Letters to the Editor

Help food pantry

during annual parade

To the Editor:

"Celebrating-Linton Style"

What a wonderful theme for this year's Fourth of July Parade. It has been called the largest parade in Indiana, and that takes months of planning, hours of volunteer labor, working together peacefully, That's Linton style!

How many times this past year has the community responded generously to the various food drives for the Linton Community Food Pantry, school drives, clubs, organizations, benefits, postal drive, other churches, individuals, all ages, again, that's Linton style.

Each week several new families register, making it difficult to keep the shelves stocked

Thanks to Chris Pruett and all who have spread the advertising! We are hopeful that once again the community response will be overwhelming by helping fill the shelves on our float with nonperishable food items you can bring with you to the parade.

There will be a "Foot Patrol" gathering up your donations and a "Stocking Patrol" filling the shelves, again that's Linton style.

So, let's begin the day by giving thanks to our Heavenly Father for bestowing his many blessings on us and a salute to our military troops and all veterans for giving us this great country protection.

Then gather up your food items, find your spot on the parade route and enjoy the band and entries while waiting for the "Food Patrol." Watch for a group of church representatives, having a lot of fun ... "That's Linton Style."

Let us all show our appreciation to the people responsible for this great parade, by attending and sharing our blessings with those in need. That's true Linton style.

Martha Roach

Linton Community Food Pantry

Linton

Encourage lawmakers

to support 2-1-1

To the Editor:

Images of gushing oil, teary fisherman, oil-soaked wildlife. Smells of mold and mildew after a flood. Dry heat of wildfires. Whether floods, fires, oil spills or personal disasters like homelessness and hunger, 2-1-1 has been there to help. But 2-1-1 is not everywhere yet. We need Congress to pass the Calling for 2-1-1 Act to fulfill that promise.

What is 2-1-1? Just as 9-1-1 connects callers with emergency services, 2-1-1 connects people to vital human services. In 2009, 2-1-1 connected over 16 million callers to information about job training, educational resources, housing and food assistance, services for veterans and so much more. And during disasters, 2-1-1 becomes a central hub, providing information on how to give and get help. It's easy, fast and effective.

Yet, despite the ever growing demand for 2-1-1, limited resources remains the key barrier to sustainability and nationwide implementation. A fully realized 2-1-1 system will not happen without the support of the federal government, in partnership with states.

That is why a broadly bi-partisan group of 243 representatives and 61 senators -- including Reps. Burton, Carson, Donnelly, Ellsworth and Hill and Sen. Lugar from Indiana -- have co-sponsored the Calling for 2-1-1 Act. We call on our members of Congress to rise above the partisanship and show the American people they can work together.

Join us in urging Rep. Brad Ellsworth, Sen. Richard Lugar and Sen. Evan Bayh to pass the Calling For 2-1-1 Act now -- before another disaster leaves our residents without a clear place to turn for help.

Noble Stallons

Chairman of the Indiana

Commission on Aging

President of the Generations

Advisory Council

Linton