Do The Right Thing monthly winners announced
The Cape Coral Police Department hosted its Do The Right Thing Student Recognition Awards ceremony for the month of February 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
— John Bustamante, 12th grade, Mariner High, son of Juan Bustamante and Evelyn Rodriguez
John was assisting in the office at Mariner High one morning when a student reported in late and spoke to John about it. John recognized that the student smelled strongly of marijuana and went to his school resource officer to report it. The administration was notified and the student and his vehicle were searched resulting in the confiscation of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. John is a Cape Coral Police Explorer and hopes to become a Cape cop one day. Until then, we appreciate his efforts to keep his school community safe and drug free.
— Shyann Del Negro, eighth grade, Gulf Middle, daughter of Brian and Mary Del Negro
Shyann is being recognized for her efforts to help others. Gulf Middle School has been under renovation using portables as classrooms. Shyann was aware of a student in a wheelchair who was having difficulty getting to the portables so Shyann assists the student on a daily basis. This is not Shyann’s first effort to help someone who needed her attention. She also assisted a student who had a broken arm by writing her schoolwork as the student dictated.
— Katherine Nally, eighth grade, Gulf Middle, daughter of Payne Moore and William Nally
Katherine was involved in a terrible boating accident this past summer. She was life-flighted to Tampa suffering a broken femur among other things, but despite a rough road ahead of her and hours of rehabilitation, Katherine was determined to play volleyball again. She has graduated from a wheelchair to crutches to a cane and although she has not yet been able to return as a player, Katherine is sharing her skills of the game as the volleyball team manager and assists in coaching the girls on the team.
— Vanessa Esquivel, eighth grade, Challenger Middle, daughter of Maria Mena and Willis Cheatham
A teacher at Challenger Middle School was recently given a somewhat expensive diamond ring. The ring was a little too big for her finger and she did not even realize that it had fallen off in school. Vanessa found the ring and went directly to a teacher with it in order to get it back to the person who lost it.
— Emily Krutz, 12th grade, Ida S. Baker High, daughter of Janet Fuhr-Krutz and Kevin Krutz
Identity theft is a growing concern in the country, so when one a Cape Coral police officer, Lt. Tony Sizemore, paid for a charity event at one of the local public high schools and the personal check was dropped in the student parking lot, one can imagine his concern. Fortunately for Sizemore, Emily Krutz and a friend found the check on the ground and immediately turned it over to the school’s administration.
“I am so proud of these girls for doing the right thing,” said Sizemore said. “Taking the check for their own personal gain or taking an attitude of ‘whatever’ and leaving it on the ground for the next person could have proven disastrous for me. These two girls are great representatives of how their parents raised them to do the right thing even when no one is watching. It also speaks to how the school instills the spirit of doing the right thing.”