COLUMBIANA SCHOOLS Longtime secretary prepares to retire

Blake said elementary pupils were always ready to give or take a hug.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
COLUMBIANA -- With her retirement only a few days away, Erle Blake is looking forward to devoting more time to AIDS education and volunteer work. Blake, Co lum biana Schools central office secretary, will retire Dec. 20 after 271/2 years in the district.
A Columbiana native, Blake is a graduate of Columbiana High School and lives in the city with her husband, Dan.
Blake said she will spend more time as a volunteer with the Ursuline Sisters AIDS ministry and hopes to be more available for public speaking and AIDS education.
Blake's daughter Krista died in 1994 at 22 from complications of AIDS. Krista was vocal about the fact that she contracted AIDS from a heterosexual partner, and did a number of print, radio and television public service announcements for the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Two supervisors: There have been five superintendents in the district since Blake began, but she has had just two immediate supervisors: longtime Joshua Dixon Principal John Scardino, and current Superintendent Dr. Joseph Rottenborn.
During all but the past 11/2 years she was secretary of Joshua Dixon Elementary.
She said she enjoyed working at the elementary school. "If I was having a bad day, I could always count on a hug or two to make me feel better."
Blake said she'll probably miss the people she works with more than she now realizes.
She and her husband have plans to fly to North Carolina on Dec. 20 to spend Christmas with their daughter Holly and her husband.
After that, her immediate retirement plans are "to do absolutely nothing."