Silver Dollars & Wooden Nickels, March 11

The Nevada Appeal's "Silver Dollar" & "Wooden Nickels" feature recognizes positive achievements from the capital region and, when warranted, points out others that missed the mark.

SILVER DOLLAR: To the Carson City Sheriff's Department for its response to an early-morning bar fight and shooting Saturday during which one man was critically injured. A deputy's shot to the suspect's gun-waving hand quickly ended the incident before more lives could be threatened.

WOODEN NICKEL: To those patrons of the downtown bar who had settled "a verbal altercation" inside the establishment, only to let emotions erupt outside into the city's ugliest and most dangerous public safety threat of the new year. One person may never walk again.

SILVER DOLLAR: To former state Sen. Bill Raggio. We know you can't take it with you, but silver is fitting for Nevada's iconic statesman whose golden rule in politics and life was to treat people right.

SILVER DOLLAR: To erstwhile rivalrous economic development groups NNDA and EDAWN for ending 25 years of turf wars and signing on as partners to Gov. Brian Sandoval's ambitious plan to modify and improve the state's economic landscape.