VIDALIA &8212; There are apparently very few candy stores in Iraq.

But that doesn&8217;t mean our soldiers have to go without the sweet stuff, and Vidalia Junior High students are going to make sure at least one unit gets the wanted candy.

Students who bring $1 to school on Friday can come clad in jeans, a special thing for uniform-wearing children.

The money raised will be used to buy candy, which will be shipped to Marine Travis Barfield and his unit.

Barfield&8217;s mom, Sherry, is a sixth-grade reading teacher at VJHS, and most of the students know her.

They&8217;ve kept up with Travis through his letters to mom.

&8220;Travis said the thing they missed the most is chewy candy,&8221; Taylor Loomis said.

The school&8217;s newspaper staff The Viking Voice is sponsoring blue jean day.

Sixth-grader Kelsey Martin said she thought the event would raise a good bit of money, around $400, she guessed. Students who wear jeans are required to bring at least a $1, but can bring more.

The school held a similar drive to raise $448 for the American Heart Association earlier this year.

Once the money is collected, teachers will buy the candy and the package will be shipped with letters and pictures from the VJHS students.

&8220;They want letters, because some don&8217;t get any letters,&8221; D&8217;Anne Thorpe said.

Blue jean days are reserved for only one day a month, usually, the students said.

Lance Cpl. Travis Barfield, a Vidalia High School graduate, has been in Iraq for about a month. He&8217;s been in the Marines for about a year and a half, his mother said. He is the crew chief for a Marine helicopter.

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