AVFD fundraiser planned

By Sam Waller

The Albany Volunteer Fire Department has two fundraising projects in the works, including the return of its Burgers & Birds cookout.

The event is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 3 at the fire station to celebrate the opening of dove season.

“We’ve done it in the past, and we got away from it because we didn’t have enough people in the event if we were dispatched out on a fire,” volunteer firefighter Alison Gardenhire said. “Our numbers are back up to where we can do the fundraiser even if we get called out.”

Albany News

Reames attends Brigade camp

By Sam Waller

Albany’s Riley Reames enjoyed being part of the Texas Brigade program so much last year that she signed up for one of the other camps this year.

After attending the Ranch Brigade camp at Santa Anna in 2021, Reames attended the Rolling Plains Bobwhite Brigade camp June 10-14 at Wood Ranch at Rising Star.

“We were there for five days and did so much,” Reames said. “It was a lot packed into a little amount of time.

MISD works to improve ‘C’ rating

By Sam Waller

The Moran Independent School District received a grade of C from the Texas Education Agency, holding steady from the last ratings handed out in 2019.

The TEA assesses grades of A through F for accountability for districts and campuses throughout the state. The ratings were not issued the last two years because of COVID-related disruptions.

Moran principal Jo Hise said the district is taking steps to improve its rating.

Albany News

School district earns B rating

By Donnie A. Lucas

The Texas Education Agency issued grades on Friday as part of the Texas A-F accountability ratings for districts and campuses in the state, with Albany ISD receiving a B.

This was the first time that the rating system has been used since 2019 due to two years of COVID-related disruptions.

The local district received an overall grade of B based on a score of 85 for the 2021-22 school year. The district had received a B when ratings were given for the 2018-19 school year.

Albany News

District expects 500+ students

By Donnie A. Lucas

Albany ISD was again expecting just over 500 students with the start of the new school year Wednesday (yesterday), indicating that beginning enrollment has been steady for the past three years.

Following “Meet the Teacher” sessions at both Nancy Smith Elementary and the Albany Junior/Senior High campuses on Monday evening, local administrators were looking for a total of 501 total students to show up for classes yesterday for the first day of school.

The same exact count of 501 students was reported last year.

Trustees to adopt budget, tax rate Aug. 31

By Melinda L. Lucas

During a regular session on Monday, Aug. 15, Albany ISD’s board of trustees set a date for a special meeting to adopt the 2022-2023 budget and tax rate, planning an early morning meeting on Aug. 31, the last day that the budget can be adopted according to state law.

The board also reviewed recently released state school ratings, with director of student services Leigh Lowe explaining the information, which is detailed in a separate article.

FIRST Rating

Albany News

Progress made in solving thefts

By Melinda L. Lucas

Progress has been reported in solving a series of car burglaries that occurred earlier this month, and the same thieves have apparently hit several other communities, according to Shackelford County deputy Jason Price, who is investigating along with police chief Mike House.

Officers are working with law enforcement in at least five other areas, including towns in Jones, Taylor, Callahan, and Haskell counties, Price said.

Albany News

Albany woman dies in roll-over

By Melinda L. Lucas

An Albany woman was killed last Saturday afternoon in a single vehicle roll-over on U.S. Hwy. 283 11 miles north of Albany.

According to a preliminary report by DPS media communications officer Sgt. Marc Couch, Robin Detrick Morrison, 51, of Albany, was pronounced dead at the scene by Shackelford County judge Robert Skelton.

DPS trooper Gilbert Valdez of Abilene North, assisted by trooper Joseph Osborne of Haskell, investigated the accident, which was reported by a witness at 1:02 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13.

Albany News

Special session set Aug. 24

By Melinda L. Lucas

After approving his retainer at last month’s meeting of the Shackelford County Hospital District board meeting, the directors met their new legal counsel on Monday, Aug. 15 at their regular monthly session.

They also set a date to work on the budget and discuss tax rate calculations, which should be available by the end of this week. The special session will be held at 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 24.

New Attorney

Albany News

Court to meet again Aug. 22

By Melinda L. Lucas

Shackelford County commissioners have yet to see tax rate calculations so they can finalize their budget, but because county-wide values are up, they are optimistic about being able to offer a three to five percent across-the-board increase in employee salaries.

They saw new numbers at their Aug. 17 session showing the five percent increase, but no action was taken.

Albany News