Sunday afternoon, the Leetonia Sportsmans Club donated a mobile electric wheelchair. It was for a local disabled veteran and Purple Heart recipient as part of the club’s charity program to help disabled veterans.
Jim Arkwright is now riding around on some new wheels. The Vietnam War veteran lost his right leg in combat, hindering his ability to do what he loves most, hunting and fishing.
“I figured this was probably going to be my last year to hunt because [of] my inability to be able to get from point A to point B,” Arkwright said.
The club raised funds for the mobile chair that will hopefully change Arkwright’s life.
“You can go through shallow streams, over logs, up hills. It’s basically a small Army tank on a wheelchair base,” said Bob Clutter, president of the Leetonia Sportsman Club.
“This new chair is going to mean I can extend my hunting career a lot longer,” Arkwright said.
Members of the club participated in the Memorial Iron Man event, shooting various targets and raising money for the charity program.
“There’s people I have to thank and I don’t even know them so it’s very humbling,” Arkwright said.
“Everyone that knows him or has ever known him knows that nobody is more deserving or [going to] be more appreciative than he is,” Clutter said.
Clutter says that over the years, the community has supported the program immensely.
“To raise the funds now is just a no-brainer for us. It’s finding the veteran that’s willing to accept it,” Clutter said.
“Without the support of my wife of 53 years, a lot of this probably wouldn’t be possible,” Arkwright said.
