By Donnie A. Lucas Donations picked up over the last two weeks to fund the annual Shackelford County Youth and Livestock Show but more are needed with the show  set to open in just three weeks on Jan. 23-25.

A blood drive is scheduled to take place in Albany Thursday afternoon, Jan. 2. Hendrick Regional Blood Center (formerly Meek Blood Center) will park its bloodmobile at First Baptist Church from 1:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m.

With last week’s usual Chamber of Commerce luncheon cancelled because of the holidays, the weekly event will be back on the calendar for this Friday, Jan. 3, according to Chamber manager Mary Beth Jones. The 12:00 noon meetings move to The Beehive Restaurant for January and February.

The City of Albany will test the emergency warning siren at 12:00 noon next Wednesday, Jan. 8, as it does the second Wednesday of every month, depending on the weather.

By Kathy Thomson The 2019 Albany Chest annual campaign officially ended on Tuesday, Dec. 31, with a total of $39,211 raised as of Monday, Dec. 30, according to treasurer Paige Adair.

By Melinda L. Lucas One major change is being publicized this week about Christmas events being conducted by local congregations during the week leading up to Christmas.

By Kathy Thomson The former Shekinah office building, located catty-corner to the post office and near the Depot, is being re-purposed into a long-awaited senior citizens center, but funding is still needed to complete the transformation.

By Kathy Thomson The annual Albany Chest campaign is nearing the Dec. 31 deadline, and although donations slowed to a crawl in early December, after a recent surge, the drive is now within $7,000 of reaching the goal of $42,000 set by directors for the 2019 campaign.

By Kathy Thomson The Albany Volunteer Fire Department honored member Casey Kimbrough with the 2019 Firefighter of the Year merit award at the annual Christmas party and meeting on Monday, Dec. 16.

By Kathy Thomson Members of the Albany Ministerial Alliance make a special effort each year to insure that every family in the local community has enough food to prepare a special meal over the holiday season, and the annual delivery of the Christmas food baskets will take place on Sunday, Dec. 22.