Cape Coral Police announce October 2012 Do The Right Thing winners

The department presented awards to nine Cape Coral students who were nominated for their recent actions that had a positive impact on the community.

Each month during the school year the Cape Coral Police Department awards local students for going above and beyond in every day life. At the end of the school year an overall Do The Right Thing award winner will be announced for the 2012-2013 school year.

 October 2012 Do The Right Thing Award Winners

 MaryJo Ellis
6th grade, Gulf Middle School
Daughter of Chris & Christy Ellis

Gabrielle Mora
6th grade, Gulf Middle School
Daughter of Mark & Michelle Mora

MaryJo and Gabrielle went on a trip to Busch Gardens with some classmates.  The day was filled with fun and laughter until they got soaking wet on a ride and used a huge drying machine to dry themselves off.  Without realizing it, one of the girls dropped $40 in the dryer; money she brought with her to buy a special gift for her mom.  Shortly after the girls exited the machine, she realized the money was missing and went back to look for it in and around the dryer.  The money was nowhere to be found and one of the parents mentioned that it was too bad that they didn’t know who followed them into the machine.  It was then that MaryJo and Gabby stated that they did remember the group who went into the machine behind them and were quite certain that they could locate them. 

Mary Jo and Gabby began looking for the group in the park and a short time later found them.  One of the parents with MaryJo & Gabby asked the woman chaperone if any of her group found the money and after quite a bit of hesitation and denial, one of the girls was finally told to come forward with it.  MaryJo and Gabby’s friend was able to buy that special gift for her mom unfortunately, though, because of the faltering from the adults, a surprising lesson was learned that even grown-ups don’t always choose to do the right thing.  MaryJo and Gabby are being credited for their observation skills and their perseverance.

 Emma Westgate
3rd grade, Cape Coral Charter School
Daughter of Mark & Sara Westgate

According to Eileyn Sobeck-Bador, a member of Emma’s church, Emma has become a Do The Right Thing machine!  One of the pastors who recently retired had the task of collecting aluminum can tabs for the Ronald McDonald House.  While this seems like a small task, it raises thousands of dollars each year.  Emma knew that without her church’s contribution, the Ronald McDonald House might have to do without, so she has taken on the role of leader for this project urging the congregation to bring in the tabs and transporting them to the proper location.  Emma also serves as an acolyte at church and helps with several of their annual projects. 

It’s Emma’s actions at home, though, which struck  Mrs. Sobeck-Bador’s heart.  Emma’s mom has Multiple Sclerosis, a disease that affects the nervous system.  During one of her mom’s recent flare-ups, Emma offered to cook dinner for her mom, dad and preschool aged sister.  With supervision from her dad, this eight-year-old stood on a chair to prepare the baked beans and hotdogs on the stove and carefully cut up cucumbers for a fresh vegetable.  Emma probably has no idea how many people she has inspired; adults and children alike see her as a role model.

 Zoe Ortiz
6th grade, Gulf Middle School
Daughter of Kristina Ortiz

Simone Ortiz
3rd grade, Gulf Elementary School
Daughter of Kristina Ortiz

Zoe and Simone acted in a very mature and herioc way recently when they handled their mom’s life-threatening emergency.  Their mom is alergic to fire ant bites and goes into anaphylactic shock very quickly.  She carries an Epi-pen to offset the toxins.  Recently while mowing the lawn, Mrs. Ortiz realized that she stepped on a fire ant hill, and while she tried to brush them off, she knew she had been bitten at least once.  She rushed into the house to tell her daughters what had happened and they sprung into action.  Mrs. Ortiz tells us that as she was beginning to pass out and felt her body going into shock, Zoe immediately ran and got the Epi-pen from her mother’s purse and helped her to inject the contents. 

Recognizing the seriousness of the situation, Zoe then called 911.  Simone used her mom’s cell phone to call her designated adult contacts.  Each girl calmly stayed on the phone, checking on their mom and reporting on her condition, until help arrived.  They even had the good sense to secure their dogs in a bedroom so that they wouldn’t interfere with the paramedics’ tasks.

 William Paul Keith
9th grade, Island Coast High School
Son of Jennifer Davis & William Keith

William has been very attentive and helpful to a special needs student who was mainstreamed into his class.  He has taken the initiative to help guide this student and shows maturity in his actions.  His upbeat example and leadership skills have encouraged other students in the class to respond to this student in the same positive way.  William’s mom tells me that William has never been one to judge, so of course he didn’t understand what the big deal was. His actions, though, were instrumental in helping another student to be more accepted and have a more positive school experience.

 Ryan Jimenez
7th grade, Challenger Middle School
Son of Jorge & Lina Jimenez

Ryan’s act of compassion was planned two years ago.  At that time, a friend of his told him about Locks of Love, an organization which makes wigs for children who have lost their hair due to chemotherapy treatments. His friend had gotten her hair cut at the time in order to donate and she directed Ryan to the Locks of Love website where he was able to further research the details of the organization and get an application.  After two years of allowing his hair to grow, Ryan began the new school year with a much shorter haircut.  In Middle School a new haircut often brings with it teasing and can be intimidating, but Ryan selflessly risked this, giving up something he was comfortable with, in order to help a child.

 Rebecca Ugland
5th grade, Cape Elementary School
Daughter of Kathryn Call & Glen Ugland

During the first two weeks of school, Rebecca dedicated her afternoons to helping the staff of Cape Elementary’s afterschool program.  She assisted the teachers in familiarizing the new kindergarteners with the program by talking with them and helping them to feel comfortable with their new surroundings.  In addition, she accompanied each kindergartener to the office as they were picked up so they didn’t get lost in route.  She arrived at the office many times a day holding a child’s hand and with a smile on her face.  She always made a point of saying goodbye to the students and calling them by name.  Her efforts made an impact not only on the students and staff, but also helped the kindergarten parents feel more at ease as well.

 Emmett Kotovsky
5th grade, Pelican Elementary School
Son of Pam & Rich Kotovsky

Emmett recently had the opportunity to show his bravery and his ability to take a leadership role.  Emmett’s little brother got his fingers pinched very badly on both hands as he was sitting in a metal folding chair and making it fold up.  His fingers were caught in the hinges on both sides of the chair as he sat in it, and he couldn’t get them out.  When he began to scream in pain, his mom ran to his rescue but she couldn’t get him released from the chair either and now he was bleeding badly from the very deep cuts.  This not only upset Mrs. Kotovsky to see her son like that, but was beginning to make her queezy.  Emmett asked his mom to step aside and he took over. 

He was able to free his brother, and seeing that his mom had gotten light headed by the sight of the blood, Emmett instructed his mom to sit on the floor in the kitchen and got her an ice pack for her head and a glass of water which he told her to drink.  He cleaned up his brother and bandaged his hands while telling his mom not to look at the blood, and when he did all he could for his brother, he gave aid to his mom as well.