The 80th anniversary edition of the Fort Griffin Fandangle officially concluded soon after 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 30, with the traditional singing of “Prairie Land” by the entire cast, in front of an audience that included a large contingent of visitors from China, as well as U.S. Representative Jody Arrington and his family.

2018 Recap

Although tickets did not sell out for any of the performances this year, Fandangle board president Steve Waller said he was pleased with this year’s show.

Except for a few areas, Albany ISD end-of-course (EOC) and STAAR scores stayed above the state testing averages, which were released  along with Region 14 averages last week.

Local scores were received a little earlier, but have continued to change a little as the state sends out re-calculations, according to district testing coordinator Leigh Lowe.

Jacob Mort, an eight year veteran of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, is Shackelford County’s new game warden.

Although Mort grew up hunting and fishing, and always knew he wanted to be in the same profession as his father, a Nebraska game warden for over 40 years, he said that he “blames” Johnnie Hudman for his move to Texas.

The Chamber of Commerce weekly luncheon will not take place this Friday, July 6, but will resume next Friday, July 13, at the Icehouse.

The Chamber board of directors regular monthly meeting is also cancelled in July, according to president Ramby Anderson.

“The monthly Chamber meeting always takes a break in July,” he said. “We will meet again in August.”

Anderson added that Chamber manager Mary Beth Jones recently attended a “Chamber Best Practices” meeting.

Next Wednesday, July 11, the City of Albany will test the emergency warning siren at 12:00 noon, as it does the second Wednesday of every month.

The siren should sound one of the three emergency tones at noon on that day.  

The tests are used to make sure that the siren, computer, software, and radios are working correctly, as well as to keep citizens familiar with the warning sounds, but the test is not run if storms are in the area.

The three different tones signify severe weather, fire danger, and impending flooding.

By Melinda L. Lucas

Subscribers to the digital version of The Albany News most likely have noticed recent changes in the appearance of the online website and the functionality of the facsimile or PDF version of the weekly editions of the newspaper.

The internet editions of the News, found at thealbanynews.net, are now being hosted by e-Type Newspaper Services and will provide subscribers with a host of updated services. The change was effective with the Thursday, June 28 edition of the newspaper.

One gerbil and several dogs were entered in the annual Fandangle Pet Parade last week at the Bank Park and all of the participants went home with a prize and/or a participation treat.

The exhibitors led, carried, and/or drove the pets down the sidewalk and past the judges on Friday afternoon, and winners were awarded in each of the seven divisions.

“We had somewhere between 10-15 pets,” said organizer Rylie Scott. “It was a pretty good turnout for the Pet Parade. This year the animal entries were all dogs except for one gerbil.”

The sun will set at 8:49 p.m. and the waning crescent moon won’t rise until after 2:00 a.m. this Saturday night, July 7, so the staff at the Fort Griffin State Historical Site plans to take advantage of the dark skies by hosting a Stars & Skies of Texas star gazing party.

The state historic site also has events planned for daytime hours.

Stars & Skies of Texas

Local volunteer firefighters were called out Sunday afternoon to battle yet another grass fire started by lightning, this time eight miles north of Albany on CR 109.

The firefighters are also trying to stay hydrated in light of the extreme heat and are asking for donations of water and sports drinks.  

Sunday Fire

“Ernie Bernstein actually saw the lightning hit,” said Shackelford County Rural VFD chief Brad Henry. “We were called out about 5:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.”

The Feed Store held a Fourth of July party on Monday, July 2, as planned but, according to youth minister Levi Herron, the non-denominational youth ministry had to reschedule the Aztec movie event. 

“The Fourth of July party was a really big hit, and we had 20 to 25 students that came out to enjoy hot dogs, chips, watermelon, and games, including gaga in the new pit that McLennan Jones made for us,” Herron said. “But the movie night we had planned for July 7 had to be postponed until August because of a scheduling conflict at the Aztec.”