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Six-year-old Dusty Duncan went out Friday night to get Ward Burton's autograph. What he may have gotten in addition to the autograph was a new shot at life. Dusty suffers from a cleft palate. It's a condition that doesn't threaten his life, but because of the way it affects his personal appearance, it does threaten his self-esteem. Especially for a 6-year-old. When Burton's helicopter landed at the Grandview autograph session, he immediately noticed Dusty. Sonja Duncan, Dusty's mother, said of Burton: "He looked two or three times at Dusty. All Dusty could say was, `That's Ward Burton.' " Dusty stood in line with his mother and father, Billy Duncan, and got his autograph. Afterward, as they were entering a nearby store, a security guard stopped them. The guard said that Burton wanted their name, Dusty's age and a phone number. They complied. Shortly after, the guard returned and said Burton wanted to talk to them after the autograph session was over. The Duncan family was ushered into a room at the store where they met Burton. They talked. Then Burton pulled Billy Duncan aside. "He asked what was wrong with Dusty," Sonja Duncan said. "He asked if it could be fixed and then he offered to pay for it. I was shocked," she said. Burton said Sunday: "I'm going to help him. I'm going to help with some funds." Burton said something about the boy just touched him. "I got kind of emotional when I saw him," Burton said, becoming emotional again. "I'm a sucker when it comes to children." Burton said he was impressed with the boy's attitude and said it was very evident he had the love of his mother and father. Dusty has already had eight surgeries in unsuccessful attempts to correct the problem. Dusty's sister, Angie, also was born with a cleft palate. Hers was successfully dealt with by two surgeries. Rita Ferguson, a friend of the Duncan family who was with them at the autograph session, said the Duncans "are not in position to take Dusty to a specialist." She also said that Dusty is at the age where he's been hearing about his appearance from friends. The Duncans said Burton told them he would be in touch early this week to work out the details of getting Dusty's life turned around. "I can't help everybody," Burton said. "This was something that just touched me."