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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

Friday, Nov.

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.