By Kathy Thomson

Licensed hunters ages 16 years and younger have opportunities this winter and spring to sharpen their skills and bring home some whitetail and turkey trophies, and adult hunters still have time to harvest wild game. 

Dove season ended Sunday, Jan. 5, but quail season continues until Feb. 23.

The regular season for deer and turkey ended Sunday, Jan. 5, though a special late deer season runs from Jan. 6-19, 2020, and is open to all legal hunters. 

Color photo packets taken of high school varsity boys and girls, junior varsity boys, and junior high boys and girls basketball, taken by The Albany News are ready for pickup. 

Pictures of the JV girls team haven’t been taken yet because of injuries and should be scheduled soon.

There are also quite a few packages from previous sports that have not yet been claimed.

The cost of the school sports packages is $25 plus tax.

Youth packages are priced at $18 plus tax.

A good percentage of the packages have already been paid for.

Prior to the Christmas break, AISD superintendent Jonathan Scott accepts a memorial plaque in honor of Albany “-Super Fans” Bobby Key and Glenn Key. The plaque, which now hangs in the lobby of the main gym, was given by family friends Robert and Suzanne Starr of Haskell, along with Beth Larned (holding plaque) of Abilene, sister of Glenn and Bobby Key. A large group of Key family members was present for the Dec. 6 presentation.

By Kathy Thomson

For the fifth year in a row, trainers, owners, and highly skilled hunting dogs from across Texas and surrounding states are expected to travel to the Crooked Tree Ranch in Shackelford County for the Region 7 American Field Trial Clubs of America (AFTCA) Amateur All-Age Championship and the M. G. Perkins Amateur All-Age Derby Classic.

The competition will begin at 8:00 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 17.

For most people, breathing is automatic – the air goes in, the air goes out – they don’t even think about it. But for those with airway problems, especially children, it isn’t that simple.

“Children who suffer from air-passage problems never get enough oxygen to the brain, which causes them to never get enough sleep,” says Dr. Stuart Frost, an orthodontist and author of The Artist Orthodontist: Creating An Artistic Smile is More Than Just Straightening Teeth (www.drstuartfrost.com). “They typically do poorly in school and seem inattentive and lethargic.”

By Kathy Thomson

The Lady Bulldogs played three basketball games over the last couple of weeks, winning in Newcastle on Tuesday, Dec. 17, and then dropping matches on Dec. 20 and Dec. 30.

Newcastle

Moran held on to a close 30-29 victory over the Lady Bobcats.

“The girls jumped out to an early lead and never gave it up,” said head coach John Hughes. “Newcastle made it interesting towards the end, but the girls showed some grit and got it done. They now have three wins, beating their total from last year.”

By Kathy Thomson

Students at the Moran Independent School System started the spring semester and the fourth grading period on Monday, Jan. 6, after a two-week long Christmas break.

Tuesday, Jan. 7, the Moran Parent Teachers Organization rewarded 15 students for their outstanding efforts in a recent fundraiser by sending them to Pizza Heaven in Cisco on a party bus. 

Upcoming Optional/Required fifth days include the following Friday – Jan. 17, Feb. 14, March 27, April 24, and May 1, 15, and 22.

As part of their commitment to education and training, concern for community and support of youth, four scholarships are available through Big Country Electric Cooperative and affiliates:

•Big Country EC Academic Scholarship – Two $4,000 scholarships will be awarded to graduating seniors whose parents or guardians are members of Big Country EC. The deadline is March 5, 2020. 

By Kathy Thomson

Twenty-nineteen started off cold, with temperatures unwilling to climb above freezing until Jan. 3, but the year ended on a warm note, with unusually mild temperatures the final month and a half.

During the course of the year, the weather was typical for this part of West Texas.

A late freeze surprised early blooming trees in March. 

A gully washer grabbed headlines in April, another storm relocated Polo on the Prairie in May, and a lightning strike started a house fire in July. 

Dan Edward Chambers, 75, of Abilene, formerly of Albany, died Friday, Dec. 27, 2019 in an Abilene nursing home. No services are planned at this time.

Dan was born July 19, 1944 in Lueders to Aubrey and Margie (Davis) Chambers. He attended Lueders/Avoca High School. He worked in the oilfield as a pumper for many years. 

He later moved to Albany where he was a Deacon at the Albany Church of Christ and a volunteer for the Albany Volunteer Fire Department for many years.