By Lynsi Musselman

The annual membership meeting of the Fort Griffin Fandangle Association is scheduled to be held at the Albany Visitors Center on Tuesday, Oct. 13 at 6:00 p.m.

Discussion and a motion to hold the Fandangle in 2021 are expected.

Board of directors whose terms are up for election this year are Cody Leech and Lanham Martin.

Other directors are Branch Bartee, John Ayers, Bucky Nail, Lesley Jones, Treca Edington, Shelly Bartee, Dustin Parsons, Henry Musselman, Pam Davis, and Lauren Willen.

By Lynsi Musselman

The 13th annual Albany Kiwanis Charity/John Rose and Jim Law Memorial Golf Tournament and Fajita Fiesta will take place this Friday, Oct. 2.

Money raised from participants and sponsors will help fund the Albany K Charity Scholarship Fund.

“The sponsors have been great this year,” said Kiwanis Club member Ken Lawrence.

Lawrence explained that the funds raised at the golf tournament not only help fund the scholarships but help provide funds for other Kiwanis Club community outreach programs.

By Lynsi Musselman

Local elementary school age boys and girls began playing in the Albany NFL Flag Football league this past week.

Eleven teams, divided into four divisions with  just under 100 kids, will continue their season through the end of October.

The teams will play against each other at the high school baseball field on Saturdays and some Tuesday afternoons.

Two games, both taking place between teams in the same age group, are held at the same time, each on a 50-yard field.

Kindergarten and 

First United Methodist Church and Friendship Baptist will host  students for the after-game fellowship following the Albany Lions’ home football game this Friday, Oct. 2.

The “Fifth Quarter” will be held at The Feed Store after the game.

The hosts will be feeding the youth pizza on Friday night.

The fellowship begins immediately after the varsity home football game and ends at 12:00 midnight.

All students in grades seventh through 12th are invited to attend.

By Lynsi Musselman

With COVID-19 being front and center in the news, the upcoming flu season is not getting as much attention as in previous years.

Because of the pandemic, reducing the spread of any respiratory illness is more important than ever, according to the Center for Disease Control.

The CDC reports that 87.5 million doses of the flu vaccine have been distributed across the nation.

By Lynsi Musselman

When Frank Dawson was preparing to leave Albany last October for Kabul, Afghanistan, his neighbors Shirley and Red Alexander came up with the idea of putting up a flag display to honor him and his service.

Dawson, a Senior Master Sergeant in the United States Air Force, moved with his family to Albany a few years ago and commuted to Dyess Air Force Base. This was his fifth deployment.

By Lynsi Musselman

Items from long ago can pop up anywhere and anytime, reminding people of history and how life was once lived, and sometimes found items can bring life full circle. 

After the recent heavy rains in Albany, resident Gerry Cates, who lives at the Stasney Palm Ranch just outside of town, found something that has been buried for at least 70 years, probably much longer.

Cates said he was walking from the house to the barn to feed one day and veered off his normal path while walking through the mud.

By Melinda L. Lucas

With very little discussion, directors of the Shackelford County Hospital District okayed the proposed budget and tax rate at a meeting on Monday, Sept. 21.

A budget of $3,049,455 was approved unanimously on a motion by Mike Folsom, with a second by Leslie Belcher.

The proposed tax rate of 20.05 cents, which is the no-new-revenue calculation, was adopted on a motion by Folsom, seconded by Myra Hise.

Other Business

By Melinda L. Lucas

Albany ISD trustees heard the 2019-2020 financial review during an hour-long meeting on Monday, Sept. 21, but no action was taken.

CPA Cameron Gulley presented the audit for last school year as “pending,” with the final report due next month.

He advised that no action be taken until figures are received from the Community Foundation of Abilene regarding Albany ISD’s investments.

By Lynsi Musselman

The Albany Chamber of Commerce and Beverly Rogers, captain of Team Albany, are getting prepared for the ‘cruse night’ event this weekend that is being held to help end the fight for Alzhiemer’s. 

The Chamber has organized “Giving a Boot to Alzheimer’s, Cruise for a Cure” to help Rogers along with Randy Hayes, who will drive up and down Main Street in Albany on Saturday, Sept. 26 from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.

The ‘cruise night’ coincides with the 2020 Walk to End Alzheimer’s in Abilene.