Letters: Pantry donations much appreciated

Pantry donations much appreciated

The volunteers of Polson Loaves and Fish Pantry wish to thank the community for all the donations, which made the holidays a bit brighter for everyone.

The following groups had food drives to fill our shelves and Christmas boxes: Polson Middle School (1,217 pounds); St. Luke's Hospital (663 pounds); North Lake County Public Library (250 pounds); Lake Monsters swim team (232 pounds); Good Shepherd Lutheran Church (404 pounds); West Shore Community Church (172 pounds); and Glacier Bank (155 pounds).

Also, Country Pasta makes an ongoing donation of pasta throughout the year.

And how can we forget the 7,700 pounds of food the LDS Church food drive brought in. That all-time-high

donation kept us busy for several days sorting and organizing. Thank you.

Some groups find giving cash a better option, and we welcome the opportunity to have cash to buy the extra items for the boxes. The following groups contributed cash: The Elks Club, $1,000 to help us buy meat, hams and turkeys; Polson Running Club raised $800 with their Thanksgiving Day run; and Murdoch's gave $4,490 where the need is greatest.

Safeway/Albertson Foods also gave us 176 $25 gift cards to help fill in the extras for individuals at the holidays. Our clients were thrilled.

Thank you, Polson and Lake County residents. You really stepped up this year.

— Cynthia Hoelscher, board president, Polson Loaves and Fish Pantry

Voting rights deserve attention

Polls showed that the Freedom to Vote Act was favored by the majority of Americans.

Yet Sen. Steve Daines voted against it. Last week he sent emails about his vote against it saying it was a federal takeover.

While we don't necessarily agree with every provision in the voting rights bill, answer us this: What is wrong with having federal minimum standards for federal elections for the purpose of electing federal congressional members who collect a federal paycheck paid for by federal taxes?

In other words, what’s wrong with leveling the playing field across the 50 states?

— Caryl Cox, Polson, and Stephanie Brancati, Big Arm