The Albany Masonic Lodge once again awarded four graduating seniors with $1,000 scholarships during a special dinner and program on May 16.

Winning the scholarships this year were seniors Cutter Cowart, Cassidy Schedule, Madison Wilkins, and Haley Stewart.

The ceremony started with a dinner honoring the recipients and their families, followed by the award presentations made by Worshipful Master Larry Nall.

According to Nall, the Masons have several criteria for selecting the recipients.

Members of the Albany Church of Christ recently hired Troy Wade as their new youth minister, and they are optimistic about his future.

Wade was hired in April, and he is currently a graduate student at Abilene Christian University, where he is working towards his master’s degree in New Testament.

Church leaders are very happy with Wade.

“He’s doing a great job,” said Church of Christ pastor Sonny McCauley. “He’s been leading our youth program and has already brought in a lot of new kids.”

Wade is enjoying his new position at the church so far.

Andanté Jones Harris, age 36 of Granbury, passed away Wednesday, May 29, 2019. Funeral services were held Monday, June 3 at Bethel Assembly in Albany with Rev. Martin Young officiating. Interment followed in the Albany Cemetery under the direction of Morehart Mortuary. 

Andanté Daneé Jones was born Dec. 14, 1982 in Abilene, Texas to parents, Joe Allen Jones and Melissa Ann Muir Jones. She graduated from Albany High School and attended Cisco Junior College as well as Weatherford College. 

Andanté Jones Harris, age 36 of Granbury, passed away Wednesday, May 29, 2019. Funeral services were held Monday, June 3 at Bethel Assembly in Albany with Rev. Martin Young officiating. Interment followed in the Albany Cemetery under the direction of Morehart Mortuary. 

Andanté Daneé Jones was born Dec. 14, 1982 in Abilene, Texas to parents, Joe Allen Jones and Melissa Ann Muir Jones. She graduated from Albany High School and attended Cisco Junior College as well as Weatherford College. 

Closet Angels is now open on the second Saturday of the month from 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon, and this Saturday, June 8, they are donating all proceeds to the Matthews Memorial Presbyterian Church youth group’s upcoming mission trip to Rockport.

“We have 20 people, including adult sponsors, signed up to go to Rockport on July 7-13,” said MMPC youth minister Spencer Newsom. “The donated funds will be used to help cover travel expenses and/or provide scholarships for youth members who need some help with the cost of the trip.”

Quilt owners are encouraged to lend one or more of the works of art in their collection to the Albany Study Club for their annual quilt show at the Whitney Theatre so everyone can admire the fabric treasures during the Fandangle season.

“It seems like everyone loves to look at quilts no matter the age of the quilt, the pattern or the size,” said Carolyn Waller. “Anyone interested in sharing a quilt for the show should place it in a clean plastic bag, with the owner’s name clearly marked on the bag, and bring it to the Shackelford County Library prior to Friday, June 14.” 

A four-man team doctoring “Ranch-O Twist Off” will be held at the Nail Ranch outside of Albany on Saturday, June 15 to help raise funds for Tom Belcher, who is recovering from throat cancer.

“We are just trying to help Tom out and pay some of the doctor bills,” said Bobby Williams, one of the organizers. “A lot of teams have already responded, and we’ll probably enter a team ourselves.”

Entry fees are $300 per team, with a 50 percent pay back, and buckles for the first place team. 

Individuals can enter multiple times if they change team members.

The Lion baseball team pulled together an epic comeback effort to defeat New Deal in the Region I final series, advancing for the second time in three seasons to the state baseball tournament in Round Rock.

Even as this edition of the News is being printed, Albany (23-7) is squaring off against defending Class 2A champions Big Sandy (34-4) in the semifinal round of the tournament that was set for 7:00 p.m. Wednesday at Dell Diamond.

With two weeks of the summer vacation and a couple of summer sports camps already in the past, local youth still have the opportunity to participate in additional camps coming up in both June and July.

The boys all-sports camp and basketball camps drew large numbers of participants over the last two weeks, but students out for the summer still have more camps to look forward to.

Volleyball Camp

The 2019 version of the Albany Volleyball Camp is set for June 10-12, with coach M.J. Vickers Reneau heading up the instruction.

The Albany Golf Club is once again hosting the annual Father’s Day golf tournament, which will take place on Saturday, June 15 and Sunday, June 16.

Tee times for the event on Saturday include a morning slot at 8:30 a.m. and an afternoon slot at 1:30 p.m.

The tournament will have an entry fee of $240 per team and will follow a three-person scramble format.

The tournament entry fee includes one mulligan per person on each day.

While heavy rainfall had previously put the status of the tournament in question, it is now scheduled to proceed as planned.