By Sam Waller

The Albany Volunteer Fire Department selected Lt. Casey Kimbrough as its 2022 Firefighter of the Year last month at its annual Christmas party.

“The department appreciates Casey’s service, and we’re proud that he received the award this year,” Albany VFD Chief Travis Gardenhire said.

The annual award is voted on by department members to honor an individual whom they believe has best met the five following qualifications:

The firefighter must not be on probation.

By Melinda L. Lucas

The filing period for local elections opened Wednesday for several entities such as the school board, city council, and hospital board and will continue until Friday, Feb. 17.

The election date set by the state for all local elections is Saturday, May 6.

Candidates have the 30-day filing period to sign up for a spot on one of the local boards or councils.

By Melinda L. Lucas

Although it looks as though the Albany Chest will fall short of its 2022 goal, directors are planning to meet next Wednesday evening, Jan. 25 to distribute funds to 25  applicants.

As of press time this week, $40,983 had been collected, $600 more than last week, but almost $6,000 short of the $47,000 goal.

Contributions surpassed the $50,000 mark the previous two years.

Board president Jana Kitchens is hopeful that the board can give the funding amounts that were discussed in late September when the goal was set.

By Donnie A. Lucas

Positive cases of both COVID-19 and the influenza have been on the decline since the beginning of the month, according to numbers reported this week by a local health clinic.

A total of seven positive cases of COVID-19 were reported for the period of Jan. 3-13, according to the Shackelford County Health Clinic. A total of 27 tests for COVID were administered.

Breaking it down by the week, the seven positive results were all from the week of Jan. 3-6. No new cases resulted from the 10 tests administered last week.

By Sam Waller

Two Albany FFA students received blue ribbons last week for their entries in the Fort Worth Stock Show’s Junior Agricultural Mechanics Show.

Junior Ayden Balliew constructed a high rack for hunting, while sophomore Jacob Hale built a deer blind on a trailer.

“Both young men are to be congratulated for their work,” Albany FFA adviser Chris Beard said. “They will exhibit these projects at the San Angelo Stock Show Feb. 2-4.”

Balliew’s two seat rack can be mounted in the bed of a pickup and includes gun mounts.

By Donnie A. Lucas

The 2023 UIL academic season will kick off on Saturday with local high school students attending the first practice meet of the year.

A total of nine students will travel to Haskell for the meet, competing oin a number of events.

“We have nine students who are able to attend the Haskell meet on Saturday,” high school academic UIL coordinator Rick Davis said. “This is the local livestock show weekend, so we are happy to have nine students who are not involved in the stock show to get the academic season started.”

By Donnie A. Lucas

Albany students and staff will have another holiday on Friday, Jan. 20 to allow participation in the Shackelford County Youth and Livestock Show which starts Friday and ends on Saturday at the county show barn.

While all students will observe the holiday, faculty and staff will have the day off if they have “comp” days already earned.

The school just observed the Martin Luther King holiday on Monday, Jan. 16, which also served as a “comp” day for staff members.

By Sam Waller

Four teams from Shackelford County 4-H will participate in the District 7 Food Challenge, scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 25 at San Angelo.

The teams, all composed of junior members, took part in a mock contest last month to prepare for the district competition.

“The kids have been practicing,” Shackelford County extension agent Kelsey Bell said. “I think they’re ready.”

By Sam Waller

The spring semester of a school year offers plenty of opportunities to get out of class for extracurricular activities.

That makes meeting attendance requirements that much more important, and Albany ISD administrators stress the need for students to be in attendance in order to fulfill those requirements.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lions continued to work their way into basketball mode last week with a pair of District 10-2A wins.

The Lions (7-3 overall, 3-2 district) carried a five-game win streak into their Tuesday, Jan. 17 district showdown at Cisco, a 65-51 loss. Details will be reported next week.

Albany hosts Hawley at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20 in a basketball matchup of schools that won state football championships last month, ending the first half of the district schedule for the boys .