By Kathy Thomson

The week before spring break was busy for tracksters at Moran, with varsity, junior high, and elementary students traveling to various meets.

The varsity boys team tied for fifth with 34 points and girls team placed sixth with 52 points at the Cowboy Relays in Bryson on Friday, March 6. 

Medal winners included Alli Scott who won gold in the 100 meter hurdles, Dariann Hawley with two silver medals in the distance runs, and bronze medalists Arren Hawley, Johnnie Hise, and Reshaley Schafer.

By Melinda L. Lucas

Incumbent commissioner Steve Riley kept his seat in Shackelford County’s precinct 1, fending off challenger Bobby Williams in Tuesday’s Republican primary election.

Riley garnered 39 percent of the 212 ballots cast in precinct 1, where there are 543 registered voters. He will not face any Democratic opposition in the general election in November.

Several other local incumbent candidates, including district attorney Joe Edd Boaz, sheriff Edward Miller, and commissioner Lanham Martin, were unopposed on the Republican primary ballot. 

By Melinda L. Lucas

Families are invited to celebrate the beginning of Spring Break and International Kite Month at a special event this Saturday, March 7 at the Old Jail Art Center. 

With the start of spring less than two weeks away, the OJAC staff is planning to observe warmer weather by creating kites from styles and designs from all over the globe, according to Old Jail education director Erin Whitmore.

By Kathy Thomson

Seats on three local boards will be determined by voters on Election Day, those who cast early ballots, and those who return mail in  ballots for the May 2 races, including one with a list of candidates which was revised again this week.

Incumbent Cindy Huskey will be on the ballot for Moran city council after all, said Moran city secretary Teresa King.

The City of Albany has scheduled a regular test of the emergency warning siren to take place at 12:00 noon next Wednesday, March 11, 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. 

By Melinda L. Lucas

Albany city council members will conduct a budget hearing at 7:00 p.m. next Monday, March 9, preceding their regular monthly meeting at Albany City Hall.

The balanced budget of $2,936,850 was proposed at the Feb. 10 session and is expected to be in place before the city’s fiscal year begins on April 1, 2020.

Budget Proposal

By Kathy Thomson

Fandangle season is fast approaching, with memberships coming in, practices starting in just over a week, a date set for the membership sampler, and tickets to the summer shows already on sale to the general public.

Ticket Sales

By Kathy Thomson

The Albany Chamber of Commerce second annual Membership Drive Crawfish Boil will take place at the Albany Golf Course on Thursday, March 19, starting at 6:00 p.m.

The Chamber will provide crawfish, chicken, fish, deer steak, all the fixings for the meal, and water to drink.

“You can BYOB if you want something else,” said Chamber manager Mary Beth Jones. “We’ll have live music provided by volunteers who will come up and pick and sing. We welcome others who are good at playing and singing to join in.”

By Kathy Thomson

Albany FFA horse judging and wildlife teams traveled to contests over the last two weeks, earning both team and individual awards.

Horse Judging

Competing for Albany at the Big Country FFA Invitational Horse Judging Contest in Coleman on Tuesday, Feb. 25 were Addie Beth Denton, Mady Connally, and Landree Connally.

The team earned 1072 points for third in the Big Country District, sixth in Area IV, and ninth out of all of the 52 teams in the contest. 

By Kathy Thomson

The Albany High School 2020 competition one-act play The 39 Steps was performed in front of a live local audience at the high school auditorium on Monday, March 2, to prepare for the district competition taking place today.