For the first time in several years, the subject of golf carts resurfaced during an Albany city council meeting, requiring a big chunk of time during the hour-long session on Monday, June 10.

City manager Billy Holson presented a proposal from police chief Mike House asking that the council approve a transition to annual sticker updates rather than license plates to cut down on city costs.

He also suggested that golf cart use be prohibited after 10:00 p.m. to try to improve safety and to cut down on underage driving, which is an ongoing problem.

Local grain producers are just beginning to harvest wheat, and John Ross Reames at Reames Elevator has only been able to cut his own fields three days, and only parts of those days. 

“It’s barely dry enough,” Reames said. “Our wheat is weedy, and the test weight is light.”

Reames expects it will take about two weeks to finish harvesting.

“Others have told me they expect to start combining this week,” he said. “But I don’t think we’ll have much wheat combined in the area. Most people in the county who still plant wheat end up grazing it out.”

Session 1 of the Big Country Beef Cattle Improvement Series will be held at the Trail Ranch in Shackelford County on Tuesday, June 25, and interested parties need to sign up by June 20, according to extension agent Michaela Bradford.

Tour highlights are expected to include discussions on prescribed burning, mechanical, chemical and IPT brush control, livestock and wildlife water development, food plots, grazing practices, and landowner incentive programs.

Participants should RSVP by contacting Bradford at 325-762-9435 by June 20.

Summer conditioning programs for both boys and girls entering grades 7-12 in the fall got underway on Monday at the high school campus.

The annual Father’s Day golf tournament, hosted by the Albany Golf Club, will be held this Saturday and Sunday, June 15 and 16.

Tee times on Saturday for the tournament include an 8:00 a.m. morning slot and a 1:30 p.m. afternoon slot.

The entry fee for the tournament is $240 per team and includes one mulligan per person on each tournament day.

The amount of rainfall recently made the tournament questionable, but it will continue as scheduled.

The tournament will follow a three-person scramble format.

The Albany Softball Association will meet at the Shackelford County library at 6:30 p.m. next Tuesday, June 18 to elect officers.

Although the president and vice president were both chosen at the last meeting on May 28, due to a light turnout the remainder of the elections did not take place at that time.

Parents of girls who will be playing in the local softball association are encouraged to attend the meeting.  

According to returning vice president Amy McDaniel, the officer elections are only the item on the agenda. 

Shackelford County sheriff’s department deputy Quinton Lee is recovering from emergency surgery for a ruptured appendix and his family, friends, and co-workers have organized fundraisers to help him and his family get back on their feet.

Lee’s niece Khloe New has opened a Facebook fundraiser for Lee at facebook.com/donate/337602353526665/, and sheriff Edward Miller said that a fundraiser has also been organized at bluefamilyfund.com.

Standing water resulting from plentiful rainfall over the last few months coupled with the recent warm temperatures create ideal breeding areas for mosquitoes to quickly increase in numbers, and Albany city employee David Bales has already begun spraying for the pesky insects.

Members of the Albany Volunteer Fire Department hosted a Ground Search and Rescue I (GSAR-I) class in Albany last Saturday and Sunday, June 1 and 2, which was attended by 20 volunteer firemen from Albany, Eastland, Hubbard Creek, Coke County, and Hamby fire departments.

“The certifications and curriculum are through Rescue Training International,,” said local fire chief Kyle Tischler.

The class was taught by 2Js Rescue Training instructors Joe Ringnald and Joel Viertel. Viertel is a member of the Albany VFD.

Albany rancher Watt Casey Jr. is also a professional photographer, and last weekend he was the featured artist at the Buddy Holly Center in Lubbock. 

The Center hosted a gallery talk, book signing, and opening reception for Showtime: Photographs of Music Legends by Watt Casey, Jr. on Sunday, June 2.

In addition to taking photographs of ranch scenes, in the 1970s Casey began photographing countless musicians who either lived in Austin or came to Austin on tour.