The ‘old school’ reporter

Dave Price’s name has been synonymous with prep and community sports in Northern Nevada for at least five decades.

As one of the “deans” of high school sports reporting, Dave began his career in the 1970s as a reporter at the Tahoe Daily Tribune and later at the Record Courier in Gardnerville. Later, his travels took him to the Nevada Appeal in Carson City and then to The Union, a daily newspaper in Grass Valley, Calif., all newspapers within the Swift Communications family.

Dave’s Nevada roots, though, beckoned him back to the Silver State, and there was Dave again, in his familiar chair at the Appeal.

The plummeting economy and tighter newspaper budgets claimed many employees. Eventually, as the newspaper downsized, Dave was furloughed. Months passed, and the job market painted a stormy picture of no jobs.

Dave’s frustration grew because he is from what many of us Baby Boomers call “The Old School.” He wanted to work, he wanted to produce and he wanted to contribute.

Almost two years ago, the Lahontan Valley News had an opening for a government reporter. I received an email from Dave and then a letter of application. He was willing to drive to Fallon two, sometimes three days a week, to return to his true love, that as a community journalist. It was good to hear from Dave since we have known each other since the late 1980s when he was covering sports for the Record Courier, and I was the sports editor of the LVN. Lucky for the Lahontan Valley News and especially me, Dave accepted the job offer to return to his passion.

Dave became the LVN’s new government reporter, covering city and county meetings and the school district. Needless to say, the school district kept Dave busy, but by the end of the year, Dave had successfully passed Fallon Government Reporting 101 and was working on the second semester.

Dave quickly learned about alternative energy and its effects on the county. Land issues also became a hot topic at County Commission meetings. Mayor Ken Tedford Jr., was gracious in helping Dave understand the workings of city government, while the school district gave Dave an opportunity to see the different facets of education ranging from personnel to programs.

In between assignments, though, Dave still enjoyed sports, and his wealth of knowledge dating back to those early days at South Tahoe and Gardnerville showed a man still acutely aware of events and trends. When Dave wrote a sports article, his storytelling techniques made his subjects come alive. A story on the Maine Street ballpark was such an example and one of the best feature articles he penned while here. If he had more time for additional interviews and research, Dave could have made this article more in-depth because of the history he had already uncovered.

As the months passed, Dave became more educated in the Fallon way of doing things. Not only were his articles accurate, but he also took the additional time to follow up with phone calls and face-to-face meetings to finish a story. This was an “old school” journalist plying his trade.

Time after time, city, county or school district people would ask me to commend Dave for a job well done. As a small city resident himself, Dave understands the importance of a community and its people, and it showed with his reporting.

Dave grew to love Fallon and its people and considered the Oasis of Nevada as his second home. This time, the passion showed in his rapport with Fallon’s residents..

Now, Dave — my friend and colleague — has accepted a transfer to the Record-Courier to become its next sports editor, the same position he held when our paths first crossed almost 25 years ago. Eventually, I hope to see Dave’s name added to the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association’s Hall of Fame as a friend of the NIAA for his many years of sports reporting. Along with his editorial co-worker Steve Puterski, we will miss Dave’s drive to produce good stories and his knowledge and dry humor in the newsroom, but we are happy for Dave’s new opportunity closer to home.

Most of all, though, we are saying goodbye to a friend who has made Fallon a better place because of his reporting.

Steve Ranson is editor of the LVN.