Families are invited to experience the sounds, flavors, crafts, and games of Dia de los Muertos, a popular Mexican holiday where family and friends gather to pray for and remember deceased loved ones, at the Old Jail Art Center’s free family festival this Saturday, Nov. 3, from noon to 3:00 p.m. 

“Bring the whole family and celebrate el Dia de los Muertos,” said OJAC education coordinator Molly Merck. “Explore this colorful, cultural tradition that honors and remembers centuries of ancestors as well as the recently departed.”

Hundreds of costumed children traded in tickets to play games and try to win prizes at the Albany Parent-Teacher Organization’s annual Fall Fest held at Nancy Smith Elementary School last Saturday.

“It ended up going smoothly,” said co-organizer Malarie Sutton. “We had enough help to get everything done, although we could always use a little more help.”

The majority of the booths were open for most of the evening, according to Sutton, though a few had to close early.

Pick-up dates for the November distribution of the commodity food program are Nov. 1 and Nov. 2.

Thursday, Nov. 1, certified eligible families in Moran should pick up their monthly commodity food at the Moran City Hall between 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon.

Albany families who have been certified eligible for the November food distribution program can pick up their commodity food Friday, Nov. 2, at the rear door of the JP office (the former county jail) from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. 

It’s time to fall back! Daylight Savings Time comes to an end on Sunday, Nov. 4 at 2:00 a.m. Clocks should be set back an hour at that time.

Most of the United States reverts to standard time on the first Sunday in November. In the U.S., each time zone switches at a different time.

The implementation of Daylight Saving Time has been heaped with controversy since Benjamin Franklin first spoke of the idea in his 1784 essay, An Economical Project. 

The 2018 “Red Ribbon Week” campaign wrapped up last Friday, and organizers were pleased with the participation.

“Red Ribbon Week went very well, with lots of participation,” said Albany secondary school counselor Dee Dee Waggoner. 

Red Ribbon Week in Albany began locally on Monday, Oct. 22. This was the 30th straight year that the national event, designed to draw as much attention as possible to the problems of drug and alcohol abuse and its prevention, has been conducted locally. 

The annual Albany Chest campaign is underway, and fundraising letters were mailed in October to past contributors. 

In addition, members of the Albany Student Council donned Halloween costumes and went door-to-door asking for donations for the Community Chest on Tuesday, in hopes of raising $1,000 toward the Chest 2018 goal of $42,000. 

Twenty-six different organizations, including two new applicants, submitted requests for this year’s funding, all of which were considered by the board.

Princeton University research oceanographer Dr. Robert Key, a 1965 graduate of Albany High and son of former local physician Luther Key, spoke to current students at the secondary school while he was in town to attend his 50th high school class reunion last month.

Key earned his bachelor of science in chemistry from Southwestern University and his Ph.D. in oceanography from Texas A&M University.

He has worked at Princeton since 1988, and currently serves as the data manager for the Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observations and Modeling (SOCCOM) project.

Members of the Matthews Memorial Presbyterian Church have held their annual church bazaar for over a century, and plans are underway for this year’s event, which will be held at the church on Saturday, Nov. 10.

The youth room doors will open to the public at 10:00 a.m. to allow shoppers time to select unique hand-made specialty items from the Country Store and the baked goods area. 

Added to the event this year is a silent auction featuring a German shorthair hunting dog, a female puppy that is being donated by Jon and Joyce Gjerpe of Big Country Kennels.

The Albany Ministerial Alliance is accepting applications from Shackelford County residents who wish to be included in the annual Christmas basket drive.

The Christmas baskets include various food items to help insure that everyone in the community has healthy food for the holiday, and typically includes turkey or ham, vegetables and other items for a traditional Christmas meal.

Numbers for this year’s “Running Man” were down from last year’s 237, and the 2016 all-time high of 303 participants, and organizers are pleased with the decrease. 

“We are trying to limit it almost exclusively to Albany students and alumni,” said Feed Store executive director Tisha Wilkins. “We want this event to be primarily for our local students.”

Big Country Fellowship of Christian Athletes representative Paul Johnston gave a devotional, and then explained the rules of the game before the 173 runners left to be transported to their dropoff zones.