BY ROD HECKMAN

It's been a long time since I've worked at a District 11 Track and Field championship.And honestly, I didn't want to be there this year.On Thursday, however, I found myself with the rest of the media under a tent in the infield trying to stay dry.While the weather conditions were lousy and I needed the help of four young men to get my car unstuck from the mud, those weren't the reasons I would have preferred not to be in attendance.Simply put, the reason I was there was because my longtime colleague Joe Plasko wasn't there.For those who don't know, Joe passed away suddenly in March. While we continue to mourn his death and support his family and wife Donna through prayer, there are some moments where his memory is stronger than others.The district track meet is one of them.Joe had many loves, including music and his hometown of Tamaqua.In the sports world, he closely followed Penn State football and was our wrestling guy during the winter.But there's no denying track and field held a special spot in his heart.Besides competing himself in high school, he was especially proud of his sister's accomplishments which include a district record that still stands.Not only did he cover the district and state meets, he enjoyed them.And the people involved in the sport enjoyed him too."Like most people, I was shocked when I found out what had happened," said Bruce Buratti, a longtime writer for the Easton Express who has covered the track beat for many years."I've known Joe since probably the early 80s. I covered track and field with him and he was just the consummate professional. He beat the shoe-leather. He was a true professional. He was just a wonderful guy and I think the sport is lessened by not having him here."The guy was Mr. Tamaqua. He was always on top of things. He was an outstanding reporter and loved track and field. He had a good rapport with all the kids and coaches. And it showed in his work. He was very meticulous. He just had all the attributes a good reporter should have."Joe's work, in track and any other story he did, was very detailed. While nobody in this business wants to make errors, he made it a point to have his facts correct moreso than any other writer I worked with.And, if on the very rare occassion he did make a mistake, he would go to all lengths to correct the error and offer genuine regrets to the miscue."I've been doing this a long time and Joe has always been a fixture at the track meets," said District 11 Meet Manager Glenn Rissmiller. "If you didn't know something, didn't know a record, you could always count on asking Joe. If he didn't know it off the top of his head, which he did 90 percent of the time, he would get an answer for you because he would have it somewhere."He just loved track and he loved kids. He's absolutely missed. We miss his presence because we're just so used to seeing him. You have certain things in track and certain events and Joe Plasko was part of that whole process. It's just sad."Joe was remembered on the first day of the district meet as his name was mentioned over the loudspeaker.It's just one of many places he's been remembered recently."Back in the day, I bought a Tandy 200 from him as a back-up," said Buratti. "I bought one from him for $100 which I thought was a pretty good deal. I never used it and I still have it. Every time I look at it I think of him."Sometimes when he tried to update standings from the Colonial League or Northampton County teams he'd contact me for help and in turn he'd help me with Tamaqua and other Schuylkill scores."I know I've found myself this spring wanting to call Joe for help finding a score, for advice on compiling track bests, or for just talking about something general in the world of sports."Joe was very good with the athletes," added Tamaqua native and District 11 official Herbie Welsh. "He treated them very well and I think a lot of athletes looked forward to being interviewed by Joe."He did a great job and we all miss him very much. I've never seen as many dedications in the paper than I have for Joe. It's unbelievable how many people he touched. Everybody knew him. It was a shock to lose him."