Silver Dollars and Wooden Nickels: Heroes show that good is everywhere

The Nevada Appeal’s Silver Dollars & Wooden Nickels feature recognizes achievements from the capital region and, then warranted, points out other acts that missed the mark.

SILVER DOLLAR: Children in the Carson City School District’s Transitions program, which serves students living in motels, cars or campgrounds or doubling up with other families, shopped Tuesday as part of the Holiday with a Hero spree. Volunteers from the Carson City Sheriff’s Office are paired with the students as part of the event, in its ninth year. On a day when a man opened fire at Renown Regional Medical Center, it was nice to get a reminder of all the good that exists in our community.

WOODEN NICKEL: A Carson City man allegedly stole repeatedly from his parents and had friends pawn the items. His father reportedly finally decided to press charges, saying he didn’t know what else to do. The son reportedly admitted to deputies that he was stealing to feed a serious heroin addiction. He ended up in jail on a felony grand-larceny count, with bail set at $25,000. It’s sad to see someone potentially have a felony on his record while still in his teens, and it’s tragic to see the devastating effect heroin, methamphetamine and other drugs have on our community.

SILVER DOLLAR: Now-former City Manager Larry Werner served in that capacity for nearly six years; his last day was Thursday. We wish him an enjoyable and eventful retirement.

WOODEN NICKEL: Most Northern Nevada drivers are careful, considerate drivers. Unfortunately, when snow falls, the few who aren’t ruin things for those who don’t deserve it. That happened Thursday, when 22 crashes in the region were reported to the Nevada Highway Patrol. Be careful and drive defensively; we’ve got months of snow left to go.