Berkshire football coach and physical education/health teacher of eight years - Mr. Ray Harriman - has been the subject of the Berkshire School Board's executive sessions lately since May 2... Reason? He is about to go to court for his THIRD DUI! Add to that the alleged "resisting arrest" and you have the makings for not only a teacher firing, but a pulled state teaching certificate. Oh my... 
     This is a VERY SERIOUS situation this coach/teacher has created for himself. VERY SERIOUS. If you're a parent I know what you are thinking:   I DO NOT WANT SOMEONE WHO IS A RECKLESS DRUNK TEACHING MY KIDS.  Of course not.  As you know, the penalties for earning a THIRD DUI in the state of Ohio are quite steep - Mr. Harriman was fired as a Berkshire football coach because he's going to do at least 30 days in jail this summer. How could one coach a football team from a jail cell? And what sort of role model is this character?

     Here are the penalties for THREE DUI's in this state:

Third Ohio DUI Offense:

Fine:   $500.00 - $2,500.00

ALS:   License suspended for 2 years for .10% BAC or above OR License suspended for three years for test refusal.

Jail Time:   Minimum of 30 consecutive days up to one year or 15 days of jail time plus a minimum of 55 consecutive days of house arrest (EMHA), combined to make up a maximum of one year. Will be required to go to alcohol treatment program paid for by the defendant.

Vehicle:   You could be required to forfeit your vehicle if this is your 3rd DUI conviction in a six year period.

Court License Suspension:   Can range from 1 year to 10 years

     
     Note that Coach Harriman blew DOUBLE the state drunk figure (BAC) of .08 and registered a .162!! This boy's in lots of trouble to say the least...  Better figure in the lawyer fees of $3500 - $5000 along with the fine and loss of work time. 
     I talked with an officer who read the arrest report and he said that they went QUITE EASY on Coach Harriman. VERY EASY in the charges... The report states that Harriman was found slumped over the wheel of his car at a business on Rt. 322 at 3 am on the morning of May 2. When the county mounties tapped on the car window to get him awake, he quickly threw the keys into the ignition and ran the car in reserve nearly missing the deputies and their parked cruiser!   VERY LUCKY there weren't charges associated with that... 
     Then Coach Harriman did a very stupid move: He fought around with the deputies in the car - not exiting when ordered (by the end of the struggle FOUR deputies responded, so you get an idea of the severity of his actions) and he locked his hands together and then laid on his stomach refusing to be handcuffed. All of this at 3 am in the morning during the "drunk hour"... Oh my... Later at the jail Coach Harriman admitted he had left a CHESTERLAND bar drunk, so he covered quite a bit of highway before stopping in Claridon...  An hour later at 4 am he blows double the Ohio state test for being drunk.   Bad scene...  When you blow .17 or higher, the penalties go up for the third DUI...  Again he was lucky and lucky they took an hour to haul him into jail - alcohol-ridden blood gets better by the hour...
     So on June 14 the Berkshire School Board fired Harriman as the head football coach. I applaud and support this action. It is my thought that the superintendent will recommend that Harriman be fired from his teaching job, but of course the proper procedures must be followed. It is too early to start the firing procedures because Harriman has NOT been CONVICTED of the third drunken driving charge yet and the resisting arrest. Once he's convicted, the super can move to recommend firing. 
     But there are other issues here that have not been discussed in the area rags.  Here are several issues that the super/board needs to consider:

1.   Coach/teacher Ray Harriman OFTEN related to his students in his Berkshire health class that he was once arrested/jailed TWICE for the first two DUI's (he was convicted of these crimes in 2002 and 2006). His lesson? DO NOT DO WHAT I DID BECAUSE IT COST QUITE A BIT OF MONEY AND EMBARRASSMENT. OK, fair enough, BUT WHAT WAS THIS RECKLESS MAN DOING EVEN TEACHING OUR KIDS WITH THIS KIND OF DRUNK RECORD?  And two, he's a liar. He was STILL drinking when he was warning kids not to do what he "once" did! And to prove it, he was just arrested and jailed on May 2 of this year! What lesson does this teach our kids? The lesson is wrongly this: YOU CAN GO OUT AND GET BOOZED UP DRUNK AND THEN DRIVE AND STILL HAVE A GOOD PUBLIC JOB WITH GREAT PAY AND BENEFITS! IN OTHER WORDS: I GOT CAUGHT TWICE AND I'M STILL HERE WITH A GOOD JOB! Obviously no lesson was learned by this teacher... 
     This man is not fit to teach or coach anywhere. My prediction is that he will be fired from Berkshire this summer after his conviction and that when he appears in front of the state teacher's board for conduct he will lose his teaching certificate in this state. That's AFTER he gets out of jail and after he pays one helluva fine.  I ask:  WHERE WAS HIS IMMEDIATE SUPERVISER DURING ALL OF THIS?  WAS THE PRINCIPAL OF THE BUILDING AND THE BOARD AWARE THAT WE HAD A BOOZER ON THE STAFF?

 2.   Another issue: Berkshire and many other schools in this state has a "zero tolerance" policy regarding student behavior such as drinking, drugs and fighting, etc. WHY IS THIS TEACHER NOT HELD TO THE SAME STANDARDS?  If Harriman is not fired after his conviction, then what are we saying about behavior to our students?  Two sets of rules?

 3.  There is a HUGE excess of teachers - especially in the PE/Health/Coaching area.  Harriman can easily be replaced with a much better choice. 

4.  The schools are now overwhelmed with all of this bullshit SADD, MADD, DAMM, BAMM (whatever it is) - student/parent organizations - PROM PROMISE, etc. that are anti-drinking/driving and here we have a teacher who has THREE DUI's! Give me a break... The choice is obvious. GET RID OF HIM. 

     So, again, I do not think you will see Mr. Harriman at Berkshire on August 25 - first day of school. However, my sources tell me that he has contacted the Ohio Education Association lawyers and is now "lawyered" up and will "fight" should he be fired. I say this: "Get ready to rubble. You ain't gonna win this fight because you are unfit for duty." 
     I've done some homework on this teacher. By all accounts he is nice and an effective teacher. The facts clearly show he is a lousy coach (he was 3-26 at Newbury for three seasons). So I ask this: Why in the hell would we want to hire this cat at Berkshire with a coaching record like that?  What COULD he bring to the party? 
     The Berkshire School Board must start firing procedures as soon as Harriman gets his third DUI conviction. There is no other solution.  We will be watching!