By Donnie A. Lucas

The Albany Junior High one act play cast has taken on the task of providing justice in the comedy “The Trial of Goldilocks,” which will be presented today in Stamford at the district contest.

The group performed the play for a local audience on Tuesday in preparation for the competition. Albany will perform second on Thursday (today) at about 11:15 a.m., according to director Melanie Turner.

“The kids have improved greatly over the past week,” Turner said. “I think they feel much more prepared and confident this week.”

By Donnie A. Lucas

Albany school students and staff members will be dismissed at 12:30 p.m. next Tuesday, Nov. 23 for the Thanksgiving holidays.

Students at Nancy Smith Elementary and Albany Jr./Sr. High will  all be dismissed early, with buses running about 12:35 p.m. Parents will need to pick up students or make other arrangements for the early release.

All students at the junior/senior high campus will follow a shortened schedule, with all eight class periods meeting for 25 minutes each.

By Sam Waller

Friendship Baptist Church’s fifth annual Harvest Acres bazaar offers local residents a chance to enjoy food, crafts and fellowship all while helping worthy causes.

The event will start at 9:00 a.m. Saturday at the church’s Activity Center located at 600 Greer St.

“We’re really excited about it,” Danita Johnston said. “It’s one of our favorite days because we get to have fellowship with each other in the process of sharing our talents with the community. That’s the thing we really look forward to.”

By Sam Waller

Albany’s First United Methodist Church will once again help the Abilene Salvation Army with its Thanksgiving meal.

Local residents can contribute by bringing homemade or purchased pies to the church’s fellowship hall by 10:00 a.m. Monday.

“We’ll put up a little sign showing where you can leave pies,” FUMC member Lance Thomas said.

The Salvation Army serves 4,000 to 6,000 meals a month and is especially busy at Thanksgiving. The Abilene Salvation Army is located at 1726 Butternut St.

By Sam Waller

Local shoppers can start this weekend earning tickets that can be redeemed for Albany Bucks.

Albany Chamber of Commerce manager Mary Beth Jones said boxes will be in stores Saturday.

Tickets are earned by shopping at participating downtown or locally-owned merchants. Every $10 spent in a Chamber-member business earns the shopper one ticket.

The campaign leads up to Small Town Saturday on Nov. 27. The event will include live music, food and an appearance by Santa Claus, culminating with the Lighted Christmas Parade.

By Sam Waller

Beverly Rogers of Albany is steadily nearing her overall goal of raising $100,000 for Alzheimer’s awareness.

Rogers raised $5,825, the second-highest individual total this year in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, held Oct. 9 at Abilene’s Grover Nelson Park.

Rogers was sponsored by Team Albany, 59 contributors who donated to her fundraising effort. 

The 2021 event raised $115,065 despite lingering COVID-19 issues. Ed Greenlee of Abilene raised $6,150 for top honors.

By Sam Waller

Moran High School’s senior class presented a Veterans Day program last Thursday with each class member performing a separate part.

“We had two veterans attend and some family of other veterans attend,” principal Jo Hise said. “There were about 10 special guests.”

Thanksgiving Break

Moran Independent School District will dismiss classes for the Thanksgiving holiday on Friday.

School will be closed from Monday, Nov. 22, through Friday, Nov. 26. Classes will resume at the regular time on Monday, Nov. 29.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lions took the first step forward in the Class 2A Division II football playoffs last Thursday with a 68-0 bi-district victory over the Era Hornets at Iowa Park’s Hawk Stadium.

The margin of victory was the largest in Albany’s postseason history, surpassing 57-point bi-district victories against Ranger (64-7 in 1989) and Rotan (70-13 in 2008).

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lady Lions fell short in their quest to reach the state volleyball tournament, falling to Wink 20-25, 18-25, 25-27 in the semifinals of the Region-I-2A Tournament on Friday at San Angelo.

“I’m happy that the girls got to experience the real regional tournament this year,” Lady Lions coach M.J. Reneau said. “They set high goals for themselves this season and continued to get closer each day.”

Albany ended its season with a 32-6 record.

Reneau said falling behind early, even if just by a few points, made the difference against Wink.

By Sam Waller

Registration deadline is Friday, Nov. 19 for fifth and sixth grade boys and girls wanting to play in the local youth basketball league.

Organizer Clint Chapman said the teams will begin practicing after Thanksgiving.

“We’re going to start just as soon as we can,” he said.

Games will start Jan. 15 and continue on Saturdays through Feb. 5. The teams will compete in one-day tournaments against teams from Eula, Merkel, Jim Ned, and Hawley. Most games will be played out of town, though Chapman expects Albany to host one tournament on Jan. 29.