By Melinda L. Lucas

Knox City administrator Glen Hill was approved as the new principal for Albany’s high school and junior high campus during an early morning special session of the Albany ISD board of trustees on Thursday, June 4.

Hill was one of 18 candidates for the position, with three selected for second interviews by a five-member committee made up of secondary staff members.

AISD superintendent Jonathan Scott conducted the final interviews and recommended Hill to the board on Thursday.

By Lynsi Musselman

The Texas Education Agency reported last week that Albany Independent School District earned favorable results for the first year of a new TEA review.

AISD was found to be in compliance of all areas of the review, meeting full credit in disciplines that were monitored in TEA’s first cyclical review of Local Education Agencies (LEA).

By Lynsi Musselman

There are probably few animal species that send shivers up spines more often than snakes, prompting many people to state emphatically that “the only good snake is a dead snake.” 

Snakes are even synonymous with the devil, associated with lies, evil, and temptation.

However, snakes are not always an adversary.

 According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department website, snakes create a balance in the ecosystem, most often acting as invasive rodent control. 

By Lynsi Musselman

 After the absence of regular school events from Spring Break to the end of the regular school year, summer school has started up with some normalcy.

Third grade to sixth grade students at Nancy Smith Elementary School started summer school on Monday, June 1. 

Students will attend in classroom instruction from 9:00 a.m. to noon Monday to Friday.

Summer school will end on Friday, June 19.

By Melinda L. Lucas

Starting next week on June 12, The Albany News will be closed for business on Fridays.

According to publisher Donnie Lucas, the decision to only be open four days a week was made a little earlier in the spring.

“Since we no longer have a lot of office supply business, and the laundry service only delivers on Tuesdays and Thursdays, we don’t have that much foot traffic on Fridays any more,” said Lucas.

By Lynsi Musselman

Today is the last day to register campers or to sign up to work Day Camp 2020 to be held July 6-24.

ResourceCare program director Mindy Ary said registration at the Albany Youth Center will end Thursday at 6:00 p.m.

“If campers or workers are not signed up by 6:00 p.m. today, they will not be able to participate in day camp this year,” Ary said. “Government restrictions due to COVID-19 require strict guidelines be followed for registration.” 

By Lynsi Musselman

Senior girls from Albany’s Dance Theatre Company will participate in their final recital this Friday night.

The private event, which is open to invited guests only, will be at the Whitney Theatre at 7:00 p.m.

The recital theme and senior song chosen for the 70th year is “We Will Rise.”

Owner and choreographer Betsy Parsons said “We Will Rise” reflects the recent controversies related to COVID-19.

By Melinda L. Lucas

Tax appraisal notices for county property were mailed out recently, according to Clayton Snyder, chief appraiser of the Shackelford County Appraisal District (CAD). 

“The appraisal district physically reappraised Albany ISD property outside of the City of Albany for this year,” said Snyder. “The district also updated the cost schedule, provided through Marshall and Swift, used for appraising in 2020 for all taxing jurisdictions within the county boundaries.”

Albany High School junior Amber Leverton was inadvertently left off the list of honor students provided by Albany ISD two weeks ago. 

AHS counselor Jenny Scott said on Tuesday that Leverton is among students with a GPA of 90 or above and should have been included in the list of academic honors.

“We would like for her to receive the recognition that she is due,” said Scott, who apologized for the omission.

The family of Elgin Ray (Punk) Jones and Mary Belle (Steddum) Jones proudly announce their 70th wedding anniversary.

Punk and Mary Belle were reared in Shackelford County. They met in 1940 when the Jones family moved to Albany, Texas next door to the Steddum family. At that time, Punk was 13 and Mary Belle was nine. 

She promptly told her grandfather that when she grew up, she was going to marry Punk Jones.