The Fort Griffin State Historical Site is hosting “Trail Driver Cooking: Historic Foodways of the Western Trail,” a special outdoor cooking event, on Saturday, May 25.

Those who attend the demonstration will be able to watch cooks prepare authentic trail driver food and then be able to sample the prepared chuckwagon cuisine.

Parents whose children attended Nancy Smith Elementary School this spring and will return to the same campus next year are asked to go online and register for the upcoming school year using links for 2019-2020 Returning Student Registration link that were recently emailed..

The Ben Richey Boys Ranch once again hosted its annual Teacher Appreciation Dinner at the ranch’s local campus on Tuesday, May 14.

“About 120 teachers, school board members, administrators, faculty members, and other staff came to the dinner with their families,” said Albany campus director Mike Bean.

The dinner is a way for the Boys Ranch to show its gratitude to the educators of Albany.

“We put this event on every year so that we can show some appreciation to our teachers and faculty,” said Bean. “They do a lot for our kids in Albany, and they work very hard.”

Because of ongoing problems with pilfering of donated items, Closet Angels is now using a theft proof donation bin that is owned by Medina Children’s home.

“Unfortunately, it has been painted bright blue and has their signs painted on that read ‘Arms of Hope’,” said Closet Angels director Lori Reames. “We are not allowed to paint over this, so we want everyone to know this is where they need to deposit their donations to Closet Angels!”

Reames asked donors to first place items inside plastic trash bags before dropping them into the bins.

Splash Day will occur this Saturday, May 25, as the Albany City Pool officially opens up to kick off the summer season.

Those who wish to come to the pool and celebrate the beginning of summer with a swim will be able to do so for free on this special day.

Admittance to the pool during regular hours is $2.50 per person. Individual passes for the whole summer can be purchased at the pool for $75 per person. Family summer passes can be purchased for $150 and allow for all relatives who reside at the same address to have unlimited access to the pool during regular hours.

The annual Father’s Day golf tournament, hosted by the Albany Golf Club, is questionable at this time.

Increased rain during recent weeks has impacted the state of the course, leading to speculation that the two-day event may not take place.

“We do not actually know yet if we will be hosting the tournament,” said club president Randy Walker.

Heavy rainfall can make the course difficult to play on and could possibly damage the turf.

“With all of the rain we’ve had lately, the course is not currently in good condition to play on,” said Walker.

The Albany Softball Association rescheduled its annual officer election meeting.

The meeting, originally scheduled for Monday, May 20, has been postponed until next Tuesday, May 28.

The meeting will be held at the Shackelford County library.

The next few days of school at Moran include several events before classes end on Friday, May 31. 

Athletic physicals will be given at 8:00 a.m. today, May 23.

The annual Spring Fling Festival will be held tonight, May 23, starting at 5:00 p.m. with a spaghetti supper. Booths with various games and activities will be open from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

MISD has scheduled school holidays on both Friday, May 24 and Monday, May 27 for the Memorial Day weekend.

School will release early on Thursday, May 30 and Friday May 31.

May 22 • 5:30 p.m.

 at Albany High School

Abilene Sports Medicine and Orthopedics (ASMO) will be here to give free physicals to all incoming 7-12 graders. 

Please turn in paperwork prior to that date.

All students participating in an extracurricular activity, including cheerleading, must have an annual physical.

Because of the doctors’ schedules, these exams occasionally start late & sometimes must be rescheduled.

The school year is almost over and students at the Moran Independent School District are busy with a host of end-of year activities.

This Week

State mandated STAAR testing took place this week, including math and reading exams for students in third, fourth, sixth, and seventh grades, and science tests for fifth and eighth graders.

Eighth graders are taking the STAAR social studies exam today, May 16.

Senior students are preparing a slide show that will be presented at graduation.