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37 °F Forecast | Road Cams Friday, November 26, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend November 25, 2004 Samme Harris, 6, whose father is in Iraq, is surrounded by donations at Hoover Elementary School that will be sent to her father�s unit in Baghdad. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Treats bound for Baghdad School kids send boxes full of treats and necessities to a Military Police unit in Iraq By ANITA BURKE Mail Tribune What started as a simple Veterans Day tribute by first-graders at Hoover Elementary School has turned into a flood of holiday generosity for a Medford man and his fellow military police serving in Iraq. In between parent-teacher conferences this week, first-grade teacher Sue Nolan-Olson readied 22 boxes packed with beef jerky, granola bars, candy, soap, disposable razors, playing cards, writing paper and other stateside treats bound for Baghdad. "This is far more than I anticipated," she said, surveying the stacks of boxes spread across desktops. For Veterans Day, Nolan-Olson wanted a project that would connect kids with veterans. She decided to have her pupils write letters to the father of a girl in the class, Samme Harris, 6. Samme’s dad, Jesse Harris, 24, is in the Army’s 571st Military Police Company in Iraq, where he works to protect Iraqi police stations. Samme lives with her grandparents, Larry and RaeJean Helms of Medford. Advertisement Harris graduated from South Medford High School in 1999 and joined the Army. He was stationed in Fort Lewis, Wash., but spent six months guarding prisoners in Guantanamo Bay. He was sent to Iraq in January, Larry Helms said. The students drew pictures and wrote short letters to send to Harris. "I hope for you," said one. "Thank you for keeping our country safe," said another. RaeJean Helms had shared with the class stories about how the snacks Harris carries to work in the Iraqi police station are the only food he gets all day, so the letters expressed concerns about him getting enough to eat. She also told about the time he went two weeks without soap. Nolan-Olson sent parents a letter that described the kids’ project and noted that if the youngsters wanted to include gifts such as snacks or personal care items, those would be sent to Iraq along with the letters. "I hadn’t anticipated this response," Nolan-Olson said. "This was an opportunity and you can tell from the response that people wanted to express gratitude." One dad brought in a mound of goods and said it was the least he could do, she said. Others wrote letters of their own to send and several people donated money to pay for shipping. Via military mail, the packages should take about three weeks to reach Harris and his unit in Baghdad, Larry Helms said. "This will be real nice —just the fact that people remember them," he said. "I think people don’t realize how much difference it makes to these guys." Helms said the family has stayed in touch with Harris by exchanging e-mails and cell phone calls with him several times a week. One morning he called his mom while she was dropping by Nolan-Olson’s classroom. RaeJean Helms held the phone out so all the students could shout "Hi Jesse. Have a good day." "That’s why I enjoy teaching young ones," Nolan-Olson said. "They instinctively want to care and share." Nolan-Olson remembers when Harris was a young one, too. He was in her first class of kindergartners when she started teaching at the Medford district in 1985. She said Samme is her first "second-generation" student and she can see a family resemblance — in the wide eyes, jawline and artistic ability of the two Harrises. "I accidentally call Samme ‘Jesse’ sometimes," she said. "There’s an uncanny resemblance." Reach reporter Anita Burke at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. 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