South Carolina--$11, 000 is a lot of money. Imagine yourself getting that huge amount of money without any effort, perhaps you would buy the things you wanted. But it's different in the case of 4th grade teacher Sherry Whitesides.
While driving, Sherry's son, Alan saw something falling and when they pulled over and went out of the car. They picked up more than a hundred $100 bills that amounted $11, 000. After a while, a bank bag, presumably the ones that carried the money, flown on top of their car.
What do you do if picked up that amount of money? Plan ahead on what you want to buy. "$11, 000 was a lot of money in 100 dollar bills," she told KCTV.
"When he saw all this money he said 'wow' I could get a 4 wheeler with this," Sherry said referring to her 12-year old son, Alan.
Sherry Whitesides has been teaching for 20 years now. She currently teaches at Cotton Belt Elementary School in York. While her service entitles her to a better pay, she knew that she should serve as a role model to her pupils and more importantly, to her 3 children. So she acted upon her conscience and returned the $11, 000.
"It wasn't mine, I didn't deserve it, I didn't do anything to get it," she stated. Sherry and her son headed to the Clover Police Department to turn over the $11, 000.
But before they turned in the money, she and his son took a selfie of what seemed to be a dream come true.
Police officers could not believe that she returned the entire $11, 000 plus the bank bag that carried information about the owner of money.
"You still wonder is this really happening is this true, is it make believe?" Police Chief Randy Grice said in amazement.
"It's non-traceable and probably would have never figured out where it went to," Grice told the reporters.
Sherry told ABC that her purpose is to show her son that the money was not theirs, and that she would never claim something that is not hers. "I wanted to set a godly example for him, because if I had lost it, I'd want someone to be able to return it to me," she said.
The owner of the money is a man in his 60's and just recently moved in Clover. The credit cards, driver's license, and other pertinent documents confirmed the identity of the owner.
Sherry believed that the lessons brought by her experience is enormous than having a huge cash in the bank. "I feel very richly blessed and it has nothing to do with my bank account," she proudly said.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
