Albany school students will be dismissed for the Thanksgiving holidays on Tuesday, Nov. 20 with a noon release time. Classes will also be released slightly earlier on Monday, when the district will enact the usual Friday schedule, with all classes being released by 3:00 p.m.

Students and teachers at Nancy Smith Elementary School are wrapping up a full week of Grandparents Week celebration. “Granparents Week is going really well,” said administrative assistant Stephanie Gleitz. “We have had a great turnout.

Friendship Baptist Church members are inviting everyone to attend the church’s third annual “Harvest Acres” this Saturday, Nov. 17, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. to buy homemade baked goods, purchase handcrafted gifts, eat a hot meal, or just “come by and drink some coffee and visit for a while.

The annual community-wide Thanksgiving service will be held at the Albany Church of Christ this Sunday, Nov. 18, at 6:00 p.m., and everyone is invited to attend the Ministerial Alliance sponsored event. “We hope that a lot of people will attend,” said pastor Sonny McCauley.

The Albany Ministerial Alliance is once again sponsoring the Christmas Basket food program, and for the first time this year, Alliance members are adding a new drive to help with the cost of Christmas gifts for local teens.

Shackelford County senior adults (50 and up) are invited to attend the Shackelford County Resource Center’s November senior luncheon to be held on Friday, Nov. 16 at the Youth Center beginning at 11:00 a.m. “The theme for November is Thanksgiving,” said RC program assistant Ragan Riley.

Republic Services, trash pickup contractor for the City of Albany, will run on a slightly different schedule for the week of Thanksgiving. Residential trash containers and business and industrial containers normally picked up on Thursday will change to Friday next week.

The annual Albany Chest campaign is in full swing with half of the money requested already donated to the charitable fund, but just a short six weeks left to finish the drive.

The local prom dress ministry has moved to a new home at First Christian Church and will be directed by Tammy McBee. “Lori Reames from Closet Angels called and asked me if I would take over this ministry so it could continue to be a blessing for the community, and offer it a new home,” said McBee.

Two Shackelford County 4-H members are competing in the District 7 Food Show today, Nov. 15, in Abilene.