunteer, all the donations we receive go directly to helping our clients.
We anticipate another busy year in 2010. We are also optimistic because of the continued support given.
The pantry is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. each Tuesday and Friday of the week.
Mission Valley Food Pantry Committee
Basis of
beliefs?
On Nov. 26, there was a letter to the editor that raised a lot of questions for me. Following are some facts and questions related to those facts, which upon reflection caused me to reaffirm my own beliefs.
Every citizen of this country is expected to pay taxes. Should every citizen have to fork over tax dollars to pay for things they don’t support?
To be moral is to be capable of distinguishing between right and wrong. Can or should this be excluded from Constitutional law?
Our original Constitutional laws were written to protect the highest right of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Have all laws enacted since then really upheld this standard for all individuals?
Religion is practicing what one believes, any specific system of belief, worship, conduct, etc., often involving a code of ethics of philosophy. Is any person on the earth not practicing what they believe?
Every person has a right to believe what they want to, but does belief ever change facts?
Very few mothers and fathers of aborted children ever make their traumatic experience public. Does this mean they have not physically and emotionally suffered from the loss of their child, who was a part of both of them?
Pre-born babies do not live to tell of their murder. Does this mean it never happened?
One law enacted in our country in recent years protects unhatched eagles. Is it just to protect pre-hatched eaglets and not pre-born babies?
Most everyone has beliefs, the real questions are their beliefs based on fact?
Brenda Ann Hughes, Polson
Feed the hungry
Thank you! In this area of small communities, it seems every year special things happen in our quest to help our neighbors. The Bread Basket continues to be amazed by the caring and generosity of the people living here who do so much to help their neighbors, whether it be those needing help feeding their families, our young people joining the Building Homes for Humanity, the free holiday dinners that were put on or whatever the genuine need might be.
This has been a tough year for many of our neighbors, and still we find the members of this community pitching in, remembering to think of their neighbors’ needs.
Thank you for being an inspiration in our working together to help and give to others and sharing what you have. There are catchy phrases all over the advertisements, it is not, however, how catchy or creative the phrase is that is important. What matters is doing it, or living it, and giving of ourselves to generate the betterment of where we live.
We at the Bread Basket appreciate more than we can ever say that we live in a community that does so much for others continuously without needing the catchy phrase.
From snippets mentioning the Bread Basket at the bottom of a grocery ad for Harvest Food’s biannual case, lots of canned goods sale to the generous gathering of food placed on all the class floats of last fall’s homecoming parade, the spirit of giving shows.
From the donations of bigger corporations like Washington Corporation’s $3,000 donation, to Town Pump’s matching funds donation of $5,000, and the local collection of $1,928 coming to the Bread Basket, as well as Anderson Broadcasting’s collecting food at the grocery stores for the past two months, the $1,638 donated from the Sharing the Spirit basket from the Community Banks (the other half was donated to Polson’s Loaves and Fishes), to the Ronan Telephone Company, which has faithfully supported us since the beginning in so many ways and so many times through the year. There was also the extremely generous donation of independent businesses like Treasure State Concrete’s gift of $2,500, White’s Meats donating 315 pounds of beef and others who have given in the past, the spirit lives on. Let us not forget our local grocery stores, Harvest Foods and Mission Mart, that generously donate their support throughout the year.
There are the various community clubs and organizations like Weight Watchers, the Saddle Mountain 4-H, Charlo JR Stockgrowers 4-H and the FFA that donated. There is also the Ronan Bowling League, which gathered 400 pounds of food, and the local churches like the Catholic Church, which donated to the Rice Bowl Collection. We were blessed this year to have the women form the United Methodist Church give presents out to each of the individuals who came through our doors from the beginning of December through Christmas, to the end of the year. The spirit was passed on.
What a great gift we receive not only time, effort and money, but in the heritage we teach our children. .. .
Our local schools, who never fail to give, Charlo schools generously donated 333 pounds. SKC gave a generous financial donation, while students and staff there donated 130 pounds of food and what money they gathered at the Christmas party. Then the farmers, ranchers and even the individuals who faithfully donate from their gardens, or take time to gather food, to unload trucks or to distribute the food to our neighbors in need. They do it. Every little thing is noticed and gratefully received by the Bread Basket . . . Thank you to each and every one for your faithful support. We look forward to another year of service to our community. . .
Chris Shrider, and the rest of the Bread Basket Board