By Sam Waller

A few changes were made for the 2024 Shackelford Youth and Livestock Show on Tuesday, April 11 at the Shackelford Youth and Livestock Association’s annual meeting.

Shackelford County extension agent Kelsey Bell said slight changes were made to the commercial steer class, which made its debut at the 2023 show in January, as well as to how swine will be classified.

The Association also approved the purchase of a photo backdrop for exhibitors to pose in front of with their animals.

By Melinda L. Lucas

Albany ISD trustees hired a new school nurse and a new PE teacher/coach, as well as renewing teacher contracts at the regular meeting on Monday, April 17.

Heather Nitschke was hired on a 6-0 vote to serve as district nurse for the 2023-2024 school year, replacing Jessica Myers, who will be moving at the end of this school year.

Nitschke was one of three “impressive” applicants, according to AISD superintendent Jonathan Scott. She worked as a nurse in Canada before the family moved to a ranch outside Albany several years ago.

By Donnie A. Lucas

Perfect spring weather along with a number of new entries brought out spectators and vintage car and truck owners to downtown Albany last Saturday for the 16th annual Albany Classic Car Show.

Organizer Robert Snyder reported that 70 vehicles were entered in the show, down a little from last year’s  numbers due to conflicts with other shows in the area.

By Donnie A. Lucas

A crowd of over 200 members and guests made the trek to Reynolds Bend on the Matthews Ranch to get a preview of the 85th anniversary Fort Griffin Fandangle on Saturday, which was performed by a cast and crew of about 75.

“It was a wonderful success,” artistic director Lorna Ayers said. “The show was perfect, and everyone seemed to have a great time.”

The Sampler performance started at 6:00 p.m., followed by a steak dinner and dancing.

By Donnie A. Lucas

Albany Live will host the fourth country artist in its 2023 spring concert series when Kaitlin Butts makes her Albany debut at the Aztec Theater on Saturday.

Doors open at 7:00 p.m., with the performance at 8:00 p.m.

As of Tuesday, about 120 tickets were still available for the show, meaning tickets will probably still be sold at the door.

The Old Jail Art Center has again achieved accreditation by the American Alliance of Museums, the highest national recognition afforded the nation’s museums. Accreditation signifies excellence to the museum community, to governments, funders, outside agencies, and to the museum-going public.

The Old Jail was initially accredited in 1989. All museums must undergo a re-accreditation review at least every 10 years to maintain accredited status.

By Melinda L. Lucas

Dense black smoke spiraled over the northeast portion of Albany last Thursday afternoon, April 13 when a chemical fire heavily damaged one of the manufacturing buildings at Fox Tank Company.

The fire started in a mixing bay where a worker was preparing a coating for a tank, according to Albany Fire Chief Joel Viertel. The employee, who was wearing the required fire retardant gear under a Tyvek suit, started a paint rig to run a test, and a spark came out of a nearby electrical outlet, quickly igniting fumes along the floor.

By Sam Waller

The City of Albany will again provide a trash container for citizens to “chunk your junk.”

City council member Lynsi Musselman said a trash container will be placed in the Depot parking lot Friday evening and picked up Monday morning.

The Albany Lions Club will sponsor a free preliminary vision screening event called “Sight For All” in the Friendship Baptist Church’s Activity Building from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 29.

The vision screening is open to ages 2 and older, checking for need of glasses, lazy eye, cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy.

By Melinda L. Lucas

The staff of the Lions Roar, the student newspaper for Albany High School, won an 18th consecutive Star Award, as well as three Tops in Texas honors and over 40 individual achievement citations at the annual Interscholastic League Press Conference in Austin last weekend.

The state-level convention for middle and high school journalism students was held on the campus of the University of Texas and includes workshops and the announcing of awards for the current school year.