Silver Dollars & Wooden Nickels: Kudos to grads, Sheriff’s Office and D-Day vet

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

SILVER DOLLAR: Hundreds of students turned the tassel on their lives as high-schoolers this week, entering a new era that likely involves college, work or travel. In 10 years, they’ll be a vital part of the fabric of Carson City’s work force. For now, they’re standing on the shore, gazing at a sea of possibilities. We’re both proud of them and excited for them.

WOODEN NICKEL: Gov. Brian Sandoval pulled a fast one on us and other media outlets by calling a special session in the wee hours Tuesday, allowing lawmakers to take final action on a few measures. While our headline for Tuesday’s paper, “Right on Time,” was still accurate as it pertained to the end of the regular session, we had to go with “Not so fast” in the next day’s paper to make clear what had happened. We’re not bitter, but it’d be nice to see the Legislature meet its deadline. If lawmakers need advice on how to do so, we’ve got a newsroom full of journalists who can provide it.

SILVER DOLLAR: In Northern Nevada, we’re lucky to have many heroes in our midst. One of the most notable is Hale Bennett, a 93-year-old Silver Springs veteran who flew a B-26 Marauder bomber in World War II — including two missions on D-Day. Through vibrant storytelling and remarkable clarity, he took us through his experiences that fateful day in a story that ran on Page A1 on June 6. He remarked about his mindset as he prepared to take off from Great Dunmow, England: “It’s pretty conceivable that I was thinking about girls.” We tip our hat to him for his bravery — and his honesty.

WOODEN NICKEL: Heroin seemingly has replaced methamphetamine as the scourge of our community. Drug addicts are human beings, but they’re different people once they start using. Many will do anything to score, including committing property crimes.

SILVER DOLLAR: Kudos to the Carson City Sheriff’s Office for using confidential informants and other tools in an effort to curb the growing heroin-addiction problem. Its Special Enforcement Team arrested 22 suspected drug users or sellers in the past week — including nine on Wednesday alone. Sgt. Brian Humphrey, who leads the team, put it best: “With every arrest, we’re getting these drugs off the street.”