The Lion basketball season finally got underway on Tuesday, after being on hold for several weeks while many of the players were involved in the football playoffs. The varsity took the court against the Abilene Hawks, posting a 67-52 win in their first outing.

All ads and news articles should be submitted by this Friday, Dec. 21 at 5:00 p.m. for the Dec. 27 issue of the Albany News.

Moran students have made it to the end of the fall semester with A+Academic University Interscholastic League meets, basketball games, and a visit from Santa all crowded into the end of the third six-weeks period.

The last couple of weeks were tough ones for the Moran basketball teams, with several losses reported and only one win.  However, the majority of the season still lies ahead, with varsity district games not starting until Friday, Jan. 4 in Gordon, when the Lady Bulldogs hit the court at 6:00 p.m.

New Albany ISD superintendent Jonathan Scott, who has been transitioning to his new duties over the past two weeks, was given authority to hire an interim principal for the elementary campus at the end of Monday’s December school board meeting.

The real reason for the Christmas season will be dramatized at two live performances of the Robert Nail play Albany Nativity offered free of charge at the Aztec Theater this Friday and Saturday, December 14 and 15, starting at 7:30 p.m. each evening.

Members of the Albany Ministerial Alliance make a special effort each year to insure that every family in the local community has enough food to prepare a traditional meal over the holiday season, and the annual delivery of the Christmas food baskets will take place this Sunday, Dec. 16.

An announcement eagerly anticipated for a couple of months by local Chamber officials was made public this week when Albany was named by True West magazine as one of the top 10 “True Western Towns of the Year.

Early deadlines have been set for the Dec. 27 and Jan. 3 papers, as the staff of The Albany News works around the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. According to News editor Melinda Lucas, the deadline for the Dec. 27 issue has been moved up to Friday, Dec. 21 at 5:00 p.m.

The Albany Chamber of Commerce will meet as usual this week and next week on Dec. 14 and Dec. 21 at the Icehouse. The weekly Chamber of Commerce luncheon has been cancelled for the holidays on Dec. 28. On Friday, Jan. 4, the 12:00 noon meetings move to the Beehive.