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Lexi Hess

Ethan Resuta and Officer Bub

For the past 23 years, the safety of students and staff at Tyrone Area High School has rested on the shoulders of a man so well-known and beloved by the school community that, just like an A-list celebrity, most people know him by just one name:

Bub.

TAHS School Resource Officer Robert “Bub” Dick was born and raised in Tyrone and graduated from Tyrone Area High School in 1981. Known as the strongest athlete in the school, Bub played football, ran track and field, and was in the weightlifting club. He earned his nickname as a child because his father was also named Robert, and to avoid confusion, the younger Robert became “Bub,” and the name stuck.

One of Bub’s high school teammates was Tyrone High School English teacher Steve Everhart, who calls Bub one of the most reliable people he has ever met.

“Bub was my strongest offensive lineman when we played football together. Our o-line coach Jim Butler summed up Bub as an athlete, but also as a police officer and friend, in this way: ‘If you ask Bub to run full-speed into a stone wall and knock it down, he’ll knock it down. Then he’ll get up, ignore his wounds, and ask, ‘Was that good enough?’” Everhart said. “There are few people you can count on 100%— but Bub is one of them.”

Bub knew from a young age that he wanted to be a police officer.

“I thought it would be a good job, and I always wanted to help people,” he said.

After high school, he worked at Nelson House, a home for disabled adults in Spruce Creek, and Palamino’s Pizza in Tyrone, while enrolled in the IUP police academy program at Mount Aloysius College in Cresson.

Bub graduated from the IUP Police Academy and fulfilled his childhood dream by becoming a Tyrone Borough Police Officer in 1982.

He spent two years as a borough police officer but left law enforcement in 1984 for a job at the Tyrone paper mill, where the pay, benefits, and opportunities for advancement were better.

“I liked my job as a police officer in Tyrone, but I needed to take care of my family, so I took a job at the mill,” Bub said.

At the mill, he worked his way up to foreman. But in 2002, when Bub saw an opportunity to return to law enforcement as a School Resource Officer (SRO) at Tyrone Area High School, he applied right away.

During the 1990s, the school district worked with the Tyrone Borough Police Department and an independent security firm to have police officers within the District. However, this was mainly to provide security at after-school events.

“In the fall of 2000, in conjunction with a Safe Schools grant, the District hired its own police officers to be present in the schools during the school day,” said Tyrone Area School District Superintendent Leslie Estep. “There was one police chief hired, with an additional part-time officer. Bub was appointed as a school police officer in the fall of 2002.”

School Resource Officers are not security guards. They are sworn, armed law enforcement officers with arrest powers who work in school settings.

According to the US Bureau of Justice Statistics, approximately 23,400 sworn SROs worked in U.S. schools during the 2019–2020 school year. Some are employed by local police departments; others, like those in Tyrone, are school district employees.

The National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO) emphasizes that not every law enforcement officer is suited for school-based policing. Research suggests that when SROs prioritize enforcement over mentorship and student support, they can negatively affect a school’s culture and disciplinary climate.

NASRO identifies three main roles for school resource officers: law enforcement officer, educator, and informal counselor or mentor.

For the past 23 years, Officer Bub has filled all three roles at Tyrone Area High School with distinction.

“In an era when trust in public institutions is at an all-time low, and police officers are too often seen in a negative light, Officer Bub is the absolute ideal of what a law enforcement officer should be,” said Tyrone social studies teacher Todd Cammarata. “Bub has always been here to protect the students and staff, but I don’t think he ever saw that as his only duty. Officer Bub never demanded respect from students just because of his badge, but instead earned it through kindness, inclusiveness, and a genuine concern for others.”

As a trained police officer charged with upholding school policy and the law, Officer Bub is always prepared to do whatever it takes to keep students and staff safe.

Standing six feet tall, with a deep, commanding voice and a strong physique, Bub certainly looks the part of an enforcer.

“I remember meeting him when I was given my first tour of the school,” said special education teacher Staci Greenleaf. “I was intimidated by him at first, but once I got to know him, I realized how kind-hearted he was.”

According to Bub, subduing or arresting students is his least favorite part of the job, but when necessary, students and staff know he’ll act swiftly and professionally.

“I witnessed Bub take down a student in the most calm, professional manner possible. That memory will stick with me forever,” said Tyrone Area High School math teacher Jane Budgen.

Senior Duncan Bennett has also seen Officer Bub deal with violent situations when needed.

“Bub has put himself out there to break fights up, and he’s just always been a chill person unless given a reason not to be, which is very rare considering everyone in the school and the town respects him,” Bennett said.

One of Officer Bub’s most respected traits is his ability to move on from a situation without holding grudges.

“Regardless of whatever situation occurred the day before, each day Officer Bub started with a fresh new start,” said TAHS Dean of Students Lucas Rhoades.

Officer Bub also supervises a staff of about 15 part-time security guards and school crossing guards, who all speak highly of him as a colleague and supervisor.

“Bub is a get-it-done guy. He is quick to respond, has a very honorable character, and is one of our best friends. He is a great guy with a great sense of humor. He is the type of guy where if you don’t like him, something is wrong with you, not him,” crossing guard Steve Hanczar said.

What makes Officer Bub such an outstanding school resource officer is his commitment to being a mentor and positive role model in the school.

Tyrone alum and current substitute teacher Katrina Patton, a 2012 graduate, has had the unique perspective of knowing Bub as both a student and a colleague.

“Transitioning from student to substitute teacher, Officer Bub has always been a constant at Tyrone. He starts every day by greeting each student and staff member by holding the door open, holding his fist out to bump, and having a big smile ready to wish them a great day. That will be the biggest thing missed, at least by me, is beginning every school day with that. He is someone you can talk to about anything, and he will always tell you, ‘Just take it one day at a time,’” Patton said.

Tyrone sophomore Madean Moore shared how Officer Bub helped her through a difficult time.

“I was having such a rough day. I was crying and hyperventilating and had no idea who to talk to, so I went for a walk. Bub saw me in the hallway and asked me what was wrong. I told him that life was rough recently,” Moore said. “He helped me realize that no matter what was happening in life, I had people in school that I could talk to and depend on. Every single day after that, Bub checked on me and made sure I was positively thinking, feeling good, and safe.”

One thing Officer Bub does exceptionally well is make students feel like they belong without saying a word.

For more than 20 years, every Tyrone student has known the routine: Bub stands in the lobby or outside the school each morning, greeting everyone he sees with his signature fist bump.

“I never really ever talked to him, but I knew him,” junior Nate Erikson said. “Just being able to walk into the door every morning, with him greeting me and everyone else with a fist bump, was just awesome.”

At a time when inclusion is sometimes unfairly cast in a negative light, Bub embodies it every day.

“Officer Bub went out of his way every single day to meet students with special needs at the cafeteria with a fist bump and casual conversation. If they were late, he would joke with them and get everyone laughing. He sure knew how to put a smile on their face and make every single student feel appreciated and known in Tyrone,” said Tyrone High School special education teacher Shannon Davis.

Bub never shows favorites among the students and treats everyone with the same respect and humility.

“One of my favorite things about Officer Bub is how seen he made me feel. He was nice when no one else was, and he was always there to support the kids of Tyrone. He cares about every student, no matter their background, and he never fails to make the whole school laugh,” sophomore Sophia Witkamp said.

Despite all his job responsibilities, Officer Bub never took himself too seriously.

He is known to sing to the cafeteria staff during lunch duty and can often be found helping organize the drinks in the cooler, always pitching in with a smile.

He even stepped out of his comfort zone to join the Tyrone Drama Club as Officer Krupke in the 2008 TAHS production of West Side Story.

“While Bub never blinked an eye when performing his daily duties and always seemed comfortable with what was expected of him, this musical almost did him in,” said former social studies teacher Cummins McNitt, who also played a role in the musical. “I’ve never seen him as nervous as he was on those two nights. Backstage, he paced and doubted himself—but when he stepped onto the stage and the audience erupted in applause, all that slipped away. He became the star he was destined to be.”

Officer Bub was also the subject of one of Eagle Eye’s first April Fools’ Day stories, which claimed that he was a former professional wrestler who nearly made it big in a match against Hulk Hogan.

“I still, to this day, have people who think that story was real,” Bub said with a laugh.

As he heads into retirement, Bub hopes his successor will continue to lead with kindness, serve as a role model, and build positive relationships with students and staff.

He says he’ll miss the school that has felt like one big family to him, and he’s grateful for all the support he’s received over the years.

“I have no regrets,” Bub said.

Bub says he plans to spend more time with his wife and stepdaughter in Tyrone, enjoying some well-earned porch sitting with his two rescue dogs.

Retirement will also give him more time to visit his stepson and grandchildren in Asheville, North Carolina, and his son and soon-to-be daughter-in-law in Nashville, Tennessee.

Everyone from students and teachers to staff and administrators is happy for Bub and wishes him the best in retirement, though they’re also sad to see him go.

TAHS guidance office administrative assistant Lynda Hoover may have said it best:

“Bub is amazing. He always goes above and beyond to make the students and staff feel seen and appreciated. He’s a genuine, caring person, and we’re all going to miss him so much,” Hoover said.