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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, May 23, 2012 · 12 Continued from page 10 Oakville Beaver picks up Best News award However, when they came upon the same scene, they worked together to help save a woman's life. DeSouza was returning home from a friend's house with her father when she and her dad spotted a woman leaning over the railing of the bridge. At first they thought it may have been someone vomiting, possibly after having too many drinks. But realizing the bridge was a strange place for such actions, she and her father turned the car around and went back. "We figured it seemed kind of odd so we turned around. By that point, she was actually straddling the wall of the bridge over the highway," DeSouza said. "My dad didn't want to freak her out, so I got out of the car and started walking towards her. She was crying. She had her iPod but only one earphone. I started walking towards her and told her I would grab her hand and I wasn't and Christian Schortemeyer, 18. The pair was recognized for intervening when a young woman was readying herself to jump off the Guelph Line bridge onto Hwy. 407 below. That late 2011 summer evening, the two Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School students were travelling separately, DeSouza in her dad's car and Schortemeyer jogging. Summer Fabulous! FLOWERS ALL SUMMER! Create the perfect summer look with TERRA's Estate Collection Annuals (6") Reg. $5.99/ea 4" Geraniums Reg. $2.99/ea 3 for $15 $29.99 Beautiful 3'Plants! Outdoor Patio Mandevillia Reg. $39.99 5 for $10 $5.99 Look At Me Basket $29.99/ea All Pond Fish & Pond Plants (Available at Milton & Waterdown) 25% off All Perennial Grasses (Excludes 30% off $300 SAVE TERRA Essentials) GROW YOUR OWN! Incredible Edibles Large ready to plant vegetables! 2 for $50 30% off Reg. from 17.99 L ook f or Look for these tags All Flowering Shrubs Weigela, Hydrangea, Butterfly Bush, & many more! Excludes TERRA Essentials Perth - 4 piece conversation set $1499.99 Reg. $1799.99 OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK: Monday - Friday 8am - 8pm, Saturday & Sunday 8am - 6pm All items while quantities last, subject to availability. Category offers exclude "TERRA Essentials" Sale period: May 24th - 30th www.terragreenhouses.com Burlington Hwy #5 East of Brant St. (905) 332-3222 · Milton Britannia Rd.West ofTrafalgar (905) 876-4000 Waterdown Hwy #6 & 5th Concession E. (905) 689-1999 ·Vaughan Keele St. North of Kirby Sideroad (905) 832-6955 going to push her or anything." At that point, Schortemeyer came jogging by. "At first I thought Sean was with a friend, but then I realized someone was on the side of the bridge," he said. Christian stopped running and slowly came up to DeSouza and the woman. "Sean was already holding her hand, so I grabbed her by the waist and pulled her off the railing onto the ground," he said. The pair then took the young woman to the side of the bridge and began talking to her. "She was crying heavily, saying she had failed out of school, was kicked out of her house and kept saying she doesn't want to live anymore," DeSouza recalled. Shortly after a woman drove up and pulled over and assisted the youths in comforting the woman until police arrived, after they were called for by DeSouza's parents. Both young people were humble about receiving the recognition. "I think anyone would have done the same thing. I didn't really put much thought into it," DeSouza said. "You have to help. You're not just going to let something like that happen," Schortemeyer added. At the end of the ceremony, Robert Maich, chair of the police services board, thanked and congratulated all the award recipients. "Your actions are appreciated by not only the police board and the police service, but by all law-abiding citizens," he said. "It's not always easy to become involved. It's something that does affect you personally, directly. It takes courage, it takes character to reach out and help someone." Oakville Beaver reporter Dominik Kurek was announced as the winner of the 2011 Best News Story award through the Halton Regional Police Service. The award is for the article, ATM skimming operation busted, published in June 2011. In the story, Halton police are featured for busting an ATM skimming operation in the Greater Toronto Area that began in 2010, with a majority of targeted bank machines being in Oakville. The investigation resulted in seven individuals being caught, who were charged with 235 fraud-related offences. For more information, visit www.hrps.on.ca.