Perry Duff Simmons, 54, of Azle, passed away on Friday, Aug. 2, 2019 in Weatherford.  Funeral services cele-brating Perry’s life were held Monday, Aug. 5, 2019, at the Springtown United Methodist Church in Springtown, Texas. Burial followed at the Veal Station Cemetery.

James Monroe Lawrence, age 85, passed away peacefully on July 30, 2019 at Hendrick Hospice Care in Abilene, Texas. Monroe requested that there not be a funeral service since he donated his body to medical research.

By Melinda L. Lucas Children from pre-K age to those who have completed sixth grade are expected to have some “wild” and “Amazing Encounters with Jesus” during next week’s “In the Wild” Community Vacation Bible School.

By Donnie A. Lucas Workouts for the 2019 volleyball start Thursday (today), with only a couple of days of practice slated before the local squads hit the court for competition. New head coach M.J.

By Donnie A. Lucas Another football season will kick off on Monday with the start of the traditional summer workouts. Albany’s coaching staff is expecting about 50 players to show up for the first day of practice, which will be an increase over last year’s numbers.

Photographs taken of various teams and individuals by The Albany News since the beginning of the local coach pitch, softball and baseball seasons are available for pickup. Summer baseball and softball packages are priced at $18 plus tax.

By Melinda L. Lucas Members of the Albany varsity and junior varsity football teams will be in full pads on Friday, Aug. 9 for team and individual photos to be taken at Robert Nail Stadium. The Lions and their coaches will gather at 1:00 p.m. after the morning practice.

By Donnie A. Lucas High school runners interested in participating in cross country track this fall are meeting Monday, Aug. 5 at 8:00 a.m. to organize for the season. Anyone entering grades 9-12 is invited to the meeting in the lobby of the main gym.

By Kathy Thomson Everyone is invited to come out to the Bank Park at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 12 and meet the players, coaches, and cheerleaders that will represent Albany High during the fall sports season, and for a few dollars they can also enjoy a freshly cooked hamburger meal and dessert.

By Troy Reinke District Conservationist Natural Resources Conservation Service Shackelford County Despite being one of the most popular and most-studied species of wildlife, the northern bobwhite quail population has been in a downward spiral for the past 30 years.