Loving News of the Week for March 14, 2021
We are eight days away from one of my favorite events of the year, The Oakley County Fair. I had never experienced a county fair before moving to Loving many years ago. I’m a city girl. I could tell you how to read a bus schedule, how to manage traffic jams without going crazy, and where to find the best of any and all kinds of food. But, I could not tell you what exactly a heifer was, or what the 4 H’s were, or that grapes are not the only fruit from which jams and jellies are made. I have learned the answers to those questions in the intervening years. I have also learned to look forward to the fair with great anticipation. LIke all of you, I love any opportunity for young people to share their passions and their joy with the rest of us.
Which brings me to the imminent retirement of Bob Burns, Loving HIgh’s ag teacher and FFA sponsor. Mr. Burns will hang up his halters, bridles and other equipment at the end of the school year. To say that he will be impossible to replace would be an understatement. I could write a book about Mr. Burns and his career in agriculture education, but instead I thought I would ask his students for their insight into Mr. Burns and his career.
I first talked to Sabrina Moss, FFA president. Sabrina told me, “The thing about Mr. Burns is that he never rests on his past success, and he never fails to get the most up to date information for us kids. If you ask him a question and he doesn’t know the answer, he will find it. He’ll call somebody he knows or another ag teacher right then and there. He’ll put the question out on his insta (instagram) or his twitter. He is just the best when it comes to that sort of thing and it really helps to have that person you can just go to and ask knowing he will find the answers.”
Brandon Jaime, who is raising rabbits this year for the first time, said, “Mr. Burns has done so much to help and encourage me this year. Right after I got my rabbits, they all got sick. I was so upset, and my mom was freaking out. My mom called Mr. Burns and he came out to check them out. He suggested we change feed, and helped us find the one he recommended. Solved the problem. My rabbits are looking good now.”
Artevion Murray adds, “Mr. Burns is old, but he’s not old, you know. It’s the best of both worlds. He has lots of experience that helps us, and he’s good with technology too. Mr. B is also really good about checking in on you when you might be having a personal problem or a school problem. He always says that once you are an ag kid, you are always an ag kid.”
When you see Bob Burns around town or at the fair, remember to congratulate him on his retirement and thank him for his years of service to this community. Loving has been lucky to have him, and he will be missed.
