Almost two dozen students from Albany Junior High and Nancy Smith Elementary will compete in Stamford at a UIL contest next week.

Stamford is hosting the District 8 UIL Junior High Speech Contest next Thursday, Dec. 6, and Cross Plains, Haskell, Hawley, and Roscoe are also expected to attend.

UIL junior high meets include grades six to eight, and Albany contestants from both NSES and the secondary campus are listed below.

SIXTH GRADE

Modern Oratory – Caroline Holson, Gabby Lopez, Kaylee McBee.

This Friday, Nov. 30 is the deadline for teens to be enrolled in the Ministerial Alliance sponsored Believe Trees gift program, and the deadline for families to enroll for the Christmas Basket program is almost here as well. 

Christmas Baskets

Applications for the Alliance sponsored Christmas Baskets must be returned to ResourceCare or to a participating church before the Monday, Dec. 3 deadline for the family to be eligible for a box of holiday food items.

The Christmas season is underway and local churches are hosting numerous activities to spread Christmas spirit throughout the community.

Some pastors and congregations have not yet scheduled all of their Christmas events, and several could not be contacted before this week’s deadline. Any changes or additions will be publicized in a later issue, if requested.

Ministerial Alliance 

The Ministerial Alliance sponsored Believe Teen Tree present pickup will be from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 12 at the Feed Store.

This Sunday, Dec. 2, there will be a Celebration of Remembrance at Matthews Memorial Presbyterian Church, and everyone is invited to attend and take a few minutes to honor family, friends, and other loved ones who have passed on.

“A highlight of the service includes an opportunity for each person attending to say the name or have the name read of the individual(s) they want to honor,” said organizer Debbie Hamilton. “Then they can light a candle for them. The candle can be taken home after the service.”

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service in Taylor County will be hosting the 2018 Abilene Area Pecan Show on Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 3-4, with the entries on public display from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 4, and an Awards Program starting at 6:00 p.m. that same evening. 

The show will include a Pecan Nut Division, as well as a Pecan Bake Show Division. Residents of Callahan, Fisher, Jones, Nolan, Shackelford and Taylor Counties are invited to submit their pecans and baked goods for competition and judging.

The traditional playoff drum beating, preceded by a community pep rally at the Bank Park, will kick off the Athletic Booster Club’s special activities this week as the Albany Lions prepare for the regional final match-up with Wheeler. 

Albany will travel to Vernon for this week’s game, with the kickoff set for 7:00 p.m. on Friday evening, Nov. 30. 

The -Lions will face the Wheeler Mustangs, who defeated Haskell 26-12 last week at the area level. The Lions beat the Santo Wildcats 38-28 on Nov. 23 to advance to the third round of the playoffs.

In a game where the momentum shifts and keeping up with turnovers was dizzying, the Albany Lions pulled off a 38-28 area playoff win over Santo last Friday in Graham.

Albany (7-5) advances to the regional playoff this Friday against the Wheeler Mustangs (8-3) at Vernon’s Lion Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m., with Albany serving as the home team. Ticket prices are $6 for adults and $4 for students with the usual passes honored.

The varsity Lady Lions split games against opponents just before the Thanksgiving break.

Albany lost their game in Ballinger on Nov. 19, but beat Munday at home on Nov. 20.

The team returned to action this week, traveling to Hamlin on Tuesday and ending up with a close 33-37 loss. Details were not available at press time.

The varsity will play in the Dublin Tournament starting Thursday, with pool games against Crawford and Breckenridge. Bracket games will start on Friday and continue on Saturday.

Friday, Nov. 30 is the last day for fifth and sixth grade girls and boys to sign up to play in the Albany Little Dribblers Association youth basketball league, and both the completed form and the $35 registration fee must be turned in to the Nancy Smith Elementary School office or given to league organizer Clint Chapman by the deadline.

“The deadline is a little earlier than it was last year,” Chapman said. “We are planning to practice throughout the month of December.”

A tournament in Albany on Saturday, Jan. 12 will start the season.

Photo packages of local flag football teams and individuals have been printed and are now available.

Parents who paid in advance or who have valid accounts can pick up their packages at The Albany News office.

Others can be ordered when they are paid.