Billie Joyce Patterson, age 86 of Albany, passed away Thursday, April 18, 2019. Funeral services were held Monday, April 22 at Friendship Baptist Church with Pastor Paul Johnston officiating. Interment followed in Albany Cemetery under the direction of Morehart Mortuary.

Billie Joyce Atwood was born April 6, 1933 in Callahan County to parents Ben Atwood and Loma Irwin Atwood. 

Billie married Bill Edington June 24, 1949. He preceded her in death in 1978. She later married Guy Patterson on July 27, 1984. 

A Shackelford County Youth and Livestock Show Association annual meeting took place as scheduled at the Albany High School ag building on Tuesday, April 9, with a follow-up session held this week.

“There were some things we had to move around, so we had to check on some dates and have a second meeting,” said president Bronco Askew on Tuesday morning. “We need to make sure we can get judges for the new show dates.”

The Albany schools will celebrate the Easter holiday with a 3:00 p.m. dismissal today, a district holiday on Friday, and a student holiday on Monday.

Younger students at Nancy Smith Elementary School had Easter egg hunts planned today. The kindergarten students, assisted by their sixth grade buddies, will fill their baskets at 10:00 a.m., while the Head Start and Pre-K classes will hunt at 1:30 p.m. 

All students will be released at 3:00 p.m. Thursday, April 18 (today). 

Two Albany High students are headed to the Texas High School Rodeo Association finals in Abilene on June 9-15 after earning their spots at the state show by placing in the top 10 in their events over the combined course of the season and the regional finals held in Graham on April 5-7.

Mady Connally took fourth overall in Region 3 in pole bending to advance to Abilene.

Addie Beth Denton qualified for state by ending the season average in seventh place in goat tying.

Easter, or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian holiday that celebrates Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, and many churches hold special services on that Sunday and during Holy Week, the days leading up to His crucifixion.

The Ministerial Alliance sponsored community-wide special service for Holy Week was held last night at the Aztec Theater. 

The Alliance will also sponsor its traditional community-wide SonRise service on Easter morning, April 21.

Special services scheduled during the next few days include the following.

Maundy Thursday

Children from Stepping Stones Christian School, Mother’s Day Out, First Love Day Care, Lakey’s Day Care, and Nancy Smith Elementary School’s Head Start and Pre-K classes paraded up the sidewalks of downtown Albany last Friday morning, April 12, to conclude an annual week-long celebration.

Quite a few adults, including shop owners and downtown employees, waited along the sidewalks to hand out candy and other treats as the long line of children and their teachers passed by.

Albany’s Cause for Paws helps keep the stray animal population in check by contributing toward the costs of spaying and neutering local dogs and cats. However, the nonprofit is struggling to keep up with the requests for assistance, and they are asking for help themselves.

“Demand has been high, which is good,” said board member Lacey Anderson. “People have been doing a good job of getting their animals taken care of, but we’re stretched thin.”

A visit from the Easter Bunny and the chance to hunt for eggs by the basketful should make for a fun Saturday for local children.

The Easter Bunny will make what has become an annual trip to downtown Albany on April 20, visiting in stores and along the street from 11:00 a.m. through the lunch hour until 1:00 p.m. He will probably take a walk through the nearby car show area as well.

Participating merchants will have Easter candy for visiting children during that two-hour time period.

The boys and girls track teams both advanced two relays and several individuals to the Region I meet by placing in the top four positions at the area track meet last Wednesday, April 10 in Mertzon.

A contingent of eight boys and seven girls qualified to compete in a total of 11 events at the regional meet set for next Friday and Saturday, April 26-27 at South Plains College in Levelland.

The Albany High School baseball team picked up a 15-0 win in a no-hitter in Hamlin last week as the Lions prepared for their final round of district games.

Albany hosted Stamford on Tuesday to start the final three district bouts against the 2A portion of the bracket, earning a 3-0 win over the Bulldogs. Details of the game will be reported next week.

The Lions hold a 2-2 record among the 2A members of the district, with two games remaining.