The Albany Independent School District and the City of Albany will both hold elections on May 4, while the other three local governing bodies, the Shackelford County hospital district, the Moran city council, and the Moran school board do not have any contested races and are expected to cancel their elections. 

Six new candidates joined various local races before last week’s  5:00 p.m. Friday cut-off.

Don Taggart is the newest candidate for a seat on the Albany city council. 

Rodney Alexander filed to return as mayor of Albany.

A quorum of Shackelford County Hospital District (SCHD) directors voted to order a new ambulance at a cost of $199,775, a purchase that has been discussed for several months and which is included in the 2019 budget. 

The board members settled on a 2019 Dodge Ram 3500 diesel chassis furnished with a Stryker “Powerload” mechanism from Frazer Ltd. in Houston, the company that has supplied the last three units owned by the district.

The new ambulance will replace one of the two 2009 models owned by the district. A 2013 ambulance will remain in service.

Shackelford County 4-H and FFA members brought back an assortment of prizes from the San Angelo Stock Show recently.

“It was a stellar outing for Shackelford County, especially following the wins at Fort Worth,” said Albany ag instructor Chris Beard. “It’s pretty exciting to see all the successes.”

Breed reserve champion banners were won by Hannah Snyder and Huffman Heatly, Tyler Beard earned a belt buckle and scholarship money, and other local youth also placed well.

Junior Heifers

The Texas Junior Livestock Association held its 39th annual year end awards at the Will Rogers Memorial Auditorium during the Fort Worth livestock show, and two local youth placed in the cattle divisions.

Albany eighth grader Gracie Price, a junior director of the organization, led the pledge of allegiance at the heifer presentation on Friday, Jan. 25 and the invocation at the steer presentation on Wednesday, Feb. 6.

Price won year-end awards in the heifer cate-gory.

Both Price and Moran junior JT Holland placed in the steer division.

Almost 94 percent of the 2018 tax levy had been collected as of Tuesday, according to chief appraiser Clayton Snyder, with mailed payments coming in for a week or so with the required Jan. 31 postmark deadline.

He also said that there had been fairly steady walk-in traffic since Feb. 1, with property owners paying a little penalty and interest in addition to their original taxes.

Reports from the Shackelford County Central Appraisal District (CAD) showed that $9,009,400 of the $9,593,390, or 93.9 percent had come in or was postmarked before the Jan. 31 deadline.

A free pipeline awareness class will be offered at no charge next week on Thursday, Feb. 28 at the Aztec Theater.

The 11:00 a.m. class, which includes lunch, is mandated by federal regulations requiring annual public awareness and emergency response training by pipeline owners for emergency responders, public officials, excavators, and the general public.

TCOLE and fire credits are given for the training.

Register at pipeline response.org.

More than one driver traveling from Albany to Breckenridge last week mentioned an unexpected jolt, which was quickly replaced by a six-mile detour.

A collapsing metal culvert, located between O’Neill Drive and the Breckenridge city limits, is being replaced with a concrete culvert, and TxDOT officials are unsure how long the repair will take.

Meanwhile, motorists must travel to the south on FM 2231 and FM 3099 to reach Breckenridge.

The deadline to file for local board seats to be decided May 4 is fast approaching, and five candidates filed their paperwork during the last week.

Amanda Tabor filed for an Albany school board seat, while Dwaine “Dewey” Knight and incumbent Carolyn Waller added their names to the ballot for Albany City Council.

Mike Folsom and incumbent Jo Ann Estridge filed for the Shackelford hospital board.

Candidates must file by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 15 to have their names on the ballot.

Despite cold and rainy weather since the January start date, city manager Billy Holson reported at Monday’s regular council meeting that water system installation at the newly annexed Clarke Estates development is moving along ahead of schedule.

Also approved during the Feb. 11 session was the purchase of a new skid steer for city operations.

The meeting was conducted by mayor pro tem Susan Montgomery in the absence of Rodney Alexander.

Water Line Progress

Valentine’s Day will soon be history, but local patrons at the Old Jail Art Center still have time to celebrate their love for art this February with four events designed especially for them.  

Hearts For The Arts

Visitors at the Old Jail Art Center this week can express their love for art by leaving a paper heart beside one of their favorite pieces on display at the museum in celebration of international Hearts for the Arts week, Feb. 12-16.