By Donnie A. Lucas
After almost a three-month lull in activity, local student athletes who will enter grades 7-12 next fall have their first opportunity to start supervised workouts that include both conditioning and limited sport-specific training.
The strength and conditioning sessions start Monday, June 8 with boys and girls divided into separate groups. The workouts will continue until July 30, with two idle weeks along the way.
By Melinda L. Lucas
Five of the eight local senior athletes who were selected to participate in this summer’s FCA All-Star games were presented last week with personalized items they would normally have received as part of the festival events.
Paul Johnston, who is a Big Country FCA representative, met with the Albany graduates at the high school flagpole last Tuesday, May 26.
He gave each all-star a plaque, an FCA Bible and their individual jerseys for the particular sport they were picked for.
By Donnie A. Lucas
More teams have signed up for the annual Fathers Day Golf Tournament set for June 20-21 at the Albany Golf Course.
Activity at the local course has been restricted to members only during the pandemic shutdown, but the easing of restrictions came in time for the club to host the annual tournament and start weekly scrambles.
Starting last week, the local course is now open to both members and non-members on a daily basis. The facility was open to members only for about two months during the COVID-19 restrictions.
By Donnie A. Lucas
Albany Little League games started this week despite a lengthy delay from the original start date due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Both major and minor teams will play three days per week during a shortened season scheduled to end by June 30.
T-ball and coach pitch leagues also started this week, continuing their schedule on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
The last set of games for those two leagues is currently set for Wednesday, June 24.
By Lynsi Musselman
The Feed Store reopened Monday for summer hours.
The Feed Store’s normal hours will be Monday, Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday from 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Thursday hours are 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., and the facility is closed Wednesday and Sunday.
On Tuesday, there was a kick-off dinner for high school students.
Feed Store youth minister Kathryn Hamilton said Tuesday was a dinner to get high school students gathered again to visit before the weekly dinner and Bible study begins.
By Lynsi Musselman
While churches across the state of Texas and in Albany adjust to ever changing guidelines and restrictions, they continue to prepare for the safest way to be with their congregations both in person and virtually.
First United
Methodist Church
Pastor Tim Trimble said the summer plans for UMC are being made week by week.
“Summer activities at church will be curtailed and added depending on how gathering together again progresses,” Trimble said.
Sunday worship remains at 11:00 a.m.
By Lynsi Musselman
The unofficial start of summer 2020 is here and camp planning is underway at First Baptist Church Albany.
Camp JAM will be July 16 to 19 for campers going into eighth through 12th grades.
First Baptist Church youth minister Campbell Terry said the Disciple Now style camp will be Thursday to Saturday.
Terry said spots are limited and the cost of Camp Jam is $50.
FBC also has a pre-teen lock-in planned for July 24-25. The lock-in is for students going into fifth through seventh grades.
The family of Elgin Ray (Punk) Jones and Mary Belle (Steddum) Jones proudly announce their 70th wedding anniversary.
Punk and Mary Belle were reared in Shackelford County. They met in 1940 when the Jones family moved to Albany, Texas next door to the Steddum family. At that time, Punk was 13 and Mary Belle was nine.
She promptly told her grandfather that when she grew up, she was going to marry Punk Jones.
Callahan-Shackelford Counties Farm Bureau directors announce that substantial donations have been made to food programs in Callahan and Shackelford counties.
With the cancellation of Farm Bureau youth programs this summer due to the coronavirus, the Cal-Shack board decided to increase the budgeted amount supporting food programs for senior adults with funds that would have gone to youth sponsorships.
Soon after the decision was made, the state office for Texas Farm Bureau announced plans to match funds being donated to senior citizen food services.
By Donnie A. Lucas
Albany youth who usually spend much of their summer vacation attending local sports camps will have to wait a little longer to see if the use of school facilities is allowed.
According to athletic director Ryder Peacock, AISD is waiting on state guidance for the use of indoor facilities for youth camps.
The UIL, which regulates student athletics in Texas, recently allowed schools to conduct conditioning and skill specific training for students participating in athletics during the next school year.
