Three water fountains, one each at the elementary school, the junior high, and the high school, have recently been replaced with water bottle filling stations, according to school nurse Lisa Russell.

“We are so excited about our three new water bottle filling stations,” the nurse said. “They have refrigerated, filtered water and are great for flu season and throughout the year to keep our students and faculty hydrated. I cannot wait for the kids to see these when they return to school!”

Members of the Albany High School band met on Monday evening for the first rehearsal of the 2018 AHS marching band, according to band director John Stockdale.

The band will continue rehearsing each week night, and they will try to adjust the time as needed to schedule around conflicts, Stockdale said. 

“We need to be ready for the first football game, so we have to work as much as we can before then,” said Stockdale.

A retirement reception is set for Sunday, Aug. 12 for Supt. Shane Fields and the public is urged to attend.

The event will be hosted by members of the Albany ISD board of trustees.

Fields retired as superintendent effective July 2 to accept the position of executive director of the Region 14 Education Service Center in Abilene. He is replacing another former Albany superintendent, Ronnie Kincaid, who is retiring at the end of August.

The reception will be held at the Whitney Theatre in Albany from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Sunday.

Closet Angels invites people to come and save money on their back to school clothes shopping, as well as sign up for a chance to win one of two gift cards.

A special invitation is being extended to local educators as the ministry tries to build a stronger relationship with the Albany and Moran school staffs.

“We just feel that teachers are usually aware of any special needs of their students, and perhaps if they know what we have here, they will be able to better take care of those needs,” said Closet Angels director Lori Reames.

The United Pentecostal Church’s annual Back-to-School Bash will be held this Saturday, Aug. 11 in the church’s Family Life Center on Cook Field Road, beginning at 2:00 p.m.

All students, from kindergarten all the way through 12th grade, are invited to the celebration, along with their friends and families.

A hot dog meal with all the trimmings will be served.

In addition to music and prayer time, there will be games and drawings, with several gift cards given to different age groups, valued between $25 and $50.

Four local 4-H members participated in the Multi-County 4-H Food and Nutrition Camp held in Abilene last week, with the Taylor County AgriLife Extension Service hosting the event.

Paisley Clark, Myleigh Leveridge, Riley Reames, and Sidney Russell joined other 4-Hers from Callahan and Taylor counties for the two-day camp.

Shackelford County extension agent Michaela Bradford said that the participants learned about various topics ranging from why fruit turns brown to why popcorn pops.

The final two Old Jail Art Center sponsored children’s summer camps take place in the next week, with limits expected to be reached for both classes.

Eighth through 12th graders will participate in the Cell Series Teen Workshop on Friday, Aug. 10. There were a couple of spots available as of press time.

Those attending the class from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. will use a variety of media to create artwork inspired by current Cell Series artist Helen Altman, according to education director Erin Whitmore.

Lunch will be provided.

Recycled Art

The next star gazing  party at Fort Griffin State Historic Site will give participants a great opportunity to view the Perseids meteor shower, which will peak the very next night.

The staff will host the August Stars & Skies of Texas event this Saturday night, Aug. 11, starting at 8:30 p.m. 

There are also several other events offering this weekend during the daytime hours.

Stars & Skies

The local fire departments have been busy with several calls over the past week, including two that required some special skills.

A propane tank fire at an oil lease on the Nail Ranch last Wednesday, Aug. 1 was extinguished without much incident because the pop-out valve had already blown out by the time firemen began working at the scene.

Members of both the city department and rural department answered the call, according to Albany VFD Fire Chief Kyle Tischler.

The 2018 volleyball season got off to a quick start last week, starting summer workouts on Wednesday and scrimmaging area teams by Friday.

Albany coaches got a good look at the 34 players vying for slots on one the three teams this season during scrimmages held Friday in Clyde and Saturday in Breckenridge.

The regular season opened on the road Tuesday against Jim Ned in Tuscola.

The varsity suffered a 20-25, 15-25, 19-25 loss in the opener, while the JV Red posted a 6-25, 13-25 loss. The JV White team was defeated 19-25, 21-25.