There was another animal at the Statehouse Wednesday, but this time it wasn't the governor bringing piglets to the lobby or a horse and buggy to illustrate old-fashioned ways of doing things. Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom arranged to have a camel on the Statehouse grounds, as part of a rally in support of our troops now in Iraq and Afghanistan.

State agencies were there to show their support, and because they were being saluted for their efforts as part of "America Supports You". Eckstrom handed out certificates of appreciate to the agencies for taking part.

"It's very important, I think, that we back home who enjoy the freedom that they guarantee us tell them thank you. And this is our way of saying thank you," Eckstrom said.

One example is his office and Palmetto Girls State worked together to collect items and put together more than 400 care packages to send to soldiers overseas. The boxes contain things like toiletries, CDs, batteries, snacks, writing tablets and envelopes. Bellsouth is paying for the postage to send the packages to the soldiers.