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Buffalo Soldiers March into Princeville

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PRINCEVILLE — The newest group of volunteers helping the people of Princeville rebuild is starting over in its own way. The Buffalo Soldiers are teenage boys who have had a brush with the law and are now trying to turn things around by helping others.

The boys will work off their community service by helping to clean up this town, and the people of Princeville are expecting big things from the group of juvenile offenders from Pennsylvania.

"I'm hoping that with the young men being in town and seeing what the Buffalo Soldiers can do that we might be able to pull together some of our young people that also need the guidance," says Princeville Mayor Delia Perkins.

For George Harrison, the group is an answer to his prayers.

"I hope I live to see the day when they come back with their kids and show them where they came from and the hand that they gave," Harrison says. "I'll be proud to shake one of their son's hands."

Some say they hope to return to Princeville years from now, to see how their labor helped the town through its darkest hour.

"They can share a feeling that they're not hopeless together, and they have each other," says Buffalo Soldiers Col. Steve Bloom. "It's a really an emotional thing; it really comes from within."

Only non-violent offenders are part of the program, and supervisors are in place just in case.

The Buffalo Soldiers will be in Princeville for two months.

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