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Powell butcher supplies meat to Wyoming care packagesPOWELL, Wyo. (AP)--For a few dozen members of the U.S. military who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, a taste of Wyoming is never far away, thanks to a butcher who has shipped more than 10,000 pounds of jerky to troops since 2003. "This is wild game from the mountains of Wyoming,'' said Roger Beslanowitch, owner of Roger's Meat Processing, who was busy Nov. 23 preparing several trays of jerky for a trip to the smoker. Though Beslanowitch sometimes sends beef, the abundance of game meat during hunting season means that troops from Wyoming will get wild game jerky in their next care packages. "They love it, whatever it is, just as long as it's something from home,'' he said, adding that lean meat from deer or elk typically yields better jerky than beef. Beslanowitch has been working with Powell Troop Support organizers Bonny Rouse and Ann Ruward for the past six years to make sure Wyoming jerky is in every care package the group sends each month. "They share everything in their boxes, but the jerky does not get shared well. Sometimes they hide it,'' said Rouse, who maintains a mailing list of more than 60 men and women, mostly from Powell and other communities in the Bighorn Basin. When some of her son's friends were deployed to Iraq in 2003, Rouse started sending them boxes full of candy, toiletries, magazines and other items. With help from Ruward and support from local churches and others in the Powell community, Rouse has sent 2,900 care packages, at a cost of more than $27,000 in postage alone. Powell Troop Support sells magnets and bumper stickers to help fund its efforts, which include two or three special holiday packages for each soldier. "They appreciate getting a box from home, and knowing that every month, that box will be there,'' Rouse said. The guys get really excited when they get a package with that jerky, and my son is one of them,'' said Carolyn Danko, of Powell. Her son, Carl Danko, is a captain in the U.S. Army who has served in Baghdad for the last 10 months. "Probably every week to 10 days, I send a package to Carl, with Roger's pepperoni sticks and jerky,'' she said. "No matter what's in that box, it means somebody at home knows they exist and cares enough to think of them.'' "I've never seen such a warmhearted and generous person,'' Danko said of Rouse. Beslanowitch said that many hunters donate some meat and the associated processing fees to the jerky project, especially those from out of state who sometimes can't easily transport all of their game meat back home. "They like the idea that it's going to the troops,'' Beslanowitch said. "I came from the Vietnam era. I want the boys to know we still support them.
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