Lost and Found
Proctor Boys Find $33,673 Check,
OMYA Gives Each a $5 Reward
February 17, 1995.
By Kevin O'Connor.
Proctor - Thirteen-year-olds Tom Holland and
Matt Stattel found a check for $33,673.
They're each $5 richer as a result.
The two boys were walking home from Proctor
Junior High School last month when they spotted a
check in the parking lot outside OMYA, Inc., which
crushes and sells marble and limestone.
This wasn't a canceled check, but a valid one
made out to the company and somehow last.
"I looked at the amount of money and I almost
passed out," Holland says.
The boys brought it inside to the front desk.
"We said, 'We don't know if this is any use to
you, but we'd thought we'd give it to you anyway,'"
Holland recalls.
The company said thanks, took their names and
gave each a company cap, stationary pad and a $5 bill.
Five dollars?
"A lot of people have said that to us," Stattel
says.
OMYA officials could not be reached for comment
Thursday, although the company confirmed the students
returned the check.
Proctor Junior High School honored the two
students with certificiates of recognition during a
recent assembly.
"We certainly felt it was a commendable thing,"
school guidance director Joseph Flory says.
The certificates will come in handy, as the two
boys have spent their financial rewards.
Says Holland: "I bought candy and a couple
sodas."
And Stattel: "I bought soda and candy too."
End of story? Not necessarily. OMYA told the
boys it's missing another check for $20,000.
Says Holland: "We plan to find it.