By Sam Waller

Pumpkins will be on parade and for sale Saturday, Oct. 1 when Bethel Assembly holds its annual The Patch fall celebration at Bank Park.

The pumpkin market will open at 10:00 a.m. and last until the pumpkins sell out. Proceeds will benefit Bethel Assembly community ministries.

Pumpkin Parade

The event will again include a decorated pumpkin parade beginning at 11:00 a.m. The contest is open to children in sixth grade or younger. Contestants must walk their pumpkins through the parade to be judged.

By Sam Waller

Albany’s chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes will participate in the annual Fields of Faith program Wednesday, Oct. 12, at Graham’s Newton Field.

The event is one of seven put on by the Big Country FCA. Fields of Faith is an event where students challenge their peers to read the Bible and follow Jesus Christ, according to the Big Country FCA website.

The Graham event will begin at 7:00 p.m.

“This is aimed at high school and junior high kids,” local FCA organizer Paul Johnston said. “If parents want to come, they’ll be welcome.”

First Christian Church will celebrate a Blessing of the Animals service on Saturday, Oct. 8 at 10:00 a.m. on the south side lawn of the church.

“Everyone is welcome to bring their furry friends for a word of blessing at this short and meaningful service,” said pastor Brad McBee.

He added that photos of the animals can be brought if it is difficult to bring the animal itself.

The Feast of St. Francis of Assisi is celebrated on Oct. 4, and because St. Francis is considered the patron saint of animals, many churches offer animal blessing services on or around Oct. 4.

By Sam Waller

The Albany NFL Flag Football League will have 102 players when the season kicks off Saturday, Oct. 1.

The league will have 12 teams, four in each age division. Organizer Zach Maberry said there will be 34 players in the Kindergarten-First Grade division, 27 in the Second-Third Grade division and 41 in the Fourth-Sixth Grade division.

“I think it’s a good program,” Maberry said. “It teaches lots of good basics and helps the kids understand the game a lot better. On top of that, it’s fun.”

Maberry said the league is making one change this fall.

By Melinda L. Lucas

Pick-up dates for the October distribution of the commodity food program will be Thursday, Oct. 6 and Friday, Oct. 7, with no restrictions.

Shackelford County Justice of the Peace James Breeden, who oversees the program, said that if October commodities are not picked up, those individuals will not be eligible for the Thanksgiving bag in November.

The Thanksgiving bag is in addition to the regular November commodities.

By Melinda L. Lucas

The Culpepper & Merriweather Circus, sponsored by the Albany Lions Club, will be in Albany in a little over a week, with two shows on Friday, Oct. 7.

Billed as “America’s last traditional Big Top Circus,” the troupe will feature 90 minutes of action including animal acts and high-flying aerials, according to the company’s website.

Shows are scheduled at 5:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on that Friday.

By Sam Waller

Sue Breeden likes to bead, and judges at the West Texas Fair and Rodeo seem to like her work.

For the fourth year in a row, Breeden earned a blue ribbon for winning her class in the Pinterest Division at the fair.

“I enjoy doing it and probably will continue,” she said this week.

This year’s entry showed a bluebonnet garden with a hummingbird and different kinds of bees buzzing around a bouquet of colorful flowers.

“The whole project is beads,” Breeden said. “It took me quite a while to make this.”

By Sam Waller

More than 20 people gathered in Shackelford County earlier this month for the Women of the Land  dove hunt sponsored by the Texas Wildlife Association.

The event was held Friday, Sept. 16 through Sunday, Sept. 18, with attendees staying at the missile silo south of Albany.

The Texas Wildlife Association’s stated mission is to serve Texas wildlife and its habitat while protecting property rights, hunting heritage, and the conservation efforts of those who value and steward wildlife resources.

By Melinda L. Lucas

In addition to a school safety report from Albany ISD superintendent Jonathan Scott, AISD trustees also heard the 2021-2022 financial review during a meeting on Monday, Sept. 19, but approval of the audit is delayed until the October session at the earliest.

Safety Update

Scott informed board members that a representative of the Texas School Safety Center will conduct an “Intruder Detection Audit” on the Albany campuses sometime before the end of the month to make sure all exterior doors are secure.

By Melinda L. Lucas

After about 90 minutes of further work on the 2023 budget during a Sept. 19 meeting, Shackelford County Hospital District board members approved combined expenditures of $3,994,467 for the district administration, EMS, health clinic, and pharmacy.

Even though the figure is only about $1,300 more than the amount formally proposed on Aug. 24, it includes several significant line items in each of the separate budgets that had been inadvertently omitted in the proposed budget.