Thu, Nov 26 2009
|
A Tom Harris column: Mister Roberts Popular teacher, coach Dave Roberts moving on after 35 years at PV TOM HARRISStar Beacon The truth is, Roberts is an old hand at road maintenance. Working with the Ashtabula County Highway Department has been his summer diversion for the last 11 or 12 years.
“It’s interesting,” Roberts said. “My boss, Tim Martin, is a former student. There’s another guy there who was in my first 6th grade class at PV.” It’s easy to imagine Roberts working as part of a road crew. He’s got the size for it. That size gave him an intimidating countenance as he sat, silently and unsmiling, watching the PV junior varsity girls basketball team, which he has coached for the last five years. But if Roberts didn’t always have a smile on his face, he was almost always on the verge of smiling. “Dave is a great, hardworking guy,” PV girls basketball coach Jeff Compan said. “But when we needed it, Dave always had a joke. He kept things light; he’s going to be missed.” Back home Roberts is a member of the PV class of 1967. “That’s the same year Ron Chutas graduated from Grand Valley,” he added. Seven years later, he returned to PV, after an odyssey through Cincinnati, Newport, Ken., and Linesville. “I went to Cincinnati Bible College and Seminary – it’s Cincinnati Christian University now – and I played basketball there,” Roberts said. “It took me five years. I didn’t buckle down at first. But I got my act together and graduated with a BS in Christian Education.” After graduating, Roberts crossed the Ohio River and worked in the Newport schools’ Volunteers in Education Program. Then he got a job in Linesville and attended Kent State — both the main campus and the Ashtabula branch — to complete the classes he needed to become a teacher. “I heard there was a teaching opening at Newbury, and I applied,” Roberts said. “They offered me the job. But then Irwin Podges, who was the superintendent at PV, offered me a job teaching sixth grade at PV. That all happened in a few weeks during July and August 1974.” The job and the man were well suited for each other. And they remained so through the years. “I started in the sixth grade, and I left in the sixth grade,” Roberts said. Roberts kept the same position, but the demands of the job evolved over time. “I think it got more difficult as the years went on,” he said. “I used to think eighth grade was the toughest grade, but it seems to have moved back. Attitudes change; attitudes are always changing, and not always for the better. And there is so much pressure on the kids because of all the testing the state demands.” Other parts of the job remained constant over time. The enjoyment he derived from teaching, the rewards of a job well done and, of course, some of the worries never changed. 
More from the Sports section
Erb put spice in recipe for success Experience aplenty on all-county squad |
Print this story
Post to del.icio.us
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
© 2009, Ashtabula Star Beacon
P.O. Box 2100, Ashtabula OH 44005-2100 (440) 998-2323, Send news tips and feedback 
|
Popular Business directory links - Ashtabula Apartments | Ashtabula Attorneys | Ashtabula Auto Dealers | Ashtabula Auto Parts | Ashtabula Auto Repair | Ashtabula Beauty Salons | Ashtabula Car Rental | Ashtabula Dentists | Ashtabula Doctors | Ashtabula Flowers | Ashtabula Hotels | Ashtabula Insurance | Ashtabula Loans | Ashtabula Mortgages | Ashtabula Movers | Ashtabula Pizza | Ashtabula Realtors | Ashtabula Restaurants | Ashtabula Storage | Ashtabula Tax Preparation | Ashtabula Travel | Ashtabula Featured | More...
|
|
Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. • CNHI Classified Advertising Network • CNHI News Service |
