Dear Mr. President

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Augusta Chronicle invited students to write letters to President-elect Obama detailing what they would like him to do as president. The newspaper received more than 400 entries. Selected letters are being printed in The Chronicle and posted online at augustachronicle.com/president.

Grand-prize winners in the elementary, middle and high school divisions will be published the week of Mr. Obama's inauguration. After his installation as the 44th president of the United States, the letters will be mailed to the White House.

Dear Mr. President,

I would like you to stop people from stealing. Stealing is not good. People go to jail for stealing. I would like you to stop people from having guns. Guns kill people and I do not like to hear about people getting killed. Guns should not be allowed in the United States.

Love,

Charity Porter

Third-grader, Monte Sano Elementary School, Augusta

Dear Mr. President,

There are some things I'd like you to do while you are president. First, don't let the gas prices rise again. There is no reason for everyone to suffer through that like we already have. Also, as soon as possible, we need to get our military out of Iraq. We have sacrificed enough people. We should always be prepared for terrorism and on the lookout for weapons of mass destruction. Taxes and health care cost too much. There is a need to help the people, and additional research and support for cancer and other diseases is needed. These are just a few of the suggestions I would like to see you address as our president.

Sincerely,

Blake Cantrell

Seventh-grader, Schofield Middle School, Aiken

Dear President Barack Obama,

I'm a student at Hephzibah Middle School, and I was interested in you when you were a state senator ... I know you have the ability to transform the United States in the super power it once was.

I would like you to do the following things while you are president: rebuild New Orleans; solve the Gulf war problem; demonstrate a respectful view of the Middle East instead of referring to "the terrorists" as you did in a recent debate; come up with the United States' role in Africa's many problems and conflicts; fix our economy and turn the economy around in an environmentally responsible way; defend the value of well- regulated, domestically-produced food supply for our safety and environmental health; have a sound position on international trade agreements; and create more affordable housing in our cities.

Sincerely,

Trevor Papas

Seventh-grader, Hephzibah Middle School