The Woodlands High School Band, under the direction of Joni Viertel Perez, was recently recognized as one of four nationwide recipients of the John Philip Sousa Foundation’s 2018 Sudler Shield Award.
Trophies are awarded each year in two divisions – the Small School Division and the Large School Division. The Woodlands won its award, along with the Carmel High School Band from Carmel, Indiana in the Large School Division.
By Melinda L. Lucas
The 2019 version of the Fandangle parade is set to take to the streets of downtown Albany at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 22, and parade organizers are hoping for more entries to come in during the next two days.
Parade chairman John Ayers said he would love to see more of the classic cars and trucks that call Shackelford County home join in for the drive up and down the Main Street drag, but what would really make him happy is more floats.
Ragan Riley and Shannon Leech are also serving as Fandangle Parade co-chairs this year.
By Melinda L. Lucas
Seniors in the Albany High School Class of 2020 and their parents are encouraged to attend a meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday, June 24 in the AHS library.
According to secondary counselor Jenny Scott, a variety of information will be discussed, including the time line and procedures for college applications.
“This is a great opportunity to get answers to any questions you may have and prepare for your child’s senior year,” said Scott.
By Melinda L. Lucas
Four members of the Shackelford County Hospital District’s board of directors were able to meet very briefly on Monday evening, June 17 to approve the bills and not much else.
Because of Fandangle practice and other conflicts, only the minimum number of board members were able to meet, and they postponed any other action items besides the finances until the July session.
Vice president Janna Ledbetter conducted the meeting, which was also attended by Jo Ann Estridge, Leslie Belcher, and Mike Folsom.
Two Albany students have been awarded college scholarships from funds held at the Community Foundation of Abilene.
Jillian Guinn is the 2019 recipient of the Big Country Athletic Hall of Fame-Nancy and Ted Paup Scholarship.
Jillian Guinn will be attending Texas Tech University to study Communication and Marketing. She is the daughter of Shea and Robbin Guinn. Jillian is the President of the National Honor Society, Assistant Editor of the Lions Roar newspaper and competed in UIL Journalism.
By Kathy Thomson
The Albany Church of Christ will be the location of an area-wide youth rally next Wednesday, June 26.
“We will have singing, a guest speaker, and a meal,” said minister Sonny McCauley. “We wanted to invite teens from our area to attend as well as those coming from Hawley and Abilene. All teenagers are invited to this free event.”
The youth rally is set to begin at 5:30 p.m. and end around 7:00 p.m.
McCauley is expecting 50 to 75 people to come to the rally and the Mexican Pile On meal.
By Kathy Thomson
Michelle Pearce, Michael Turner, Sindia Torres, and Tinajo West completed requirements for their high school equivalency diploma (GED) during the course of this school year and participated in the 41st Adult Education Graduation Ceremony for Taylor County held May 23 in Abilene.
The graduation took place at the Abilene High School auditorium, where 75 Big Country area residents enrolled in the Alta Vista Adult Education GED classes, including four from Albany, walked across the stage to pick up their certificates.
By Nolan Davis
Local residents volunteered time last Saturday, June 15 to help with the Chamber of Commerce promoted community cleanup day.
“We had about 15 to 20 people show up to help out,” said Chamber manager Mary Beth Jones. “I was very pleased with the number of people who volunteered their Saturday to help clean up Albany. I was also very happy with the Chamber board members who came and the leadership they showed by doing so.”
The amount of work done depends on how many show up, so having a good crowd was helpful.
By Donnie A. Lucas
Both Albany Little League All-Star teams got off to a good start with a pair of wins on Monday against Haskell to open the District 5 tournament.
Albany’s 10U team defeated the visiting Haskell team 19-1, while the 12U team put together a 5-0 victory in the first pool game.
The two teams were in action again on Wednesday, hosting Clyde in the second and final pool game. The pool games will be used to determine seeding for bracket games that start Saturday.
By Donnie A. Lucas
Accolades continued to come in for members of the 2019 Albany High School baseball team that advanced to the state tournament last month.
The Texas High School Coaches Association hosted its annual All-Star game last Saturday at Dell Diamond in Round Rock.
Albany senior Joshua Dyer played for the Class 2A-4A North All-Stars, which ended up losing 6-2 to the South squad.
Dyer played third base in the game, going one for two at the plate and scoring one run.
