By Donnie A. Lucas

Meet the Teacher sessions will be held at both Nancy Smith Elementary School and the junior/senior high campus on Monday, Aug. 15.

Students entering K-3 will be able to find out their teachers for the coming school year from 5:00 p.m. until 5:30 p.m., followed by students entering grades 4-6 at 5:30 p.m.

Students and parents are urged to meet with teachers in their classrooms at the secondary campus at 6:00 p.m., followed by an orientation meeting for all grade levels at 6:30 p.m. in the high school auditorium.

By Donnie A. Lucas

There are several positions open for students who qualify for either the Head Start Program or the Pre-K Program at Nancy Smith Elelmentary.

Parents who are interested in having a child participate in either program should contact the school to determine if they qualify.

“As of Monday we had 17 students total enrolled in those two programs,” said Leigh Lowe, director of student services. “There are still 10 to 12 spots available, but you have to qualify to participate.”

The First Baptist Church held a back-to-school pool party on Sunday, Aug. 7, with several baptisms performed.

FBC volunteers have scheduled JAM meetings for students to begin on Wednesday, Sept. 7, with specific times to be announced next week.

By Melinda L. Lucas

The Old Jail Art Center’s summer camps are wrapping up this week with a Safari outing on Tuesday and a three-day virtual puppet workshop that started on Wednesday morning.

Students in grades 1-3 spent a “wild day” of crafts and games in the on-site Safari camp earlier this week.

The always popular puppet workshop is being conducted online only Wednesday through Friday, Aug. 10-12, but the instructional videos will be available on demand for those who registered for the event.

By Sam Waller

Entry deadlines for major fall stock shows are approaching with Shackelford County students planning to exhibit a number of animals.

Albany FFA advisor Chris Beard has set preliminary deadlines to allow him time to make sure entries are correctly submitted.

Beard is asking that entries for the State Fair of Texas in Dallas and Heart of Texas Fair and Rodeo in Waco be in to him by Friday, Aug. 19.

The State Fair of Texas will run Sept. 30-Oct. 23, while the Heart of Texas Fair and Rodeo is scheduled for Oct. 6-16.

By Sam Waller

Online ticket sales for CareFest continue in advance of the one-day music festival.

The event, scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 27 at Happy Wife Happy Life Wedding and Events Venue, is a fundraiser for ResourceCare outreach programs.

“One hundred percent of proceeds go back to our six communities of Albany, Baird, Breckenridge, Clyde, Cross Plains, and Merkel through our outreach programs,” ResourceCare’s Ragan Riley said.

By Sam Waller

Distribution of school supplies through ResourceCare’s Adopt-A-Buddy program will take place Thursday, Aug. 11 (today), and Friday, Aug. 12.

Supplies will be distributed from  9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. both days at the Youth Center.

The Adopt-A-Buddy program helps provide school supplies for children in Shackelford County.

The Adopt-A-Buddy program benefits not just elementary students. Junior high and high school ages can also apply.

Junior high and high school cheer squads (top photo) combine for a three-basket toss at the beginning of Monday night’s traditional Ice Cream Supper sponsored by the Albany Athletic Booster Club. In addition to chants led by the varsity cheerleaders (at left), there were also appearances and performances by participants in last month’s Little Cheer Camp (above).

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lions and Lady Lions cross country teams have picked up the pace in preparing for their first meet of the season.

Training became a bit more intense as coach Ginger Norton has finalized her schedule, adding a meet a week earlier than originally planned.

Albany will now open the season Wednesday, Aug. 31 at Haskell. The runners will compete in seven invitational meets before district competition in October.

By Sam Waller

Moran’s annual community garage sale has been scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 27 starting at 7:00 a.m.

The deadline for community residents to register is 5:00 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 25. Moran residents can register on the City of Moran and the Moran Buy, Sell and Trade Facebook pages.

“There are two different places to sign up,” organizer Michelle Taggart said. “I’ve got seven signed up so far.”

Taggart said there is no cost for Moran residents to sign up.