The Lion baseball team clinched at least a third place finish in the district race with a pair of wins over Stamford and Hawley last week.

Albany was scheduled to host Haskell yesterday, weather permitting, where a victory in their regular season finale would propel the Lions to a second place finish in the District 8-2A race.

Albany will advance to the bi-district series during the three-day window starting next Thursday, but who they would face was still up in the air due to a three-way tie in District 7-2A.

The Lady Lions ended the regular season in fourth place among the 2A division schools in the district, setting up a bi-district game for Thursday against Windthorst.

The first-round playoff is set for Graham High School’s field at 4:00 p.m. Admission is set at $5 for adults and $3 for students.

All five of Albany’s young tennis players were eliminated at the regional tournament last week, although a singles player made it to the semifinals, and the local boys doubles team made it to the second round.

“I took four freshmen and one sophomore to Odessa, all for their first time at the regional tournament,” said tennis coach Sara Wilson. “I think they all played really awesome and made a great showing.”

She added that the athletes gave great effort both before and during tournament play in Odessa.

Regional Results

The 2019 All-Sports Banquet, which honors local students for their participation in high school athletic events, has been set for Tuesday, April 30 at the AHS gymnasium at 7:00 p.m. 

The serving line will begin at 7:00 p.m., according to Athletic Booster Club secretary Tisha Wilkins.

Tickets for the event, with a theme of “It’s Game Time!”, are $15 and are only available at the Albany High School office.

Parents and students not in high school or not involved in athletics need to purchase tickets to the event.

Billie Joyce Patterson, age 86 of Albany, passed away Thursday, April 18, 2019. Funeral services were held Monday, April 22 at Friendship Baptist Church with Pastor Paul Johnston officiating. Interment followed in Albany Cemetery under the direction of Morehart Mortuary.

Billie Joyce Atwood was born April 6, 1933 in Callahan County to parents Ben Atwood and Loma Irwin Atwood. 

Billie married Bill Edington June 24, 1949. He preceded her in death in 1978. She later married Guy Patterson on July 27, 1984. 

A Shackelford County Youth and Livestock Show Association annual meeting took place as scheduled at the Albany High School ag building on Tuesday, April 9, with a follow-up session held this week.

“There were some things we had to move around, so we had to check on some dates and have a second meeting,” said president Bronco Askew on Tuesday morning. “We need to make sure we can get judges for the new show dates.”

The Albany schools will celebrate the Easter holiday with a 3:00 p.m. dismissal today, a district holiday on Friday, and a student holiday on Monday.

Younger students at Nancy Smith Elementary School had Easter egg hunts planned today. The kindergarten students, assisted by their sixth grade buddies, will fill their baskets at 10:00 a.m., while the Head Start and Pre-K classes will hunt at 1:30 p.m. 

All students will be released at 3:00 p.m. Thursday, April 18 (today). 

Two Albany High students are headed to the Texas High School Rodeo Association finals in Abilene on June 9-15 after earning their spots at the state show by placing in the top 10 in their events over the combined course of the season and the regional finals held in Graham on April 5-7.

Mady Connally took fourth overall in Region 3 in pole bending to advance to Abilene.

Addie Beth Denton qualified for state by ending the season average in seventh place in goat tying.

Easter, or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian holiday that celebrates Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, and many churches hold special services on that Sunday and during Holy Week, the days leading up to His crucifixion.

The Ministerial Alliance sponsored community-wide special service for Holy Week was held last night at the Aztec Theater. 

The Alliance will also sponsor its traditional community-wide SonRise service on Easter morning, April 21.

Special services scheduled during the next few days include the following.

Maundy Thursday

Children from Stepping Stones Christian School, Mother’s Day Out, First Love Day Care, Lakey’s Day Care, and Nancy Smith Elementary School’s Head Start and Pre-K classes paraded up the sidewalks of downtown Albany last Friday morning, April 12, to conclude an annual week-long celebration.

Quite a few adults, including shop owners and downtown employees, waited along the sidewalks to hand out candy and other treats as the long line of children and their teachers passed by.