Russ and Judy Barnes
Russ and Judy Barnes are longtime residents of the Cuyama Valley. They are both teachers at the Cuyama middle school. Overall, they feel positive and hopeful about the future of the Valley. If only because, “We have 200 kids, if our community is not sustainable where are those kids gonna go to school?”. They are interested in trying out new ideas. Judy notes that there is not enough students or interest from the students for many team sports, so shifting resources from sports to other enrichment programs like robotics, technology, art and music might be beneficial. Russ expresses a resistance to change while at the same time acknowledging the need for it “If something happened here that made it a destination that people would come to for art, hospitality, service that would help with the sustainability. I am not saying it’s something I want because I like the way things are now, but I can see how it would help the town."