THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 26, 1995 TAG: 9502220052
SECTION: REAL LIFE PAGE: K2 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: THUMBS UP
SOURCE: BY VICKI LEWIS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
MATTHEW, JEREMIAH and Inmate Joe might be dummies when it comes to math and science and that stuff.
But the three know a lot about self-esteem and what drugs can do to you.
The ``guys'' and their ``spokesman'' Bob Walsh, a deputy sheriff at at the Norfolk City Jail, have been making the rounds at schools, talking to students about staying on the straight and narrow path.
Since October, ventriloquist Walsh has presented anti-crime assemblies to more than 7,000 schoolchildren. His work has earned the 45-year-old Walsh recognition as the Crime Prevention Volunteer of the Year.
``Working as a jailer, what I see are a lot of people who made bad choices - dropping out of school, stealing, doing drugs,'' said Walsh, a retired chief petty officer with 21 years in the Navy.
``I thought that there has got to be a way to teach these young people in Norfolk so they don't wind up in here (jail).''
Walsh, who learned ventriloquism when he was a kid, does it through Matthew, Jeremiah and Inmate Joe, a trio of wisecracking characters to whom kids can relate.
``The dummies are a real good tool,'' he said. ``They capture the children's attention. They really get across to the kids and give them a message.''
During his presentations, Walsh first gives a serious talk to the students and then follows it with skits or conversations with his ``buddies.''
After his presentation, Walsh gives away a coloring book titled ``Choices,'' illustrated by his wife, Joy.
Walsh became interested in ventriloquism as a child watching Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney on TV.
But he didn't pursue it until his mid-20s, while he was in the Navy.
Matthew was Walsh's first dummy.
``Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney always carried a positive message to me,'' he said. ``I just hope I can do for kids what Paul Winchell did for me.''
Sounds like he has.
At the ceremony during which he was cited as the Crime Prevention Volunteer of the Year, Bob Walsh was honored as ``a man who has a special talent, and he has used it to make Norfolk a better, safer, healthier place.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
RICHARD L. DUNSTON/Staff
Norfolk Deputy Sheriff Bob Walsh uses his ventriloquist's talents to
encourage children to stay in school and avoid drugs. For his
efforts he was recently named Crime Prevention Volunteer of the
Year. His partners are, from left, Matthew, Inmate Joe and
Jeremiah.
by CNB