By Donnie A. Lucas The first weekly luncheon provided by The Feed Store to juniors and seniors was served on Tuesday to a total of 48 students. Feed Store executive director Tisha Wilkins was pleased with the number of students who attended. “We had a great turnout,” she said.

By Donnie A. Lucas Albany ISD picked up a few new students since the first day of classes on Aug. 18, reporting a total enrollment of 508 on Monday of this week. “Our enrollment is slightly more than it was last year at this time,” superintendent Jonathan Scott said.

By Melinda L. Lucas A special meeting to adopt the 2021-2022 budget and tax rate for the Albany Independent School District is set for 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 31, the last day that the budget can be adopted, according to state law.

By Melinda L. Lucas With the annual campaign to raise funds for local organizations starting in October, board members of the Albany Chest will meet next week to organize the 2021 fundraising drive and elect new directors. The meeting is set for Wednesday, Sept. 1 at 5:15 p.m. at The Feed Store.

By Sam Waller The burn ban enacted earlier this month by Shackelford County commissioners has not changed despite last week’s rainfall, according to county judge Robert Skelton. Commissioners enacted the 45-day ban at their Aug. 16 meeting as the August heat increased potential for wildfires.

By Melinda L. Lucas Shackelford County commissioners voted to accept bids from both local banks during a regular meeting on Monday, Aug. 23. The bid packages from First National Bank and First Financial Bank had been opened at a previous meeting on Aug. 9.

By Melinda L. Lucas Members of the Albany city council met briefly on Tuesday night, Aug. 17 to propose a tax rate, discussing a couple of options but agreeing that they would keep the same rate as last year, 67.55 cents, which is about 2.5 cents higher than the “No New Revenue” (NNR) rate of 65...

By Donnie A. Lucas Tickets have sold fast over the last week for the Friends of Fort Griffin Gala set for Oct. 9 featuring Larry, Steve, & Rudy: The Gatlin Brothers.

By Donnie A. Lucas The number of positive cases of COVID-19 continued to rise during the last week, prompting local health care providers to encourage people to get vaccinated.

By Donnie A. LucasUpwards of 1,000 people are expected on Saturday, Aug. 28 for the third CareFest fundraiser at Happy Wife, Happy Life event venue three miles northwest of Albany.As of Monday there were only eight VIP tickets to the event remaining, but $60 general admission tickets and some...