By Donnie A. Lucas
For the third week in the last, no new cases of COVID-19 were recorded at the three Albany testing sites last week, with only one positive case reported three weeks ago.
No new cases were reported for the week of April 18-22, according to a report by Shackelford County judge Bob Skelton.
Just four tests were administered during the period, which is the same as the report from the previous week of April 11-15.
By Melinda L. Lucas
The 36th annual Polo on the Prairie fundraiser benefitting cancer research and patient programs at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center will take place at the Musselman Brothers’ Lazy 3 Ranch on Saturday, April 30.
Tickets to the event must be purchased in advance, and range in price from $25 for children 12 and under to $125 for adults, or more for those willing to sponsor a player or a team. To see if tickets are still available, call 866-262-9029, ext. 3 and leave a message, or send an email to events@md anderson.org.
By Melinda L. Lucas
In just one week, ResourceCare will host its second annual Murder Mystery Dinner fundraising event at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 5.
With help from Albany Mainstreet Playhouse’s Traveling Troupe, ResourceCare will perform “Cinco de Mayo Mayhem: Murder at Isadora’s Fiesta” at the Albany Youth Center, which has been transformed into the scene of a typical Mexican celebration.
ResouceCare programs assistant Ragan Riley said all attendees are encouraged to get into the spirit of the evening by wearing fiesta attire.
By Donnie A. Lucas
The first general rehearsal for all cast members of the Fort Griffin Fandangle has been set for Tuesday, May 3 starting at 7:30 p.m. at the Prairie Theater.
Only the first general rehearsal for all scenes is set for next week, with remaining practices starting on Sunday, May 8 and continuing almost nightly throughout May and June.
The performance dates for the show this year are June 17-18 and June 24-25, with the annual parade set for Saturday, June 18.
Tickets for the show are currently on sale on the Fandangle website.
By Melinda L. Lucas
Shackelford County commissioners spent much of Monday’s regular meeting on two items on which no action was taken, although they will probably get back to both at a future date.
Jeff Propst, 104th Judicial District Court Judge, and Taylor County commissioner Chuck Statler presented a proposal to establish a Big Country Regional Public Defenders Office, which could be based in Abilene and serve several surrounding counties, of which Shackelford has the smallest case load.
By Donnie A. Lucas
In-person early voting started Monday for the May 7 constitutional amendment election and the Shackelford County Hospital District trustee election and continues through Tuesday, May 3.
All voting is being conducted at the Shackelford County courthouse from 8:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. each workday, including during the lunch hour.
The deadline for requests for a ballot by mail ended Tuesday, with a total of 70 ballots sent out including annual ballot requests.
By Donnie A. Lucas
About 125 tickets remain available for the Radney Foster concert set for Friday, April 29 at the Aztec Theater, with doors opening at 7:00 p.m. for the 8:00 p.m. show.
The performance is sponsored by Albany Live, a nonprofit organized last year to bring live musical events to Albany. Foster’s show is the fourth in an ongoing singer/songwriter series that will wrap up in June.
“We still have plenty of seats available,” Trey Davis said Tuesday. “People can buy tickets on the website, and any that are left will be available at the door.”
By Melinda L. Lucas
The list of honor students in the 2022 Albany High School senior class was released last week, naming Luke Ivy as valedictorian and Sarah Cotter as salutatorian.
Ivy, son of Paul and Ginny Ivy, has a near-perfect four-year average of 99.586.
The salutatorian, daughter of Mike and Darla Cotter, has earned an overall average of 96.857.
Both are Albany natives, and both are extremely active in all aspects of student life, ranging from success in multiple sports to appearances at UIL state academic events.
By Sam Waller
Moran senior Johnnie Hise will compete in Ready Writing at the Region II-1A academic meet Saturday, April 23 at San Angelo.
Hise placed first in the event at the District 13-1A meet with an essay on inequalities between jobs in agriculture and other career fields.
Moran’s Danny O’Keefe is a regional alternate after placing fourth at district in Mathematics.
The top three finishers in each event at regional qualify for the state meet May 5-7 at Austin,
Biology Field Day
A meteorological station has been constructed and is up and operational on the Sanders Compton Ranch, located just east-northeast of Albany.
The station will provide near real-time information on weather data such as wind speed, direction, daily and yearly rainfall, soil temperature, and moisture levels along with barometric pressure, humidity, dew point, and solar intensity data.
The site also offers a real-time source of weather information to groups such as the National Weather Service and the Texas Forest Service from Shackelford County.
