EDITORIAL: Shepherd's Hand has been a blessing

We hope you read the front page story in Sunday’s Inter Lake about the remarkable Shepherd’s Hand ministry. It was truly inspirational.

It’s no easy task to operate a free medical clinic in this day and age, but Shepherd’s Hand Clinic in Whitefish and its flock of faithful volunteers have gone the distance in providing quality care.

Shepherd’s Hand began humbly as an outreach ministry of Christ Lutheran Church 20 years ago. Since then it has continued to grow and flourish, adding a weekly community meal, wellness program and dental services to its repertoire of care. We’re grateful this program has been so successful in reaching out to our neighbors in need. Most recently an effort has been made to provide more care for patients with mental-health concerns.

The numbers are pretty amazing — $9.5 million worth of medical services provided over two decades and 1,970 patient visits last year.

The clinic board and executive director have an eye on the future, too, looking at “growth with a purpose.” We are blessed to have Shepherd’s Hand Clinic in our valley.

A singular achievement

One-tenth of 1 percent: That’s the exclusive cohort Ryker McIntyre is in.

The Glacier High School senior achieved entry into that exclusive nationwide club by achieving a composite score of 36 on the ACT college admissions test.

You can’t score any higher than that on the test that is taken by almost 2 million high school students every year.

McIntyre’s perfection came on his second try at the standardized test (the first time he got “only” a 31).

His top test score may well be a first for Glacier High School.

Although he carries a 4.0 grade-point average, he’s not solely an academic star. He also competes in soccer, tennis, speech and debate, DECA and Business Professionals of America.

Congratulations, Ryker, on a singular achievement.