February 10 Do the Right Thing winners honored
There were 5 Charlotte County students were honored this past Thursday for doing the right thing. The students from Port Charlotte High, Punta Gorda Middle and Deep Creek Elementary were recognized for not only helping people, but animals as well.
Devin Anderson, Morgan Casey and Matthew Bunnell, were nominated by the Azalea Neighborhood Watch Chairperson for helping a lost and frightened puppy. The Chairman explained; the sheltie was running in a busy street of W. Tarpon Blvd, obviously lost and frightened. The youths corralled her before she was hit by a car, and then appeared at her door very concerned. The Chairman stated she was very impressed with the maturity and sincerity of these teens; their desire to do the right thing and save this frightened little dog from a night of terror was an obvious tribute to their upbringing. After several hours of exhausting research and physically searching for the owner, one of the teens took the puppy home and promised to care for her while the owner was located. The owner of the dog was from Michigan and did not know anyone in the neighborhood. Another neighbor learned of the found puppy and took it upon herself to notify her that her puppy had been found and was resting comfortably with one of the teens at her home. The neighbor then contacted the teen, who subsequently promised to bring Sunshine home in the morning. The next morning, Sunshine was returned to her owner who was ecstatic to get her baby back, and unharmed.
These young people stepped up without a second thought. Their being in the right place, at the right time, and doing the right thing, averted a sure tragedy from occurring. It is a welcome breath of fresh air to know these teens from our community showed a true example of humanity with no expectations in return. They chose to do the right thing, rather than look the other way.
The next youth honored was Kyiah Baker. The person nominating her stated; On November 8th, during the afternoon bus ride home, one of the students on the bus had a medical emergency and passed out. The student sitting with this student was uncertain what to do and sought out Kyiah’s assistance. Kyiah reacted quickly by calling out to the bus driver and when he didn’t hear her, she knew it was important enough to leave her seat to alert him to the situation. She then returned to the student to try and awaken her and provide water. She showed great leadership skills as well as genuine care for the student in need.
The Over-all winner for this month is Tess McGirr. According to the person nominating Tess, Tess was on the bus a few weeks ago going home from school and there was a child on the bus that hit his head on the emergency exit window latch. When this happened the entire bus load of children started going into a panic. Tess got up from her seat and attended to the boy while trying to calm the entire bus, as well as the child, so the bus driver could concentrate on the road. Tess is a hero for her quick reaction with her first aid experience with whatever little resources the first aid kit that is provided on the bus might have had, and for staying with the child until he got off of the bus. Tess was talking to him the entire time making sure that he was ok and trying to put band aids and napkins on his head to attempt to stop the bleeding, which she was able to do. She also allowed the victim to use her phone to call his caregiver.
We always like to hear about all of the wonderful things our youth are doing in our communities. If you know of a youth in Charlotte County doing good deeds please nominate them for a Do the Right Thing award at www.puntagordapolice.com or call the Executive Director of Do the Right Thing of Charlotte County, Corporal Tony Pribble at 941-639-4111.
Prepared by:
Tony Pribble
Executive Director – Do the Right Thing of Charlotte County
Punta Gorda Police Department
(941) 639-4111
apribble@pgorda.us
