As the war rages on in Iraq, local families of soldiers follow the news updates on television and pray for the safe return of their loved ones.

"We haven't heard anything," Anne Weber of West Middlesex said of her grandson Army Pvt. 2 Sean Dart, who is stationed in Kuwait. "My daughter had a letter on the 4th of March and that was the last one we had. It was written Feb. 27."

Dart was sent to Kuwait about two months ago, Mrs. Weber said. "He was one of the first groups that they sent over," she said. "I was hoping that something would work out and that it (the war) wouldn't start."

"I'm OK," Mrs. Weber said. "I go to Mass every morning, and I keep on the go all of the time. I think if I had to be shut in, I would have too much time to think.

"I can only watch so much of the news. I can't continue to watch this all day. It gets a little much and I have to shut it off."

Shirley Swiger of Grove City was tearful as she spoke of her 19-year-old grandson, Pvt. Marcus Papamarkos, who was sent to Kuwait. Papamarkos is with the 101st Airborne Assault, based in Fort Campbell, Ky.

"The last letter we had was March 5 after he got there," she said.

Mrs. Swiger said she watches the television news "all the time" to stay updated on the war.

"I called him before he left to cheer him up, but I wasn't very cheered up myself," she said.

Papamarkos is the son of Steven and Debbie Corwin of Hermitage.

John and Paula Vinzant of Hermitage last heard from their 20-year-old daughter, Tasha, in a letter dated March 14. The 2000 Hickory High School graduate is stationed in Iraq with the 3rd Infantry Division of the Army.

The family follows the news of the war but has cut back on TV watching.

"The first couple of days we watched a lot of it. Now we turn it on every couple of hours to get highlights," Mrs. Vinzant said.

Ed and Charlotte Wess of Hubbard have two sons in the military. Their son Joshua is in Iraq, serving with the 3rd Division, 7th Marines.

"He always wanted to do this since he was a little kid," Mrs. Wess said. She last spoke with her son in January, when he was stationed in Kuwait.

"He knows he'll be home, and that he'll be OK. He just wants to get it done with and come home," she said.

The Wesses' second son, Justin, is in Marine training at Camp Geiger, N.C.

Steve and Laura Knebel of Hubbard have a son, Lance Cpl. Joshua Knebel, serving with the 2nd Marines, 8th Engineers Bridge Company.

Mrs. Knebel said her son loves being a Marine and that he sounded very positive in a letter they received from him a little over a week ago, when he was still in Kuwait. "To even get a letter from him took 14 days," she said.

Hubbard Press Editor Robin Zambrini also contributed to this story.