Bush baseball to benefit group helping troops

CINCINNATI (AP) — A baseball signed by former President George W. Bush will be auctioned off to raise money for an Ohio group known for sending boxes of donated snacks and toiletries to soldiers in Iraq.

The Yellow Ribbon Support Center says it will use proceeds from the April 9 dinner and auction to award $1,000 scholarships in the names of 53 soldiers and Marines from Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky who have lost their lives.

June Izzi Bailey, an organizer of the event, says someone already has offered $500 for the Bush- autographed baseball, which also bears the presidential seal.

The Yellow Ribbon group in suburban Cincinnati was founded by the parents of Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Matt Maupin, who was a 20-year-old private first class when his fuel convoy was attacked by insurgents in Iraq in April 2004. His remains were found northwest of Baghdad last year.