Hicks: A Fresh Start to a Healthier You Coming Virtually and 4-H Project Tour Day Approaching
A Fresh Start to a Healthier You Coming Virtually
Even though most activities are back to full swing, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension is offering a free on-line course called, “A Fresh Start to a Healthier You.”
This is a four-session series focusing on the importance of healthy nutrition with an emphasis on increasing fruit and vegetable intake, physical activity, food safety, and food resource management.
- Session 1 covers creating safe and healthier meals. Food safety is the focus. Foodborne illness; fight BAC (bacteria) principles – clean, separate, cook, chill; temperature danger zone; and making your own sanitizing solution will be highlighted. Recipes for three breakfast items will be provided.
- Session 2 discusses meal planning, My Plate, and physical activity. A 3-day and 7-day meal planner will be provided, along with tips to include more fruits and vegetables into every meal. Three lunch recipes will be provided.
- Session 3 covers a topic that is extremely practical – saving more at the grocery store. Sale ads, coupons, using a grocery list (and sticking to it), rewards point/grocery store apps, shopping with children, and more will be discussed. Three delicious dinner recipes will be provided.
- Session 4 discuss celebrating small bites – practical ways to use fruits and vegetables. Making celebrations special by making foods look festive and incorporating physical activity. Three recipes for snack foods will be provided.
This year, thirteen individuals have completed the on-line series with very positive comments. The next on-line course begins on June 7. Enrollment opens on that day.
Participants can enroll in the course at any point during the first week. One week after the start date, you will no longer be able to enroll in the course. A new session is released each Monday throughout the four weeks.
Once a new session is released, it stays open to participants for the remainder of the series. Participants can access available session on any day of the week and at any time that works for them. The fifth week serves as a time to catch up on sessions before the course closes.
The sessions are very well done and include interactive components. Participants can access this course on any device with internet connection (phone, computer, etc.)
Anyone interested in participating in the on-line series may contact me at the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension office, 903-885-3443, and I’ll walk you through the process and provide the link.
Everyone who completes the course will receive a thermal tote bag and other items, along with a completion certificate.
4-H Project Tour Day
This is the last call for Hopkins County 4-H members to sign up for the 2021 4-H Project Tour Day, Friday June 4.
Participants are asked to meet at the Extension Office no later than 9:15 A.M.
We will incorporate the following stops in our tour: Texas A&M – Commerce planetarium (STEM); Texas A&M-Commerce farm (Agriculture); Student Center for lunch and council meeting (leadership); and Fox Country Quilts (Fashion & Interior Design).
We have limited spaces available, so please contact our office at 903-885-3443 by June 1.
Closing Thought
Strength grows in the moment when you think you can’t go on, but you keep going anyway – Kathy Wagner
Johanna Hicks, B.S., M.Ed.
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
Family & Community Health Agent
Hopkins County
P.O. Box 518
1200-B W. Houston
Sulphur Springs, TX 75483
903-885-3443
Winnsboro Police Department Media Report
The Winnsboro Police Department media report for the week of May 17-23, 2021, included the following activity:
Arrests
Rodriguez, Irving, 28 years of age, was arrested on May 19, 2021 for Possession of Controlled Substance PG1<1G in a Drug Free Zone.
Skidmore, Sheryl, 62 years of age, of Sulphur Bluff, was arrested on May 21, 2021 for Driving While Intoxicated.
Calls for Service:
The Winnsboro Police Department responded to a total of 134 calls for service during this reporting period.
Citations:
The Winnsboro Police Department issued 47 citations and 41 warnings during this reporting period.
Three Vehicle Mishaps Result In Arrests
Three vehicle mishaps which landed two cars and a truck in the ditch resulted in two misdemeanor charges and one DWI arrest over the weekend.
SH 11 East Crash
A Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office deputy just after 1:30 a.m. Sunday reported seeing what appeared to be a vehicle crash while patrolling. One side of the Dodge Ram pickup was halfway in the ditch on the wrong side of the County Road 2321-State Highway 11 east intersection near a stop sign. The truck’s rear wheels were still on the pavement. A tow strap connected to another pickup on scene was being used to try to pull the red Ram out of the ditch while the driver of the red truck tried to reverse it out.
The driver of the silver truck advised he saw the red truck off the road and stopped to try to help pull it out of the ditch. The driver of the red Ram got out and approached the deputy while he talked to the man in the silver truck. The deputy alleged the man in the Dodge was unsteady on his feet as he approached, and spoke with “severely slurred” speech when he tried to explained what had occurred. He also appeared to be mumbling, was hard to understand and talked as if his tongue was thick. The 26-year-old Sulphur Springs man also appeared to the deputy to have bloodshot, glassy eyes and a strong alcoholic beverage odor emitted from is breath and on him. The deputy further alleged the man walked as if his feet were heavy.
When asked how many alcoholic beverages he’d consumed, he was unable to provide an answer. He allegedly became argumentative when the deputy talked to him about his observations and denied driving the red Ram. He refused to submit to standard field sobriety tests, so the deputy detained him for further investigation of DWI. He was put in a patrol vehicle while the deputy inventoried the truck prior to having it impounded.
Sulphur Springs police then contacted the deputy to report the truck was believed to be one that had been used in a hit and run crash at an East Shannon Road food business and asked the deputy to take photos of the truck so the police officer could add them to the city crash report.
The 26-year-old Sulphur Springs man was taken to jail, where he refused to submit to a blood test. The deputy obtained a blood search warrant requiring the blood draw, took the man to the hospital where a sample was drawn, the back to jail, where he was booked at 5:43 a.m. May 23, 2021, on a DWI charge, the deputy alleged in arrest reports.
The Sulphur Springs man was released from the county jail later May 23, 2021, on a Class B misdemeanor DWI charge.
I-30 West Crash
Sheriff’s deputies responded around 7:30 p.m. Sunday, May 23, to what was reported as a one-vehicle crash on Interstate 30 west at mile marker 130. Deputies contacted the occupants of a Toyota Corolla in the ditch in the center median.
A records check using the passenger’s identifying information revealed a warrant for the 27-year-old Fort Worth man’s arrest. Deputies took the passenger into custody on the misdemeanor Tarrant County warrant. The vehicle was towed to a nearby gas station and released to the driver.
The Fort Worth man remained in Hopkins County jail Monday, May 24, 2021, on the Tarrant County criminal mischief resulting in $2750-$2,5000 in a damage. Bond was set at $1,500 on the misdemeanor charge.
CR 3520 Mishap
Deputies responded at 12:50 a.m. Monday, May 24, on County Road 2520, where a vehicle was reportedly stuck in the ditch and a suspected intoxicated male lying in the road.
Upon arrival, sheriff’s officers contacted a 39-year-old Dike man and, upon determining him to be intoxicated, search his vehicle for open containers. An open container was found in the Mazda 3. He was then taken into custody for public intoxication. He was also charged with failure to maintain financial responsibility and driving while license invalid.
He had been released from Hopkins County jail on all three misdemeanor charges by 2:20 p.m. May 24, 2021, according to jail reports.
If you have an emergency, dial 9-1-1
The Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office is located at 298 Rosemont Sulphur Springs, TX 75482. You can reach them for non-emergency matters at (903) 438-4040.
Miller Grove ISD End of School Stew is a Community Tradition
Although the stew is no longer cooked and served under the shade trees out on the campus, Hopkins County Stew is still a tradition for Miller Grove ISD students and staff, and for some members of the community, too. As has been their habit, brothers Mark and Bret Garrett do the honors of preparing the chicken stew. They now have a dandy cooking space, a covered portico on the west side of the building which adjoins the cafetorium. They set up the propane cookers and iron pots in there and work the magic well out of the weather, which was a good thing during the intermittent showers on Tuesday May 18, 2021. Then, the traditional meal is easily served to students during their lunch shifts. Cafeteria Manager and Cook is Rebeccah Brown doubles as Cashier at times. A perennial attendee of the event is Mrs. Mary Burns, who spent her career as an educator. Now at age 92, she never misses the end-of-school stew, and looks forward to seeing the children. She is shown here with KSST’s weatherman James Terry, also a retired educator, whose family roots run deep in the Miller Grove area.
Woman Jailed On Controlled Substance With Intent To Distribute Charge
A Sulphur Springs woman caught driving without a valid license ended up in jail on a felony controlled substance with intent to distribute charge Sunday morning.
(HCSO jail photo)
Sulphur Springs Police Officer Sean Hoffman spotted the 29-year-old driving he knew did not have a valid driver’s license, driving a Hyundai Elantra at 10:26 a.m. Sunday, May 23, 2021, on Oak Avenue and stopped her. Kelsey Devon Carrillo showed what Hoffman described as nervous indicators while talking to him.
Hoffman said she became even more nervous when he asked her to step out of the car and told her she was being arrested for driving while license invalid. She reportedly refused to get out of the vehicle. Only after being told multiple times by Hoffman to get out of the vehicle did Carrillo admit she had contraband under her legs in the driver’s seat.
Another officer arrived to assist. Carrillo exited the car, revealing in the front seat a bag with a crystal-like substance believed to be methamphetamine, two syringes and a large amount of smaller plastic bags of the kind the officer recognized from past work experience as those often used to distribute narcotics. Hoffman suspected the substance was intended to be distributed.
Also in the car Carrillo had been driving was a 1-year-old child. Hoffman contacted Child Protective Services to have a representative take possession of the child. The CPS employee, however, told police to let the woman release the child to a friend or family member. The child was released to a friend of the woman as requested by CPS.
Police fully searched the car and found other contraband as well. As a result, Carrillo was jailed Sunday, May 23, for possession of 4 grams or more but less than 200 grams of a Penalty Group 1 controlled substance with intent to distribute.
Carrillo, who jail reports show is also known by the alias Sarah Andrea Kijinitchee, remained in Hopkins County jail Monday, May 24, 2021 on a the controlled substance with intent to distribute charge. Bond was set at $30,000 on the second-degree felony charge.
Dinner Bell Menu For May 26, 2021
The Rotary Club of Sulphur Springs is grilling hamburgers for Dinner Bell. What a treat!!!
Grab and Go will once again be the method of serving meals. Drive under the covered way (porte cochere) on the Northeast corner of the First United Methodist Church campus at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday.
MENU
Hamburgers, Tomatoes, Lettuce, Pickles. Cheese
Baked Beans
Chips
Banana Pudding
Practice Safety PRECAUTIONS. Maintain DISTANCES. WEAR MASKS where required. Get
INOCULATED. DINNER BELL CARES ABOUT YOUR HEALTH!!!
Hamburger Steak with Brown Onion Gravy
Hopkins County Receives A+ Financial Rating
Hopkins County last week received an A+ financial last week from the outside agency that evaluated the county’s finances, Hopkins County Auditor Shannah Aulsbrook and Judge Robert Newsom reported during Monday morning’s regular Hopkins County Commissioners Court meeting.
“Our financial situation in Hopkins County came out an A+ and we are so thankful,” Newsom said. “The citizens stayed with us. The citizens have moved forward with us. There was a time when it wasn’t. We just received that last week and I just wanted to tell the world.”
The county had the finances evaluated when considering refinancing some existing bonds in an effort to save taxpayer dollars on repayment of the debt. The county will be saving $70,000-$80,000 by refinancing and “updating the policy” on the bond taken out to construct the new jail a few years ago, according to Newsom.
“They went through our finances, an outside agency did, and we came up A+. We are very happy about that,”
As part of the refinancing process, it was discovered that the county’s investment policy needed updating, as the last policy was approved in 2014. So, the Commissioners Court was asked Monday to approve an policy that is the same as in 2014, except it includes the name and signature for the current treasurer, Aulsbrook explained.
“It’s to satisfy Local Government Code 116.12, that just states that we have to adopt a formal investment policy. So whenever we were doing our bond rating, we realized that we do not have a new investment policy in place with Danny’s name on it,” Aulsbrook said, referring to County Treasurer Danny Davis. “This investment policy will have Danny’s signature on it.”
The policy lists an investment committee which consists of the Hopkins County Treasurer, Auditor, Tax Assessor/Collector, County Clerk, Commissioners Court and Judge.
The court unanimously approved the new 2021 county investment policy as presented, with the updated names and signatures.
Aulsbrook also asked the court to approve two budget amendments for Hopkins County Fire Department: one to transfer insurance proceeds into the department’s repairs and maintenance fund to reimburse costs incurred for repairs to a truck that sustained damage while on a call, and another to transfer money from the county’s general fund balance into the fire department budget to address unforeseen repairs and expenses.
The Court approved the budget amendments as presented, as well as bills, revenues and expenses, payroll and financial statements, consent agenda with minutes of the prior meeting and works session held May 10.
During public forum, Dike resident Michele Barnes expressed displeasure with the company behind the solar project, its contractors and the project, while property owners Dwight Maxson and Tim Fuller who each have land involved in the project showed support for it and the Commissioners Court.
The court then entered into an executive session to discuss “real estate possibilities,” prior to their regular work session.
Five Como-Pickton FFA Chapter Members Selected as Ambassadors for State FFA Convention This Summer
Press Release from Chanda Neal, CPCISD FFA Advisor/Ag Science Teacher
FIVE MEMBERS of the Como-Pickton FFA Chapter Selected to Serve as
Foundation Ambassadors or Senior Ambassadors
Como, Texas – Logan Langley and Landan Cummins of the Como-Pickton FFA
Chapter have been selected to serve as Texas FFA Foundation Ambassadors at the
93rd Annual Texas FFA Convention to be held July 5 – 9 th in Fort Worth, Texas. Additionally, Baylee Bowen, Kara Tifft, and Presley Cummins have been selected to serve as SeniorTexas FFA Foundation Ambassadors.
Cummins, Langley, Cummins, Bowen, and Tifft were just five of 70 FFA members
chosen to participate in the Foundation Ambassador program. The Foundation
Ambassadors serve as official liaisons to sponsors, special guests and dignitaries on
behalf of the Texas FFA during the annual Texas FFA Convention.
Each student applied through a competitive application process and will participate in an extensive two-day training specifically focusing on donor relations, personal skills development, and professional networking.
At the 93 rd Annual Texas FFA Convention, members of the agricultural youth leadership organization will spend the week attending leadership workshops, participating in activities, and serving as the legislative body for the Texas FFA Association.
The Texas FFA has evolved from an organization focusing primarily on production
agriculture, to a broader-based organization which addresses the needs and interests of students in urban and suburban schools in addition to the rural communities from which FFA rose in 1929. The organization is dedicated to making a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.
In the attached photo of the students; their names from L-R:Logan Langley, Presley Cummins, Baylee Bowen, Kara Tifft, & Landan Cummins
Meal A Day Menu For May 24-28, 2021
The meals are prepared at the Sulphur Springs Senior Citizens Center five days a week for Meal A Day program recipients.
The Meal A Day Menu for May 24-28, 2021, includes:
- Monday – Apricot Glazed Chicken On a Bed of Rice, Broccoli and Cauliflower, Roll
- Tuesday – Rope Sausage, Sauerkraut, Black-Eyed Peas and Cornbread
- Wednesday – Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans and Roll
- Thursday – Chicken Spaghetti, English Peas, Garlic Toast and Tossed Salad
- Friday – Cheeseburgers, Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, Pickle Spears, Baked Beans and Potato Chips
The Sulphur Springs Senior Citizens Center is a place where Senior Citizens age 50 and over can have a good time with old friends and make some new ones. Meal-A-Day is just one service the center provides. The coffee pot is always on and a smile is on each face. The SCC has a full library with all different kinds of reading books that can be taken, read and returned. Take as many as you like and bring some of your books in to share with others. Click here to find more information for seniors citizens.
