The ROC in Sulphur Springs Thursday served as the location for the 11th Annual District 4 Northeast Texas Continuing Education Conference, hosted by Texas AgriLife Extension Service.
“It’s great to be serving the community,” Hopkins County AgriLife Extension Agent Mario Villarino said Thursday morning.
“We are excited we were picked among other cities or counties that could have sponsored this today,” said Hopkins County Judge Robert Newsom Thursday morning. “Usually, it’s at another location, but because of our facilities her in Hopkins County, they chose the ROC.”
Villarino said the sessions got off to a great start at 8:30 a.m. Dec. 2 at The ROC, which allows for recommended social distancing during the educational sessions for judges and county commissioners.
“We have a good opportunity to visit on different subjects that are beneficial for our commissioners and judges. Of course, we are following the CDC recommendations for maintaining everybody safe,” Dr, Villarino said.
“It’s a really down to earth conference. I’m just glad they came to Sulphur Springs,” Newsom said.
The full in-service training conference is planned annual by Texas AgriLife Extension especially for county judges, commissioners, auditors and human resource personnel, and includes lunch. The educational presentations provide “practical training on affairs of the county government,” and a general overview of what is going on across the state.
Some of the topics discussed on Thursday during the conference included mental health in jails, jail capacity, feral hogs and wild game, and COVID-19. Among the presenters were Texas Commission on Jail Standards Executive Director Brandon Wood, as well as agricultural representatives and state legislators. The conference was also slated to feature Jim Allison, General Counsel from the County Judges and Commissions Association of Texas and industry representatives. Each commissioner attending the 11th Annual District 4 NET conference will receive up to six continuing education (CEU) credits for the conference.
