In this quiet country town where everyone knows everyone, they couldn't say enough about Robert Vallandingham. A star athlete at Minford High School,
he was a family man who took a job as prison guard two years ago to escape joblessness.
The body of Vallandingham 40, was found Thursday in a yard of the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility. He was one of eight guards taken hostage when 450 inmates took over Cell Block L Sunday at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility here.
Vallandingham's death was announced by tearful prison officials shortly after noon Thursday.
"He was such a nice person - I mean a real nice person. I'm just shattered," said Thelma Newton, a longtime family friend who said she watched Vallandingham grow up. "He was nice and polite, just like his parents raised him. He was absolutely wonderful."
Described as outgoing and full of life, Vallandingham had a 19-year-old son, Bobby, and a wife, Peggy.
Friends say he went to work at the prison in 1991 because the pay was good - $8 to $9 an hour to start. It was a small fortune in a town where most residents who aren't unemployed earn minimum wage.
"He was just trying to make a living, and he got himself killed," said Steve Colley, a friend of 20 years.
"He was a family man. A real good fella."
Several hours after his death, an inmate broadcast demands over Portsmouth radio station WPAY and said Vallandingham's death was unavoidable.
The inmate, identified only as George, said: "We send out condolences to Bobby's family. But this is something that had to happen. A lot of us didn't want it to . . . We hope there will be no more unnecessary murders." Vallandingham's family and friends said their numb grief turned to anger after hearing the broadcast.
"How could he even say something like that? How can it be justified?" said Sandy Penn, who has known Vallandingham and his family 31 years.
"I'm numb and I'm angry. Why did he have to be killed?"
Sue Eves, another family friend, said Vallandingham's wife and relatives, had been braced for bad news since Sunday.
"They were prepared for anything. They were hoping for the best. But they were expecting the worst." Thursday night, neighbors visited members of Vallandingham's family outside his home.
Portsmouth police officers nailed "no trespassing" signs on each of the 12 homes on the street.