Kindergarten teacher Chloe Early (l) and students (l-r) London Dye, Nolan Turner, and Cyrus Snyder admire some of the boxes that will be used for Friday’s Valentine parties. Designs range from castles and unicorns to Godzilla and Patrick Mahomes.

By Kathy Thomson The Parent Teacher Organization’s Scholastic “Book Fair Jungle: Elephants, Tigers, and Books, OH MY!” is set to wind down to a close tomorrow, Friday, Feb. 14, at the Nancy Smith Elementary School cafeteria, but purchases can still be made between now and then.

Albany Independent School District has scheduled a student holiday for Monday, Feb. 17, in honor of Presidents Day.  Schools at both Albany campuses will release at the normal times on Friday, Feb. 14, and will resume classes at the normal times on Tuesday, Feb.

Shackelford County senior adults (60 and up) are invited to attend the Shackelford County Resource Center’s February senior luncheon to be held on Friday, Feb. 14 at the Youth Center beginning at 11:15 a.m.

by Kathy Thomson Tuesday, Feb. 18 is the first day of early voting for the March 3 primary election, with balloting taking place at the Shackelford County Courthouse, in the lobby area on the first floor, through Friday, Feb. 28.  Early voting hours are 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon and 1:00 to 5:00 p.

By Donnie A. Lucas The Lady Lions locked down third place in the district race last week with a pair of victories at home, earning a spot in the playoffs Monday, Feb. 17. Albany will face Eldorado in the bi-district game, set to be played at Bronte on Monday, Feb. 17 with a 6:30 p.m. tipoff.

By Donnie A. Lucas The Lion basketball team split district wins last week at home, but lost on the road Tuesday in Haskell to the Indians.

By Kathy Thomson The fifth and sixth grade youth teams finished out their season last Saturday, Feb. 8, playing in tournaments at Clyde and Eula with mixed results. Fifth Grade Boys The fifth grade boys won their first two games to make it to the championship match.

By Kathy Thomson Seven local Little Dribblers teams started playing games last Saturday, Feb. 8, in the old Albany High School gym. The games will continue each Saturday through Feb. 29. The next set of matches will take place this Saturday, Feb. 15, starting at 8:30 a.m. with Blue facing Gray.

By Kathy Thomson Wesley Estridge placed second in the super heavy weight class at the Hawley Bearcat powerlifting meet on Friday, Feb. 7, with a total lift of 1570 pounds. He had a 700 pound lift in the squat, bench pressed 405 pounds, and had a dead lift of 465 pounds.