By Donnie A. Lucas

Shackelford County Commissioners added another county road to the list of roadways that will soon have speed limits posted, along with taking another step in the process of repaving the parking lot at the Courthouse, during a meeting held Tuesday.

A public hearing was held just before the regular meeting to hear comments on adding CR 157 to the list of roadways that will have posted speed limits that was approved at the May 11 meeting.

By Lynsi Musselman

It’s happening more frequently as the pandemic continues – residents who avoid calling 9-1-1 in time of need because of the fear of COVID-19 exposure.

Shackelford County EMS director Tina Ulbrich emphasized this week that county residentsdefinitely need to call 9-1-1 if they are having any type of medical emergency.

“We are here to help. The consequences of not calling can outweigh the risks of possibly going to the emergency room,” Ulbrich said. “All hospitals are taking the proper precautions to not expose patients.”

By Lynsi Musselman

Albany senior citizens are still waiting for the green light to meet in their new activity center.

Shackelford County Senior Citizen Activity Center board president Tracy Sullivan said because of coronavirus fears, there is no opening date set for the new activity center located at 5 South Jacobs Street.

Eventually, the center will be open Monday through Fridays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Sullivan said the center will provide a gathering place for senior citizens to  meet for fellowship and drink coffee.

By Melinda L. Lucas

Members of the Shackelford County Hospital District’s board of directors met by “Uber conference” for the second month in a row, but tentatively plan to meet in person for the June 15 session.

All seven members checked in for the remote meeting, with mostly routine agenda items except for those related to -COVID-19.

District administrative Jera Fairley reported that patient visits at the clinic are still down drastically because of the pandemic scare, and even telehealth calls have decreased.

By Donnie A. Lucas

County judge Robert Skelton reported updated COVID-19 testing numbers for the county on Monday, with 27 of the 28 tests administered returning negative and one still pending.

The county’s one positive case, which was officially reported last week, is no longer active, and that person has been released from home isolation, according to the judge.

By Lynsi Musselman

In the absence of an Academic Banquet, Albany welcomed secondary students to the school individually last week to receive their awards in an informal recognition process.

Students in each grade, seventh through 12th, were notified of a specific time to come to the high school gym lobby to return textbooks and receive their awards.

Seniors who took the ACT and SAT college entrance exams and had the highest composite scores were announced and received a monetary award. The total amount set aside for this year’s awards was $2,200. 

By Melinda L. Lucas

A new position of “administrative assistant to the superintendent” was approved by the Albany ISD board of trustees, and current secondary principal Edward Morales was moved to that role following a 30-minute closed session during Monday night’s regular meeting.

By Lynsi Musselman

After weeks of wondering if it would happen at all, members of the Albany High School Class of 2020 will march out on the Robert Nail Memorial Stadium football field to graduate on Saturday, May 23 at 10:00 a.m.

By Donnie A. Lucas

Several awards including six special memorial honors were presented to Albany High School athletes last week, although not during the traditional All-Sports Banquet that typically marks the end of the year for school athletics.

The honors were handed out to recipients when they returned to campus for the first time in over two months to turn in school uniforms and equipment.

The school year ended abruptly in mid-March when the district let out for spring break with the closure of all Texas schools due to the coronavirus pandemic.

By Melinda L. Lucas

With renditions due in a little over a week, the staff at the Shackelford County Appraisal District (CAD) is also busy getting ready to send appraisal notices for real property and business personal property.

According to chief appraiser Clayton Snyder, about 2,000 notices will be sent to property owners by the end of the month.