By Melinda L. Lucas Water rates for City of Albany customers were raised $1 per 1,000 gallons during a meeting on Monday, July 12 at the Aztec. City manager Billy Holson also reported that the city will save more than $1 million with the acceptance of the new bonds for the water plant.

By Melinda L. Lucas With barely a quorum present for the July 19 meeting, Shackelford County Hospital District board members opted to table most agenda items until more directors can be present for those decisions.

By Sidney Bartee The deadline for the Old Jail Art Center children’s workshop has passed, but organizers are willing to accept a couple more signups.

By Jillian Lucas Five members of the Albany chapter of FFA attended the Texas FFA State Convention and Rodeo in Fort Worth recently, accepting several awards during the five-day event. In addition, a couple of local residents were honored by the organization for their volunteerism.

By Sidney Bartee Summer band rehear­sals started Monday, July 19 for percussion with the rest of the band members scheduled to join on Monday, July 26. Percussion practices start at 3:00 p.m. and end at 5:00 p.m. The title of this year’s marching show is “Tales of Arabia.

By Jillian Lucas ResourceCare Day Camp has been underway for over a week with much higher attendance numbers during week two. “Our numbers for the first week stayed in the 80s each day,” said one of the camp directors Mindy Ary.

By Sidney Bartee Volunteers began setting up for Community Vacation Bible School on Sunday, July 18, with the four-day event scheduled for July 25-28. Children who are four by Sept. 1 through students who have completed sixth grade are invited to attend “Destination Dig.

By Jillian Lucas Feed Store executive director Tisha Wilkins says plans are underway for this upcoming school year. “We are excited to be able to get going again after a really rough year,” she said. “We are making plans but have not finalized them yet.

By Jillian Lucas Juggling performances, American Ninja Warrior  members, fireworks, ga-ga ball, ropes course,  archery,  and ziplining were just a handful of the activities that local kids got to experience while participating in a fun week at camp.

By Jillian Lucas Moran ISD enrollment packets will be available after Aug. 2, according to school officials. All students planning to attend Moran schools in the upcoming year will need to stop by the MISD office to pick up an enrollment packet. “Meet the Teacher” will be held on Thursday, Aug.