By Donnie A. Lucas

The first weekly luncheon provided by The Feed Store to juniors and seniors was served on Tuesday to a total of 48 students.

Feed Store executive director Tisha Wilkins was pleased with the number of students who attended.

“We had a great turnout,” she said. “We are hoping that it will continue to grow, but for the first week, we felt good about the numbers.”

According to first-day enrollment figures, there are 33 juniors and 34 seniors this year.

By Donnie A. Lucas

Albany ISD picked up a few new students since the first day of classes on Aug. 18, reporting a total enrollment of 508 on Monday of this week.

“Our enrollment is slightly more than it was last year at this time,” superintendent Jonathan Scott said. “The secondary campus has seen an increase, but the elementary has decreased slightly.”

A total of 265 students were on the roster as of Monday at elementary school, down by about 16 students.

By Melinda L. Lucas

A special meeting to adopt the 2021-2022 budget and tax rate for the Albany Independent School District is set for 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 31, the last day that the budget can be adopted, according to state law.

Albany ISD board members looked over the 2021-2022 budget during their most recent regular meeting on Aug. 16.

Expenditures for the upcoming school year are projected to be $6,113,680, compared to the actual expenses so far of just under $5.7 million.

By Melinda L. Lucas

With the annual campaign to raise funds for local organizations starting in October, board members of the Albany Chest will meet next week to organize the 2021 fundraising drive and elect new directors.

The meeting is set for Wednesday, Sept. 1 at 5:15 p.m. at The Feed Store.

“We will be accepting nominations for positions on the board,” said chairman Amy Kelly. 

Four of the 12 director positions come up for election each year, and Chest by-laws allow directors to serve two terms before they cycle off. 

By Sam Waller

The burn ban enacted earlier this month by Shackelford County commissioners has not changed despite last week’s rainfall, according to county judge Robert Skelton.

Commissioners enacted the 45-day ban at their Aug. 16 meeting as the August heat increased potential for wildfires. The ban will be in effect through Sept. 30 unless action is taken to reverse it.

Albany received 1.77 inches of rain over three days following the Aug. 16 meeting.

By Melinda L. Lucas

Shackelford County commissioners voted to accept bids from both local banks during a regular meeting on Monday, Aug. 23. The bid packages from First National Bank and First Financial Bank had been opened at a previous meeting on Aug. 9.

County treasurer Tammy Brown scored the bids and stated that she felt they were compatible.

By Melinda L. Lucas

Members of the Albany city council met briefly on Tuesday night, Aug. 17 to propose a tax rate, discussing a couple of options but agreeing that they would keep the same rate as last year, 67.55 cents, which is about 2.5 cents higher than the “No New Revenue” (NNR) rate of 65 cents.

The NNR rate was formerly called the effective tax rate, and is calculated to produce the same amount of taxes if applied to the same properties taxed the prvious year.

By Donnie A. Lucas

Tickets have sold fast over the last week for the Friends of Fort Griffin Gala set for Oct. 9 featuring Larry, Steve, & Rudy: The Gatlin Brothers.

As of Tuesday, only 35 of the original 300 tickets were available, according to Susan Waller, who is coordinating the event for the 17th year.

Waller said that she will start a wait list for anyone seeking tickets after the 300 seats are sold. The cost of a ticket is $50, which includes a prime rib dinner and a 75-minute performance by the famous group of brothers.

By Donnie A. Lucas

The number of positive cases of COVID-19 continued to rise during the last week, prompting local health care providers to encourage people to get vaccinated.

During the week of Aug. 16-20, the Shackelford County Health Clinic and Resource Care Community Health Center administered 26 tests with nine positive results.

On Monday, Aug. 23, the clinic reported four more positive cases among nine tests given.

Over the last four weeks, a total of 104 tests were conducted at the two local clinics with 32 positive results.

By Donnie A. Lucas

Upwards of 1,000 people are expected on Saturday, Aug. 28 for the third CareFest fundraiser at Happy Wife, Happy Life event venue three miles northwest of Albany.

As of Monday there were only eight VIP tickets to the event remaining, but $60 general admission tickets and some preferred $125 admission tickets can still be purchased online at outhousetickets.com.

Some general admission tickets may still be available at the gate on Saturday, but organizers are recommending purchasing tickets in advance.