Standing tall at the finish line

Press Christmas for All fell short of its 2012 goal.

Are we sorry? Not at all.

How can we be sorry when so many gave so much?

Tom Addis, the first donor recruited by Bob Paulos 27 years ago, has remained steadfast in his generosity. He owns the distinction as the only donor we're aware of who has contributed to the program every single year.

Anonymous in Athol didn't just pitch in a potful. His $12,000 gift was the biggest single contribution of the 2012 campaign.

Close behind were all our friends at Transtector/Smiths Protection Technology Group, who mustered their multitudes to donate $11,668. Employees at the airport facility reached high for the goal and stooped so low as to pick up pennies in the parking lot so everyone in Kootenai County could have a merry Christmas.

New donors arrived in the 11th hour: The Wozow family, who came in last Friday morning with a check for $10,000. Press Christmas for All this year was still able to give an average gift of $25 per person, so the Wozows alone helped 400 people.

While we were being introduced to the Wozows, a gentleman delivered an envelope and a smile before slipping out just as quietly as he'd arrived. Inside that envelope was $1,000. We didn't even have time to properly thank him.

These are just snapshots of the generosity, the kindness, the love for their neighbors that make all the people involved in Press Christmas for All feel like the campaign was a smashing success, not a lamentable shortcoming. And one snapshot stands above the rest.

Children at Bryan Elementary held their own penny drive and sold enough popcorn to stock a holiday Christmas theater. When their feverish work was done, they'd raised $1,000. We would applaud them and hug them if it'd been $10. When children bless other children, that, we believe, is the greatest gift of all.

Thanks to everyone who pitched in, including Super 1 Foods and Shopko, our two amazing and generous business partners; and to the army of volunteers at Kootenai County Fire & Rescue who have done most of the program's heavy lifting for several years now, handling much of the program's administrative functions and disbursing the gift cards respectfully and lovingly.

The real goal of Press Christmas for All is to unite the community for a good cause.

Mission accomplished.

We still like Mike

U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo made a terrible mistake last Saturday night, when he consumed too much alcohol and was arrested for driving under the influence early Sunday morning in suburban Washington, D.C. Crapo, who has survived cancer, will survive this, too.

He'll survive and, we believe, thrive again because he is smart enough and ethical enough to learn from his mistake. Unlike a former U.S. senator from Idaho, Crapo immediately took full responsibility for his actions. That's the critical first step in confronting a personal problem and embarking on a new journey that is bound to make him even better.