The Woodlands High School Band, under the direction of Joni Viertel Perez, was recently recognized as one of four nationwide recipients of the John Philip Sousa Foundation’s 2018 Sudler Shield Award.

By Melinda L. Lucas The 2019 version of the Fandangle parade is set to take to the streets of downtown Albany at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 22, and parade organizers are hoping for more entries to come in during the next two days.

By Melinda L. Lucas Seniors in the Albany High School Class of 2020 and their parents are encouraged to attend a meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday, June 24 in the AHS library.

By Melinda L. Lucas Four members of the Shackelford County Hospital District’s board of directors were able to meet very briefly on Monday evening, June 17 to approve the bills and not much else.

Two Albany students have been awarded college scholarships from funds held at the Community Foundation of Abilene. Jillian Guinn is the 2019 recipient of the Big Country Athletic Hall of Fame-Nancy and Ted Paup Scholarship.

By Kathy Thomson The Albany Church of Christ will be the location of an area-wide youth rally next Wednesday, June 26. “We will have singing, a guest speaker, and a meal,” said minister Sonny McCauley.

By Kathy Thomson Michelle Pearce, Michael Turner, Sindia Torres, and Tinajo West completed requirements for their high school equivalency diploma (GED) during the course of this school year and participated in the 41st Adult Education Graduation Ceremony for Taylor County held May 23 in Abilene.

By Nolan Davis Local residents volunteered time last Saturday, June 15 to help with the Chamber of Commerce promoted community cleanup day. “We had about 15 to 20 people show up to help out,” said Chamber manager Mary Beth Jones.

By Donnie A. Lucas Both Albany Little League All-Star teams got off to a good start with a pair of wins on Monday against Haskell to open the District 5 tournament. Albany’s 10U team defeated the visiting Haskell team 19-1, while the 12U team put together a 5-0 victory in the first pool game.

By Donnie A. Lucas Accolades continued to come in for members of the 2019 Albany High School baseball team that advanced to the state tournament last month. The Texas High School Coaches Association hosted its annual All-Star game last Saturday at Dell Diamond in Round Rock.