By Sam Waller

The Shackelford County Livestock Show Barn will host its first event since being renovated with the 37th annual First Impressions Invitational Pig Sale.

The longest-running livestock sale in the U.S., which benefits Shackelford County youth who participate in the county stock show, is scheduled for Saturday-Sunday, Sept. 9-10. At 1:00 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8, a ribbon cutting will be held to reopen the show barn following its extensive renovation earlier this summer.

By Sam Waller

Registration for the Albany Chamber of Commerce’s community-wide garage sale is underway and receiving good response, according to Chamber manager Brandi Lehew.

Registration began Tuesday, Aug. 22.

“I had people coming by the first day,” Lehew said. “Registration is going, and I’ve got the signs ready and out. Anyone who’s interested, come on in.”

Registration will continue through Wednesday, Sept. 6. The garage sale will be held Saturday, Sept. 9.

By Sam Waller

Season tickets for the Albany Lions 2023 football season are now available through the Albany Junior/Senior High office.

Adult season tickets are $30 for five games. Returning ticketholders have the right to claim the same seats they had last season. Season tickets cover only varsity home games.

Senior citizen passes are available from the superintendent’s office.

Albany’s first home date will be Friday, Sept. 1  against Dublin. Other home games are Sept. 8, Oct. 7, Oct. 20 (homecoming), and Oct. 27.

By Sam Waller

A total of 23 spots remain available for Albany Golf Club’s annual Labor Day Golf Tournament as of Tuesday, Aug. 22.

Most of the available spots are in the afternoon flight, which had 15 openings.

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 Sam Waller

Albany Golf Club will have new additions to its fleet of golf carts ready for the annual Labor Day Golf Tournament.

The club announced the acquisition of six EZGO carts. The gasoline-powered carts sport the club logo on the front panel.

By Melinda L. Lucas

During a meeting on Monday, Aug. 14, moved up a week from the regular third Monday time, Albany ISD’s board of trustees set a date for a special meeting to adopt the 2023-2024 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 preliminary STAAR test scores for grades 3-6, with superintendent Jonathan Scott explaining the information, which is detailed in a separate article.

State ratings have not yet been released.

By Donnie A. Lucas

Expected enrollment numbers are down by about 10 students for Albany ISD compared the beginning of the 2022-23 school year, with about 30 of those anticipated not yet fully registered as of Tuesday.

Following “Meet the Teacher” sessions at both Nancy Smith Elementary and the Albany Junior/Senior High campuses on Tuesday evening, there were still some registrations still incomplete at press time.

By Donnie A. Lucas

Preliminary scores for the spring 2023 STAAR testing for grades 3-8 were released by the Texas Education Agency last week, with local scores exceeding or matching statewide scores in almost all areas.

Results also were mostly higher compared to last year’s results for local students in tested areas.

One grade level fell below state and regional averages in three of four tested areas.

By Melinda L. Lucas

Even though Shackelford County commissioners did not have final tax rate calculations at their Aug. 14 meeting, they continued trimming the budget for the fiscal year that starts Oct.1 and filed a proposed budget as required by law.

By Donnie A. Lucas

Six well-known country performers including headliners Pat Green and Kevin Fowler will be in Albany in just over a week for the fifth annual CareFest concert held at the Happy Life, Happy Wife Weddings and Event venue located just west of town on FM 1084.

Gates will open at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 26. The price for a general admission ticket is $60 per person if purchased in advance online, while the ticket price at the gate will increase to $70 per person.