Eighty new red, white, and blue rifle range stools were put to good use recently by the United States Marine Corps. The stools were created through a unique partnership between the girl scouts, sheriffs, marines and inmates.
The effort began with Miguel Ruiz of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Lancaster Station.
Ruiz, who is also a gunnery sergeant in the Marine Corps Reserves, went to the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Barstow, California for annual rifle training last year. He noticed that many of the range stools were in disrepair and others needed replacing. He then contacted Sergeant Gerri McCorkle at the Pitchess Detention Center.
McCorkle assigned inmates to build new stools for the Marine Corps using donated scrap wood, and arranged for Santa Clarita Valley Girl Scout Ashley Keith to paint and stencil the stools for her Girl Scout Gold Award project.
The result was 80 new rifle range stools sporting red, white and blue designs.
“These new stools fulfill more than a practical need,” Ruiz told The Santa Clarita Valley Signal. “These stools boost morale because they show people care.”