The 2024 UILacademic season will kick off on Saturday, Jan. 20 with local high school students attending the first practice meet of the year.

Albany students and staff will have another holiday on Friday, Jan. 19 to allow students and staff to participate in the Shackelford CountyYouth and Livestock Show which starts tomorrow and ends on Saturday at the county show barn.

The high school Winter Formal is set for Saturday, Jan. 27 at the Whitney Theatre from 7:30 p.m.

24 organizations benefit from fundingEven though there were times that it looked as if the Albany Chest would fall short of its 2023 goal, donations poured in at the end of the year, surpassing the$45,000goalandclosing outtheyearwithcollections of $51,857.Board members met Wednesday, Jan.

♦ The filing period for local elections opened Wednesday for several entities such as the school board, city council, and hospital board and will continue until Friday, Feb. 16.

Parents of Albany High School students in the senior class of 2024 are invited to a meeting for Project Graduation. The meeting is at 5:30 p.m.

With three members absent because of illness, a quorum of the Shackelford County Hospital District’s board of directors met Monday, Jan. 15 and worked quickly through both the district and clinic agendas.

Department newcomer Rob Bennett has been selected the Albany Volunteer Fire Department’s 2023 Firefighter of the Year. “Rob is a unique guy,” Albany VFD Chief Joel Viertel said.

An agreement has been reached and final judgment issued in a lawsuit by the Hackberry Wind Farm seeking a reduction in property taxes assessed for 2022 and 2023, according to the Shackelford County Appraisal District’s chief appraiser Clayton Snyder.