Moran students have made it to the end of the fall semester with A+Academic University Interscholastic League meets, basketball games, and a visit from Santa all crowded into the end of the third six-weeks period.

Santa arrived at MISD for an early morning breakfast and visited with children on Friday, Dec. 14, in time to hear their wish lists and check with their teachers to see if they qualify for the “nice” list.

Holiday Break

Moran students will be released for the Christmas holidays at 12:30 p.m. this Thursday, Dec. 20.

The last couple of weeks were tough ones for the Moran basketball teams, with several losses reported and only one win. 

However, the majority of the season still lies ahead, with varsity district games not starting until Friday, Jan. 4 in Gordon, when the Lady Bulldogs hit the court at 6:00 p.m. 

The high school boys start their district run one week later, hosting Baird to an 8:00 p.m. tip-off on Friday, Jan. 11.

This Friday the ’Dawgs travel to Highland for a 1:00 p.m. non-district match.

New Albany ISD superintendent Jonathan Scott, who has been transitioning to his new duties over the past two weeks, was given authority to hire an interim principal for the elementary campus at the end of Monday’s December school board meeting.

AISD trustees approved Scott’s contract in a special meeting the previous week, giving the new superintendent a commitment until August 2021 at an annual salary of $115,000, prorated for this year.

The real reason for the Christmas season will be dramatized at two live performances of the Robert Nail play Albany Nativity offered free of charge at the Aztec Theater this Friday and Saturday, December 14 and 15, starting at 7:30 p.m. each evening. 

Albany thespians traditionally present the play every second year during December as a gift for their fellow citizens, neighbors, families, and friends.

Members of the Albany Ministerial Alliance make a special effort each year to insure that every family in the local community has enough food to prepare a traditional meal over the holiday season, and the annual delivery of the Christmas food baskets will take place this Sunday, Dec. 16.

Assisting the Alliance this year were sixth grade students from Nancy Smith Elementary School. The youngsters spent part of this Thursday morning picking up the canned goods and other staples at Brookshire’s, and then sorting the items into the Christmas food boxes at The Feed Store.

An announcement eagerly anticipated for a couple of months by local Chamber officials was made public this week when Albany was named by True West magazine as one of the top 10 “True Western Towns of the Year.”

The nationwide honor recognizes communities that “exemplify the spirit and dedication of the pioneers who built and developed them,” and Albany is in company with such well-known western towns as Dodge City, Kansas and Deadwood, South Dakota, along with the number one town for 2019 – Tombstone, Arizona.

Early deadlines have been set for the Dec. 27 and Jan. 3 papers, as the staff of The Albany News works around the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

According to News editor Melinda Lucas, the deadline for the Dec. 27 issue has been moved up to Friday, Dec. 21 at 5:00 p.m. 

Typically, the deadline is at 12:00 noon on Tuesdays, but because Christmas Day falls on Tuesday, the staff plans to start working on that issue earlier in order to be off for a few days.

The office will be closed on Monday and Tuesday. 

The Albany Chamber of Commerce will meet as usual this week and next week on Dec. 14 and Dec. 21 at the Icehouse.

The weekly Chamber of Commerce luncheon has been cancelled for the holidays on Dec. 28.

On Friday, Jan. 4, the 12:00 noon meetings move to the Beehive.

For information about the regular Chamber luncheons or other Chamber activities, call Chamber manager Mary Beth Jones at 325-762-2525.

The Chamber office will be closed for the holidays on Dec. 25 and Jan. 1.

The annual Albany Chest campaign will continue for two more weeks, and another $12,343 is needed to meet goal of $42,000 set by the directors for the 2018 campaign. 

Donations of $29,657 have been given so far this year, including $4,550 contributed during the last week. Although 70.6 percent of the goal has been met, the end of the year, and the campaign, is fast approaching.

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

Shackelford County employees and elected officials are planning a retirement “celebration” for county judge Ross Montgomery, who is retiring at the end of his current term on Dec. 31.

Montgomery has served as judge for six terms, a total of 24 years.

The reception is set for Monday afternoon, Dec. 17 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. in the second floor courtroom. 

Other Business

•Commissioners voted during their Dec. 10 session to leave the current burn ban active.

•The county’s Christmas lunch is planned for Friday, Dec. 21 at noon.