Salem father recalls his son

By RICK ROUAN

About 400 attended a memorial, and a country artist gave a free concert for Dustin on Wednesday.

SALEM — It takes work ethic to be a state champion.

Though his son’s championship achievement now seems like a distant memory, Dave Huffman will always remember the work ethic that got his son there.

His son, Dustin Huffman, 17, fell 100 feet to his death Tuesday in Beaver Creek State Park when he and a friend took a break from their work with A-1 Tree Service to explore the park. He was a member of Salem High School’s state champion 4 X 200 relay track team.

Dave Huffman said he knew Dustin had a special work ethic when, at 14, he wanted a newspaper route. The newspaper needed to be delivered by 6:30 a.m., so Dustin would get out of bed at 4 a.m. to pack and deliver the papers without waking his parents, Huffman said Wednesday.

“He had an incredible work ethic for somebody his age,” he said, adding, “I can’t stress his work ethic enough.”

That helped establish Dustin as a leader in Salem High School’s senior class, which he would have entered in September.

“All your kids develop in school. Dustin was developing himself as a leader in his class,” said Lou Ramunno, the district’s superintendent. “It was really fun watching him grow up in school.”

The Salem district is offering counseling for students from 9 a.m to 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. today and Friday in the high school library, Ramunno said.

Wednesday, the students, parents and others who knew Dustin gathered at Reilly Stadium to offer that support to each other, and pay tribute to their friend.

“I’ll remember him as an all-over great person. He would do anything for anyone,” said Jason Keniston, who’d known Dustin since fifth grade.

“Everyone loved him. The number of people here shows what kind of person he was,” added Mike Boggs.

Keniston and Boggs, both 2009 Salem High School graduates, were among an estimated 400 people who spent more than an hour on and next to Dustin’s beloved running track.

Many wore T-shirts that said, “Huffman, we love you. Always in my heart,” as they embraced one another, cried or stood by silently. Others carried, then released, red and black heart-shaped balloons.

Addressing the crowd was Eric Matthews, whose daughter was a good friend of Dustin’s.

“This was home to him,” Matthews said, pointing to the track next to him as several people cheered.

Matthews told the heartbroken gathering that sometimes there are no words that fully capture a tragedy, such as the loss of a young life.

“Some things will never make sense,” he said before leading the group in prayer.

“The impact this kid had was tremendous. He lived a life so full, and went around and made everyone else happy about their day,” Matthews said, adding that plans are under way to create a scholarship in Dustin’s name.

Also speaking briefly was Dustin’s track coach, Bill Angus, who called the 17-year-old “a courageous young man” and said his fellow track team members will always be grateful for Dustin’s contributions.

After the comments, the crowd, of all ages, took a symbolic walk around the track to honor Dustin.

“He got the most out of his 17 years and worked his tail off in every way,” Salem Athletic Director Greg Steffey said, adding that Dustin was planning to try out for the school’s football team in the fall.

Steffey recalled the time when Dustin took the place of a senior on the track team who had suffered an injury before a district meet. Heading into the state tournament, the athletic director continued, the senior was cleared to compete, and Dustin told a coach he would back out to give the senior his spot back, though the team wanted Dustin to stay on, partly because of his speed.

Toward the end of the ceremony, several of Dustin’s friends stood next to his red Ford Ranger truck to hug, cry and reminisce. Others attended a free concert at Salem Junior High School given by country music singer Cheyenne West.

She was in the area making a music video, heard about Dustin’s tragic death and wanted to show her respect, Matthews said.

Calling hours are from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. today at First United Methodist Church, 224 S. Broadway Ave. here. A funeral will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday at the church.

Vindicator correspondent Sean Barron contributed to this story.