An elementary school teacher with worried students left behind.

A veterinarian whose practice must be tended by others.

Because of its heavy reliance on reserve troops, the war in Iraq is touching Lawrence in many ways.

Fourth-graders at Pinckney School see news about the war and worry about their teacher, Lori Arnold, an Army reservist called up in February.

“We were all kind of sad,” student Aaron Hiatt said, recalling his teacher’s departure for duty. “We just told her that we’d miss her.”

Aaron’s mother, Tawny Hiatt, said her son became upset recently after looking at newspaper war stories and reading a quote from President Bush that the war would go on “as long as it takes.”

Arnold was last known to be at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., but according to a recent e-mail to her class, she could soon be dispatched to a country near Iraq, Tawny Hiatt said.

Information released in March by the Lawrence school district said Arnold was a petroleum specialist working with a nuclear, chemical and biological team.

Tawny Hiatt, who is working on her doctorate in counseling psychology, said she tried to reassure her son about his teacher’s situation. She has told him that women are not allowed to participate in combat.

“I minimize any of the TV showings of the war,” Hiatt said. “That’s been known to have a negative impact on children.”

Mark Marks, a Lawrence veterinarian, will leave this week to join his Army Reserve unit. He was notified Monday about the unit's activation, which may include service in the Persian Gulf.

Tawny Hiatt said she also encouraged Aaron to express his thoughts and feelings to her. She thinks parents should “be a reassuring force” to their children.

The possibility of serving in the war effort became reality Monday for Lawrence veterinarian Mark Marks, who was notified he must leave Friday to join his Army Reserve unit. He had known for several months he might be called to duty.

“At least now it is defined,” said Marks, who has operated Wakarusa Veterinary Hospital, 1825 Wakarusa Drive, for 14 years. “There is a beginning and you can put a reasonable end on it.”

Marks will leave his business in the hands of his wife, Shanon, and his assistant, veterinarian Kristi Bradley.

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Marks is a colonel with the 3rd Medical Command, which is comprised of active and reserve personnel. He said he would be deployed somewhere in support of operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

The unit’s primary focus is on food safety and procurement, Marks said. Members will make sure food vendors supply the quality of food they are expected to, he said.

“Veterinarians are trained in knowing food-producing animals,” he said. “You can imagine what it would be like to have (those aboard) a ship come down with dysentery or a unit in the field get sick.”

The veterinarians also are responsible for the bomb search dogs, Marks said.

This is Marks’ second military call-up since the first war against Iraq.

The best things a community can do for military personnel who are called up is to support their businesses and families, he said. Worries about families back home affect how a soldier does his job, Marks said.

“If they don’t have families being taken care of on this side of the water, they are not going to be thinking about taking care of their jobs on the other side of the water,” Marks said.