By Sam Waller

Albany FFA members continued their run at the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo last week with several placing.

Jake Hale earned a blue ribbon in the ag mech contest with his hydraulic hay trailer, his third in as many shows. The project also garnered blue ribbons at Fort Worth and San Angelo.

In Wave 2 of the livestock judging, Kenzie Neve placed second with her AOC steer and made the sale.

Creed Spencer placed 21st in his barrow class with a crossbred, while Ryan Turner also participated.

By Melinda L. Lucas

Grandparents Week and the annual PTO Book Fair are both set for next week, March 3-7, at Nancy Smith Elementary School, with NSES counselor Susie Beard inviting parents and grandparents to bring a lunch and buy a book or two.

There are online purchasing options as well, according to PTO officer Brandi Lehew.

PTO volunteers will provide golf carts to transport visitors from the front area of the school to the cafeteria, as well as back to their vehicles after lunch. 

Grandparents Week

By Melinda L. Lucas

Albany High School student Rowdy New performed in the Region 6 Solo and Ensemble contest at Wylie High School in Abilene last weekend, earning a Division I on his Class 3 bass clarinet solo.

New was the only Albany musician who competed, according to Albany director of bands Jessica Watkins.

Students can receive a rating of 1-5 with one being the best. 

New’s solo was “Menuet and Bouree” by Johann Hasse.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lions saw their boys basketball season come to an end Friday, Feb. 21 with a 66-46 loss to Graford in the area round of the Class 2A Division II playoffs at Eastland.

The Lions, who reached the second round for the fifth year in a row, finished the season with a 14-9 record.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lady Lions earned 13 places on the All-District 10-2A girls basketball honors list with four team members cited for both their play and academics.

The team was selected by vote of district coaches and released following the exit of all district qualifiers from the playoffs.

On the court, senior Caroline Holson was voted to the first team with junior Madi Parrott and sophomore Ashlyn Miller on second team. Receiving honorable mention were sophomores Charlee Hefner and Tatum Grady and freshman Charli Trail.

By Sam Waller

For the first time in roughly a decade, Albany Golf Course played host to high school tournaments with the Lady Lions Invitational and Lions Invitational.

The girls tournament was played Monday, Feb. 24, drawing a field of 34 golfers. The boys tournament was played Wednesday, Feb. 26. Those results will be reported next week.

Albany golfers will return to action at the Eula tournament at Shady Oaks Golf Course. Boys will play Monday, March 3 and girls on Wednesday, March 5.

By Sam Waller

Albany Little League is wrapping up its player registration period, but there is plenty of work to be done before the start of the season.

In the latest in a long line of renovation projects, a new backstop and new dugouts are being installed at the baseball complex. Past years have seen the addition of batting cages, restrooms and new sod on the field.

Steve Sutton said such projects help improve facilities.

By Sam Waller

Moran Independent School District started this week with a safety drill to test security procedures.

During the drill, conducted Monday, Feb. 24, bells and lights in school buildings activated. Also, every computer screen on campus as well as the large screens in every classroom displayed explicit instructions. Different messages appear depending on the current drill or situation.

Last week in The Albany News Kids Corner, we asked the future leaders of Albany what they would do if they were mayor, and their responses did not disappoint. Some ideas were ambitious, aiming to transform the town in bold new ways. Others were practical, focused on improvements that would benefit the community. And then there were the downright entertaining ones—suggestions that might raise a few eyebrows but definitely bring a smile.