By Donnie A. Lucas

The JV Lions opened the football season in Colorado City last Thursday, bringing home a 44-6 victory.

Albany will travel to Dublin this week for a Thursday game at the Lions’ new stadium near the high school on Hwy. 6 south of downtown.

Kickoff will follow the two junior high games at about 6:30 p.m.

Fans must have a ticket, priced at $3 each, obtained from the Dublin school website prior to entrance. No ticket office will be open at the stadium.

By Donnie A. Lucas

The Lady Cubs volleyball season started this week with games hosted in Albany against Woodson, and Cub football is slated to kick off on Thursday (today) in Dublin.

Results of the volleyball games were not available at press time but will be reported next week.

The seventh grade Cubs will start the action in Dublin at 4:30 p.m., with the eighth grade following at 5:30 p.m. There will be a JV game after the junior high bouts.

By Lynsi Musselman

Albany’s Ministerial Alliance will host a Fifth Quarter fellowship for the second consecutive week on Friday night at The Feed Store.

First Christian Church and The Feed Store are on the calendar to sponsor the group this week.

Feed Store director Tisha Wilkins said last week had a great turnout with 115 kids attending.

The fellowship begins immediately after the varsity home football game against Dublin and concludes at 12:00 midnight.

The Feed Store is scheduled to be the location for the next four fifth quarter events.

By Lynsi Musselman

The Moran Bulldogs’ home opener against non-conference Benjamin Mustangs was a tough loss, but  the Bulldogs are looking ahead to play Evant on the road this Friday.

Moran plays in Evant on Friday, Sept. 4 at 7:30 p.m.

Moran Independent School District superintendent Danny Freeman said pre-sale tickets are available for Friday’s football game versus Evant at the MISD business office until 9:00 a.m. on Friday.

Seating will be limited with 84 tickets available for purchase.

By Lynsi Musselman

The Lady Bulldogs have lost the last two games in three sets against Benjamin and Woodson.

Moran High School volleyball coach Jo Hise said even though they lost the games, it gave the team a chance to work on their rotation and working each player into rotation.

“We have been focusing on our new libero play, and we’re looking forward to many successes playing a libero this year,” Hise reported.

The libero is a player specializing in defensive skills, wearing a contrasting colored jersey from teammates.

By Lynsi Musselman

Registration for General Education Development (GED) classes will be held at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 14 at the Shackelford County Library.

Instructor Kenzie Fairchild said registrants need to bring an acceptable form of identification.

In order to qualify for the class, a student needs to be 17 years of age or older. Students who are 17 will need a parent’s consent.

The Albany GED class will begin on Monday, Sept. 21, meeting at the library on Mondays and Tuesdays throughout the school year. 

By Melinda L. Lucas

Albany ISD trustees passed a budget that is $137,065 short during a special early morning session on Monday, Aug. 31, meeting the required state deadline.

Total expenditures are projected at $6,057,943, while revenues are listed at $5,920,878.

However, AISD superintendent Jonathan Scott said that even though the board approved a deficit budget, school officials hope to break even at the end of the year, with some “worst case scenarios built in” to the expense side and very conservative revenue projections.

By Lynsi Musselman

While a ferocious lightning storm lit up the sky Saturday night, strikes ignited several fires across Shackelford County that lasted well into Monday, with some volunteers working non-stop through a 48-hour stretch.

Shackelford County Rural Volunteer Fire Department secretary Kristy Brooker said that the fire department received three calls all at the same time on Saturday night.

By Lynsi Musselman

With limited ticket sales due to seating restrictions, the Aztec Theater will host a live concert featuring Shane Smith and the Saints on Saturday, Sept. 5 at 8:30 p.m. 

Singer Shane Smith is a native of Terrell, Texas, but is now based in Austin. 

On Saturday, a trio from the five-member band will perform for the acoustic concert.

Tisha Wilkins with the Aztec board said that the concert will be more intimate than what the band usually plays.

By Melinda L. Lucas

A special meeting of the Shackelford County Hospital District’s board of directors is planned for this Friday, Sept. 4, when it is expected that the 2021 budget will be finalized and proposed along with a tax rate.

The minutes of an Aug. 17 session reflected that the budget and rate proposals were made at that time, but directors continued to trim expenses at another two-hour workshop on Aug. 24.