By Melinda L. Lucas

Members of the Albany Parent Teacher Organization have started planning for the 2021 Fall Festival, and students, and parents from all grade levels are encouraged to attend a meeting set for next Thursday, Sept. 30.

PTO members and parents will meet right after the Campus Improvement Committee at 3:30 p.m. at Nancy Smith Elementary School, with plans to present some new ideas and also hear feedback and additional ideas from parents. 

The CIC meeting will start at 3:00 p.m.

By Donnie A, Lucas

After missing out on the biennial “Big Homecoming” in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, members of the Albany Ex-Students Association have opted to hold the event this year and recognize three honor classes instead of the usual two classes.

The usual slate of homecoming parade, halftime festivities and the association meeting on Saturday are lined up for Oct. 1 and 2.

By Sam Waller

The easing of COVID-19 restrictions could have unintended consequences for the upcoming flu season.

While it is still too early to gauge the severity of flu this winter, nurse practitioner Claire Ware of Shackelford County Health Clinic said there is the chance for it to be worse than a year ago.

By Sam Waller

The Walk to End Alzheimer’s is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 9 at Grover Nelson Park in Abilene.

Beverly Rogers of Albany is once again heading up fundraising for the Alzheimer’s Association in Shackelford County.

“There are 14 counties  that make up the Abilene regional chapter,” Rogers said. “Shackelford is just one of 14 counties that fundraise for Alzheimer’s in the Abilene area.”

Rogers said registration for the Walk will begin at 8:30 a.m. the day of the event with the Walk to start at 9:00 a.m.

By Sam Waller

Bethel Assembly will give Albany’s home­coming weekend a fall flair with its annual “The Patch” cele­bration.

The event will get underway at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 2 at the Bank Park with a pumpkin market. Sales will continue until 2:00 p.m. or until the pumpkins sell out.

This year’s event will feature a decorated pumpkin parade that will begin at 11:00 a.m. Three cash prizes will be awarded. To enter, contestants can simply bring their completed pumpkins and walk the designated parade route. All pumpkins will compete in one division.

By Melinda L. Lucas

A couple of Albany High School FFA members participated in a tournament last weekend as part of the Texas High School Bass Association.

The events took place at Possum Kingdom Lake on Saturday, Sept. 18, according to FFA sponsor Chris Beard.

At the end of the day, Caden Price and Cole Read recorded a total weight of 7.48 pounds with three fish weighed in. They placed 33rd out of 228 high school teams at the tournament.

By Donnie A. Lucas

Plans for 2021 Homecoming activities set for next Friday, Oct. 1 are being finalized, with some additions to the parade happening this week and the full list of homecoming royalty announced.

The parade is set to roll through downtown at 5:00 p.m., followed by the homecoming football game against Olney set to kick off at 7:00 p.m.

By Donnie A. Lucas

Albany secondary students recently elected both class officers and student council officers for the 2021-2022 school year.

The student council selected senior Sarah Cotter as president for the organization for the coming year, with seniors Luke Ivy as vice president and Ty Everitt as secretary.

Other officers elected include juniors Gracie Price as treasurer and Cole Chapman as parliamentarian. Sophomore Jaci Chapman was picked as the group’s reporter.

By Donnie A. Lucas

Local organizations who plan to apply for funding from the Albany Chest need to finish and submit their applications by 5:00 p.m. Friday afternoon, Oct. 1.

Board vice chair Melinda Lucas said Monday that only a few applications had been received so far, and she emphasized that all organizations wishing to receive an allocation from the Albany Chest must submit a written request by the deadline.

By Melinda L. Lucas

A motorcyclist avoiding arrest because of reckless driving crashed inside the Albany city limits, ended up in the hospital with relatively minor injuries after attempting to escape from ambulance personnel, and later checked himself out of the hospital.

At press time, Trevor Lane, whose age and address weren’t available, had not been taken into custody, and his wheare­abouts were unknown.