By Sam Waller

The weekly Chamber of Commerce luncheon will not be held this Friday, Jan. 20 to avoid conflicting with the Shackelford County Youth and Livestock Show.

Lunches will resume at the Beehive on Jan. 27 at 12:00 noon.

Annual Meeting

Board elections will be the main order of business for the Albany Chamber of Commerce at its annual business meeting, scheduled for noon Friday, Feb. 3 at the Beehive.

Chamber officer Lisa Barton said other business will also be discussed, but the voting on board members will top the agenda.

In addition to regular worship times, Bible study, and small group sessions, Albany participants in last weekend’s junior high Winter Retreat at Big Country Baptist Assembly at Lueders had a little fun during their service project of raking and picking up leaves at the facility.  First Baptist Church youth minister Eduardo San Lucas (at right, r) took several local students to the event, with the help of volunteer

Penny Prater.

By Sam Waller

Youth from across North Texas will convene next month for the annual Weekend of Champions leadership camps at Eastland’s Solid Rock Camp.

Separate boys and girls camps serving students from eighth through 12th grades will be held on consecutive weekends.

Local FCA representative Paul Johnston will lead the girls camp, scheduled for Saturday-Sunday, Feb. 4-5, using the theme “Crown Him King.”

By Melinda L. Lucas

With just a little over a week left before the official deadline, a large percentage of the county-wide tax levies will be collected in the next few days.

Taxes assessed during 2022 are officially due next week, on Tuesday, Jan. 31.

By Sam Waller

Albany’s Cub Scout Pack 255 will hold its annual Pinewood Derby at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 6 at the Scout Hut.

Scouts from Tiger through Webelos are eligible to compete with cars carved from a standard pine block.

“It’s big event,” Wolf Den leader Tiffany Waddell said. “And Jacey Shack has made it very clear at every one of our meetings that he’s going to beat everybody.”

Scouts received kits with materials from making cars and rules for the competition. Entries must meet requirements for height, weight, width, and ground clearance.

This year, 2023, marks Big Country Electric Cooperative’s (BCEC) 85th year of hometown service to members and communities. An 85th birthday is a big accomplishment befitting a new logo look, which customers and others are already seeing.

Born in 1938 and 1939 respectively, Midwest and Stamford Electric Cooperatives brought co-op power to the Big Country. Upon merging forces in 1999, the two entities became one backed by the same heart to not only provide electricity, but service to members and support to those communities.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is now accepting applications for the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) to provide financial assistance to eligible livestock producers for 2022 grazing losses due to a qualifying drought or wildfire.

The deadline to apply for 2022 LFP assistance is Jan. 30, 2023.

By Sam Waller

An uninhabited home in Moran was totally destroyed by fire in the early hours of Thursday, Jan. 12, but major damage to nearby structures was avoided.

Elements of the Moran, Albany, and Shackelford County volunteer fire departments responded. Albany VFD Capt. Joel Viertel said the call was received at 3:36 a.m. with two city and two county units responding.

Viertel said the structure, located at 210 Austin St. in Moran, was a total loss by the time local units arrived on the scene.

By Sam Waller

Samantha Hinkle and Danny O’Keefe were crowned queen and king of the Winter Formal Thursday, Dec. 22, as Moran High School students celebrated the holiday break.

Moran principal Jo Hise said the event, which was held at the Moran Events Center, was themed “Snow Ball” and drew about 25 attendees.

Cheer Competition

Moran cheerleaders competed in the UIL Spirit state championships, held Thursday-Saturday, Jan. 12-14 at Fort Worth Convention Center.

By Donnie A. Lucas

The Albany High School auditorium is undergoing a bit of updating, with a new maple floor installed on the stage.

“There has been water damage, especially around the edges, that have been repaired in the past,” superintendent Jonathan Scott said. “The patching had started to become a tripping hazard in places, so it was time to replace it.”

Scott said that the school district was notified about a grant through Shackelford County for $12,500 that was earmarked specifically for fine arts.