By Sam Waller

Albany’s plans to host its annual tennis tournament Thursday, March 9 were done in by the weather, costing the program a key outing with district competition looming.

Albany will compete in the Brownwood tournament on Friday, March 24 in its final tune-up before the District 10-2A tournament.

“We held off making a decision as long as we could,” Albany tennis coach M.J. Reneau said. “We didn’t want to cancel because we still want to look at a couple of combinations with players. We hate missing a tournament whenever it’s so close to district.”

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lions bounced back from their first loss of the baseball season last week with a sweep of their home tournament.

The Lions (8-1) had no games scheduled this week during spring break, though coach David Fairchild said Tuesday he was still looking to add one. Albany opens District 8-2A competition at 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, March 21, against Hawley at home.

On Tuesday, March 7, Albany lost 7-4 to Class 4A Vernon in its home opener.

By Sam Waller

Albany’s two returning state track medalists each won two events Thursday, March 9 at the Lobo Relays in Cisco, helping the Lions and Lady Lions to fifth-place finishes in the varsity team standings.

The Lions and Lady Lions maintained their training regimen during spring break and many will compete Saturday, March 18 at the Possum Kingdom Relays in Graham.

Adam Hill, last year’s silver medalist in the Class 2A 110 hurdles, won both boys hurdles races. Kiana Roberson, the 2A bronze medalist in the shot put, won both girls throwing events.

By Donnie A. Lucas

The Albany Chamber of Commerce is currently sending out membership notices to current members and encouraging new members to join in time for the annual Crawfish Boil set for Thursday, April 6 in the parking lot in front of the Depot.

All Chamber members are invited to attend without charge, and memberships will be available during the event for anyone wanting to attend.

By Donnie A. Lucas

The Albany High School One Act Play earned fourth place out of seven district schools last Wednesday, March 8  to serve as alternate to the bi-district contest, and three members of the cast and crew received special recognition.

The group presented the comedy “Oz” for the judges at Haskell.

Two members of the cast received honorable mention All-Star Cast, including Landon Balliew as the Lion and Avery Everitt as the Scarcrow.

Presley Green, a member of the technical crew, received All-Star Crew.

By Sam Waller

The deadline for participants from the 2023 Shackelford County Youth and Livestock Show to fulfill their obligations is swiftly approaching.

Exhibitors must have completed writing thank you notes to buyers and other obligations by Saturday, April 1.

Show participants must place their finished notes in a stamped, addressed envelope ready for mailing. Notes must be verified by Albany FFA adviser Chris Beard or Shackelford County extension agent Kelsey Bell.

By Donnie A. Lucas

A number of Albany High School students will travel to Stamford on Wednesday, March 22, to compete in the District 10-2A UIL Academic Meet.

The top three places in individual events will advance to the regional meet, while each top team in the team events moves on to the next level.

Only three entrants are accepted in each event from member schools in individual contests, while teams can enter up to six contestants, with the top four counting towards the team score.

By Sam Waller

Shackelford County 4-Hers were shown a different type of horsemanship with an English riding clinic at the Fikes Arena.

Shackelford County extension agent Kelsey Bell said the program offered 4-Hers a different perspective than they normally get in Western riding. The program included an introduction to jumping.

By Melinda L. Lucas

Teams are invited to enter an upcoming cornhole tournament to be held at the Bank Park in Albany on Sunday, March 26.

The sanctioned tournament, hosted by Alpha Zeta Epsilon sorority, is the third annual fundraiser for the organization, which uses the proceeds for scholarships to be given to Albany and Moran students.

“Last year, we gave six scholarships totaling $2,500,” said AZE secretary Megaen Birdwell. “This year, we aim to meet and hopefully exceed that amount.”

By Sam Waller

The Albany Study Club showed its appreciation for local law enforcement last week by delivering goodie bags to the Shackelford County Sheriff’s Office for distribution to county and city officers.

Study Club member Lori Schooler said the gifts were in recognition of officers during National 911 Week.

“That’s one of the things Study Club does,” Schooler said. “We wanted to show our appreciation to the sheriff’s and police officers for all they do for us.”

The bags contained various types of candy with cards for the officers.