What's Around? 
Albany is a nice medium sized town, with plenty of things to do. From our little cinema to our great bowling alley, Lake Shore Lanes. We have a wonderful mall, Heritage Mall, where many of Albany’s youth hang around. We have lost a few great companies here, like Blockbusters and Sears, but even with these loses, we gained even more. New businesses are opening up all the time here, whether it be restaurants like Cellar Cat, or crafts stores like Hobby Lobby. Albany is a fast growing town with more than 50 thousand residents!
What's Going On?
While the weather gets nicer, more things happen around the time. Recently, The Albany Civic Theater has been having plays back to back weekly, giving many small businesses a nice boost economically.
Coming up next week, The Heritage Mall is starting its annual Easter Bunny photo shoots in the mall. Families can bring their kids down to the local mall and take pictures with the Easter Bunny! How Fun!
The Not So Good News 
The body of a Salem man who was reported missing from Corvallis in early February was recovered from the Willamette River north of Takena Landing in Albany on Saturday morning.
Marlon McCrae was 35.
The death remains under investigation by Benton County Sheriff’s Office, but is not considered suspicious.
“There’s no reason to believe there’s any foul play, no noticeable injuries,” said Dep. Aaron Gevatosky.
McCrae was last seen early the morning of Feb. 6 in downtown Corvallis, and he was in the area to visit family.
Albany Police Department received a 9-1-1 call about his body shortly before 11:30 a.m. on Saturday. The Benton County Marine Patrol, which has jurisdiction over that stretch of the Willamette River, was notified shortly after McCrae’s body was recovered.
“Marlon was a loving father, son, brother, uncle and nephew. He will be missed by his family and friends,” said his aunt Clara Harris, contacted by phone on Sunday.
“He was very much loved by his family,” added McCrae’s mother Darlene Coleman. “We’ll figure out more about his illness and what we can do to help other people so another family doesn’t have to go through this.”
McCrae was recently diagnosed with mental illness, Coleman added.
Those with information about the case should contact Sgt. Toby Bottorff at 541-766-6858