Fort Griffin State Historic Site will hold a Stars and Skies party this Saturday, April 27, at 8:30 p.m.

The forecast calls for a low around 61 degrees, mostly clear skies, and a slight south wind. The sun should set at 8:15 p.m. and the moon won’t rise until way after midnight, leaving the late evening perfect for a star party.

Stars & Skies of Texas

Melba Graham had worked at Albany High School for 11 years before she and her husband Jim died in an automobile accident last June. 

Now, due to fundraising efforts by her co-workers and students, and donations from many in the community, including the Albany High senior class, a memorial pavilion in honor of the Grahams will soon be built at the secondary campus.

One of the major forces behind the successful fundraising drive is senior Jillian Guinn.

Everyone is invited to a May Day Family Festival hosted by the Old Jail Art Center on Saturday, May 4, from 12:00 noon until 3:00 p.m.

“Bring the whole family and explore the ancient and contemporary May Day Celebration of Spring,” invited education director Erin Whitmore.

She encouraged local residents to investigate collection artifacts and enjoy traditional crafts, games, food, and music inspired by May Day tradition.

Student artwork from Region 14 will be on view in the Stasney Center for Education.

The family festival is free and open to the public.

The city of Albany will receive a sales tax allotment of $33,565 from the state this April. The amount is down 10.54 percent from the $37,522 payment received in April 2018.

Payments to date for 2019 to the city of Albany are $206,214, up by 16.38 percent from last year, when payments of $177,177 had been made.

The city of Moran will receive a net payment of $1,194, for a 7.95 percent decrease from the $1,297 received in April 2018.

This is basically for the seniors in our community because we seem to be the few ones who still have AT&T land lines and use them. For some reason, we seem to get any and many 800# calls.

This happens even if we’ve signed on to the “DO NOT CALL LIST.” I know that most of these calls are asking you for information that they should not know and should not be asking for. 

They are also trying to either sell you something (like a back brace) that you do not need, or they are asking for money that you should not give them. 

A number of Albany track athletes are advancing to the Region I-2A Track and Field Meet Friday and Saturday in Levelland, with the chance to punch their ticket to the state track in May.

The Lady Lions are sending both the sprint and mile relays to the regional meet, along with five girls in individual events.

The Lions are also advancing two relays, including the 4x200 relay and the mile relay, and five individuals in three events.

The Lion baseball team clinched at least a third place finish in the district race with a pair of wins over Stamford and Hawley last week.

Albany was scheduled to host Haskell yesterday, weather permitting, where a victory in their regular season finale would propel the Lions to a second place finish in the District 8-2A race.

Albany will advance to the bi-district series during the three-day window starting next Thursday, but who they would face was still up in the air due to a three-way tie in District 7-2A.

The Lady Lions ended the regular season in fourth place among the 2A division schools in the district, setting up a bi-district game for Thursday against Windthorst.

The first-round playoff is set for Graham High School’s field at 4:00 p.m. Admission is set at $5 for adults and $3 for students.

All five of Albany’s young tennis players were eliminated at the regional tournament last week, although a singles player made it to the semifinals, and the local boys doubles team made it to the second round.

“I took four freshmen and one sophomore to Odessa, all for their first time at the regional tournament,” said tennis coach Sara Wilson. “I think they all played really awesome and made a great showing.”

She added that the athletes gave great effort both before and during tournament play in Odessa.

Regional Results

The 2019 All-Sports Banquet, which honors local students for their participation in high school athletic events, has been set for Tuesday, April 30 at the AHS gymnasium at 7:00 p.m. 

The serving line will begin at 7:00 p.m., according to Athletic Booster Club secretary Tisha Wilkins.

Tickets for the event, with a theme of “It’s Game Time!”, are $15 and are only available at the Albany High School office.

Parents and students not in high school or not involved in athletics need to purchase tickets to the event.