By Donnie A. Lucas

The Albany school bands will wrap up the school year with a spring concert on Thursday, May 18 in the high school auditorium, beginning at 6:00 p.m. with the sixth grade band.

The fifth grade band will take the stage at 6:45 p.m., followed by the seventh grade and the high school band at 7:30 p.m.

The concerts will cap the concert seasons for each band. The public is invited to attend and no admission will be charged.

Band director William Vaughan said he will present awards to outstanding musicians in each group.

By Sam Waller

First Baptist Church of Albany will continue its endeavor of providing Albany High School graduates a solid spiritual foundation with its annual Bible Presentation.

The program will be held at 2:00 p.m. Sunday, May 21 at the church.

First Baptist has presented Bibles to graduating seniors in a decades-long project.

First Baptist youth minister Eduardo San Lucas, who will present the Bibles to each senior, said the Bible Presentation is to help graduates as they move into the next phase of their lives.

By Sam Waller

Weather postponed the first attempt to install a vegetable garden at the Ben Richey Boys Ranch Albany location and brought work to a halt during the second try on Wednesday, May 3.

A group of about 40 residents, staff, and volunteers had to take shelter as hail pelted the facility, but the gardening was eventually completed.

“We took a brief break for the hail storm that came in,” organizer Alicia Burton said. “The weather that week was pretty wild.”

But with plenty of help on hand, the work was soon completed once the weather cleared.

By Melinda L. Lucas

Shackelford County ResourceCare hosted the 19th annual spring health fair at the Albany Bank Park last Friday, May 12.

ResourceCare program director Mindy Ary said children attended from Nancy Smith Elementary School and the Mother’s Day Out program.

“I would say close to 300 kids came through,” said Ary. “The children wiped us out of the prizes, snow cones, and popcorn.”

By Sam Waller

Volunteers are still needed to assist with Nancy Smith Elementary School’s annual track meet and field day. Principal John Gallagher said anyone wanting to help can call the NSES office at 325-762-3384.

The track meet and field day will be held Tuesday, May 23.

“Volunteers can reach out to coach Ginger Norton through the elementary office,” Gallagher said. “I know she has high school students lined up, but there will be plenty of jobs.”

By Sam Waller

Moran’s Ellis Hise qualified for FFA state competition Monday, May 15, at the Area IV convention in Wichita Falls.

Hise, a sophomore, placed first in the Star Lone Star Farmer agribusiness competition. He also won the Proficiency Award for Ag Services Entrepreneurship.

Hise interviewed with a panel of judges for his proficiency in ag services: entrepreneurship. He advances with his Star Lone Star Farmer in agribusiness to state, where he will interview again in a bid to move on to the finals at the FFA State Convention is July 10-14 in Dallas.

By Melinda L. Lucas

The Albany school board accepted two resignations and hired one teacher at their May 8 meeting.

The resignation of secondary science teacher Michelle Lowrey, which had been anticipated since the April session, was accepted with regrets, along with that of aide Tammy Kelsey.

Hired by unanimous vote on a motion by Matt Bellah was Brad Stautzenberger of Coleman for an elementary special ed position, along with possible coaching duties.

By Melinda L. Lucas

The spring health fair hosted by Shackelford County ResourceCare returns to the Albany Bank Park on Friday, May 12 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. as it has been for almost 20 years.

The event, for which this is the 19th year, is often held on the Friday closest to Cinco de Mayo, but because of numerous conflicts with school and other events, including test preparations, it was moved to this coming Friday morning.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lions were lauded for their achievements during the 2022 football season Saturday, May 6, with the presentation of the Gordon Wood Award from the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame.

Lion head coach Denney Faith and a party of Albany ISD school district officials were on hand to accept the award at the Hall of Fame’s induction banquet in Waco.

“It was an awesome experience,” Faith said. “I wish everybody could have had the opportunity to be there. There were a lot of big names – a lot of high school football royalty there.”

By Melinda L. Lucas

With the June 1 pool opening date only three weeks away, the city is asking that anyone interested in being a lifeguard bring their applications to City Hall as soon as possible.

Suits for the summer lifeguards need to be ordered and online classes finished before the May 27 in-service day.

Call 325-762-3133 for more information.