The plight of whales trapped by Arctic Ocean ice got worldwide attention, and the part played in their rescue by two Soviet icebreakers got the special attention of members of a third grade class. ``I feel sorry for every living creature that has to go through this,'' said Lisa DeLack, a third-grader at Centennial Elementary School in Loveland. Lisa convinced her teacher and school principal that the Soviets deserved some thanks for their help in freeing two California gray whales off the north coast of Alaska. A third whale disappeared and was presumed dead. ``I saw the whales and the Russians helping and I thought it was very nice of them to do it,'' Lisa said. So she and her classmates penned their appreciation on blue-lined school paper, some illustrated with drawings of whales. Their letters were sealed in an envelope and mailed to Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev in Moscow. Centennial principal Sam Simonetta says it's natural for the children to respond to animals, be they pets or wild creatures thousands of miles away. `They like them and they're concerned about them,'' Simonetta said. ``When someone came in and was willing to help our country, it made these kids feel real good about it,'' he said.