By Sam Waller

The Albany Lions were looking to clean up the mistakes that hampered them in their season opener against Dublin when they made their second outing of the season last Friday.

While there were still a couple of bumps along the way, the Lions took care of business well enough to defeat the Hamlin Pied Pipers 50-0 at Hamlin’s Piper Stadium.

First Home Game

After scheduling three road games to open the season, Albany finally gets to play its home opener at 7:00 p.m. this Friday when the Haskell Indians visit Robert Nail Memorial Stadium.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lady Lions moved up to No. 11 in the Texas Girls Coaches Association Class 2A volleyball poll after sweeping a pair of Class 1A opponents in District 6-2A competition.

The Lady Lions improved to 18-3 overall by defeating Moran 25-12, 25-8, 25-12 at Moran on Sept. 7, then beat Newcastle 25-16, 25-12, 25-7 Saturday at home.

“The girls had a strong week, winning both games in three sets each,” Lady Lions coach M.J. Reneau said.

By Sam Waller

Albany’s cross country runners made their second outing of the season on Sept. 7 at the Eula Cross Country Meet.

In the varsity girls division, Briley Tabor finished 37th in a field of 158 runners, covering the two-mile course in 14 minutes, 8 seconds. Avery Kleiner placed 96th with a time of 15:15.

In the varsity boys division, Jonathan Coody covered three miles in 21:21 to finish 52nd out of 112 runners.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Junior High Lady Cubs volleyball teams had a productive week with the seventh grade team winning twice, while the eighth grade team won its outing.

On Sept. 7, the seventh Lady Cubs defeated Moran 25-10, 25-12 on the road.

Amber Miramontes led the team with 26 service points. Zayne Lefevre had five service points, followed by Tatum Grady with three, Charlee Hefner with two, and Hattie Braly with one.

“They all played well,” coach Ginger Norton said.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Junior High Cubs football teams took different routes last Thursday in their games against the Hamlin Pied Pipers but both wound up with positive results.

The seventh grade team took the lead for good on its first offensive play on the way to a 36-0 victory at Robert Nail Memorial Stadium in its first official game. The eighth grade Cubs had to rally from a two-touchdown deficit to win 30-14.

The scheduled junior varsity game between Albany and Hamlin was cancelled because of a lack of players for the Pipers.

By Sam Waller

The Moran Bulldogs’ scheduled football game against Mullin has been cancelled because of a rash of illness affecting Moran players.

The game was to have been played at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Moran’s Bulldog Field.

“It’s not due to COVID,” Moran ISD superintendent Dr. John Denson emphasized. “The kids who are sick have been tested, and all the tests were negative for COVID.”

Moran coach John Hughes said players missed practice Monday because of the situation. The decision to cancel Friday’s game was made Tuesday.

By Sam Waller

Moran High School students will be able to earn college credit this year under a program started by Moran ISD superintendent Dr. John Denson in cooperation with Cisco College.

Denson said the class, Advanced Animal Science, fits several needs for the students.

“In addition to a science credit, it counts as an ag class for FFA credit,” said Denson, who is teaching the group. “Cisco will give students a college credit, and it will transfer to another school if they want.”

Denson said all four Moran seniors are enrolled in the class.

By Donnie A. Lucas

An investigative report involving an alleged wastewater violation by a local refining facility has been released by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, with a separate investigation on air quality and pollution still pending.

 The final investigation report concerning wastewater disposal at Texas Renewable Group, LLC, was sent to the named complaint, Darla Cotter, by the TCEQ on Aug. 19.

By Donnie A. Lucas

Opening week of dove season including Labor Day weekend typically brings droves of hunters to town, but initial reports indicated few hunters because of a lack of local birds.

According to local game warden Jake Mort, it has been an usually slow start to the season.

“It has been extremely slow since the season opened last week on Sept. 1,” Mort said. “The average kill has been just three to five birds per hunter, so those who are hunting are having a hard time filling their limits.”

By Donnie A. Lucas

The number of new COVID-19 cases held fairly steady last week at the Shackelford County Hospital Clinic, with 26 positive results out of the 57 tests given through Friday, Sept. 3.

The clinic was closed Monday for Labor Day, but reported 18 more tests administered on Tuesday with eight additional positives.

County Judge Bob Skelton issued a report on Tuesday, Sept. 7 with the hospital clinic’s numbers, but was not able to obtain the number of tests or results for ResourceCare’s medical clinic in Albany.