AgriLife extension office holds open house

Atlanta Area Chamber of Commerce welcomed Cass County-Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service with a ribbon cutting at noon Thursday along with an 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. open house.

Chamber President Jill N. Crocker, Cass County Extension Agent Jessie Rymel Fitzgerald, Cass County Judge Travis Ransom and many more community members were all smiles as area 4-Her’s officially cut the cord on the updated Atlanta facility now utilized by the Texas A&M AgriLife Cass County resource providers.

“What a day, thank you to everyone who joined us at the open house and ribbon cutting for Cass County Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service,” Crocker said. “We had such a blast celebrating our new neighbors in Atlanta. Please stop by their new office and say ‘hi’.”

Cass County residents can stop by the new office at 1008 N. Louise Street in Atlanta. Office hours for the facility are Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m.4:00 p.m., Crocker said. Extension agents can be reached by email at cass-tx@ag.tamu. edu or reached by phone at 903-756-5391.

“Please note, they are in the process of moving their phone line to the new location,” Crocker said. “If you call, please leave a voicemail and they will return your call as soon as possible.”

Fitzgerald said 4-H kiddos–who are involved in a broad range of activities–were excited about the outdoor space as well at the new location.

Though the offices of Cass County Texas A&M AgriLife Extension previously operated off Rush Street in Linden, the changeover to the roomier facility on North Louise Street in Atlanta will only have a favorable impact on resources provided throughout the 960 square-mile regions of Cass County, which as of the 2020 US Census holds a populace of close to 28,500.

The new facility offers more space, both inside and out, for the varied activities 4-H students and other workshops provided by the AgriLife extension.

“It’s fantastic,” Fitzgerald said. “The kids love it. We’ve been operating here for a little while now, this grand opening just makes it official.”

Fitzgerald said one of their biggest programs– held in conjunction with Marion County–will be a workshop on pond retention and management, along with aquatic vegetation held on March 28.

“This is one of our biggest programs of the year, it’s really well attended, it’s free, we do it outside the pond and talk about pond retention,” Fitzgerald said. “We host it in joint with Marion county. So last year we held it in Cass County and this year we will hold it in Marion county. We are so excited about that.”

Though the event is slated for March 28, Fitzgerald said there is a cutoff, so those interested should RSVP with Marion County Extension Office, who will also be able to give information as to the address of the workshop. Marion County Extension agents can be reached at 903-578-7362 or 903-6652421.

The guest speaker for the workshop is Garrett Stamport, pond management specialist.

Fliers for the event can be picked up at the new North Louise Street location in Atlanta, or can be found by viewing the Cass County Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Facebook page.

The new extension office building is located at 1008 N. Louise Street just past the city park on the right as North Louise Street meets U.S. Highway 59.