Shepherd

The medical bills that come in the mail are almost comical, with their five-figure charges that dwarf what Brenda Bowman makes in an entire year. "The working poor - that's me," she says with a good-natured laugh. "We're working, but we still can't afford things." Like getting sick, for example. Bowman seems remarkably cheerful for someone who, through no design or desire of her own, is the embodiment of the census figures that came out earlier this week. They showed that for people younger than 65, median income went down half a percent last year, while the number of uninsured went up - to 46.6 million Americans.

As Hailey and Chelsey Alder ran out the back door of the Shepherd's Staff center in Westminster, they carried new backpacks filled with school supplies. Alongside their mother, Jaymi Bryant, 23, of Union Bridge, the girls entered a large shed and searched through hundreds of pieces of clothing for the four outfits each child could take home for free. Hailey, who is almost 6, and Chelsey, 5, are getting ready to start first grade and kindergarten, respectively, at Elmer A. Wolfe Elementary in Union Bridge.

On Saturday, July 1, 2006 MRS. THERESA GAYLE (nee Queensberry) SHEPHERD, beloved mother of Dale Hicks, Justin Hicks, Meagan Shepherd and Rachel Shepherd, beloved sister of Linda Heath, Margaret Thompson, Doug von Lindenberg and Ken Queensberry, beloved grandmother of Valerie Hicks, Devin Hicks and Rosalie Hicks. Also survived by many nieces and nephews. Friends may call at the LOUDON PARK FUNERAL HOME, 3620 Wilkens Ave., on Wednesday, July 5 from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Memorial services will be held 11:00 a.m. Friday at the funeral home.

WASHINGTON -- Rob Portman, President Bush's new budget chief, still practices his kayaking moves in the House of Representatives' pool. The former Cincinnati congressman still catches himself during meetings on Capitol Hill referring to lawmakers as "we." But his office is at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue now and, despite his roots in the legislative branch, he's squarely on the president's side of a battle between the White House and Congress over the power of the purse. The House is to weigh in on the issue today with a vote on Bush's bid to resurrect the line-item veto, which would allow the president to reach into spending bills and single out items for removal, putting lawmakers' most prized prerogative - their ability to secure federal money, or earmarks, for their districts - in peril.

On June 16, 2006, MARY "Peggy" A. (nee Browning); devoted wife of James L. Shepherd; devoted mother of Peggy De Martin and her husband Christopher, Paula Motsay and her husband Richard; loving grandmother of Michele Jarrell, James Willingham, II, Christie Cantu, Jeff De Martin and Richard Motsay, III; great-grandmother of Samantha, James, Taylor and Sidney; dear sister of Ruby Goulsby and Effie Thompson. Friends may call at the family owned Duda-Ruck Funeral Home of Dundalk, Inc., 7922 Wise Avenue, on Sunday 4 to 8 P.M. Mrs. Shepherd will lie in state at Harbor Heights Baptist Church, on Monday 9:30 to 10 A.M., the funeral hour.

On May 15, 2006, ELSIE M. HERL (nee Curl); beloved wife of Marvin P. Herl; devoted mother of Charles H. Mallon, Susan A. Taylor, Kimberly J. Leavitt and Patricia M. Dasch; dear sister of Albert Curl, Betty Jane Dudley, Annabelle Kuta and the late Mary Lee Boarman, Louise Moyer and Elmer Curl. Also survived by Twelve grandchildren and one great-grandson. Mrs. Herl will lie in state in the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, 3103 Sollers Point Road, on Friday from 10:30 A.M. until 11 A.M., the funeral hour.

Maxine Smith has a hard time imagining how she could manage her thyroid condition without Shepherd's Clinic, Baltimore's only health center expressly for uninsured working people. A nanny who earns just under $10 an hour, Smith pays $9 for each medical appointment and receives free medications through a local nonprofit. Yet, for all the financial advantages, she is quick to mention something that matters just as much. "The Shepherd's Clinic gave dignity to who I was," said Smith, 55, who came to the clinic a decade ago after being treated at a medical practice where no one addressed her by name.

When Westminster's Kevin Clancy, The Sun's All-Metro Offensive Player of the Year, suits up for Division II Shepherd next season, it won't just be with the expectation of holding a clipboard. The strong-armed senior believes he has a chance to be the West Virginia team's primary backup quarterback as a freshman, with an eye on the starting job the year after. "[The coach] basically said that if I do everything right, I should be starting [as a sophomore]," Clancy said. "I'll just try my best and see if I can maybe at least start a couple games this year."