By Melinda L. Lucas
Shackelford County commissioners met in two separate special sessions on Thursday, April 2, first extending the county judge’s week-long disaster declaration and then later in the day reluctantly agreeing to pay an almost $20,000 “migration” plan from Sam Goldsmith of Goldsmith Solutions.
They also approved a master service agreement with the county’s new IT vendor, Computer Transition Services Inc. (CTSI).
Disaster Extension
By Lynsi Musselman
Summer in Albany is the sound of the calliope, locals dressed in prairie costumes, and the excitement of seeing the first flag parade of the Fandangle season.
The cancelling of the Fandangle Sampler, due to government restrictions of large gatherings, has raised concerns for the summer 2020 production.
By Kathy Thomson
This week Moran Independent School District superintendent Danny Freeman made his weekly trip to deliver school packets to students in Cisco, Breckenridge, and Albany a day earlier than normal.
“We’ll deliver earlier this week, probably on Thursday, because this Friday is Good Friday,” said Freeman on Monday night. “Teachers have been working hard to get their packets ready in time.”
Freeman said that delivering the school items went well last week, with most parents able to meet him at the designated times to pick up their packets.
By Lynsi Musselman
Albany High School’s senior class of 2020 is encountering situations that are different from any other class before them, with academic, athletic, and senior celebrations all on hold.
Albany ISD Superintendent Jonathan Scott stated that decisions by higher authorities must be honored.
By Kathy Thomson
Once every 10 years, the United States Census Bureau asks every household to fill out the census questionnaire by mail, online, or by phone, and local officials are requesting that everyone in Shackelford County complies.
“It is so important to get the census turned in to keep our numbers accurate,” said mayor pro tem Susan Montgomery. “Please take time to do that.”
By Donnie A. Lucas
Local banks are already being flooded with applications for loans available through the recently passed stimulus legislation know as the CARES Act in light of the impact on small businesses due to disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
The legislation was passed relatively quickly and signed into law by President Donald Trump last week, offering a variety of sources of help for small businesses, which by definition includes companies with a workforce of 500 or less.
By Melinda L. Lucas
Taking advantage of the state’s new allowance for virtual public meetings, the Albany ISD board of trustees gathered on Zoom for a special session Monday evening to postpone the May election and to clarify temporary grading guidelines during the ongoing COVID-19 school shutdown.
Earlier in the month, Gov. Greg Abbott took the unprecedented action for a limited time in order to maintain government transparency while reducing face-to-face contact for required public open meetings.
By Lynsi Musselman
Brookshire’s Grocery Company is striving to make a challenging time easier on the Albany community.
Brookshire’s will be open on Easter Sunday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., an unprecedented change that has not happened in the corporation’s 92 year history.
This essential local business has also changed the regular store hours to 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. The first two hours are set aside for senior citizens and first responders.
By Kathy Thomson
Tomorrow, April 10, is the deadline for local youth livestock exhibitors to clean out their pens at the FFA barn from this year’s show animals and also the deadline to purchase ear tags for some of next year’s livestock shows.
Steer and heifer tag orders for the major shows need to be turned in to Albany ag advisor Chris Beard or Shackelford County extension agent Kloey Painter by April 10.
April 10 is also the deadline to turn in tag orders for swine, lambs, and goats for the State Fair of Texas.
By Kathy Thomson
The city of Albany will receive a sales tax allotment of $41,174 from the state this March. The amount is down 40.94 percent from the $69,720 payment received in March of 2019.
Payments to date for the 2020 year to the city of Albany are $127,219, down by 26.31 percent from the comparable time last year, when payments of $172,649 had been made.
The city of Moran will receive a net payment of $1,794 this period, for a 43.88 percent increase from the $1,247 received in March 2019.
