The Texas Junior Livestock Association held its 39th annual year end awards at the Will Rogers Memorial Auditorium during the Fort Worth livestock show, and two local youth placed in the cattle divisions.

Albany eighth grader Gracie Price, a junior director of the organization, led the pledge of allegiance at the heifer presentation on Friday, Jan. 25 and the invocation at the steer presentation on Wednesday, Feb. 6.

Price won year-end awards in the heifer cate-gory.

Both Price and Moran junior JT Holland placed in the steer division.

Almost 94 percent of the 2018 tax levy had been collected as of Tuesday, according to chief appraiser Clayton Snyder, with mailed payments coming in for a week or so with the required Jan. 31 postmark deadline.

He also said that there had been fairly steady walk-in traffic since Feb. 1, with property owners paying a little penalty and interest in addition to their original taxes.

Reports from the Shackelford County Central Appraisal District (CAD) showed that $9,009,400 of the $9,593,390, or 93.9 percent had come in or was postmarked before the Jan. 31 deadline.

A free pipeline awareness class will be offered at no charge next week on Thursday, Feb. 28 at the Aztec Theater.

The 11:00 a.m. class, which includes lunch, is mandated by federal regulations requiring annual public awareness and emergency response training by pipeline owners for emergency responders, public officials, excavators, and the general public.

TCOLE and fire credits are given for the training.

Register at pipeline response.org.

More than one driver traveling from Albany to Breckenridge last week mentioned an unexpected jolt, which was quickly replaced by a six-mile detour.

A collapsing metal culvert, located between O’Neill Drive and the Breckenridge city limits, is being replaced with a concrete culvert, and TxDOT officials are unsure how long the repair will take.

Meanwhile, motorists must travel to the south on FM 2231 and FM 3099 to reach Breckenridge.

The deadline to file for local board seats to be decided May 4 is fast approaching, and five candidates filed their paperwork during the last week.

Amanda Tabor filed for an Albany school board seat, while Dwaine “Dewey” Knight and incumbent Carolyn Waller added their names to the ballot for Albany City Council.

Mike Folsom and incumbent Jo Ann Estridge filed for the Shackelford hospital board.

Candidates must file by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 15 to have their names on the ballot.

Despite cold and rainy weather since the January start date, city manager Billy Holson reported at Monday’s regular council meeting that water system installation at the newly annexed Clarke Estates development is moving along ahead of schedule.

Also approved during the Feb. 11 session was the purchase of a new skid steer for city operations.

The meeting was conducted by mayor pro tem Susan Montgomery in the absence of Rodney Alexander.

Water Line Progress

Valentine’s Day will soon be history, but local patrons at the Old Jail Art Center still have time to celebrate their love for art this February with four events designed especially for them.  

Hearts For The Arts

Visitors at the Old Jail Art Center this week can express their love for art by leaving a paper heart beside one of their favorite pieces on display at the museum in celebration of international Hearts for the Arts week, Feb. 12-16. 

Shackelford County commissioners had a lengthy discussion during a Feb. 11 regular session about whether to pursue a contract to use Walker Sayle Unit clients to perform local projects, but eventually decided to table the issue.

The cost of providing transportation for the Breckenridge workers was the biggest concern for commissioners, although there were other questions.

Information about 15-passenger vans, cost of insurance, and options for furnishing porta-potties will be brought to the Feb. 25 session.

 Other Business

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Texas’ Shackelford and Stephens Counties along with the Lower Clear Fork of the Brazos Soil and Water Conservation District cordially invite the public to attend their FY 2020 Local Working Group (LWG) meeting Feb. 21, at 1:00 p.m.  The meeting will be held at the INTERBANK location in Breckenridge in the front meeting room. 

Family trout-fishing day returns to Fort Griffin State Historic Site from 10:00 a.m to 2:00 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 16, with the park’s pond stocked with rainbow trout. 

“This is the third and final trout-stocking for the winter,” said Mitch Baird, Fort Griffin’s site manager. “The trout won’t live past the warmer months of the year, so we encourage folks to come out and catch their limit of five trout per day.”

A Fort Griffin staff member will provide instruction and assistance for families who attend, with everyone welcome. 

State fishing rules apply.