The city of Albany will receive a sales tax allotment of $47,741 from the state this December. The amount is up 34.52 percent from the $35,488 payment received in December of 2017.

Payments to date for the 2018 year to the city of Albany are $543,476, up by 2.49 percent from the comparable time last year, when payments of $530,235 had been made.

The city of Moran will receive a net payment of $1,277 this period, for a 6.42 percent decrease from the $1,365 received in December 2017.

Closet Angels continues to be closed this week so that volunteers can take a break and spend time with their families during the Christmas and New Year’s seasons, according to director Lori Reames.

The facility will open again for regular hours next Monday, Jan. 7 – 5:00 to 6:00 for local students and their families, then 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. for the general public.

Saturday hours are still “on hold” for now, said Reames.

“We will try to let everyone know when the hours change,” said Reames.

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Albany recipients of Shackelford County food commodities should plan to pick up their allotments on Friday morning, Jan. 4 at the back door of the JP office at the Shackelford County Courthouse.

Pickup time has been set for 9:00 to 11:00 a.m.

New applications for beneficiaries of the program are due this month, with forms placed in the January food bags, according to the JP office staff.

With a much earlier sunset than during warm weather star gazing events, the staff at Fort Griffin State Historic Site will host its annual Winter Star Party this Saturday, Jan. 5 at 6:30 p.m.

The program will be held in the astronomy area behind the visitor center, which is on the west side of Hwy. 283 near the fort. In the past, the star parties have been held mostly in the campground area. 

In addition to the night time observation of the skies, hot cocoa will be available, according to program specialist Eric Abercrombie.

The City of Albany will test the emergency warning siren at 12:00 noon next Wednesday, Jan. 9, as it does the second Wednesday of every month, depending on the weather.

The tests keep citizens familiar with the three warning sounds, and they are also used to make sure that the siren, computer, software, and radios are working correctly.

The siren should sound one of the three emergency tones at noon on that day, but the siren is not tested if the weather is questionable, according to local fire chief Kyle Tischler. 

Contributions are needed for the Shackelford County Youth Livestock show, with the annual show set to be held over a three-day period Jan. 31-Feb. 2, less than one month away. 

Donations of $12,600 were deposited in the bank as of Wednesday morning, according to Molly Cauble. A bare minimum of $18,000 to $20,000 is required to fund the show. 

Donations to the association are used for ribbons, belt buckles, show supplies, premium monies, and other expenses associated with hosting the annual event.

Texas Rangers are continuing to investigate the death of a Moran man, Jack Tabor, who was killed at his girlfriend’s apartment in Cisco by her estranged husband, who then shot and killed himself.

Doyle Seabourn, 50, went to the home of his wife, from whom he had reportedly been separated for a number of months, about 1:45 a.m. last Thursday, Dec. 27.

An argument between Seabourn and Tabor resulted in Seabourn shooting Tabor, then himself, according to the preliminary investigation. 

As is typical, property tax payments at the Shackelford County Appraisal District accelerated just before the end of the year, according to chief appraiser Clayton Snyder.

“We are still busy processing and posting the many payments that were mailed in to us at the end of 2018, as well as the electronic transactions through the district’s website,” said Snyder on Monday night. “Unfortunately, there is not an accurate way to estimate the collection rate until we finish processing December payments, and close out the month in our collection system.”

Over a dozen volunteers gathered on Christmas Day to prepare about 75 lunches for local residents, during the Matthews Memorial Presbyterian Church’s 10th annual Christmas Feast.

Christmas meals were cooked, boxed, and delivered by church members to the people on the Vittles by Vehicle list, and take-out plates were provided for other members of the community who called in requests.

This year, first responders at the sheriff’s office and the EMS were also included, as well as employees at Allsup’s Convenience store – the only retail store open on Tuesday.

With New Year’s Day falling on Tuesday, an earlier deadline has been set for the Jan. 3 issue.

All copy and advertising is due by 10:00 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 31 rather than noon on Tuesday, in order for the News staff to get the pre-press work done in a timely manner.