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The Cape Coral Police Department hosted its Do The Right Thing Student Recognition Awards ceremony for the month of October on Wednesday at City Hall. The following students were recognized for their positive attitudes towards school and family, their healthy decisions regarding drugs and violence, as well as their good citizenship.



Overall winner

— Anthony Jackson, eighth grade, Diplomat Middle, son of Anthony Jackson Sr. and Cierra Odom

Anthony and his family had to relocate here from Iowa not too long ago to live with his aunt and uncle and their children after a major house fire put them out of their home. All 10 of them currently share a rather small house close to Diplomat Middle. Anthony’s mom and dad chose to give up the jobs they had in exchange for a roof over their heads and are still struggling to find employment in the current economic conditions but despite the crowded home and lack of work, they consider themselves blessed. When the fire at their home in Iowa began, Anthony and his older sister Cierra, were home alone while their parents were at work. Cierra, who was upstairs, passed out from the smoke so Anthony carried her down a flight of stairs and out of the house to safety. The only possession the family has which wasn’t destroyed was the sweatshirt which Anthony used to cover his sister’s face to protect her from smoke inhalation. Anthony quite possibly saved his sister’s life.



— Fraicy Delgrado, eighth grade, Challenger Middle, daughter of Lazara Borges and Omar Suarez

The first days of school are hard in the best of times. Attending a new school, meeting new people and finding the correct classrooms can all be trying for students, and sometimes the school’s faculty does not notice certain problems until they are brought to their attention. On the first day of school, Fraicy noticed a young lady who does not speak English wandering around and crying between class changes. The student was frightened; she did not know where to go and she could not ask anyone. Fraicy not only recognized the problem but she did something about it. She brought the young lady to a teacher who could communicate with the student and asked her to translate that Fraicy would stay with her the remainder of the day to help with the language barrier. Fraicy helped her new friend to feel safe and because she called the situation to their attention, school administrators placed the young lady in their International School where she could get the assistance she needed.



— Julie Sabo, first grade, Christa McAuliffe Charter Elementary, daughter of Jana and D.J. Sabo

Julie was moved recently by visits to her school and summer camp by representatives from the Animal Refuge Center. She was heartbroken when she heard of the plight of many pets which were in need of food, supplies, shelter and homes. So when Julie’s sixth birthday came around at the beginning of the school year, she asked her mom if she could suggest that instead of bringing gifts to her party, she could ask her friends to bring presents for all the homeless cats and dogs at the shelter; things which could be donated to the ARC. As the children filed into the party, they carried baskets and bags of dog food, kitty litter, dog biscuits, pet shampoo and gift certificates to pet supply stores. After the party, Julie was able to deliver a truckload of supplies to her new four-legged friends and stayed to play with them for a while. When Julie is old enough, she plans to volunteer for ARC, and from the time she could say the word, she knew she wanted to be a veterinarian.



— Bridget McCue, eighth grade, Trafalgar Middle/currently Woodland Middle in North Port, daughter of Randy and Barbara McCue

Bridget was baby-sitting her 4-year-old brother and 3-year-old sister one day when an electrical fire broke out in the computer room. It was determined later that the fire was caused by a surge protector under the computer table. Thirteen-year-old Bridget was first to notice the fire and had the presence of mind, in part because of the Red Cross baby-sitting certification she has, to get her brother and sister safely out of the house. On the way out, she also took a cordless phone with her to call 911 after they were outside. The house was destroyed, but thanks to Bridget, her brother and sister got out safely.



— Reno Williams, sixth grade, Trafalgar Middle, son of Tuesday and Brad Williams

Reno was nominated by the children’s counselor for the Division of Blind Services. Reno was born legally blind and throughout the years he has been diagnosed with neurological and developmental disabilities such as tourettes, Aspergers syndrome, which is a form of autism, ADHD and several others. These diagnoses do not seem to be holding this young man back, as he is doing well in a mainstream classroom setting. Within the last year, Reno began noticing that because of his disability, he did things a little differently than some of his peers, so he took it upon himself to find out exactly what it means to have a diagnosis of autism. He created the brochure “What is Autism!” in kid-friendly terminology so that his peers could understand the disorder. He has also created a PowerPoint presentation entitled “How to be a Good Friend to Kids with Autism” and just finished an article that is being made into a book titled “Bullies Be Gone.” Reno is continually trying to find ways to educate and spread awareness throughout his community about autism and autism-related disabilities. With help, he has been able to make his resources available throughout five counties. Reno has made presentations multiple times to students and teachers in Naples, Cape Coral and recently in Fort Myers to promote autism awareness and education.