Talk about your friendly neighborhood bus driver!
Jerry Martin Jr., a local bus driver with the Copperas Cove Independent School District, is being praised for mowing the lawn of the neighborhood bus stop so the children he picks up won’t have to wait in the weeds.
According to KWTX, one day while on his route, Mr. Martin noticed that the children at his bus stop were waiting in tall grass in an unkempt yard. When he finished his route, he went home, picked up his lawnmower and returned to cut the grass himself.
The school district’s Facebook page shared that the bus stop near Williams Ledger Elementary School in Copperas Cove, TX was located at the corner of a property that had been vacant for years, which is why the house and subsequent lawn was in disarray. Officials are praising Martin for going above and beyond his responsibilities to care for his community.
Martin spoke to KWTX about his decision to cut the grass saying, “it wasn’t the first time…I’ve done it several times. But this time someone just took a picture.” Martin said he was thinking of the kids safety while doing it. “[The grass] was about knee high and I’m 6 feet tall [and] it wasn’t just grass. The weeds had popped up all over the place and they had like sticker things on there and I didn’t want the kids worried about getting bitten by a chigger,” Martin said.
The Facebook post by Copperas Cove ISD garnered a number of responses from former students of Martin’s who said he’s always done things like this. One student wrote, “He was my bus driver way back when. He truly is an amazing person.” Another student echoed that sentiment saying, “Mr. Martin was my elementary bus driver and he would always have fresh fruit for us to take home and was my favorite bus driver ever. I’m so happy he’s still shedding some positive light on students today.”
Mr. Martin has been a bus driver in the district for 17 years and says he plans to clean up more bus stops. “I noticed some high grass at another stop. I planned to do that today, but I’ve got an appointment but I’ll get to it. For my kids, I’ll just do what I have to do,” Martin said.
We thank you for all you do Mr. Martin!