Albany Fire Chief Joel Viertel was re-elected to a second term during the department’s annual officer election, which saw every position filled by unanimous vote—an outcome Viertel described as a sign of unity and strong leadership within the volunteer force.

Cyrena Wooster was re-elected as Secretary Treasurer, and Casey Kimbrough will continue serving as Second Captain. The only newly elected officer is Zack Waggoner, who was chosen as First Lieutenant and also named Firefighter of the Year in 2024. He steps into the role following the resignation of Ryan Walser.

“It was now the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!’ And having said this he breathed his last.” (Luke 23:44-46, ESV)

The Albany High School Fellowship of Christian Athletes will host a community showing of The Passion of the Christ on Wednesday, April 16, at the Aztec Theater downtown.

The evening will begin with a free supper at 6 p.m. at The Feed Store, provided by FCA. At 6:30 p.m., attendees will walk to the Aztec for the movie showing. Water and popcorn will be available for $1 each, with all proceeds benefiting FCA.

Nathan D. Webb Jr., known as “Buddy” or affectionately as “Pops” to his family, was born in Graham and grew up in Albany – he was very proud of his heritage. He graduated from Albany High, served honorably in the U.S. Army, married Virginia Brooks, and later attended TCU. His service deeply impacted him, fostering a lifelong gratitude towards servicemen. 

By Melinda L. Lucas

Shackelford County horse judging teams placed well at the District 7 Horse Judging contest held in San Angelo last week, with the senior team qualifying for state for the third consecutive year.

Veteran team members Madailein Beard and Grace Fry were joined by Bradee Stautzenberger for the senior competition, finishing first in the team standings to earn the trip to the state roundup.

By David H. Waller

The Albany Lions and Lady Lions battled through tough fields at last week’s district track meet in Cisco, with a strong amount of athletes advancing to the area meet set for this Thursday (today) in Graham.

Lady Lions head coach Lauren Peacock said her small but determined group showed up strong. “I took three girls over there that competed at the varsity division, and all three of them made finals in all of their events,” Peacock said. “Two of them advanced to area. So overall, it was a really good day for them.”

By Melinda L. Lucas

For the second week in a row, the Lions split district outings, losing a close 8-9 game against Hawley on April 1, then outscoring Haskell 14-4 in a make-up game on Monday, April 7 to start the second half of district action.

As of press time on Tuesday, Albany was 5-4-3 overall, 3-3 in district.

Albany hosted Anson on Tuesday, with those results to be published next week. The Lions will be on the road Friday, April 11, with a 7:00 p.m. start time in Stamford.

By Melinda L. Lucas

Cold and rainy weather on Friday delayed Albany’s softball action against Haskell until Monday night and forced back-to-back district games with an outing against Anson on Tuesday, April 8.

Losses to Hawley on April 1 and to Haskell puts the Lady Lions’ district record at 2-5 prior to Tuesday’s game. They are in fifth place among the six district teams.

By Melinda L. Lucas

Mimi Ivy and Cade Fairchild topped the chart as mixed doubles champions last week at the Sharon Wartes Abilene High Tournament, defeating several “big school” JVs and “small school” varsity teams.

“Mimi and Cade obviously played very well again, and I’m also super proud of our consolation winners,” Reneau said. “They got a tough first draw but battled back to get the consolation trophy.”

By Melinda L. Lucas

Moran athletes competed at the area track meet last week, advancing one thrower and placing in several events.

Ellis Hise qualified for the regional competition, to be held next week at Abilene Christian University. Hise earned a fourth place spot in the discus with a throw of 109’05”.

“The kids competed well, and there was some improvement on times and throws,” coach John Hughes said. “Overall, I was extremely pleased with how they did.”

On the boys side, Moran scored four points to finish 13th overall.