Kansans are showing their feelings about the war in Iraq and the troops over there in various ways. It’s a mixture of pride and support, some sorrow and occasional opposition.

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It’s a scene repeated throughout the state. Well-wishers gathered on the sidewalk recently in Independence to see off members of the Army Reserve’s 1011th Quartermaster Company as they left for Fort Riley.

“I think it’s important that we show people defending our freedom that we support them at the time they are leaving to do that,” spectator David Kersey said.

After their stay at Fort Riley, the troops are deployed to their active-duty assignments.

More than 2,500 guardsmen and reservists in Kansas units have been called up for active duty, from small towns like Independence and Washington to cities like Wichita and Olathe. Half of those called up belong to Army Reserve units.

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Yellow ribbons dot the Kansas landscape like sunflowers. In scores of towns since the start of the war, yellow ribbons and bows have been tied to trees, lamp posts, front doors and even vehicles.

In some cases, it has led to a yellow ribbon shortage for a time.

American ingenuity has come to the rescue.

Virginia Fiddler in Junction City — home of Fort Riley — said her friend solved the shortage problem by buying a yellow plastic tablecloth and cutting it into strips, which then were fashioned into bows.

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In Fort Scott, Jeff Finn, 28, stayed behind as his mother, Air Force Reserve Capt. Cheri Finn, left for an Air Force base in Germany.

She’s a flight nurse with the 452nd Air Mobility Wing in California and will be on planes ferrying wounded troops from the war, said her son, a Fort Scott police officer.

Cheri Finn joined the Air Force Reserve 11 years ago. Jeff Finn said waiting for her to come home from various “hot spots” hadn’t gotten any easier.

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At one Newton elementary school, a fifth-grader awaits her father’s return. A fourth grader has a brother in the Middle East. A teacher’s father is serving in the war and the custodian has a son overseas.

Students and teachers began writing letters and drawing pictures for their relatives overseas. They also wrote to Army Pvt. Patrick Miller, a prisoner of war in Iraq. As a youngster, he was a student of one of the teachers.

One letter to Miller was from Rafael, who wrote, “I bet some Army men will come and save you. I hope you come home safely.”

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The words “America’s Bravest” greet visitors to Garden City USD 457’s Teacher Resource Center.

A decorated wall commemorates teachers’ and staff members’ loved ones off fighting the war in Iraq.

Geneva Mintor, 72, the center’s supervisor, sent an e-mail to the entire school district after war broke out and asked for names of loved ones.

“My computer’s practically smoking,” Mintor said a few days after sending the e-mail. Now, 175 soldiers are honored on the board with a red, white and blue strip of paper decorated with two stars on each side.