By Sam WallerThe Albany Lions continued to work their way into basketball mode last week with a pair of District 10-2A wins.The Lions (7-3 overall, 3-2 district) carried a five-game win streak into their Tuesday, Jan. 17 district showdown at Cisco, a 65-51 loss. Details will be reported next week.

By Sam WallerThe Albany Lady Lions hit the midway point of the District 10-2A schedule last week with a pair of losses, but are still ahead of their pace from a year ago.Albany (8-15 overall, 1-6 district) began the second round of 10-2A play Tuesday, Jan. 17, with a 75-25 loss at No. 17 Cisco.

By Sam WallerThe Albany Little Dribblers youth basketball program is preparing to take the next step in getting its 2023 season underway following the conclusion of player registration this week.Organizer Joe Tidwell said he hopes to conduct a player draft on Sunday, Jan. 22.

By Sam WallerAlbany’s youth basketball teams enjoyed solid performances Saturday, Jan. 14 in their second outing of the season, winning seven of eight games with the only loss coming by one point in overtime.

By Melinda L. LucasFormal team photos of the Albany Lion state championship football team and their coaches can now be ordered in various sizes at The Albany News, open Monday through Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. or by calling 325-762-2201.

By Sam WallerThe Albany Cubs and Lady Cubs basketball teams returned from a month-long holiday break Thursday, Jan. 12, with games against Cisco before the girls hosted a one-day tournament on Saturday, Jan. 14.The teams have another Thursday date on Jan.

By Sam WallerThe weekly Chamber of Commerce luncheon will not be held this Friday, Jan. 20 to avoid conflicting with the Shackelford County Youth and Livestock Show.Lunches will resume at the Beehive on Jan. 27 at 12:00 noon.

In addition to regular worship times, Bible study, and small group sessions, Albany participants in last weekend’s junior high Winter Retreat at Big Country Baptist Assembly at Lueders had a little fun during their service project of raking and picking up leaves at the facility.

By Sam WallerYouth from across North Texas will convene next month for the annual Weekend of Champions leadership camps at Eastland’s Solid Rock Camp.Separate boys and girls camps serving students from eighth through 12th grades will be held on consecutive weekends.

By Melinda L. LucasWith just a little over a week left before the official deadline, a large percentage of the county-wide tax levies will be collected in the next few days.Taxes assessed during 2022 are officially due next week, on Tuesday, Jan. 31.