Session 1 of the Big Country Beef Cattle Improvement Series will be held at the Trail Ranch in Shackelford County on Tuesday, June 25, and interested parties need to sign up by June 20, according to extension agent Michaela Bradford.

Tour highlights are expected to include discussions on prescribed burning, mechanical, chemical and IPT brush control, livestock and wildlife water development, food plots, grazing practices, and landowner incentive programs.

Participants should RSVP by contacting Bradford at 325-762-9435 by June 20.

Summer conditioning programs for both boys and girls entering grades 7-12 in the fall got underway on Monday at the high school campus.

The annual Father’s Day golf tournament, hosted by the Albany Golf Club, will be held this Saturday and Sunday, June 15 and 16.

Tee times on Saturday for the tournament include an 8:00 a.m. morning slot and a 1:30 p.m. afternoon slot.

The entry fee for the tournament is $240 per team and includes one mulligan per person on each tournament day.

The amount of rainfall recently made the tournament questionable, but it will continue as scheduled.

The tournament will follow a three-person scramble format.

The Albany Softball Association will meet at the Shackelford County library at 6:30 p.m. next Tuesday, June 18 to elect officers.

Although the president and vice president were both chosen at the last meeting on May 28, due to a light turnout the remainder of the elections did not take place at that time.

Parents of girls who will be playing in the local softball association are encouraged to attend the meeting.  

According to returning vice president Amy McDaniel, the officer elections are only the item on the agenda. 

Shackelford County sheriff’s department deputy Quinton Lee is recovering from emergency surgery for a ruptured appendix and his family, friends, and co-workers have organized fundraisers to help him and his family get back on their feet.

Lee’s niece Khloe New has opened a Facebook fundraiser for Lee at facebook.com/donate/337602353526665/, and sheriff Edward Miller said that a fundraiser has also been organized at bluefamilyfund.com.

Standing water resulting from plentiful rainfall over the last few months coupled with the recent warm temperatures create ideal breeding areas for mosquitoes to quickly increase in numbers, and Albany city employee David Bales has already begun spraying for the pesky insects.

Members of the Albany Volunteer Fire Department hosted a Ground Search and Rescue I (GSAR-I) class in Albany last Saturday and Sunday, June 1 and 2, which was attended by 20 volunteer firemen from Albany, Eastland, Hubbard Creek, Coke County, and Hamby fire departments.

“The certifications and curriculum are through Rescue Training International,,” said local fire chief Kyle Tischler.

The class was taught by 2Js Rescue Training instructors Joe Ringnald and Joel Viertel. Viertel is a member of the Albany VFD.

Albany rancher Watt Casey Jr. is also a professional photographer, and last weekend he was the featured artist at the Buddy Holly Center in Lubbock. 

The Center hosted a gallery talk, book signing, and opening reception for Showtime: Photographs of Music Legends by Watt Casey, Jr. on Sunday, June 2.

In addition to taking photographs of ranch scenes, in the 1970s Casey began photographing countless musicians who either lived in Austin or came to Austin on tour. 

For a couple of reasons, the tent for the local farmers market has not yet been assembled at its usual site on Main Street next to King & Robertson.

Albany city manager Billy Holson said this week that a new tent had to be ordered for the site to replace the one purchased several years ago.

“Summer weather just takes a toll on the tent, and we’ll have to replace it every few years,” said Holson.

He expects the new tent to arrive by the end of the week.

The City of Albany will test the emergency warning siren at 12:00 noon next Wednesday, June 12, as it does the second Wednesday of every month, depending on the weather.

The tests keep citizens familiar with the three warning sounds, and they are also used to make sure that the siren, computer software, and radios are working correctly.

The siren should sound one of the three emergency tones at noon on that day, but the siren is not tested if the weather is questionable, according to local fire chief Kyle Tischler. 

SEVERE WEATHER