By Sandy Morris

 The district-wide canned food drive competition sponsored by the Moran junior and senior classes is still going strong.

 According to Moran ISD principal Jo Hise, the food drive has become very fierce.

“Right now, we have a close tie between the pre-K and third grade classes,” said Hise on Monday. 

The food drive will continue after the Thanksgiving holiday with Friday, Dec. 18 being the final day to make a donation. 

All donations will be delivered to local needy families. 

Big Country Electric Cooperative requests your help spreading word amongst local 10th, 11th and 12th grade students about the Government-in-Action Youth Tour, an all-expense-paid trip to the nation’s Capital. 

Big Country EC will send three students on the 2021 Youth Tour, scheduled June 13-22. Students’ parents/guardians do not have to be members/customers of the Cooperative to compete in and win. 

By Sandy Morris

Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar released November state sales tax revenue amounts for counties across the state of Texas, including Shackelford County.

The City of Albany will receive a sales tax allotment of $40,378 from the state this month. This amount is up 0.39 percent from the $40,222 payment received this time last year.

Payments to date for the 2020 year to the City of Albany are $66,445 down by 13.59 percent from the comparable time last year when $488,739 had been received. 

By Sandy Morris

The Albany Junior High School one act play cast and crew competed in the district contest on Thursday, Nov. 12 in Stamford. 

The students performed a comedic fairy tale, “The Magic Well.”

While the show did not place, several students were awarded individual awards, including Jalea Bowman – Best Technical Crew, Ann Davis – Honorable Mention, All-Star Cast, and Avery Everitt – All -Star Cast. 

Director Melanie Turner was very proud of her students’ performance.

By Melinda L. Lucas

An early deadline has been set for the Nov. 26 edition of The Albany News due to the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday and print schedule.

All advertising, including classified ads, and news copy must be received no later than noon on Monday, Nov. 23. 

The usual deadline for the weekly paper is Tuesday at 12:00 noon. It is being moved up a day in order to accommodate the printer’s schedule and also adjust the mailing schedule.

Recipes are still being accepted for the upcoming holiday recipe section, according to Albany News editor Melinda Lucas, but time is short.

The deadline is this Friday, because the special tab will go in next week’s paper.

“I know there are lots and lots of great cooks in Albany and Moran, and I could really use some more recipes,” said Lucas. “I’ve only heard from a few people, and I have to finish this weekend.”

Sooner is better than later, since Lucas is already working on the pages.

By Sandy Morris

As the holiday season approaches, many people look forward to tasty holiday treats but dread the extra calories and pounds.

One of the requirements of Albany ISD’s Student Health Advisory Council (SHAC) is to promote staff wellness throughout the year. 

The SHAC will kick off their “Fall Fitness Challenge 2020” just in time for the holiday season. 

By Melinda L. Lucas

Three members of the Albany ISD board of trustees were present for a special meeting at noon on Friday, Nov. 6 to canvass the votes for the COVID-delayed May board election that finally took place Nov. 3 in conjunction with the General Election.

Even though school board meetings normally require four trustees to be in attendance for action to be taken, two board members consitute a quorum for the purpose of canvassing an election, according to AISD superintendent Jonathan Scott.

By Sandy Morris

 Albany ISD Junior High students will start the UIL academic season today with a completely different look to the meets. 

This year, all events will be conducted locally with no outside audiences allowed. 

Junior high UIL coordinator Melanie Anderson said contests will be judged the same even though they are being held locally.

By Sandy Morris

All first grade students at Nancy Smith Elementary School recently received a free tooth decay kit through the Fantastic Teeth Fan Club.

Members of the Albany Masonic Lodge, represented by Robert Skelton, assembled, and delivered 50 dental hygiene kits to the school.

School nurse Lisa Russell taught a short lesson to the students about tooth care on Wednesday, Nov. 4.

Normally, local Masons present the kits in person, but because of COVID precautions, Russell took over this year’s distribution.