By Melinda L. Lucas

There were times when it looked as though the Albany Chest wouldn’t come anywhere close to its 2024 goal, but donations flooded in at the end of the year, surging past the $48,000 goal and reaching what was possibly a record year with $53,310.75 in collections since October.

Chest directors met last week on Wednesday, Jan. 15, and handed out almost $56,000 to 25 applicants, including the Albany Band Boosters, who recently submitted a request for help funding the 2025 spring trip.

By David H. Waller

Brookshire’s grocery store in Albany has made a generous donation of $1,100 to Resource­Care Community Health Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing comprehensive healthcare services to underserved individuals in the area.

By Melinda L. Lucas

No major skirmishes were recorded at the Jan. 20 meeting of the Shackelford County Hospital District’s board of directors, with those present voicing a desire to move forward from the problematic sessions over the last four months.

By Melinda L. Lucas

Amending the 2024 capital improvement budget took most of a 45-minute Albany city council meeting held on Wednesday, Jan. 15, with city manager Billy Holson going over the capital improvement expenditures for the year in advance of the end of the city’s fiscal year on March 31.

Holson explained that the five-year plan is always adjusted for various reasons, usually depending on unexpected costs and lack of personnel to complete projects.