Funeral services for Carroll Forrest Thompson will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, March 10, 2021, at First Christian Church with Rev. Colton Lott officiating. Burial will follow in the Geary Cemetery under the direction of Turner Funeral Home, Geary.

Mr. Thompson passed away Saturday, March 6, 2021, at his home in El Reno at the age of 86. He was born Feb. 23, 1935, to Carroll Thomas and Thelma Louise (Dean) Thompson south of Geary. Forrest graduated from Geary High School in 1953.

Teaching is a calling for those who pick up the banner for public education and spend years learning and honing their skills in an effort to mold and open the minds of young students in a traditional classroom setting.

But the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has created a new traditional classroom setting. And for El Reno educators, add school closures caused by winter storms and lack of running water.

El Reno will put off Burger Day for one more year, but the first Saturday in May won’t be without plenty of fun as a new festival will be launched before moving to July in 2022.

Shana Ford, Main Street director, said the inaugural Route 66 Family Fun Fest and Cornhole Tournament will replace the annual Fried Onion Burger Day Festival, normally held the first Saturday in May.

But only for this year.

El Reno Public Schools released Teacher of the Year honorees for each of its seven educational sites for the 2020-21 school year.

El Reno High School
Chris Burdine

Burdine teaches high school Algebra 2, Algebra 3 and Pre-Calculus. This is his fourth year teaching, all in El Reno.

Burdine was in the construction industry for 20 years before going back to school to obtain a teaching degree.