By Donnie A. Lucas Local schools remain closed this week and throughout the rest of the month by order of Gov. Greg Abbott in an effort to minimize the threat of coronavirus - COVID 19.

By Melinda L. Lucas With Gov. Greg Abbott’s newly defined stay-at-home orders and a local shelter-in-place announcement, all but essential businesses are now closed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

By Kathy Thomson Social distancing requirements have resulted in the cancellation or reformatting of most community Easter activities in Albany this year, including church services, gathering of extended family and friends, and Easter egg hunts. 

By Melinda L. Lucas Shackelford County commissioners met in two separate special sessions on Thursday, April 2, first extending the county judge’s week-long disaster declaration and then later in the day reluctantly agreeing to pay an almost $20,000 “migration” plan from Sam Goldsmith of Goldsmith...

By Lynsi Musselman Summer in Albany is  the sound of the calliope,  locals dressed in prairie costumes, and the excitement of seeing the first flag parade of the Fandangle season.

By Kathy Thomson This week Moran Independent School District superintendent Danny Freeman made his weekly trip to deliver school packets to students in Cisco, Breckenridge, and Albany a day earlier than normal.

By Lynsi Musselman Albany High School’s senior class of 2020 is encountering situations that are different from any other class before them, with academic, athletic, and senior celebrations all on hold.

By Kathy Thomson Once every 10 years, the United States Census Bureau asks every household to fill out the census questionnaire by mail, online, or by phone, and local officials are requesting that everyone in Shackelford County complies.

By Donnie A. Lucas Local banks are already being flooded with applications for loans available through the recently passed stimulus legislation know as the CARES Act in light of the impact on small businesses due to disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

By Melinda L. Lucas Taking advantage of the state’s new allowance for virtual public meetings, the Albany ISD board of trustees gathered on Zoom for a special session Monday evening to postpone the May election and to clarify temporary grading guidelines during the ongoing COVID-19 school shutdown.