By Kathy Thomson
The former Shekinah office building, located catty-corner to the post office and near the Depot, is being re-purposed into a long-awaited senior citizens center, but funding is still needed to complete the transformation.
According to Albany city manager Billy Holson, pledges for the building are still outstanding.
By Kathy Thomson
The Shackelford County Youth and Livestock Association met last Tuesday, Dec. 10, to finalize plans for this year’s stock show, and with a large number of entries expected, the annual fundraising drive has begun.
“It looks like it will be bigger than ever this year,” said association president Bronco Askew. “I haven’t heard the exact numbers yet, but Chris (Beard) had a stack of entry cards that must have been around four inches high.”
By Melinda L. Lucas
A new board member was sworn in during a very brief meeting of the Shackelford County Hospital District directors on Monday, Dec. 16.
Chris Beard, who had indicated his willingness to serve the remainder of an unexpired term vacated months ago by Angela Farmer, was present for the session and repeated the required oath.
Since there was not a quorum present, a conference call on speaker was placed to members John Ayers and Jo Ann Estridge.
The call was just long enough to swear in Beard and approve the bills for payment.
By Kathy Thomson
The annual Albany Chest campaign is nearing the Dec. 31 deadline, and although donations slowed to a crawl in early December, after a recent surge, the drive is now within $7,000 of reaching the goal of $42,000 set by directors for the 2019 campaign.
“Reminder postcards were mailed out last Friday, Dec. 13, to people who have donated to the Albany Chest in the past, but hadn’t yet donated this year,” said 2019 chair Amy Kelly. “Our hope is that these will serve as a quick reminder to include the Albany Chest in their year-end giving.”
By Kathy Thomson
The Albany Volunteer Fire Department honored member Casey Kimbrough with the 2019 Firefighter of the Year merit award at the annual Christmas party and meeting on Monday, Dec. 16.
According to chief Kyle Tischler, the members of the fire department nominate the individual for this award whom they believe has best met the five following qualifications:
The firefighter must not be on probation.
The firefighter must have shown to be highly active in the department through meetings and fire/emergency calls.
By Melinda L. Lucas
A large crowd attended a book signing of Heavy Date Over Germany: The Life and Times of B-17 Tail Gunner Ray Perry on Tuesday, Dec. 17 at the Shackelford County Library, including the subject’s son, former Texas governor Rick Perry, who wrote the foreword.
Old Jail Art Center staff member and retired history teacher Jewellee Jordan Kuenstler edited the book, using the late World War II veteran’s letters, photos, and mementos to tell his story of 35 combat missions as a tail gunner.
The Albany Chamber of Commerce will meet as usual this week on Dec. 20 at the Icehouse.
The weekly luncheon has been cancelled for the holidays on Dec. 27.
On Friday, Jan. 3, the 12:00 noon meetings move to the Beehive for the first two months of 2020.
For information about the lunches or other activities, call Mary Beth Jones at 325-762-2525.
The Chamber office will be closed for the holidays on Dec. 25 and Jan. 1.
By Donnie A. Lucas
The varsity Lady Lions won two out of three games at the Breckenridge Tournament last weekend, beating both Dublin and TLCA before falling to the hosting Lady Bucs in the third round.
Albany hosted Guthie on Tuesday, picking up a 43-37 win to improve to 11-4 for the season. Details of the game will be reported in the next issue of the News.
The Lady Lions will travel to Throckmorton on Friday for a 2:00 p.m. game before starting the Christmas holiday.
By Donnie A. Lucas
Last week was very busy for boys basketball, with the varsity playing in the Hico tournament and the two JV teams entered in the Jacksboro tournament.
All three high school boys teams will travel to Comanche on Friday for games starting 4:00 p.m. Following the a mandatory five-day break for Christmas, the varsity Lions will host a six-team tournament set for Jan. 3-4, including Winters, Hico, Jayton, San Saba, Wellington, and Albany. Games will start both days at 10:00 a.m.
By Donnie A. Lucas
The two Lion JV teams played a combined total of nine games last week, hosting a pair of bouts on Tuesday and playing in the Jacksboro Tournament.
The JV teams will travel to Comanche on Friday for games starting at 4:00 p.m. before the holiday break begins.
The JV team suffered a one-point loss to Early on Dec. 10, followed by falling in three games out of four in Jacksboro.
Despite a big fourth-quarter effort, the JV lost 40-39 to Early.
