By Melinda L. LucasA fire reported after midnight on Tuesday completely destroyed several mobile homes on property thought to be that of Johnny Novian or members of his family.Albany Volunteer Fire Chief Travis Gardenhire said that a call came in about 12:30 a.m.

Charlie Lawrence has been called home to his heavenly father. He was beloved by Julie, his wife, and children.Born in Breckenridge, Texas on May 19, 1941, he was the youngest of nine children.

By Donnie A. LucasScores on the spring 2022 STAAR testing for grades 3-8 were recently released by the Texas Education Agency, with local scores exceeding state or matching statewide scores in almost all areas.

By Sam WallerResourceCare’s 24th year of Summer Day Camp is nearing the midpoint of its two-week run.Day Camp is free to all registered children from age 3 and potty trained to sixth grade.ResourceCare’s Ragan Riley said numbers are up this year with 168 students registered.

By Melinda L. LucasA local citizen asked for a special session of the Shackelford County commissioners during Monday’s meeting, and another point of discussion was repair or replacement of the Courthouse’s “chiller,” as the air conditioning of offices had not been working correctly for several days.

By Donnie A. LucasThree FCCLA teams advanced to the National Leadership Conference in San Diego at the end of June, with one group taking the top honor in the country and the other two both placing well.

By Donnie A. LucasShackelford County residents have been fortunate not to have experienced any grass fires in the last couple of weeks, but officials say conditions will be favorable through this weekend and probably into next week for that to change.

By Melinda L. LucasSix of the seven members of the Shackelford County Hospital District’s board of directors met for a brief special session on Friday, July 1, with all but a couple of minutes held behind closed doors.

By Melinda L. LucasA new ordinance governing occupancy of recreational vehicles (RVs) inside the Albany city limits was approved during the July 11 meeting of the Albany city council.Council members also increased water and sewer tap rates.

By Sam WallerShackelford County 4-H elected to scrap the first session of its STEM camps this week, but Shackelford County extension agent Kelsey Bell said two other sessions are still scheduled.