A community blood drive will take place in Albany on Thursday, March 14, sponsored by the Kiwanis Club. The Hendrick Regional Blood Center bloodmobile will be parked at First Baptist Church from 1:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m.

By Kathy Thomson The Albany High School 2019 competition one-act play The Fourth Ward was performed in front of a live local audience at the high school auditorium on Sunday, March 3, to prepare for the district competition that took place yesterday.

Kaeler Russell, a 2018 graduate of Albany High School, is a member of the Cisco College meats team that finished in seventh place overall at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Intercollegiate Meat Judging contest held on Saturday, March 2, at Martin Preferred Foods in Houston.

Representatives of local organizations and boards that award scholarships to Albany High School graduates are asked to contact Ann Riley at the AHS office by Wednesday, March 20. The office will be closed next week for spring break, but will be open again for regular hours on Monday, March 18.

Albany FFA sent a team to the Panther Creek FFA Invitational Horse Judging Contest on Feb. 26. “Most of our horse judging team members were at a tennis contest,” said advisor Chris Beard.

Thomas Aly, CEO and founder of Live Missions and former Albany First Baptist Church youth minister, has once again organized a spring break mission trip to Uganda, and six local residents are among the group traveling to Africa.

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is underway, with junior market goat, market lamb, and breeding heifer classes taking place this week, market barrows this weekend, and market steers next week.

Moran Independent School District will release for spring break at the normal time, 3:38 p.m., on Friday, March 8.  MISD offices will be closed for spring break March 11-15. Classes will resume at the normal time on Monday, March 18.

The Albany Chamber of Commerce sponsored “FamilyFest” will be held this evening, March 7 at the Albany Golf Course from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. Over 100 individuals have called in their RSVPs for the meal and family fun event, according to Chamber manager Mary Beth Jones.

Even though the mercury dipped down into the mid-teens for several days earlier this week, county residents were not reporting any serious problems associated with weather as of press time.