The Albany News (Albany, Tex.), Vol. 120, No. 18, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 5, 1995 Page: 1 of 26
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Texas Digital Newspaper Program and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the The Old Jail Art Center.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
i.
Jr.
X' ■.
::<■<■
£> A
'tf.
/
The
Albany News
'Oldest journalistic Venture West of the Brazos
//
Thursday, Omobek'5, 1995, Albany, Ti.xas 76430
14 Pages in 2 Sections
Volume Number 120 - Number 16 • Price 50f
tax increase
Property and business ovvn-
crs in Albany, Mo ran and.
•Shackelford < 'ounty received
their tax statements this.;
week, , with most homeowners J
experiment a slight increase)
•in tax's. ;
The total tax levy tor all six
taxing agencies in Shackt'lford
('.ounty is $2,728,833 (or 1095,'
which is a,eI uaiK $67,137 1ess
. 'than the $2,795,970 assessed
last year '■'-,"
. The tax burden, is continuing
tii shift from i hi' mineral prop-
ertied; to real prOperties. with
another decie;ise in mineral
values (his year
For comparison purposes, a
total of $2,423,,203 Was levied
nine years ago in I986although
most jurisdict ions had substair ,
tially lower rates 1 lien, lltus
t ratirigtlu' si^nitiraiVt decline in .
overall property values since
then ■
(•hiefAppraiseiBrucePiailey
explained that although value;- •
have.gone down somewhat over \
the-entire county," there we're
tw.o jurisdicfiohs that. saw*- in- •;,
creases. ■' ' 1
RtUil eh I ate values in both the
City of Albany- aiid-the ('it y of
Moran accounted for slightly
higher tax , bases in t lie "two
communities ■ ,
l ux Kate < 'oinparisons
I'he Albaii> ISD.set a i ate oj
$ J. JT)09 per $ 100 valuation, the
same as the last tM'o years
Largely because ntthe decrease,
•in mineral values, the 1995 levy
is;$ I. J 16,724 more than $36,000
lest than last year's levy based
oil'the sattie tax rati'
T jus Moran ISD's rate of$] .50
will generate$279,806. show ing
the considerable value decline
in that pan of the county. The'
, same rate brought in $315,902 •
last y< ar and $334,203 the pre
v ious year
i'he Cttv.of Albany again ex-
perienced an increase in its tax
■base','1 although that increase is
lifl'' < -ity council members
chose to keep the- rate at 57.38
cents. vvl tid i is, act.ua l.ly less than
it was 1 wo. years ago al 58 76
cents The $177,795 levied tl»is
year was almost $2,500 more
than the 1994 levy of $ I , .'„35h
Coiiricilmen iii \ i,» ' !i<\ of
Moran voted .to adopt the same
tax rate of 30-88 cent* The total
levy at .$7,721 is slight ly more
th;,in it was last year at $7,540
Shackelford Cou ritys'raU ■ i n -
creased from 61,24 tV'hts in .1994
to the effective rate of'63.99 rents
this year, giving the county a
total tax levy', of $834,179, as
coiiipared to ^832.428 last year, ■
Thehospital dist rict will.leyy
$3J.2,607; in 1995; only about
$f:»5n'more than tile $3]J,962
assessed in 1994 Their tax. rate
wasset at 23.98 cents, increased
from 22 95 cents lust year
Payment Procedure*
According to Bailey, the 1995
tax st atements were mailed late
Friday afternoon.
' The taxes for this year are
officially due when the state-
meiits an: received, but don't
"become delinquent until' after
January 31, 1996
Although taxes for (ill six ju-
risdictions are dye at the same -
t une, Bailey said tliat arrange-
ments will be iriade in ca.v of
hardship to. allow for partial
■ payments ;
» If a taxpayercfioqses to make
monthly or other periodic pay- !
inents during the., next four
-months, he can pay' the full
amount for at least one or i.riore ;
jurisdictions at a time, or he can
choose an arbitrary figure, such
as- $ 100 or one-fourth of the total
amount
A new allowance in payment
procedures is the use of the
Discover card, said Bailey, He
explained that the district may
. also accept MasterCard and Visa'
in the near f uture, but that a fee
will be charged when u taxpayer
uses any of the three cards,
'There may be a few advan-
tages such as the accumulation
of frequent flyer miles, ifor tax-
payer.- who are able to pay their
cards off every month.' said
Bai ley "Also, if a taxpayer sees
See faxes, pg. H A)
Al Uany High School seniors
Wl(
'!</[, photo, i-11 ((key
and Shannon McNeill were
crowned as 1005 Home-
coming King and Queen
during Half time ceremonies
last I riday night. Although
this wasn't a "big" home-
coming, there were still:
plenty of nwtm around to
-.mark the occasion. Local'
fourth grader Sairiantha
Thompson (lower photo, r)
stops to adm i re the creation
worn by iiassmatt■ Whithey
Garden h i re. 1 Staff Photos)
Albany High School: seniors
.. Shaunqn McNei 11 and Corey Ruff
were ci owned Horni < onnngKihg
and .Queen for 1995 during
halftime ceremonies'] ast Friday
flight wlierv t)ie. Lion!S: hosted
: Haskeil, for 'b..- year.1- 48-20
hoinekom i rig Victory .'
_ McNei ll and- Ruff were m tro-.
duced as part of a field of eight.
candidates, four boys arid four
girls, ail seniors.
'J'h' t v. • were chosen by secret
ballot last week after each c.laSh
at Albany High School .had
nriniinated a senior boy and girl
for the honor McNeill was tlu;
junior Class nominee, while Ruff
was. selected by the seniors,
.. McNeill mo\ < d back to Albam
during Tier sophomore yvar. al
though she afti-nded the local
,sclioi>1 in first and sixth grades
Before coining .back here, she
-was in high selli»6J at.An'^riHo
: This is McNeilTssi'Cor'id year ,
" as a varsity cheerli ader al At
bany. and she'was a freshman
cheerleader at Aruarillo-...
• The 1995 lioinecoming queen
'has been .involved in volleyball. :
track,, basketball and. sbftball
during her high school years,
■and -pl'.'i.rs to participate in soft-
bail and golf next spring.
Sh> is an officer-^ in the. Fel-
low shi p of < 'I i ri $1 uih Ath letes f a
chbii officer.,and1 i.vs jit: o.sen'ed
as a class • of ficer. a nd o); flu1 .
studi'n'. ■ council She■ -Was, the
junior class homecoming prin-
cess last year
Huff is a 1 ifelong. Albapy •
i esidept and hat attended local'
schools since kindergarten.
Thi 19|95 honoecoming king
has also been active in the AHS
athletic program, including .
football baseball, track and
p'owerh'ftihg. He has earned all- '
district honoi> in ixith football
and baseball and was a regional
qualifier in track and powerlift-
ing . ' ■
Ruff i^ a member of DtFY-IT
ahd iias been a class officer and
student council representative.
He was class favorite hie
f resliman and sbphpinoife years,
and was junior class homecopi
ing prince iri 1994.
i Sec Hohit o oniing, pg. b-A)
A 90jni.inute musical drama ■
wi 11 be .presented in two perfor-
mances', this Saturday at the
hi. W'ly reiiovatt d AztecThi aU;r
.Forever Fluid is billed us a '
"nostalgia play within a musical
revue," and involves fqur iriem
hers of a 1960s liarnioiiy group
who die in an automobile acei
dent on their way to their "first
Dig git? " '
They were given the chance
to do one last show "the show
they never got to do in real lite ' '
Featured are songs from tlu
fifties and sixties such as Three
Coins in the Fountain, l,pve is.a
Many-Splendored Thing, Mo
ments to Remember, < 'razy 'bout
Ya Baby, No NotMuch.Perfidia,
Sixteen Tons, Heart, and Soul,
Shangi a-La, Rags to Riches and
many mon
. Proceeds from the two shows,
which will include a matinee at
2:00 p.jii and y dinner perfor-
mance starting at 6 30 p.m., will'
Ix nefit the Old Jail Art Center's
Capitol Fxpansion and Endow-
ment Fund, according to OJAC
director Joelione. Magotb.
Tickets for the matinee will
sell for $10 for adult..- and $5 for
s1ude.nl.-'. vvhilf U .< dinnet pro
duction is $25 per person.
The buffet supper will be pre
pared and served by the Old Jail
docents at the art center, fol-
lowed by an 8:00 p.m. perfor-
mance at the Azter ("offee and
dessert will then be served. in
the theater's, reception room
immediately after the show,
■ Ticket sales have picked up
the past week, but there are still
a number of beats available.
However, sales are expected
to iricjeasc considerably this
week and Magoto urged local
residents to call in as soon at
possible in order that prepara-
tions can be made for the food.
Forever Flaid was originally
performed in New York in 1990.
The four Abilene actors, said to
rival those in the New York
production, include David
Lawrence. Damon Brown, Barry
Smoot and Doug 1 joPaclxin
They performed the show
twice at the Abilene Country
■Club last spri ng and then at the
McMurry Summer Dijmer The-
ater during the month of May.
See Forever Plaid, pg. 8-A)
Readers of The Albany New*
will notice some changes in this
week's edition, but it is not ex-
pected to "rub" anyone the wrong
way, according to publisher
Donnie Lucas.
The News has changed to a
slightly smaller and more stan-
dard size ol newsprint this week
as a cost-cutting measure re-
sult ing in a nurrower page Width.
Patrons will also notice that
the type of ink has changed as
well. A rub:proof ink is now be-
ing used, which is something
readers have requested for some
time.
"The change in the size of our
newsprint will result in about a
five percent overall reduction in
paper required to publish the
News, and we are also changing
to a type of newsprint that con-
tains some recycled product."
The publisher said that he
feels that the changes will only
improve the quality of the local
nevyspaper while being more
cost-effective and environmen-
tally sound at the same time.
Minor cosmetic changes are
also being made to improve the '
Commercial job work to be printed locally
layout style of the paper and
make it easier for readers to firid
news and advertising items
"We have changed our page
heads to be more consistent,
along with our page numbers
and datelines."
Some ofthe changes are being
made possible due to a change in
printing plants.
The News has been prin ted at
MAARC Press Inc in Anson for
the past 17 years, a company
originally started by five area
newspaper publishers.
However, through various
mergers and acquisitions, Lucas
and Rotan publisher Kim Pease
were the only two remaining
owners With only one other
newspaper besides the Albany
and Rotan newspapers being
printed at the Anson location,
the cost effectiveness of the
original co-op type operation was
adversely affected.
"Since we have been working
with a tight budget, we were not
able to provide our readers with
such industry advances as rub-
J>roof ink, which we have had a
ot of requests for in the past."
Ironically, newsprint tliat is
made partially with recycled
paper is also higher in cost per
ton than "virgin" newsprint. The
volatile newsprint market
played a big role in the decision
to close the co-op printing plant.
The cost of newsprint has soared
from $450 per ton a year ago to
$750 per ton currently.
"Cur readers will notice a
narrower page format and the
cosmetic changes easily," said
Lucas "But they will have to
actually hahdle a copy of the
paper to feel the difference in
the texture of newsprint with
partially recycled paper. They
will also notice that their hands
aren't black after reading the
paper anymore."
All the production work such
as type setting, layout and paste-
up will still be done at the paper's
local office, however the actual
printing will continue to be done
at another location. ■
"We have worked out an ar-
rangement with the Brecken-
ridge newspaper to print at thei r
facility," said Lucas, "it will ac-
tually be closer for us and
Breckenridge has a dependable
pressroom staff to serve our
needs,"
The publisher said. that an-
other advantage will be the
ability to offer advertisers a
second ink color to draw more
attention to ads
"We will probably iiot have an
added color every week, but we
< will be able to offer it for a very
reasonable fee,"
, Job Printing To Be Done
Locally
Lucas also announced that
the Albany News will continue
to offer commercial printing
services to the public and that
the actual printing will be done
on site in Albany.
The publisher explained that
"job" printing has been done at
(See Changes, pg. 8-A)
Dan Neff to serve during interim
Albany Mayor Jack Bry-
ant resigned effective imme-
diately during an Albany city
council meeting on Septem7
ber 20, ,
Mayor pro. ten) Dan Neff
will handle the city's mayoral
duties until the next meet-
ing.
Bryant, who*was elected to
a second two-year term as
mayor la&t May, announced
that he is moving to Here-
ford , Texas to retire.
The resignation was ac-
cepted with regrets.
, Bryant has lived in Albany
for seven years and operated
a commercial and residential
electrical service. He also
served as technical director
in charge of lighting for the
Fort Griffin Fandangle for
several years,
His wife, Pat, is also retir-
ing from her position as ad-
ministrator at Bluebonnet
Nursing Home to make the
move to her hometown of
Hereford.
City Manager Bobby Rus-
sell said that the council will
have a couple of options per-
taining to the resignation
"As I understand it,
will be able to just
mayor pre tem to cond
meetings until the next
eral Election, which is May 4,
1996"
The council could also ap
poiritNeff, or someone
serve as mayor until the el<
tion . If Neff were to be
pointed as mayor,
seat on the council
filled by appointment
vacant.
The office of mayor
on the May 1996 ballot
one-year unexpired
"I expect the qoi
cuss how they want to
the vacancy at then
ing," said Russell.
The next regular
meeting is set for
day, October 18-
mm
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Lucas, Donnie A. The Albany News (Albany, Tex.), Vol. 120, No. 18, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 5, 1995, newspaper, October 5, 1995; Albany, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth413133/m1/1/?q=%22%22~1&rotate=180: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting The Old Jail Art Center.