By Sandy Morris

The ResourceCare Community Health Center will hold a Murder Mystery Dinner fundraising event at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 22.

A “Roaring 20s Murder Mystery Dinner” will be performed by the Albany Mainstreet Playhouse Traveling Troupe with attendees encouraged to wear “Roaring 20s” attire.

The event will take place at the Albany Youth Center, which has been transformed into the “Gatsby Speakeasy,” an undercover tavern.

ResourceCare programs assistant Ragan Riley said the game will be explained to the guests when they arrive.

By Sandy Morris

Albany resident Senior Master Sgt. Francis (Frank) Dawson, Jr. was recently awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his service in the United States Air Force. 

Dawson received the award for his time serving as the group superintendent and air advisor for the 438th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group inAfghanistan  from Oct. 24, 2019 to Oct. 11, 2020.

By Sandy Morris

The Albany Chamber of Commerce will host the annual Membership Drive and Crawfish Boil at the Albany Golf Course next Thursday, April 15 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., and Chamber members, along with potential members, 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.” 

The Chamber will provide crawfish, fish, chicken, all the fixings for the meal, and water to drink. Other beverages can be brought by participants.

By Sandy Morris

After years of fighting fires, a pair of Albany firefighters have decided to hang up their gear, with a retirement reception set for this Sunday, April 11.

Kyle and Shawnee Tischler have served the Albany Volunteer Fire Department for a combined 50 years and have recently announced their plans to retire from the department.

Kyle, who has served as chief for a total of over 13 years, has been a firefighter his entire adult life.

“It’s who I am,” he said. “It’s what I know. I’ve been doing this since high school.”

By Sandy Morris

Children in Moran will have the opportunity to practice their egg hunting skills on Saturday, April 3 at the Chuck Reynolds Memorial Park.

The annual event will be hosted by the Moran Volunteer Fire Department and the Moran City Park and will begin at 11:00 a.m. 

All children will need to gather at the entrance of the park across from the community center prior to the start of the hunt. 

The park will be divided by ages prior to the hunt.

By Sandy Morris

All third through 12th grade students attending public schools in Texas take the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STARR) and End of Course (EOC) tests in the spring.

The testing program is based on state curriculum standards in core subjects including reading, writing, mathematics, science, and social studies.

The tests are designed to measure what students have learned and whether they are ready for the next grade level.

By Sandy Morris

Shackelford County youth were among exhibitors from across the state of Texas showing barrows, sheep, and steers at the junior livestock show in Austin. 

Hattie Jo Braly won Reserve Champion with her heavy weight British breed steer.

Gracie Price also participated in the steer show.

Among the barrows, Carli Edgar took first with a Hampshire and Tatum Grady won third with her Berkshire, making both eligible for the sale.

Tye Edgar placed ninth with his Hampshire.

By Sandy Morris

MLM Publishing and Ministries will present a fundraising bingo night from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 6 and April 20.

Cost of the event is $10 per person in advance and includes six bingo cards.

Admission at the door is $10 and includes four bingo cards.

A variety of prizes can  be won and concessions will be available for purchase. 

The events will be hosted at the Happy Wife Happy Life venue located at 999 FM 1084 in Albany. 

By Melinda L. Lucas

High school commencement is only two months away, and parents of graduating seniors need to attend a planning meeting at The Feed Store on Thursday, April 8 at 6:00 p.m. to organize for the busy weeks ahead for them and their graduates.

“Lots of year-end information will be handed out as well as a calendar with important events,” said senior parent Tisha Wilkins. “There are also committees that we need help with. If possible, we need at least one parent from each senior to be in attendance at this meeting.”

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.