UNITED WAY MARKS MAJOR FUNDING BOOST

And speaking of charity, kudos to the United Way on its incredibly successful "Make Someone Happy" fund-raising campaign this year. Certainly the organization will make many someones happy, because it raised a record $901,065, which campaign chairmen announced at a celebration this week. That's 10 percent higher than last year's campaign.

The key to the United Way's accomplishment was that it set its sights higher in its most recent campaign, determining it could raise $925,000. That didn't happen, but undoubtedly the lofty goal inspired the new record.

Thank you to all the donors, many of them part of campaigns at work. They give from their checks every month, a virtually unnoticeable subtraction that means so much.

The top five agencies funded are the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts and the Gibson Recovery Center. These are trustworthy, admirable organizations that will use the money to make our community an even better place to live.