By Sandy Morris

The Albany High School  band will compete in the UIL Region 2, East Zone Concert and Sightreading contest in Abilene next week.

The contest will take place at Wylie High School in Abilene over a two-day period, and Albany is scheduled to perform on Tuesday, March 30. 

AHS band director Will Vaughan said the band will take the stage  at 3:30 p.m.

“We will perform three numbers and then sight read a piece that will be given to us there,” said Vaughan. 

By Sandy Morris

Albany High School seniors will be able to begin applying for local scholarships this week.

According to Ann Riley at the AHS office, the scholarship list will be uploaded to the district’s website and distributed to local seniors by Friday, March 26, informing them of the requirements for specific scholarships. 

“Some scholarships have a form the student needs to fill out; others require the student to write a letter,” Riley said.

The seniors must then turn in their application letters by Wednesday, April 14, Riley stated.

By Sandy Morris

The Parent Teacher Organization at Nancy Smith Elementary School will hold the traditional Scholastic Book Fair beginning Monday, April 12 to Friday, April 16.

PTO members plan to set up the book fair on the cafeteria stage at NSES.

The book fair will be held face to face and offers the usual assortment of books, games, posters, bookmarks, and more. 

By Sandy Morris

This Sunday, March 28 is Palm Sunday, with a community-wide service planned that evening by members of the Albany Ministerial Alliance.

In addition, local  churches will be hosting  special services and activities during the week leading up to Easter which will be celebrated on Sunday, April 4.

Community Service

The Ministerial Alliance will host the Easter Community Service called AWAKEN at the Aztec  Theater at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 28.

When Texans see a pillar of smoke rising out of a forest or state park, with Texas A&M Forest Service on the ground, our gut instinct is always the same: wildfire. However, that isn’t always the case.

Prescribed burning has become one of the most efficient and effective tools for land management in the state of Texas, and some of the state’s leading experts in wildland fire management – from Texas A&M Forest Service to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department – can’t emphasize its merits enough.

By Sandy Morris

Albany FFA andShackelford County 4-H members wrapped up action at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo last week with their steer entries.

Kenzie Neve won second place and Kam Browning won sixth place with their shorthorns, and both will participate in the steer sale at NRG Stadium later in the spring on Saturday, May 22.

Hattie Braly earned fifth place with her heavy-weight Angus. 

Gracie Price also competed in Houston.

By Sandy Morris

Members of the Albany Volunteer Fire Department will host their annual Easter egg hunt at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 3 at the city park.

The park will be sectioned off for each individual age group.

All children will need to meet at the pool entrance before the hunt begins to find their section. 

The groups are ages zero to three, ages four to six, ages seven to nine, and ages 10 and up. 

In addition to candy eggs, gold and silver coins will be provided as prizes courtesy of First National Bank.

By Donnie A. Lucas

Despite schedule conflicts because of spring break last week, the Lion and Lady Lion track teams competed well at the Eastland meet held March 18.

The varsity boys won both relays they competed in at Eastland and had several jumpers medal, while the girls placed in the lone relay they ran and finished well in field events.

The Albany teams will compete at Breckenridge on Thursday (today) starting at 4:00 p.m. with field events and 6:15 p.m. with running events.

By Sandy Morris

The Big Country Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) recently announced the list of coaches and athletes selected to participate in the Big Country Chevy Dealers 2021 FCA All-Star Festival.

Albany High School senior athletes selected for football are Ryder Wilkins for the Red Team and Wesley Estridge for the Blue Team.

Wilkins and Estridge will face off against each other on Saturday, June 12 at the 22nd Annual Myrle Greathouse All-Star Football Classic in Abilene.

By Sandy Morris

Senior athlete Wesley Estridge has worked his way to the top of Region 6, Division 3 Single Heavy Weight Powerlifting, and has advanced to the state meet, set for Saturday, March 27 in Abilene.

A send-off for Estridge will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, March 26, with Estridge weighing in that afternoon at the Taylor County Expo Center and competing on Saturday starting at 8:30 a.m. 

Tickets are $5 each and are general admission only. Those wishing to attend the meet can purchase tickets at ­taylorcountyexpocenter.com.