By Sam Waller

About 10 openings – all afternoon tee times – remain for the Albany Golf Club’s annual Labor Day Golf Tournament as of Tuesday, Aug. 29.

The two-person scramble is scheduled for Saturday-Sunday, Sept. 2-3 at Albany Golf Course.

Entry fee is $200 per team and includes one mulligan per player per day as well as a meal on Saturday evening. The field is limited to 60 teams. Tournament director Shawn Sutton said entries will be taken until the limit is reached.

By Melinda L. Lucas

Shackelford County commissioners proposed a tax rate and heard a presentation about building a data center adjacent to the Lone Star Wind Farm during their meeting on Monday, Aug. 28.

A workshop at the end of the regular session gave elected officials some time to refine the $4,955,169 budget that was proposed and filed after an Aug. 14 session, as required by law.

Adjustments can be made before the budget is adopted, but no action was taken Monday to change the total.

Tax Rate Proposal

The Albany Chest board will meet at 5:15 p.m. Sept. 13 to organize the 2023 fund-raising campaign, nominate and elect new directors, and choose officers for the upcoming year.

Application forms are available at First Financial Bank, First National Bank, and The Albany News.

By Donnie A. Lucas

Directors of the Shackelford County Appraisal District (SCAD) have set a public hearing for the proposed 2024 budget on Thursday, Sept. 14 at 7:30 a.m.

Following the hearing, the board of directors is expected to adopt the 2024 budget for next year, which tallies $468,469 in expenditures. The proposed budget represents an overall increase of about nine percent increase over the budgeted expenses of $442,744 for 2023.

The public is invited to attend the hearing and the meeting to adopt the measure that will follow.

By Sam Waller

For the second year in a row, the Albany Lions eked out a narrow season-opening victory over the Lubbock Trinity Christian Lions, rallying from a two-touchdown deficit Friday, Aug. 25 to win 22-21.

Albany (1-0) makes its 2023 home debut Friday, Sept. 1 when it hosts the Dublin Lions at Robert Nail Memorial Stadium.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Junior High Lady Cubs split a pair of volleyball matches against Hawley on Monday, Aug. 28, at home as the season entered its second week.

All three teams – Red, White and Silver – will be in action Thursday, Sept. 7 at Bangs in their first road matches. The Silver team will play at 4:30, followed by the White team. The matches will be Thursday because of the Labor Day holiday.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Junior High Cubs and Albany Lions JV get their football seasons underway Thursday, Aug. 31 (today) with games at Dublin.

The action starts with the seventh grade at 4:30 p.m., followed by the eighth grade at 6:00 p.m. and JV at 7:30 p.m.

Albany athletic director Ryder Peacock, who is coaching the junior high with Tate Thompson, said he expects the seventh grade to be conducted more as a scrimmage than a full game.

“I’m not sure what the plan is,” Peacock said Monday. “We’ll just play it by ear and see.”

By Sam Waller

First Baptist Church will begin its Jesus and Me (JAM) program for children in kindergarten through sixth grade on Wednesday, Sept. 6.

Parents can register their children by using a QR code that can be found on Page 2A of this week’s edition of The Albany News.

JAM will meet 5:30-7:30 p.m. each Wednesday that school is in session.

Two programs for children and youth will begin Sunday, Sept. 10.

Albany Children’s Choir, under the direction of Lacey Anderson and Rachel Williams, will hold its first practice 4:30-5:30 p.m.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lady Lions volleyball team closed out tournament play last week by winning the Aspermont tourney for their second title of the season, going 7-0 for the second week in a row.

The Lady Lions (17-3) carried a 14-match win streak into their Tuesday, Aug. 29 match against Abilene Christian. Albany won a hard-fought four-set match 25-27, 25-15, 26-24, 25-17. Details will be reported next week.

By Sam Waller

The Feed Store will conduct its first Fifth Quarter gathering for local youth following the conclusion of the Albany Lions’ home opener Friday, Sept. 1.

The postgame events are sponsored by the Albany Ministerial Alliance and are open to all junior high and high school students. The gatherings will run from the end of each game until 11:00 p.m.

“Everything’s the same as last year,” Feed Store executive director Tisha Wilkins said. “Junior high and high school students will meet at The Feed Store until 11:00.”