Albany and Moran Independent School Districts have both scheduled a student holiday for tomorrow, Feb. 1, so that students can attend the Shackelford County Youth and Livestock Show without an absence counting against their attendance record. 

Teachers in Albany can choose to work or take a “comp day.”

Tomorrow is also a designated “comp day” for MISD staff members.

Schools in both districts resume classes at the normal times on Monday, Feb. 4.

Three senior Albany -Lions have been named to the football All-Big Country Super Team, also winning Class 2A honors along with several other members of the 2018 squad.

Senior Ryan Hill was voted both the Super Team and Class 2A Defensive MVP, as well as first and second team picks on both offense and defense. Hill was a two-way winner on the Super Team with first team defensive lineman and second team tight end honors. He also was named to the Class 2A first team as tight end and lineman.

The Lady Lion basketball team came up just a little short against Stamford last Friday, falling 45-42 in the final minute or two to end up tied with the Lady Bulldogs for second place in the district race.

Albany traveled to Roscoe on Tuesday, staying in contention for second after a tight 33-31 win with two regular season games remaining.

The Lady Lions will be on the road again Friday against Hawley. The JV will start at 4:00 p.m. in Hawley, with the varsity girls tipping off at 6:30 p.m.

The Lion basketball team won a barn burner at home last Friday over Stamford, coming out as the only undefeated team in the first half of the District 8-2A race.

Albany was on the road Tuesday in Roscoe, starting the second round with a 61-36 win. Details of the game will be reported next week.

The Lions will also be away on Friday, playing in Hawley with a 7:30 p.m. tip-off, followed by a home game next Tuesday, Feb. 5 against Haskell. The Lions will again follow the varsity girls with about a 7:30 p.m. start.

Baley Green has been named to the Dean’s List at Hardin-Simmons University for the Fall 2018 semester.

To be eligible for the HSU Dean’s List, full-time undergraduate students must maintain a 3.75 to 3.99 grade point average on a 4.0 scale.

Green, a 2018 graduate of Albany High School, is the daughter of Jessi Bryan and Jake Green, both of Albany.

Three of the local girls and boys fifth and sixth grade basketball teams will play games this Saturday, Feb. 2, in Clyde, but the boys sixth grade team will not play this weekend because of scheduling conflicts.

“We only have six players, even when everyone is healthy,” said coach Campbell Terry. “Four of our boys are in the stock show, so there is no way we can play this Saturday.”

The season ends the following weekend, on Feb. 9, with games in Clyde and Eula. 

This past Saturday, local teams played games in Merkel and Jim Ned.

Workouts for the upcoming baseball and softball season have started, with the softball girls scheduled to begin scrimmages as soon as Saturday.

The Lady Lions are supposed to scrimmage on Saturday in Breckenridge at 11:00 a.m., although plans are not definite since several starters are still involved in basketball. A second scrimmage is set for Thursday, Feb. 7 at home with the Lady Lions hosting Jim Ned at 5:00 p.m. The season opener is tentatively set for Feb. 12 with Albany hosting Breckenridge at 5:00 p.m.

The Albany Cubs were busy last week hosting a tournament, with both the 7A and 8A teams going undefeated.

The Cubs also won two of three games on Monday against Stamford, while the girls were on the road in Stamford, suffering a pair of losses.

The girls will compete in the Stamford Tournament on Thursday, with the eighth grade starting at 8:00 a.m. against Winters and the seventh grade set to play the winner of the Winters vs. Stamford game at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday.

Bethel Assembly has scheduled a women’s retreat at Texas Star Ranch Retreat in Weatherford on Feb. 15 and 16, and registrations are still being accepted.

“Anyone from Albany is welcome, they don’t have to go to Bethel,” said organizer Betsy Spraberry. “The Live Simple women’s retreat will include great content, time to refresh and relax, meals you don’t have to cook or plan, and fellowship!”

The registration fee of $50 includes dinner on Friday, two meals on Saturday, and overnight lodging. 

An optional t-shirt is available for $20.

Thomas Lee (Tom) Hart, age 62, of Clyde, TX, went to be with the Lord on Saturday, Jan. 26, 2019. Tom was born in National City, CA on Aug. 30, 1956 to Tom and Mona Hart. Growing up, he loved rock climbing, all sports, and fast cars.

After high school, he joined the United States Air Force. He loved the time he served and the people he met. His most memorable deployment was to Bitburg, Germany for three years. He was proud to be a veteran and continued his service by being a member of the Patriot Guard.