By Sidney Bartee

Members of the Albany Athletic Booster Club invite all junior high and high school athlete parents and interested community members to attend a meeting on Monday, June 28 at the Feed Store at 6:00 p.m.

The Booster Club supports all sports by using fundraisers and concession stand sale proceeds. There is no fee associated with being a member.

Those present at the meeting will discuss fall plans, the football program, and elect new officers for the 2021-2022 school year.

By Sandy Morris

ResourceCare has announced the date for the third annual CareFest fundraiser that benefits six Big Country communities.

The one-day music festival is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 28 beginning at 1:00 p.m. at the Happy Wife Happy Life Weddings and Events venue located just outside Albany. 

Bands that have committed to appear include Roger Creager, Stoney Larue, Giovannie and The Hired Guns, Dylan Wheeler, Cole Barnhill, and the 360 Band.

By Jillian Lucas

Children lined the streets of downtown Albany Saturday afternoon in anticipation of catching heaps of candy thrown from the floats and wagons of the 2021 Fort Griffin Fandangle Parade participants.

The annual parade was held this last Saturday, June 19, following its usual route down  Main Street.

Those in attendance seemed to enjoy themselves; however, participation this year was lower than in years past. 

By Melinda L. Lucas

Parents are reminded to stop by the Albany News office to pick up photo packets of players in various spring and summer sports league. 

Packages that weren’t paid in advance or charged to established accounts can be ordered when paid for.

By Jillian Lucas

Local ministries Closet Angels and Neighbors in Need will be closed June 28 through July 18.

“Closet Angels will be closed for three weeks to allow volunteers to take vacations and also to catch up on processing a massive amount of donations,” said coordinator Lori Reames.

While Closet Angels is set to reopen on July 19, Neighbors in Need will be closing indefinitely.

By Jillian Lucas

A team of 12 from First Baptist Church is set to head to Del Rio Sunday morning, June 27, to help with a construction project.

The group has traveled to this same area roughly half a dozen times to help work on various buildings and churches in several surrounding locations, according to team member Kyle Viertel.

“We will actually be staying at a mission site that we helped work on several years ago,” said Viertel. “This was a house that was donated to be used to help provide  housing for mission groups.” 

By Sidney Bartee

The First Baptist Church of Albany is offering multiple summer programs for students, including a large group of youth that will be gone next week for a five-day camp.

Latham Springs

On Monday, June 28, 47 students leave to go to Latham Springs teen camp in Aquila, Texas.

Participants will go on a charter bus and spend the week in study groups, worship, and outdoor activities.

By Jillian Lucas

Parents who need to pre-register their children for Head Start or pre-kindergarten for the 2021-2022 school year are encouraged to start the process.

New and returning Head Start families need to pick up applications at the Nancy Smith Elementary School office and return the forms as quickly as possible.

By Sidney Bartee

The annual summer reading program held at the Shackelford County Library will be ending Monday, June 28.

The final Story Hour of 2021 begins at 10:00 a.m. and ends at 11:00 a.m.

The program has been meeting every Monday throughout the month of June.

Children hear a story, play games, and make crafts related to each story. 

Pre-K children must be accompanied by an adult. Older children may be dropped off but must be picked up promptly at the end of the hour. 

By Sandy Morris

The Old Jail Art Center  will offer virtual student summer workshops each week during the month of August for first through sixth graders.

Camp videos will be posted each morning at 10:00 a.m. and will include step-by-step crafts and activities led by OJAC educators. 

Camp kits including supplies and materials for each day will be mailed to the address provided by the registrant. Kits will include a special password for access to each week’s camp videos.