The Albany News (Albany, Tex.), Vol. 129, No. 52, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 26, 2005 Page: 1 of 36
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Special recognition
County Emergency Management Coordi-
nator Tom Hart earns"a pat on the back
from elected officials for his continuing
work as an unpaid volunteer.
See story, pg. 2
Regional semifinalists
The Albany Lion baseball team continues
to probe deeper into the playoffs than
any local team has ever been, advancing
this week to the regional semifinals.
See story, pg. 7
The
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"Oldest Journalistic Venture West of the Brazos"
Thursday, May 26, 2005, Albany, Texas 76430
12 Paces in 1 Section
Volume Number 129 Number 52 Price 75c
38 AHS seniors to receive diplomas Friday
A total of 38 Albany High
School seniors will file into the
AHS gymnasium Friday night,
May 27 to receive their diplo-
mas, as well as almost 70 schol-
arships amounting to close to
$70,000.
Commencement exercises Eire
set to begin at 7:00 p.m. at the
gym, with a reception planned
afterwards at the Whitney The-
ater.
Friday night's traditional cer-
emony will begin with an invo-
cation by Cortney Vaughn. High
school principal Tommy Terrell
will introduce the class valedic-
torian and salutatorian, Zane
Johnston and Laci Norton, who
will deliver their addresses, fol-
lowed by the recognition of the
other honor students and a com-
puter graphic presentation.
Terrell will then announce the
scholarship winners, and gradu-
ates will be given their diplomas
by Superintendent Shane Fields,
along with Albany ISD board
president Betsy Parsons. Spen-
cer Balliew will lead the bene-
diction.
A total of 69 scholarships will
be awarded during the com-
mencement exercises, provided
by various organizations, clubs
and foundations. The awards
amount to an astounding
$69,350 in funding.
Everyone is invited to attend
the graduation ceremony and
the reception at the Whitney
Theater.
In addition to Johnston and
Norton, honor students of the
AHS Class of 2005 are Cortney
Vaughn, JacobWilliams, Nuvia
Alcaraz, Brit Hudson, Alex
Rodriguez, Savanna Lowe,
James Chavira and Megan Baez.
The valedictorian, Johnston,
is graduating with a four-year
grade point^verage of 3.96 on a
four-poirit System, with a weight-
ed grade point average of36.725.
Norton, the salutatorian, has
earned a GPA of 3.98, with an
average of 36.359 weighted
points.
Albany High School's students,
teachers, friends and families will
gather on Friday night at the high
school gym complex for the 18th an-
nual Project Graduation festivities,
scheduled to begin around 11:00 p.m.
after commencement exercises.
Sponsored by the Albany Task Force
on Drug and Alcohol Abuse in coopera-
tion with the local school district, the
all-night party is organized by parents
and is designed to provide a drug and
alcohol-free celebration for AHS se-
niors and other students.
As of Tuesday, funding was still
short by about $1,000, and organizers
were hoping that donations would
come in this week to cover the deficit.
Event treasurer Danita Johnston
related this week that there had been
a large number of smaller donations
this year. "People may not realize how
fast those $10, $20 and $40 gifts add
up," she commented. "If you haven't
donated because you can't give a large
amount, please don't let that stop you.
We appreciate every contribution."
Anyone who would like to make a
donation can mail it to Project Gradu-
ation, do Danita Johnston, PO Box 188,
Albany TX 76430 or take it to the
principal's office at Albany High School.
Party Details
Event co-chairman Susan Jones em-
phasized that no one will be allowed in
the building unless they are "chemical-
free" and have a signed contract.
Each student involved in Project
Graduation is required to sign a contract
promising to remain chemical-free
throughout the night. A parent must also
sign the document.
Student contracts inform the partici-
pants of their responsibilities during the
event, with "no drugs and alcohol" listed
as the foremost rule. Students are also
informed of the consequences should they
choose not to comply with the terms.
Amy Jones, who is handling the con-
tracts, said Tuesday that only a few signed
contracts had been turned back in the
school office, but she and other organiz-
ers are expecting over 100 students to
attend.
The contracts will be available at the
high school principal's office on Thurs-
day and Friday, and students can pick
them up there if they don't already have
a copy. Jones reminded students who
plan to attend Project Graduation that
the contracts have to be signed by par-
ents before they are valid.
Tickets to the party have been avail-
able at the high school for about two
weeks, and will also be available at the
door, although organizers would like
for them to be purchased prior to Fri-
day night. The contracts can also be
turned in at the door if necessary, and
are required for entrance.
Seniors are allowed into Project
Graduation for free, with guests of
seniors and all other students pur-
chasing entrance tickets at $5 per
person.
Students can begin checking in
at the AHS gym at 10:30 p.m., with
the party to begin at 11:00 p.m. on
(See Project'Graduation, pg. 2)
Donnie Lucas / Albany News
Albany High School senior Kilie Holson (c) gets ready for the baccalaureate service
Sunday evening with the help of her mother, Laura Holson (I) and Mary Warren.
Holson will be among 38 seniors who will receive their diplomas this week.
GRADUATION 2005
INSIDE TODAY
Hospital board considers proposal
Dr. Ford proposes
Drivatization of
Rural Care Clinic
By Melinda L. Lucas
Dr. Ryan Ford handed a writ-
ten proposal to members of the
Shackelford County Hospital
District's board of directors, re-
questing that they consider al-
lowing him to take over opera-
tion of the local medical clinic as
a private business.
The proposal was presented
during a regular board meeting
on Monday, May 23.
Dr. Ford briefly outlined the
proposal, but suggested that
board members study the docu-
ment before taking any action.
In the plan, Dr. Ford wrote
that his main objective in priva-
tizing the clinic would be to
"bring better health care to the
residents of Shackelford County."
"By privatizing and updating
the current Rural Care Clinic,
we will be able to maintain and
build on the current patient
volume...while simultaneously
improving processes in billing,
coding, and patient care deliv-
ery," said Ford. "Our practice is
busy, but our facility is sorely
lacking in equipment necessary
to elevate the level of health
care in the county to a desirable
one.
Primary among the needs
listed by Ford was an x-ray ma-
chine. Under the terms of the
proposal, the district would be
responsible for obtaining and
installing an x-ray system, al-
though Dr. Ford offered to help
obtain private funding for the
equipment.
"By freeing the Shackelford
County Hospital District from
management duties of the Ru-
ral Care Clinic, the Hospital
District will be able to pursue
heath-care grants for further
advancement in health care fa-
cilities and health care delivery
in Shackelford County," Ford
continued.
In the proposal, the district
would continue to own the clinic
building and would make per-
manent improvements.
There were few comments by
the directors, with board presi-
dent Lance Thomas instructing
the members to study the pro-
posal, list questions to be asked
at a special meeting to be sched-
uled at a later date.
EMS Report
Interim EMS director Dan
Breeden listed several cost-cut-
ting suggestions in his report,
including turning off the elec-
tricity at the old hospital build-
ing and transferring service for
the helipad and ambulance plug-
ins, as well as covering the win-
dows of the EMS station to re-
duce loss of heating and cooling.
Breeden also requested that
he be allowed to construct a new
landing and steps for the mobile
home that serves as an EMS
station and purchase a new door
to be installed at the station.
Other Business
• Stephen Kayga was sworn
in as a new board member fol-
lowing the May 7 election date.
• Thomas reported that he
had met with an x-ray machine
salesman recently in Dallas, and
he imparted information con-
cerning the type of machine that
the district might consider pur-
chasing.
• Board members instructed
business manager JoAnn Sher-
man to find someone to clear two
dead trees from hospital prop-
erty.
• The directors also plan to
check prices for several new com-
puters to replace old equipment
in the clinic.
Memorial service set
Residents from throughout
Shackelford County and the
surrounding area will have
the opportunity to pay trib-
ute to local veterans during a
Memorial Day Service at 6:00
p.m. on Monday, May 30.
The traditional service will
be held on the Courthouse
Square where the Veterans
Monument is located.
The local Lee's Legion
chapter of the Daughters of
the American Revolution will
again sponsor the Veterans
Day service.
World War II veteran and
Shackelford County native
Bob Green will serve as
speaker for the ceremony.
DAR member Grace Leech
encouraged Albany citizens
to attend the Memorial Day
service, which is designated
as a time to remember and
recognize that the privileges
and freedom? enjoyed by
today's Americans were pur-
chased at a great cost.
Limited seating will be
available, and those who at-
tend are encouraged to bring
lawn chairs if needed.
In additioh to Green's
speech, the Albany Coramu-
Msunda Lucas / Albany News Fiu Photo
A large crowd gathers at last year's Memorial Day service, held
near the Veterans Monument on the Courthouse Square.
nity Choir will sing several pa-
triotic numbers, and Frank
Leone will perform patriotic
songs on the harmonica.
Leech is expecting a good
turnout at the Monday evening
service.
She commented that quite a
few names have been added to
the monument since it was relo-
cated from the Albany Cemetery
to the Courthouse Square.two
years ago. At that time, two
smaller stones were added to
either side of the original monu-
ment, allowing room for more
names.
Anyone who would like to
add a veteran's name is asked
to contact Leech at 762-3226.
All local and area residents,
as well as visitors, are invited
to attend the Memorial Day
service. All living veterans
will be recognized as honored
guests.
In case of rain, the service
will be held in the second floor
courtroom of the Shackelford
County Courthouse.
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Lucas, Melinda L. The Albany News (Albany, Tex.), Vol. 129, No. 52, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 26, 2005, newspaper, May 26, 2005; Albany, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth413279/m1/1/?q=%22Texas+Press+Association%22: accessed June 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Old Jail Art Center.