By Melinda L. Lucas
Voters in Shackelford County cast ballots Saturday, May 3, to elect representatives for both county school boards and the hospital district, with contested races decided for Albany ISD, Moran ISD, and the Shackelford County Hospital District.
John Gallagher secured the Albany ISD Place 7 trustee seat with 191 votes, defeating challenger Teagan Brown, who received 57. Gallagher will replace Kim Fuentes, who resigned from that seat.
By Melinda L. Lucas
Shackelford County 4-H members selected new leadership for the upcoming year during their final meeting of the 2024-2025 program year, held Sunday afternoon, May 4.
Senior and junior officer teams were elected to lead the local youth organization through 2025-2026, with Landon Picquet tapped as senior president and Reese Nitschke chosen to head the junior officers.
By David H. Waller
Polo on the Prairie once again brought hundreds of supporters together Saturday at Rancho Verde, located between Albany and Breckenridge on Hubbard Creek Reservoir. The annual fundraiser, benefiting the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, marked its 39th year with what organizers believe was the largest crowd in the event’s history. This year’s event raised nearly $1 million for cancer care and research.
By David H. Waller
Organizers for CareFest have announced the lineup for the seventh annual event, set to take place on August 16. The benefit concert, which raises money for ResourceCare, will feature performances by Kevin Fowler, Stoney LaRue, Jason Boland, Cooder Graw, Carter Peaslee, and Yesterdaze Wine. Peaslee and Yesterdaze Wine lead singer Jared McLane are both past winners of CareFest’s Acoustic Showdown competition.
By Melinda L. Lucas
Albany High School recently announced honor students for the 2025 senior class, with Avery Everitt named valedictorian and Holden Sanchez salutatorian.
Nine other seniors were named as honor students as part of the top 25 percent of the class, which has 45 members.
Everitt, the daughter of Mark and Jennifer Everitt, has a four-year overall grade average of 104.078.
Sanchez has an overall GPA of 102.282. He is the son of Matthew and Heidi Sanchez.
By Melinda L. Lucas
An Albany High student qualified to advance to the UIL State Academic Meet in Austin after placing in the top three at the Region 2 Academic Meet in Denison last Friday.
A total of 10 local students advanced to the regional academic meet, which was held April 25-26 in Denison, with several placing in the top six and receiving medals.
Sophomore Kylee Bennett was the gold medalist in the News Writing contest to earn a return trip to the state meet.
By Melinda L. Lucas
Organizers are backed up and ready for a second attempt at the 18th annual Albany Classic Car Show Saturday, May 10 after the original April 19 date was rained out.
Volunteer Robert Snyder is hopeful that next Saturday will dawn as the kind of day that classic car owners will enjoy getting their vehicles out into.
Texas singer-songwriter Paul Cauthen will return to Albany next month, headlining a concert at the Aztec Theater on Friday, May 30. The show marks Cauthen’s third performance at the Aztec since 2023 and follows an unscheduled acoustic set he performed earlier this month at Goodnight Steakhouse and Saloon.
Shackelford County 4-H member Grace Fry was the top presenter in the Equine Educational Presentation contest held last week in San Angelo.
The blue ribbon achievement at the District Roundup earned the local competitor a trip to the state contest, which will be held in June in College Station.
This is Fry’s second year to advance to the state level. Last year, a team consisting of Grace Fry, her sister Faith Fry, and Madailein Beard won the 4-H horse judging contest at the state competition.
The countdown to the 87th anniversary of the Fort Griffin Fandangle has begun, with rehearsals for the 2025 show scheduled to start Monday, May 12, at the Prairie Theater.
Anyone interested in participating is welcome to be part of the cast, and no prior experience is required. Rehearsals will be held three nights a week during May, with different parts of the show rotating each evening.
Beginning June 9, the schedule will shift to four nights a week to allow time for full cast run-throughs and final preparations.
