On February 20, 2003, 11-year-old Valeria Aguirre spotted a large wad of cash on the sidewalk. “I was so amazed,” she said. She shouted to her friends Ana Aguilar, 11, and Cynthia Ramirez, 12, and they came over and picked it up. It was a three-figure sum, and at first one felt they should keep it. But the sixth-graders debated the issue and finally decided to turn it in to the police.

“I was surprised, but at the same time extremely pleased,” said Police Chief John Zapalac. “They emphasize CHARACTER COUNTS! at the schools, and obviously they are listening.” The three attend Woodlake Valley Middle School.

Aguirre’s mother, Deloras Aguirre, gave each girl five dollars when she discovered their act of honesty. The Rotary Club honored them with an invitation to lunch, and member Terry Baker said, “You have so many you see who are doing bad things, and then you have kids like this.” And the local paper, the Visalia Times-Delta, printed an editorial praising the girls.