Generous gift to worthy cause
A permanent endowment fund launched last fall by Shepherd’s Hand Clinic in Whitefish got a big boost recently when philanthropists Dave and Sherry Lesar announced a $250,000 matching challenge.
The challenge will match every dollar donated to the free clinic to that funding level, allowing the clinic to double its money from the generous donation.
Shepherd’s Hand has become a shining example of community cooperation in addressing the medical needs of low-income residents in the North Valley. With a 30 percent increase in patient visits over the last 18 months, the charity welcomes gifts large and small.
Donors wishing to be a part of the $250,000 challenge can go to the clinic’s website at www.shepherdshand.com, or send donations in care of Shepherd’s Hand Clinic, 5150 River Lakes Parkway, Whitefish, MT 59937.
IT’S NOT A stretch to say CBS veteran broadcaster Mike Wallace was one of a kind when it came to interviewing people, whether they were world leaders or celebrities. His tough-as-nails interrogations and pit-bull approach as a “60 Minutes” reporter made him an icon in the industry.
Wallace died last week at age 93, and though he’d been out of the public eye since his retirement in 2008, most of us still vividly remember the brazen style that earned him so much acclaim. Wallace himself admitted that as he grilled his subjects, he walked “a fine line between sadism and intellectual curiosity.”
Wallace was a genuine pioneer in the American television industry, and those following in his footsteps would do well to study his style and learn from his legacy. Whether or not you appreciated his hard edge, Wallace knew how to get at the truth and how to ask the tough questions.
PART OF THE legacy of Mike Wallace will live on as long as “60 Minutes” remains on the air. The show’s “take no prisoners” approach to the news has had some ups and downs over the years, but last week’s ban on congressional insider trading can be chalked up as one of the long-running show’s greatest public-service accomplishments.
President Obama signed the STOCK Act, as it is known, six years after a version of the bill was first introduced. It’s a bill that “we the people” would have passed immediately, but it took Congress a long time and finally a “60 Minutes” expose to get the job done.
STOCK stands for Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge, so it’s little wonder why the folks in Congress were hestitant to pass it. This gives the rest of us a little more assurance that the men and women in Congress are their to do the people’s business, and not their own.