Hope boy singled out for aid to troops

WASHINGTON — An Arkansas child who helps service personnel got a shoutout on C-SPAN last week.

In a speech on the House floor, U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman told his colleagues about Huck Plyler, a 6-yearold from Hope who assembles care packages for troops overseas.

The youngster created what is now known as Huck’s Military Care Package Project. With the help of like-minded friends, neighbors and the Hempstead County Farm Bureau, he has sent dozens of care packages to Arkansas National Guard members who are deployed in northeast Africa.

The list of care package items includes puzzles and protein bars. Gift cards and granola. Batteries and beef jerky.

Westerman, a Republican from Hot Springs, said Huck’s “generosity has stirred the hearts, souls and patriotic spirits of people across my district and Arkansas.”

The child’s “kindness and thoughtfulness brings honor to himself, his parents Caleb and Brianna Plyler, and to the benevolent people of Hempstead County and Arkansas,” Westerman said.