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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.