The Albany Athletic Booster Club met on Monday, July 9 to start planning for the upcoming ice cream supper, the football ad program, and other Booster sponsored activities.

The annual Athletic Booster Club ice cream supper will be held on Monday, Aug. 13 at 7:30 p.m. at the Bank Park, according to club president Mindy Ary. 

The hamburger meal only costs $7 for the general public, and the high school athletes eat free of charge. Dessert will be homemade ice cream provided by the cheerleaders.

Recent graduate Weston Vickers signed a letter of intent with Hardin-Simmons University for the next school year to play golf.

Vickers, who graduated from Albany High School in May, officially signed last Friday to become one of the 10 members of the men’s golf team at HSU.

Advancing to the state tournament in Class 2A golf in the spring, Vickers played on the varsity all four years of his high school career.

“I am really excited about getting to play at HSU,” he said. “I am ready to continue to learn more and get better at the game.”

Parents and grandparents of Albany students, as well as businesses and other school supporters, still have almost two weeks to contact a member of the Albany Athletic Booster Club to have an ad included in the 2018 football program.

The magazine-type program is sold at all of the home football games and is typically the Club’s biggest fundraiser of the year.

The Albany Athletic Booster Club uses the money raised to help support all of the high school and junior high sports, according to treasurer Shawnee Tischler. 

Officers who will serve during the upcoming year for Moran Masonic Lodge #863 were installed in Clyde last weekend.

The Moran organization held its officer installation ceremony in conjunction with the Clyde Masonic Lodge officer installation on Saturday, July 14 at the Clyde Masonic Lodge on Oak Street. 

Masonic Lodge officers include Worshipful Master Earl McFerrin, Senior Warden Harley Wheeler, Treasurer C.L. Miller, Senior Deacon Mike Fomby, Junior Deacon Frank Davidson, and Tiler Bobby Estes.

A petition to annex almost 160 acres in a new development east and south of the Albany city limits was approved during the most recent city council meeting on Monday, July 9.

Known as the Clarke Estate Development, the tract of land backs up to the school’s ag farm and runs alongside Hwy. 6.

The petition was signed by A.V. Jones Jr. and Daphne Holcomb, but there are several others involved in the project, according to city manager Billy Holson.

More information about the development itself will be included in an upcoming article.

Annexation Plans

ResourceCare’s 18th annual Summer Day Camp began on Monday, and if camper numbers on the first couple of days are any indication, overall participation may exceed last year’s record numbers.

There were 186 attendees on the first day of camp this year, Monday, July 9, including about 50 workers and 136 campers, according to organizer Ragan Riley, and on Tuesday, July 10, they served lunch to 187 people, including the staff and volunteers, added program director Mindy Ary.

“We are averaging around 130 campers a day,” said Ary.

Members of the Albany Volunteer Fire Department will be on hand to unload donations of water, Gatorade, and Powerade at their upcoming water/Gatorade drive, set for Monday, July 16.

The water/Gatorade drive is scheduled to take place at the firehouse at 609 Railroad Street next Monday from 5:00 to 6:20 p.m., followed by the regular VFD meeting at 6:30 p.m.

An emergency management proposal and a report on the nearly complete Courthouse repair project were among the most discussed items on the Shackelford County commissioners court agenda for a Monday morning, July 9 meeting.

The elected officials also opted to leave the county-wide burn ban active, especially in light of recent lightning strikes and area wildfires.

Emergency Management

Jones County emergency management coordinator Buddy Pope asked the commissioners to consider joining with other surrounding counties to form a regional coalition.

Albany volunteer firemen were called to the scene of a truck trailer fire on Saturday around noon near the east city limits.

According to AVFD chief Kyle Tischler, an equipment hauler was moving a large track hoe from New Mexico to Houston when he noticed that his trailer brakes had become overheated and caught on fire.

The driver was able to unload the equipment before the fire spread with only slight damage to the track hoe. 

He also disconnected the truck from the trailer and drove the rig away from the fire.

The Old Jail Art Center will host three Region 14 teacher workshops for Continuing Professional Education credits during the month of July. 

A fourth workshop, Project Archeology: Investigating Shelter, was planned for this Friday, July 13, but has been cancelled. 

The Art of Reading workshop is scheduled to take place from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Friday, July 20.