Nine Niagara County students honored for 'Doing the Right Thing'

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DOING THE RIGHT THING: At an awards ceremony Monday nine students were honored for being positive role models. The students are (from left) Emma Beecher, Jacob Beecher, Alex Jeffrey, Cora Wright, Kimberly Gerss, Jude Holka, Evan Hardy, Tyler Wagner and Sabrina Seefeldt; Leaders in the program are (from left) Sheriff Deputy Mike Licatta, Niagara County Sheriff James Voutour, Art Eberhart of PAL, Police Supt. John Chella, Robyn Krueger, director of Community Missions, James Ward of State Senator George Maziarz office, Niagara County Legislator David Godfrey and Sheriff Deputy Mike Kiff. Michele Deluca

December 20, 2011

By Michele Deluca Niagara Gazette The Niagara Gazette Tue Dec 20, 2011, 11:18 PM EST

NIAGARA FALLS — It is something that retiring city Police Superintendent John Chella would like to see more of — kids being honored for great behavior.

“I would like to see something like this take place at least once a week,” said Chella, observing his last official Do the Right Thing awards ceremony Monday at Niagara Falls High School.

From heroic lifesaving to food drives and friendship, the nine students honored went above and beyond in helping others.

Alex Jeffrey, 10, a fifth-grader at DeSales Catholic in Lockport, was home sick the day that his grandfather fell and broke his hip. Jeffrey’s quick action, including driving across a busy highway on a four-wheel vehicle to get assistance from a neighbor, helped to avoid catastrophe. His grandfather is now recovering from his injury.

Lockport brother and sister, Emma Beecher, 8, and Jacob Beecher, 11, combined their birthday parties in September and, in lieu of gifts, the pair asked only for donations of food. The 26 friends who attended contributed two shopping carts full of food for the needy in Niagara County.

“I nominated them for the award,” said their mother, Nicole Beecher, who added how proud she and her husband, Don, were of their children. “Their father and I want them to be good people and understand that not everyone has a life like we do.”

The Do the Right Thing awards are held five times throughout the school year and nominations are taken at the Niagara Police Athletic League office at Niagara Falls High School. To date there have been 500 honorees since the awards began in 1998.

Award winners are selected by the Niagara County Juvenile Justice Taskforce, including Chella and Niagara County Sheriff James Voutour; Robyn Krueger, director of the Community Missions, James Ward, representing state Sen. George Maziarz; Niagara County Legislator David Godfrey; and Art Eberhart of the Police Athletic League.

All the task force members and a Niagara County Sheriff honor guard participated in the ceremony at the Niagara Falls High School auditorium as many relatives attended to applaud the students.

“It was an honor for Evan to be nominated,” said Linda Hardy, mother to Evan Hardy, 7, of the Henry J. Kalfas Magnet School.

Evan was honored for taking time every day to help a fellow student who is sight impaired.

Other award winners include:

• Cora Wright, 12, a seventh-grader at the Catholic Academy of Niagara Falls, helped a classmate adjust to a new school.

• Sabrina Seefeldt, 12, a seventh-grader at Edward Town Middle School in Wheatfield, organized a food drive in her neighborhood for needy families in Niagara County.

• Jude Holka, 16, a Niagara Catholic High School junior, is an active volunteer for many groups and activities, including assisting at his school’s cookout for new students and parents and helping at the Boy’s and Girls Club auction.

• Tyler Wagner, 11, a sixth-grader at Newfane Middle School, was honored because he alerted authorities when he heard that a student had brought a weapon to school. His action helped to avert a possible bad situation.

• Kimberly Gerss, 10, a fifth-grader of Newfane Middle School, found money in the school and turned it into an administrator.

Monday’s ceremony was Chella’s last as he is retiring Dec. 31. The chief noted he would miss such events. “It kind of re-energizes your hope that this country is going to be OK,” he said.

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