In the midst of an election, candidates are always looking for ways to differentiate themselves, searching for issues that will get the voters attention and drive them to the polls.

The sincerity of the passion behind many of these issues is often questionable, but the issues must be considered.

In recent weeks, one issue that has arisen here is Polk Countys donation to St. Lukes Hospital last year. After a few months of study, the Polk County Board of Commissioners unanimously decided to support St. Lukes growth plans with the money it received from the sale of the James Tool building $285,000.

At the time, the wish was that St. Lukes Hospital would use the money to help turn itself around financially. Now that it has done just that, instead of celebrating, we find ourselves in a discussion about how we might have used the money to better effect for the local economy. Now that we have seen the result which was wished for, some seem to want the money back.

The same money might have been put to use for another business opportunity and, if successful, like James Tool, repaid to Polk and rolled over again and again.

That is possible. No one can ever know now. What we do know is that a key economic player in the county, one of the countys top employers, was helped.

What caught the public, and the candidates attention, was the fact that St. Lukes announced recently that it was financially strong enough again to offer its staff raises two percent raises. Polk County employees this year are doing without any increases, again.

It is hard to compare private enterprise with goveernment jobs: the job market and skills required, the privately funded retirement plans versus state pensions, revenues from competitive services versus taxes. Lets just stop for a moment and celebrate St. Lukes success. JB