TwogroupsofgroupsAlbany students are headed to state contests this week. A total of 17 Albany FCCLAmembers will compete in the FCCLA State ConferenceinDallas,while four Nancy Smith Elementary students are competing at the state contest sponsored by the Texas Math and Science Coaches Association (TMSCA).

A dozen Albany High students are advancing to the Region II Academic Meet on April 26-27 after placing in the top three at the District 10-2A Academic Meet in Anson last Wednesday. Albany finished the district competition in second place with 353 points.

The next concert in the Albany Live series is set for just over a week away, with JamesMcMurtrycomingto Albany on Friday, April 19 the Aztec Theater. “Tickets are still available for the McMurtry concert,”saidAlbanyLive’s director of community relations Megaen Birdwell.

Proposal could cut costs in half A proposal to switch the county’s phone service from AT&T to ProTelesis was approved by Shackelford County commissioners during a regular meetingMondaymorning. Zac Fitzgerald of CTSI, the county’s IT consultant, actually presented the phone migration option on behalf of ProTelesis, stating that the company is a CTSI partner and has been easy to work with in a couple of other projects.

Another annual Albany ClassicCarShowisgearing up for Saturday,April 20 in downtownAlbany,withthe public urged to come view dozens of vintage cars and trucks from around the Big Country. Organizer and car enthusiast Robert Snyder said he is hoping for a good turnout.

Tea slated April The Old Jail Art Center will kick off a busy April schedule this Saturday with a Family Festival that will explore the culture of Ghana, focusing on “Ashanti” arts. The event will take place from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Preparations for theAlbany Chamber of Commerce MembershipCrawfishBoilandFishFryare underway, with the party set for next Thursday, April 11 for all members. “We didn’t know if we could get many crawfish this year since there is a shortage this season,” Chamber manager Brandi Lehew said.

Albany and Shackelford County avoided the large hail that a Monday afternoon thunderstormdumpedonother parts of the Big Country, but there were a few unofficial reports of damage caused by straight-line winds. In fact, even though the sheriff’s office didn’t receive any calls about the storm, Albany ended up at the top of the list forthehighestwindgustcaused by the storm, which moved through Texas and Oklahoma on up to Kansas and Missouri.

MoranFFAteamscompeted inmeatjudgingand veterinary science contests Wednesday, March 27 at the Hill Country CDE in Fredericksburg. In meat judging, Ellis Hise, Caleb York, and Cotten Campbell placed 14th out of 31 teams with a score of 1,532.