Applications from parents requesting that their children be included in the 2018 Toys for Tots program must be filled out and turned in to ResourceCare before the close of business on Friday, Nov. 30. 

As of Tuesday, 45 children were signed up. The program provided gifts for 71 underprivileged children last year, and case worker Makenzie Marshall expects more applications to arrive before the deadline.

ResourceCare also oversees Adopt-a-Senior, designed to provide wrapped Christmas gifts for the 37 adult seniors that are enrolled in Vittles by Vehicle.

Almost two dozen students from Albany Junior High and Nancy Smith Elementary will compete in Stamford at a UIL contest next week.

Stamford is hosting the District 8 UIL Junior High Speech Contest next Thursday, Dec. 6, and Cross Plains, Haskell, Hawley, and Roscoe are also expected to attend.

UIL junior high meets include grades six to eight, and Albany contestants from both NSES and the secondary campus are listed below.

SIXTH GRADE

Modern Oratory – Caroline Holson, Gabby Lopez, Kaylee McBee.

The Christmas season is underway and local churches are hosting numerous activities to spread Christmas spirit throughout the community.

Some pastors and congregations have not yet scheduled all of their Christmas events, and several could not be contacted before this week’s deadline. Any changes or additions will be publicized in a later issue, if requested.

Ministerial Alliance 

The Ministerial Alliance sponsored Believe Teen Tree present pickup will be from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 12 at the Feed Store.

This Sunday, Dec. 2, there will be a Celebration of Remembrance at Matthews Memorial Presbyterian Church, and everyone is invited to attend and take a few minutes to honor family, friends, and other loved ones who have passed on.

“A highlight of the service includes an opportunity for each person attending to say the name or have the name read of the individual(s) they want to honor,” said organizer Debbie Hamilton. “Then they can light a candle for them. The candle can be taken home after the service.”

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service in Taylor County will be hosting the 2018 Abilene Area Pecan Show on Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 3-4, with the entries on public display from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 4, and an Awards Program starting at 6:00 p.m. that same evening. 

The show will include a Pecan Nut Division, as well as a Pecan Bake Show Division. Residents of Callahan, Fisher, Jones, Nolan, Shackelford and Taylor Counties are invited to submit their pecans and baked goods for competition and judging.

Friday, Nov. 30 is the last day for fifth and sixth grade girls and boys to sign up to play in the Albany Little Dribblers Association youth basketball league, and both the completed form and the $35 registration fee must be turned in to the Nancy Smith Elementary School office or given to league organizer Clint Chapman by the deadline.

“The deadline is a little earlier than it was last year,” Chapman said. “We are planning to practice throughout the month of December.”

A tournament in Albany on Saturday, Jan. 12 will start the season.

Photo packages of local flag football teams and individuals have been printed and are now available.

Parents who paid in advance or who have valid accounts can pick up their packages at The Albany News office.

Others can be ordered when they are paid.

The December Moran city council meeting has been rescheduled, according to city secretary Jackie Wallace.

The Moran city council normally meets on the third Tuesday of each month, but next month they will meet on Dec. 11, the second Tuesday instead.

“Due to the proximity to Christmas, council members determined that it should be moved up a week,” said Wallace. 

The Moran city council meeting will be held at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 11, at the Moran City Hall, 340 Fisher Street. 

After weeks of interviews and deliberation, Albany ISD trustees unanimously selected local elementary principal Jonathan Scott as the district’s lone finalist, topping a list of 41 applicants for the post of superintendent.

The action came at the end of a closed session on Monday, Nov. 19, following a series of other closed meetings over the past month, most of them involving lengthy interviews.

According to interim superintendent Doyleen Terrell, the board met with nine of the 39 applicants, calling three back for a second interview.

Donations of $2,825 were made to the Albany Chest last week, bringing the total contributed toward the 2018 campaign goal of $42,000 up to $24,257. 

Twenty-six different organizations, including two new applicants, submitted requests for this year’s funding, all of which were considered by the board.

“The Chest continues to be a great way to support our community and the organizations who benefit our community so much,” board vice president Donnie Lucas said. “Even $5, $10, and $20 donations add up and help a lot if everyone who can contributes something.”