INDIAN BASKETBALL TAPES BOUND FOR THE GULF; CAPE TELEGRAM EARNS REPLY FROM BUSH

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Local support for the U.S. troops in the Persian Gulf war continues to surface in a variety of ways.

Southeast Missouri State University mailed off a video tape Monday to Glenn McFadden and other local members of a Naval Reserve fleet hospital stationed in the island nation of Bahrain, located in the Persian Gulf.

The tape consists of two editions of the Ron Shumate basketball show, as well as last week's Southeast Missouri State University men's basketball games against University of Missouri-St. Louis and Rolla.

Ron Hines, sports information director at Southeast, said the university plans to send tapes to the troops of each of Southeast's remaining games and the weekly editions of the Ron Shumate Show.

Hines said the university was acting in response to a request from McFadden, relayed through St. Francis Medical Center where McFadden works, that Naval Reserve members from this area wanted news of the university's basketball games.

Area Girl Scouts also received "overwhelming response" to their Cookies for Desert Storm project. Final figures won't be available until next week. Through the project, local residents bought cookies and, in turn, donated the treats to the troops, according to Millie Turner of the Otakhi Girl Scout Council.

Rumors of delayed shipments to Saudi Arabia prompted Turner to make sure the cookie shipment would be received in a timely fashion.

"We have been put on a waiting list to ship the cookies to Saudi Arabia in mid-March," she said.

The cookies will be shipped to Pennsylvania through Genesis Trucking; the overseas shipment will be handled by Civil Defense Logistics, she said.

Cape Girardeau resident Johnathan Edwards has demonstrated his support for the troops and President Bush.

Shortly after the war began in mid-January, Edwards, a laid off truck driver, sent a telegram of support to the president.

"I just said I was behind him 100 percent, that I believed we were right to go over there," Edwards said Tuesday.

Edwards said he told Bush he would be willing to serve in the military, if needed.

Edwards said he was surprised when he received a letter back from the White House late last week.

The letter, dated Jan. 29 and signed by Bush, thanked Edwards for the telegram of support.

"I was very moved by your heartfelt comments about what we and the international coalition are trying to achieve through Operation Desert Storm," the president said in the letter.

"I am grateful," said Bush, "that our courageous troops face this historic challenge knowing that they have the support of millions of people around the world and that we are all tremendously proud of the job they are doing."