By Lynsi Musselman
Board members for the Shackelford County Senior Citizen Activity Center announced this week that a “soft opening” will take place on Monday, July 6.
Board secretary Mary Beth Jones said Tuesday that the opening is dependent on COVID-19 numbers prior to the event.
Senior center hours will be weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., closed on weekends.
Jones said games will begin Friday, July 10, for seniors who feel comfortable coming to the center.
By Lynsi Musselman
Two recent graduates of Albany High School competed in the Texas High School Rodeo Association finals that took place last week in Abilene at the Taylor County Coliseum.
Contestants Gracie LeMay and Mady Connally, along with Albany High School senior Addie Beth Denton, all qualified with Region 3 to compete in the state finals.
Denton broke her hand and underwent surgery two weeks before the finals, putting her out of competition.
By Lynsi Musselman
ResourceCare’s summer day camp is less than one month away, and sponsorships are still being requested to help provide a safe and fun three weeks of camp for Shackelford County youth.
ResourceCare program director Mindy Ary said the camp also will employ 45 Albany high school students and college bound kids.
The event will run weekly from July 6 to July 28, starting at 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
“We believe in this mission and all that it provides to our community,” Ary said.
By Lynsi Musselman
The Old Jail Art Center will reopen to members by appointment only beginning Tuesday, June 16 through Tuesday, June 30, and then open to the general public on July 1.
For the rest of this month, members can schedule a visit by calling the museum from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
New and renewing memberships are available through theojac.org or by calling 325-762-2269.
OJAC will open to all visitors beginning Wednesday, July 1. Visitor hours will be 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. The museum will remain closed on Saturdays until July 11.
By Lynsi Musselman
Albany High School 2018 graduate and McMurry University sophomore Reyna Garcia has been named 2020 Academic Winter-Spring Academic All Conference for softball.
During Garcia’s Albany softball career, she was named four-time first team All-District and team MVP as a junior and senior.
Garcia is an accounting major at McMurry with the goal to be a CPA after graduation.
She is the daughter of Kristen and Jamie Garcia of Albany.
By Lynsi Musselman
The start of the 2020-2021 school year is just two months away, and many families are anxiously waiting to get their kids registered for the upcoming school year.
Albany Independent School District will soon post an online link to register for current families for the whole district.
Nancy Smith Elementary School principal John Gallagher said the online registration forms are being updated to include areas that will apply to all grade levels.
By Lynsi Musselman
Combines in Shackelford County are getting ready for, and in some cases already working on, the area wheat harvest – with drier conditions than in the previous three years.
Shackelford County extension agent Kloey Cargill said she has been out to visit a few farmers, and most are ready to either harvest or graze.
“We could actually use a little rain this year, but invasive insects have been the primary cause of destruction to crops,” Cargill said.
By Melinda L. Lucas
Albany city council members announced news at Monday night’s meeting that many have been anxiously awaiting – the pool at Webb Park will open on June 15.
Although capacity is limited to 50 percent until further notice, city officials do not expect that to be a real problem, at least not until the ResourceCare Day Camp gets underway July 6.
City manager Billy Holson said that full pool capacity is 245, so at 50 percent, 122 swimmers and accompanying adults will be allowed inside the gates.
By Melinda L. Lucas
Two vacant houses on the southern outskirts of Albany were completely destroyed Tuesday afternoon in a fire that was believed to have started from electric lines sparking in a tree branch broken off by high winds.
The same winds, which were already raising dust in West Texas skies that day, pushed the fire south to Hwy. 601 (Ibex highway) and east to the Albany airport, singeing more than 250 acres, including some in the new Clarke Estates subdivision.
By Donnie A. Lucas
After almost a month without any new COVID-19 testing, Shackelford County has recorded three new tests during the last week, according to county judge Robert Skelton.
Two of the recent tests have already come back as negative, while the result for the third is still pending.
Texas governor Greg Abbott enacted the third phase of the plan for the state to safely open the economy while containing the spread of COVID-19.
As of last Wednesday, all Texas businesses were allowed to open with at least 50 percent capacity.
