Natchez High School ROTC students mark their last night at the Salvation Army kettle in front of Wal-Mart SuperCenter tonight.

The students have distinguished themselves this holiday season as some of the most dedicated bell-ringers in the Salvation Army.

&uot;They’ve adopted a kettle for us for three weeks now,&uot; said Lt. Bobby Westmoreland. &uot;They’ve been faithful through rain and cold.&uot;

Students have been stationed outside the Wal-Mart Super Center on Seargent S. Prentiss Drive from 5 to 9 p.m. Nov. 29 through Dec. 17.

So far, the ROTC students have netted approximately $3,000 for the Salvation Army through their kettle duty. &uot;They’ve taken our least popular shift and done wonderful with it,&uot; Westmoreland said. &uot;They deserve a lot of credit.&uot;

Community service is the main thrust of the ROTC cadets training, said Major Terone Stone, senior aerospace science instructor for the Natchez High School ROTC program.

&uot;We are all about doing community service,&uot; Stone said. &uot;It’s our duty to make better and more productive citizens of these students.

&uot;We want to make the kids well rounded.&uot;

That well rounded education includes activities like bell ringing for the Salvation Army.

Activities like this teach the students that there are always people who are less fortunate than they are, Stone said.

&uot;They’ve been very receptive to this idea and have been very committed and dedicated to the program,&uot; he said.

Cadet Leslie Patrick of the NHS ROTC program has been a constant figure at the kettle this year, Stone said. &uot;She’s been out there almost every night,&uot; he said. &uot;But they’re all diligent workers.&uot;