By Sandy Morris

Shackelford County extension agent and 4-H sponsor Kloey Painter said local 4-H members have been busy with competitions and workshops during this busy spring season.

Shooting Sports 

Extravaganza

Three members participated in the 4-H Shooting Sports Extravaganza held in Brownwood on Saturday, April 17.

Landon Kreitler won first place in two different categories – moving targets and air pistol targets.

Also competing were Carly Kreitler and Jace Holmes.

4-H Horse Clinic

By Sandy Morris

Albany High School FFA members have been competing at several district, area, and regional contests over the past two weeks and earning more banners for the club.

Wildlife Contest

The FFA Wildlife judging team competed in the Region 5 contest on Monday, April 12 at Holt River Ranch in Graford.

The team earned first place in district and eighth place in Area 4, which won the members a banner, but didn’t qualify them to advance to the next level.

By Melinda L. Lucas

Shackelford County Hospital District directors spent much of a three and a half hour meeting on Monday, April 22 in closed session to discuss three different personnel concerns, but no details were given or actions taken when the board opened the meeting to the public.

LUCAS Purchase

During the district portion of the meeting, a motion passed unanimously to purchase a second chest compression unit known as a “LUCAS” for the backup ambulance at a cost of approximately $26,000.

By Sandy Morris

Albany High School senior Tana Thompson will advance in two events to the University Interscholastic League state academic meet to be held at Abilene Wylie High School on Saturday, May 1.

Fellow senior Hannah Trail, and junior Luke Ivy also placed in the top three at the regional level competition held at Grayson College in Denison last weekend, qualifying them for the state level along with Thompson.

By Melinda L. Lucas

After meeting in closed session, Albany ISD trustees renewed all teacher contracts except for two at the end of the regular meeting on Monday, April 19.

A motion to “accept the contract proposal list as presented by the superintendent,” made by Kelly Head, seconded by Ginny Ivy, passed with a 5-0 vote.

Included in the list are three staff members with “employment agreements.”

Part of the motion covered letters of assurance to the current support staff.

District of Innovation

By Sandy Morris

Despite cooler temperatures, sunshine on Saturday morning drew a good crowd for the 14th annual Albany Classic Car Show.

Organizer Robert Snyder said the show ended up with 55 entries, which is less than usual, but probably worked well considering the weather.

“We typically like to have around 75 to 100 cars in the show,” said Snyder. “Due to all of the rain and street conditions, having more vehicles might have been a problem.”

The event began with the traditional Friday night in-town cruise and was followed by the burnout.

By Sandy Morris

Despite the week of rain and muddy conditions which resulted in a last-minute change of venue, the 2021 Fandangle Sampler was welcomed back by a supportive audience at the Jackson Warehouse on Saturday night.

The Sampler was originally scheduled to return to Rey­nolds Bend, on the Lambshead Ranch after an absence of over 20 years. 

As the week of heavy rains continued, rehearsals were rescheduled, and Fandangle artistic director Lorna Ayers kept a close eye on the forecast.

By Sandy Morris

Local FFA and 4-H members are staying active this spring, but already preparing for stock show season. 

4-H Horse Clinic

The 4-H horse clinic will be held Saturday, April 24 where the focus will be on teaching members the basics of horse polo.

This clinic will be conducted “on-horse” beginning at 1:00 p.m. at the Lazy 3 Ranch and horses will be provided.

Ear Tag Deadlines

By Sandy Morris

When Brittany Berry DVM was still at Texas A&M, Dr. Keelan Lewis came and spoke to one of her third year classes.

“I remember thinking I wanted to be like her after I heard her speak to our class,” said Berry. 

The next year, when Berry was starting to look for an opportunity to begin her career as a veterinarian, she heard there was an opening with Dr. Lewis in Olney,  and the rest is now history. 

Berry joined Lewis’s practice, Salt Creek Veterinary Hospital, where she is now a partner.

By Sandy Morris

Blanton Belcher was named as the 2021 Top Hand at the Shackelford County Youth and Livestock Association Buyer-Seller Reception hels Saturday, April 10 at the Feed Store.

Belcher and Addie Beth Denton were announced as the winners of the annual SCYLA Scholarships in the amount of $500 each. 

“We had a pretty good turnout Saturday night,” said SCYLA president Bronco Askew. “Last year threw us a little off track due to COVID, so we weren’t really sure if we would get to have an event, and if we did, what it would look like.”