The Albany Lady Lions officially opened the 2025 volleyball season Friday, August 1, with a full weekend of workouts, community service, and team-building activities aimed at setting the tone for a strong year.

Head Coach MJ Reneau said 20 players are out for the team this season, ensuring full JV and varsity rosters with depth. While the program has had a third team in past years, Reneau said she hopes to see continued growth to bring that back in the future.

The Albany Mainstreet Playhouse is preparing to close out its 2024–2025 season later this month with a production of The Curious Savage, a classic comedy by John Patrick that brings together a lively cast of local and regional performers.

Directed by Lorna Ayers, The Curious Savage will run August 22–24 at the Aztec Theater, with evening shows on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and a Sunday matinee at 2:30 p.m.

For the fourth month in a row, Albany recorded above-average rainfall—though July’s total came with a twist. The town received 6.36 inches of rain, nearly triple the historical July average of 2.27 inches. Nearly all of that total fell during the first few days of the month, including a single-day downpour of 4.65 inches on July 4.

The rest of the month saw little to no measurable rain, as high temperatures and dry conditions returned. Despite the impressive monthly total, it hasn’t felt like a wet month in recent weeks, and the Shackelford County burn ban is now back in effect.

One of my favorite things to do is flip through the old Albany News vault books and see what life looked like in years gone by. Every now and then, something jumps off the page and feels just as relevant today as it did back then. In this case, it’s a 2001 “Words about The Word” column written by former First Baptist Church pastor John Tunnell. His message on happiness appeared in the paper the week before September 11—a moment in history that reminded us how quickly life can change.