http://www.thedailycitizen.com/      04/24/2002

Spotlight on the Gunslingers:    Sergeant (SGT) Patrick McCarty

    When Sergeant Patrick McCarty deployed to Egypt in January, he had more than just family and friends thinking about him.
    Students at H.L. Lubker Elementary School in Bald knob adopted McCarty, along with several other members of the "Gunslingers," and have been communicating with them on a regular basis.
   Glenda Hortons's first-grade students adopted McCarty, a former student of Horton's and a graduate of Bald Knob High School.
   A picture of McCarty in uniform hangs on the wall next to his first grade picture.
   The first-graders have written to McCarty asking a variety of questions about the weather, the sea, his specific job, and the country.
   McCarty has written to them several times and has sent them pictures showing the South Camp Area.
    Sergeant McCarty was enrolled as a senior at Lyon College when he was called to duty.
   He recently earned the Expert Infantry Badge after successfully completing a test of  37 tasks handled by infantrymen.
    Students in Pattie Whitehead's classroom have adopted Staff Sergeant Kenneth Morris and Staff Sergeant Marty Long and have been communicating with them since they left for training in Colorado.
    The soldiers have written to the children and sent them numerous photos and even a video of the area.
    Second grade students from Roxanne Gwaltney, Mary O'Dell, and Pam Cooley's classrooms have also adopted Arkansas Guardsmen.
    In addition to McCarty, Long, and Morris, the students are writing Staff Sergeant Gentry Yates, Specialist Scott Muckelberg, and Specialist James McBride.
    Muckelberg's son, Gunner, is a student in Mrs. Cooley's room.

iWebTech:    Chird Bobbitt

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