By Melinda L. Lucas

Albany ISD staff and students will be off both Friday, April 2 and Monday, April 5 for a four-day Easter weekend.

Younger students at Nancy Smith Elementary School had Easter egg hunts planned this week, with kindergarten classes visiting the Abilene Zoo on Wednesday. Albany Head Start and Pre-K classes will hunt today at Webb City Park. 

Students will be released at their regular times Thursday, April 1 (today). 

School will resume at the usual time on both campuses on Tuesday morning, April 6.

By Sandy Morris

The Albany High School band walked away with a Sweepstakes concert title this week, earning ratings of 1 in concert and 1 in sightreading at the UIL Region 2, East Zone Concert and Sightreading contest held at Abilene Wylie High School on Tuesday, March 30.

AHS band director Will Vaughan was very impressed with the band’s performance.

“They improved so much in the past week,” said Vaughan. “Every day,  they seemed to be more mature, and it was just a constant progression.”

By Sandy Morris

In less than two months, the senior class of Albany High school will walk across the stage and receive their diplomas. 

After the ceremony, the graduates will enjoy the tradition of Project Graduation, which is the alcohol and drug-free event that concludes a student’s experience at AHS.

The 35 members of this year’s graduating class will be staying in town and celebrating in a progressive style by enjoying all the fun facilities Albany has to offer the youth.

By Sandy Morris

As the school year is beginning to fly by, local FFA and 4-H members are reminded of upcoming deadlines, workshops, and events.

FFA Reminders

Albany High School ag teacher and FFA sponsor Chris Beard said all thank you notes to buyers from the county stock show are now past due, and he  reminded members that all outstanding balances due to the stock show, 4-H,  or FFA must be paid by Friday, April 2 or exhibitors will not receive their checks. 

By Sandy Morris

The Albany Chamber of Commerce will host its second annual Membership Drive Crawfish Boil at the Albany Golf Course on Thursday, April 15 starting at 6:00 p.m., and Chamber members, along with those who want to join the organization, are encouraged to attend.

“All Chamber members are invited,” said Chamber manager Mary Beth Jones. “And if you’re not a member, you can come and join at the party. We’ll have special membership prices that night only including families for $50, seniors for $40, and businesses based on the number of employees.”

By Sandy Morris

Due to the Good Friday holiday on April 2, the April distribution pickup dates for the commodity food program have been pushed back one week.

Pickup dates are scheduled for Thursday, April 8 and Friday, April 9. 

Certified eligible families in Moran should pick up their monthly commodity food at the Moran City Hall between 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, April 8. 

By Sandy Morris

The Albany community garden has been tilled and is ready for planting, according to organizer Ramby Anderson.

“We’ve had a little bit of a challenge getting started with the rain this year,” said Anderson. “We’ve gotten most of the tilling done and are starting to get plants in the ground.”

Anderson said onions were planted about three weeks ago and he plans to get tomatoes, squash, zucchini, and okra in the ground this week.

By Sandy Morris

Albany High School senior Tana Thompson qualified for regional in five events and junior Luke Ivy will advance in four events after they and other local students competed in the UIL District 10-2A Academic Spring Meet held at Stamford High School on Wednesday, March 24.

Twelve other AHS competitors will also advance to the regional level.

“I am very pleased and proud of our students,” said AHS UIL coordinator Rick Davis. “We have a total of 14 students who advanced individually or as part of a team and/or placed in multiple contests.”

By Sandy Morris

The chance to hunt for eggs by the basketful should make for a fun Saturday for local children.

Members of the Albany Volunteer Fire Department will host their annual Easter egg hunt at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 3 at Webb City Park.

The egg hunt is open to all local children and their guests.

The park will be sectioned off for each individual age group and all children will need to meet at the pool entrance before the hunt begins to find the correct section. 

At their March meeting, Callahan-Shackelford Farm Bureau directors voted to support local food banks and Project Graduation activities.

The board voted to participate in the “Helping Hands Assistance Program” sponsored by Texas Farm Bureau. To deal with the need caused by the unprecedented weather event last month, county farm bureaus were encouraged to partner with the state organization in contributing to local food banks.