As the spring semester of the 2023-24 school year cranks up, Albany ISD officials are stressing the importance of regular attendance by students.The number of extracurricular activities – both inside and outside school programs – increases in the spring.

Closet Angels has been offering blankets and winter clothing items to local residents in need to help get them get through the extreme cold afflicting the area. Closet Angels director Lori Reames said 16 blankets have been distributed as of Tuesday, Jan.

The Old JailArt Center will be closed to the public for about three weeks while some of the galleries undergo renovtions, according to OJAC executive director Patrick Kelly. The planned renovations began this week on Tuesday, Jan.

The 2024 UILacademic season will kick off on Saturday, Jan. 20 with local high school students attending the first practice meet of the year.

Albany students and staff will have another holiday on Friday, Jan. 19 to allow students and staff to participate in the Shackelford CountyYouth and Livestock Show which starts tomorrow and ends on Saturday at the county show barn.

The high school Winter Formal is set for Saturday, Jan. 27 at the Whitney Theatre from 7:30 p.m.

24 organizations benefit from fundingEven though there were times that it looked as if the Albany Chest would fall short of its 2023 goal, donations poured in at the end of the year, surpassing the$45,000goalandclosing outtheyearwithcollections of $51,857.Board members met Wednesday, Jan.

♦ The filing period for local elections opened Wednesday for several entities such as the school board, city council, and hospital board and will continue until Friday, Feb. 16.

Parents of Albany High School students in the senior class of 2024 are invited to a meeting for Project Graduation. The meeting is at 5:30 p.m.

With three members absent because of illness, a quorum of the Shackelford County Hospital District’s board of directors met Monday, Jan. 15 and worked quickly through both the district and clinic agendas.