By Lynsi Musselman

Camp Jam, organized by First Baptist Church, will begin Thursday, July 16 and end Sunday, July 19.

 The Disciple Now style camp is for campers going into eighth through 12th grades.

FBC youth minister Campbell Terry said the three-and-a-half day camp will have a Space JAM theme.

At press time on Tuesday, there were four or five camper spots still available, but registration will close Thursday, July 2.

“When these spots are filled, we will have met max capacity,” Terry said.

By Lynsi Musselman

The Old Jail Art Center has opened its gates to the public once again as of July 1, with no appointments required, but a couple of other directives in place.

Visitor hours are 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The museum will begin to open on Saturdays as well, starting July 11 from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Current exhibits that visitors can view in person are Deborah Butterfield: Three Sorrows, JoAnn Fleischhauer: Disquieted Beauty, and The Ruby Portfolio.

By Donnie A. Lucas

Albany youth who have been participating in summer conditioning will get a week’s break from the training during the week of July 6-9.

Two of the days next week were already desig-nated as “periods of no activity” by the UIL, so local coaches opted to give students in 7-12 a full week off.

By Kathy Thomson

Registration for the upcoming 2020-2021 school year is underway in Moran, and a special survey is being sent out this week.

Superintendent Danny Freeman said Tuesday that he plans to canvass parents about getting the school year underway in light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. 

By Kathy Thomson

This Saturday is Independence Day, and Albany Volunteer Fire Department chief Kyle Tischler reminded anyone planning to set off fireworks to be safety conscious.

“I’m always excited about July 4, and I enjoy fireworks,” Tischler said. “I just ask folks to be safe about it and make sure to supervise children and use common sense.” 

Firefighters warn that dry brush and vegetation, mixed with fireworks, can easily ignite, and there are rules and ordinances that must be followed by everyone setting off fireworks.

By Kathy Thomson

Several veteran Fandangle cast members traveled to Abilene on Wednesday, June 24 to perform a 20-minute “sampler” for the Abilene Kiwanis Club.

“I was contacted by the president of the Abilene Kiwanis Club, who invited me to come and give a presentation about the Fort Griffin Fandangle,” said marketing director Scarlett Yates. “I told him that I thought I could do one better than that. I contacted Lorna Ayers, and she was able to organize a group that came and performed.”

Former Shackelford County resident Joel Nelson, a Texas cowboy who some say has considerable talent with horses, will be the third recipient of the Ranching Heritage Association Working Cowboy Award during the 43rd Annual National Golden Spur Award dinner at 6:00 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10 at the Overton Hotel in Lubbock.

Albany News readers and advertisers are reminded that no newspaper will be published, either in print or online, during the week of July 6.

“We will not have a July 9 issue,” said News editor Melinda Lucas. “Donnie and I are going to take that week off to spend time with our family, and hopefully, that won’t be an inconvenience or source of confusion for anyone.”

The News office will be open on Monday through Thursday of that week, but will be closed on Friday, as it has been for the last few weeks.

Print Schedule

By Lynsi Musselman

The July 6 “soft opening” of the new Shackelford County Senior Citizen Activity Center at 5 S. Jacobs St. has been postponed until further notice.

Senior Center board president Tracy Sullivan said with the rise of new COVID-19 cases around the state, the board will follow Gov. Abbott’s instructions to put a pause on reopening plans.

“The donated cabinets from the Nobles are still about four weeks out from being installed,” Sullivan said. “The hope is for everything to come together all at the same time.”

By Melinda L. Lucas

For the second time in two weeks, the Albany ISD board of trustees hired a band director for the 2020-2021 school year.

They also accepted two resignations during the special meeting on Monday night, one of which was from former secondary principal Edward Morales, who has accepted an administrator position at Santa Anna.

William Vaughan, who has taught in Kaufman for the past two years, verbally accepted the offer of a one-year probationary contract and was expected to be in Albany to sign a contract on Wednesday morning.