Looking to have frightful good time? The 2011 Horror Weekend is coming to the Gatlinburg Convention Center, located at 303 Reagan Drive, Oct. 1-2.

  Fans of horror movies can meet some of their favorite stars from the horror movies. Meet Derek Mears who played in the "Friday the 13th "movies as Jason. Margot Kidder from "Superman", Ernie Hudson from "Ghostbusters", Priscilla Barnes from "The Devil's Rejects" , Doug Jones from "Rise of the Silver Surfer", Daeg Faerch from "Halloween", David McNaughton of "American Werewolf in London" and many others.

  Vendors will be on hand selling movie paraphernalia and other collectibles. Participate in the costume contest or try your vocals in the scream queen contest. Plus, much more.

  For ticket or vendor information visit the Web site at www.horrorweekend.com.

 "Who ya' Gonna call?" Ernie Hudson of "Ghostbusters" and "The Crow" is one of several stars that will appear at Horror Weekend in Gatlinburg 

Derek Mears of "Friday the 13th' and "The Pirates of the Caribbean" will meet with fans and sign autographs.

Daeg Faerch played 10-yaer-old Michael Myers in Rob Zombie's "Halloween."

                                                           Daniel T. Sargent

   A Sevierville man has been arrested and charged with a rape of a local teenage girl. According to reports, On the evening of August 20, officers were dispatched to William Hold Blvd. in reference to an alleged rape. Police took a statement from a  15-year-old girl who told them she had met 21-year-old, Daniel Sargent who lived in the neighborhood. The victim told police Sargent allegedly climbed through her window on the night of August 18 and raped her.

  After collecting evidence at the scene, officers went to Sargent's home on Patricia Holt Drive, where they encountered Sargent pulling up in a vehicle. When Sargent saw the police he exited his vehicle and ran on foot. Police caught the fleeing suspect within moments and charged him with one count of aggravated rape and one count of aggravated burglary.

  Sargent is due in General Sessions Court Sept. 26. He is currently in police custody and being held pending a bond hearing. 

Classic film clips gleaned from home movie collections of prominent local families are the centerpiece of the third annual “Vintage Views of Gatlinburg and the Great Smoky Mountains” film premiere on Saturday, August 27 at W.L. Mills Auditorium. Doors open at 5 pm with a wine and cheese reception complimenting a meet and greet session with the artist and authors.

At 6 p.m. local authors will be introduced and a brief overview of their books will be presented. The debut screening produced by Kevin Tierney will be presented at 7 p.m.

This year’s event will be the stepping stone for the Gatlinburg Garden Club’s fundraising campaign for the restoration of the Historic Lucinda Oakley Ogle Log Cabin.

 Several local centenarians will be recognized along with several past business leaders from the community.

Pi Beta Phi’s involvement and rich history in Gatlinburg will be recognized for their pioneering efforts and lasting influence on Gatlinburg.

Local artist G Webb will be featured displaying many of his works of art depicting this area.

Local Smoky Mountain history writers will open with an overview of their books at the “Meet the Author” session. Scheduled to be included in this year’s sessions are Bill Landry, Sam Venable, Greg Johnson, Judge Dwight Stokes, Kenton Temple, Aileen Fowler, James Shuler and Dwight McCarter.

In honor of the late Marion Oates and Lucinda Ogle, the Gatlinburg Garden Club will also have their respective books available for sale along with the Garden Club’s own cookbook.

”We are constantly asking our visitors as well as our residents to share their old films from their parents’ and grandparents with us,” said Tierney.

Sponsors of the screening include the City of Gatlinburg, Gatlinburg Garden Club, Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies,  Knoxville Coca-Cola, Smoky Mountain Winery and Decorating the Smokies.

Copies of this year’s film will be available the night of the showing through Lorelei Productions as well as the authors books and art work from the G Webb collection.

Call the Special Events Office at 865-436-0500 to reserve your seat. Tickets are $10 at the door and reservations are required.

   There is not a better place than Gatlinburg, Tennessee to host The Smoky Mountains Songwriters Festival every year during the last two weeks in August before Labor Day. 

    This year we are launching The Smoky Mountains Songwriters Festival -  “Celebrating our Appalachian Musical Roots” Thursday, Aug. 25^th with a Preview Event at Ober Gatlinburg for those venues and lodging facilities which will be hosts to the songwriters who perform in The 1^st  Annual Smoky Mountains Songwriters Festival to be held August 2012 in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. 

   The Southern Appalachian Mountain range, located in West Virginia, Eastern Kentucky, Eastern Tennessee, and Western North Carolina and Virginia, is where old time music, bluegrass and country music originated.

   First recorded in the 1920s, Appalachian musicians were a key influence on the early development of old time music, country music and bluegrass music.  The first recording session for Appalachian Regional musicians was done in New York City by on March 1, 1923 when Henry Whitter, the world’s greatest harmonica player,  recorded “The Wreck of the Southern 97”.  This recording became an international hit.  Fiddlin John Carson, a champion fiddle player, recorded “Little Old Log Cabin in the Lane” and “The Old Hen Cackled and the Rooster’s Going to Crow”   

   June 14^th that same year for Okeh in Atlanta, Georgia.   In 1925 Ralph Peer A & R man for Okeh recorded a North Carolina string band that called themselves “a bunch of Hillbillies”.  The success of the band’s recordings led them to the term ‘Hillbilly Music’ being applied to Appalachian string band music.  Music historians mark the beginning of commercial country music to be 1927 when the Ralph Peer Okeh-Victor began recording The Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers.  The Bristol recording sessions of 1927 lead to what is called the “Big Bang of Country Music”.  The popularity of the Appalachian musicians at that time proved to the industry executives that there was a market for “mountain” or “hillbilly” music. 

    The onset of the Great Depression in the early 1930s reduced the demand for recorded music.   It was radio programs such as the Grand Ole Opry that kept interest in Appalachian music alive in the thirties.  Field recordings continued to be made through out the 1940s.  In 1952 Folkway Records released the landmark “Anthology of American Folk Music”. This compilation helped inspire the folk music revival of the 1950s and the 1960s.

     Appalachian music was a very important part of the American Folk Music Revival of the 1960s focusing on the banjo, American fiddle, fretted dulcimer and the guitar.  The fretted dulcimer was more commonly called the ”Appalachian” or “Mountain” dulcimer.

     Early settlement schools taught the fretted dulcimer to students. Other instruments such as the guitar, mandolin and autoharp became popular in Appalachia in the late 19^th century. These instruments plus the banjo and fiddle formed the early string bands.  

      The creation of bluegrass music in the 1940s is often credited to Bill Monroe and his band ‘The Bluegrass Boys’.  The fast paced 3 finger banjo pickin style developed by Earl Scruggs helped to give the banjo and bluegrass music its own genre.  Later as a member of Flatt and Scruggs and ‘The Foggy Mountain Boys’, Scruggs wrote “Foggy Mountain Breakdown”, one of the most well-known bluegrass instrumentals ever.

    Due in large part to the success of the Grand Ole Opry, the center of country music shifted to Nashville in the 1940s.  In subsequent decades as the country music industry moved into the mainstream, musicians and industry leaders sought to de-emphasize the genre’s Appalachian connections – most notably by dropping the term “hillbilly music” in favor of “country music”.  In the late 1980s artists such as Dolly Parton, Ricky Skaggs and Dwight Yoakum helped to bring traditional Appalachian influences back to country music. 

    Many musicians have used Appalachian folk music in their compositions.   In the early 21^st Century motion pictures “Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou”, “Song Catcher” and “Cold Mountain” generated renewed mainstreamed interest in traditional Appalachian music.

    Appalachian music is derived from various European and African influences including English Ballads, Irish and Scottish traditional music, especially “fiddle” music, religious hymns and African-American Blues.     

   Immigrants from England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland arrived in Appalachia in the 18^th century.  These people brought with them the traditions in music from their countries:  primarily English and Scottish ballads; as well as dance music such as Irish reels which were accompanied by a fiddle.  The most symbolic iconic symbol of Appalachian culture is the banjo which was brought to America by African-American slaves in the 18^th century.   Black banjo players were performing in Appalachia as early as 1798 when their presence was documented in Knoxville, Tennessee.   Blackface minstrelsy popularized the banjo among white musicians.  The Minstrel Shows of the 1840s promoting African-American spirituals are noted in the compilation of “Slave Songs from the Southern United States”.  African-American Blues spread through the region in the early 20^th century and brought harmonic and verbal dexterity to Appalachian music. 

    The earliest collection of Appalachian ballads was by Kentucky native, John Jacob Niles who began writing down ballads as early as 1907, but it wasn’t until 1960 that Niles published his 110 ballads in “The Ballad of John Jacob Niles”.   British folklorists, Cecil Sharp and Maud Karpeles, collected over 200 Old World ballads in the region and published them in “English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians”.  The work of Sharp and Karpeles confirmed what many folklorists had suspected – the remote valleys and hollows of the Appalachian Mountains were a vast repository of older forms of music.

       The old ballad traditions which existed in Appalachia since the arrival of Europeans in the region was readily applied to the social problems when large scale coal mining took place in the later 19^th Century with respect to low pay, mine disasters, and strikes.  One of the earliest mining related songs from Appalachia was “Coal Creek March” which was influenced by the 1891 Cold Creek War in Anderson County, Tennessee.  The labor strife in West Virginia in 1914 and the labor strife in Kentucky in the 1930s produced Ralph Chaplin’s “Solidarity Forever” and Florence Reese’s “Which Side Are You On”.  The most commercially successful Appalachian mining song was Merle Travis’ “Sixteen Tons”.  Classic renditions and contemporary covers of mining songs can be found in Jack Wright’s 2007 compilation “Music of Coal”.

    If you want to know more about this Festival please contact Cyndy Montgomery Reeves, Founder of The Smoky Mountains Songwriters Festival, at crcabins@aol.com or by calling 865-365-7741.  

  Despite rain delays that kept at least one team playing until almost midnight, the football season got off to a good start for area teams as they chalked up their first victories of the season.

  The Sevier County Smoky Bears  experienced an hour and a half lightning delay in their game with the Willam blount Governors. But, as soon as the all clear was given the Smoky Bears returned to the field where they clawed out an impressive 35-21 win.

  The Seymour Eagles pulled off an impressive 42-6 win over the Campbell County Cougars. Running back Corey Todd proved to be a force to be reckoned with as he racked up 100 yards and a touchdown.

  The Pigeon Forge Tigers pulled off a 34-33 victory over Coalfield after a two hour weather delay. 

   The Tigers were trailing in overtime 33-27, when Quarterback Cody Hill connected with Austin McCarter on a 4th and goal. McCarter scored to tie the game. The Tigers emerged victorious after Chase Travis kicked the extra point.

     Mick Barnes was one of several golfers who approached the tee at the new golf course in hopes of winning $100,000. All he had to do was hit the ball 175 yards to sink a hole in one. Of all the golfers who attempted to win the prize, Barnes came closest when his ball fell short about 30 yards from its intended target. But his best effort wasn't enough to win the grand prize payoff.

   The shootout was one of several activities for golfers and guests at the ribbon cutting for the Sevierville Golf Club Thursday afternoon. Mayor of Sevierville Brian Atchley was on hand for the cookout and to cut the ribbon on the course.

 The course was three years in the making. Construction doubled the size of the course from 18 holes to 36 holes. Several of the existing holes were changed adding a new level of challenge to the existing course. In addition to expanding the golf course, which now covers approximately 400 acres, a new club house was built along with a picnic pavillion.

  Numerous golfers broke in the new driving range while anxious golfers waited for Atchley to cut the ribbon to allow them access to the golf carts.

  "We expect this course will bring in a ton of tourists," Atchley said. "This course will be a phenomenal regional asset. It's something to be proud of."

  Atchley said he hopes to hold golf tournaments at the club at future dates. Tournaments can be very lucratative in terms of tourism. The new course employs approximately 60 employees.  

Sevierville Mayor Brian Atchley is flanked by anxious golfers as he cuts the ribbon at the new Sevierville Golf Club.

Golfers break in the new driving range prior to the grand opening

Eddie Vanada attempts to sink a hole in one for a $100,000 prize.

    A Newport woman died tragically in a car accident Wednesday morning near the intersection of Fox Cemetery Road on Newport Highway.

     The accident occurred at approximately 7:57 a.m. when a 2001 Chevy Impala driven by Charley Marie Sapp, 26, of Mustard Field Road was traveling south on Highway 411N and crossed into the northbound lane striking a 2006 Kia driven by Catelan O’ Neil, 17, of Sevierville. Sapp’s vehicle then slammed into a 2005 Dodge van driven by Connie Cobb of Sevierville. Sapp’s vehicle traveled up an embankment where it came to rest.

     Two of the drivers had to be extricated using the jaws of life. Two accident victims were transported to UT Medical Center via LifeStar. A third driver was transported to Mount LeConte Medical Center in Sevierville.

    Sapp was pronounced dead on arrival at UT. The. The investigation is continuing by the Sevier County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Division and no charges are anticipated at this time.

     A concert entitled, Freedom Still Rings, will be presented at New Hope Church located at 2450 Winfield Dunn Parkway in Kodak. The concert will be a commemoration of the tenth anniversary of September 11, 2001.

     Larry Ford, a Grammy award winning tenor and Gaither Homecoming soloist, will sing the National Anthem, We Are America and other inspirational songs. Tom Sterbens, singer, songwriter and pastor of New Hope Church, will also be featured singing the song he wrote immediately after the events of September 11, 2001 ~ "Freedom Still Rings."

   First responders and veterans from the Sevier County area will be honored. The community is encouraged to attend to support and give thanks to those who serve and care for our county all year long. 

Walters State Community College will hold a final orientation for new students at 1:30 p.m., Aug. 23, at the Morristown campus. The orientation begins in the International Lyceum, located in the Student Services Building.

Students must first be admitted to Walters State before completing orientation. An admissions application is available on the college’s website or at any campus. The application carries a $10 one-time fee.

Orientation is free, but reservations are required. Register by visiting http://www.ws.edu/Admission/orientation.asp. Students may also complete orientation online by visiting https://orientation.ws.edu/.

During orientation, students will have the opportunity to meet with faculty advisors and staff members from various departments. Students may also register for classes during orientation. Orientation is also a good chance to get acquainted with the Walters State campus.

            Fall semester begins Aug. 29. For more information or to make reservations, call 1 (800) 225-4770, ext. 4.

   WIVK and WVLT (channel 8) have joined forces with HonorAir-Knoxville to help raise money for the organization's upcoming flight on October 5, 2011. 
   The  HonorAir-Knoxville Radiothon will be held Friday August 19, from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. on WIVK (107.7).
   The organization is hoping to raise enough money to send more than 125 more World War II and Korean War veterans to Washington, D.C. to see the memorials that were built  in their honor.  Everyone is encouraged to tune in and join forces in honoring the heroes that fought for the freedom that we enjoy.
  HonorAir-Knoxville is a not-for-profit organization that provides a day-long honorary trip to Washington D.C. for veterans as a way of saying "thank you" for their safrifice and service. 
    The trips are taken twice yearly. The veterans are flown from all parts of East Tennessee, including Sevier County, to Washington D.C. where they are taken on tours of the World War II Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and several other popular sites. The cost of each trip is $60,000 and the funds are raised through private donations. 
    Organizers are urging everyone to reach out to their veterans and make a donation on behalf of these men and woman who sacrificed for love of liberty, God and country to preserve our national freedoms we hold so dear. Tune in Friday or make a donation by calling HonorAir-Knoxville at 865-938-7701 extention 227.
 

This week's winning entry of the "Make Me Laugh For The Movies" contest is Renee Williams of Sevierville. 

  "A few years ago, my husband and I adopted a small dog that was half poodle and half Chihuahua. We named her Skittles. We got her in early November and she was 6 weeks old. It took little time to house break her. We would walk her outside and she always went under a  tree to relieve herself.

  The following month we put up a Christmas tree and she was so excited. Her little tail was wagging and she looked so happy. I couldn't figure out why until the next morning when I noticed she had used the bathroom under the Christmas tree.

  Apparently she thought we had installed her an indoor bathroom."

                            Renee Williams

   Make Me Laugh For The Movies is a weekly contest sponsored by the Forge Cinemas 5, the state-of-the-art movie theater in Pigeon Forge. The rules are simple. Send us a funny story or anecdote about a personal experience and if we publish it we will send you two free tickets to The Forge Cinemas.

    Send all entries to Sevier County News

                                  635-1 Wall Street,

                                  Sevierville, TN. 37876

  Or e-mail entries to seviercountynews@gmail.com

  The Forge Cinemas at Walden's Landing is located at Stoplight 2B on the Parkway in Pigeon Forge 2530 Parkway, Suite 7  Pigeon Forge, TN 37863. Ph. 865-774-6602.  Visit  www.TheForgeCinemas.com for movies and more information.

Now Playing 

   The Sevier County Utility Board has voted unanimously to suspend board member Jeffrey McCarter following an indictment by Attorney General Jimmy Dunn. The board met Wednesday morning for the monthly meeting to discuss the monthly reports and other items on the agenda. Topping the agenda was a discussion on what action to take in regards to McCarter's contract.  

  President of SCUD, Matt Ballard explains the contract of Jeffrey McCarter at the monthly meeting of the board Wednesday morning.

   McCarter, the former vice-president of SCUD, was indicted in early July for official misconduct after he allegedly sold a company truck, then bought the truck back  and resold it to another dealership. His dealings netted him a profit of $10,055.

  McCarter has maintained that selling the vehicle was common practice with the agency  to dispose of aging vehicles. McCarter has steadfastly maintained that the profit he made was not SCUD's concern after it was sold and it isn't uncommon for employees to buy their old vehicles.

 A state auditor concluded the deal was questionable and turned the matter over to Attorney General Jimmy Dunn who sent the information to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. The TBI conducted a probe and concluded McCarter should be charged.     

  At the monthly meeting, SCUD President Matt Ballard outlined what options the board had in McCarter's case.

  Option 1 would be to hold off on any action until the matter has been decided in a court of law.

  Option 2 would be to suspend McCarter's contract until the matter is decided in court. And finally, option 3 would be to terminate the contract. McCarter's contract pays him $26.25 per hour as a consultant. The five year contract was signed in 2010.

  Ballard reminded the board that McCarter was innocent until proven guilty and explained McCarter's role at SCUD to the board citing his relevence.

  "Jeff had worked with SCUD for 25 years and was getting ready to retire," Ballard said. "We wanted to retain his knowledge of buying gas so we put him under contract as a consultant. Most don't realize that buying gas is a complicated process. You have to know about futures and have a knowledge of the market."

  Following a brief discussion, the board voted unanimously to suspend McCarter's contract until the matter is settled in court. Ballard told board members he would call McCarter this morning and explain the decision.

  Faced with a $3 million deficit, the Sevier County Board of Education made some tough choices to cut costs and elminate the shortfall. The board met Monday to approve the cuts.

 The cost cutting measures center around postponing much needed purchases on expenses such as text books and computers and adjusting utility costs while tapping into an excess school fund.

  Setting aside text book purchases will cut $1.8 million from the budget. delaying new computer purchases reduces the deficit by another $400,000. Adjusting utilities and natural gas purchases cuts the deficit by an additional $200,000. The BOE also voted to reduce diesel fuel costs by $50,000.

  The Board voted to withdraw $199,000 from the fund balance to offset the deficit.  This withdrawal reduces the fund to minimum  amount of reserve funds required by state law which is 3 percent of the annual operating budget.

 School officials plan to purchase school supplies with revenues derived from a 3 percent increase in sales tax collections. The county will make computer purchases using a federal grant that was recently awarded in the amount of $232,000. 

  The board approved a purchase of 19 acres of land in Seymour at a cost of $250,000 and a purchase of 5.9 acres in Caton's Chapel for $40,000. 

    Area students will return to school on Wednesday, August 17, causing pedestrian and vehicle traffic to increase significantly.  The flashing yellow school zone lights, indicating the presence of school children around schools, were recently activated to remind drivers that the school year is about to begin. 

   Commuters are advised to take note of the following recommendations from the Sevierville Police Department: 

   Arrive at least one half hour early for the first two weeks.

  Allow extra driving time during the morning and afternoon hours.  Traffic will be extremely heavy around the school areas.

  Exercise patience and remember there will be new students and parents who are unfamiliar with the process of dropping children off and picking them up.

    Remember, there will be many young children walking in and near school zones.  Watch for children running between cars and into the street unexpectedly.

    Note that there will be additional officers on duty to ensure the safety of children and drivers in and around school zones for the next several weeks.  Traffic laws and school zone speed limits will be strictly enforced.

    All local traffic will be heavier than normal, so even drivers who will not be near a school zone should allow extra driving time during the morning and afternoon hours.

  “The overall goal is to get our children to and from school safely.  Please help us keep our children safe by following the school zone traffic laws,” said Sevierville Police Chief Don Myers.

     After the casualty officer leaves and support fades, families and friends are left with a loss that forever changes their lives.  There are outstanding programs that help survivors deal with the initial pain and ones that counsel and assist them in the grieving process.  As another avenue of support in the healing process, the Travis Manion Foundation offers opportunities for children, parents, spouses, siblings and battle buddies to honor their loved one by challenging themselves in uniquely personal ways through our Challenge Grant program. 

    The Travis Manion Foundation Challenge Grant embodies our mission of honoring the fallen by challenging the living.  The concept is simple.  We ask a surviving family member or battle buddy to identify a way of honoring their Fallen Hero and outline in detail what they would need to be successful to accomplish their challenge.  Then we help them achieve their goal and honor their loved one with encouragement, funding, and specific support.

   We are currently helping six Marine veterans who challenged themselves to honor seven of their fallen Marine brothers by hiking more than 110 miles on the Appalachian Trail - including ascending to the highest point at Clingmans Dome in Tennessee.

Their schedule is as follows:
August 10 - Meet and stage at Winding Stair Gap
August 11 - Depart Winding Stair Gap and hike 11 miles to Wayah Shelter
August 12 - Wayah Shelter hike 10.6 miles to Wesser Bald Shelter
August 13 - Wesser Bald Shelter hike 12.6 miles to Sassafras Gap
August 14 - Sassafras Gap hike 9.1 miles to Brown Fork Gap
August 15 - Brown Fork Gap hike 6.1 miles to Cable Gap
August 16 - Cable Gap hike 7.3 miles to Fontana Dam
August 17 - Fontana Dam hike 10.6 miles to Mollies Ridge
August 18 - Mollies Ridge hike 11.7 miles to Derrick Knob
August 19 - Derrick Knob hike 7.2 miles to Double Spring Gap
August 20 - Double Spring Gap hike 2.9 miles to Clingsman Dome
August 21 - Clingmans Dome to Gatlinburg, TN

   Each of the six Marines completed the Mountain Warfare Training School in Bridgeport, CA, during their active duty service, but recognize there are physical challenges (most have been out of the Marine Corps for four or five years) and mental challenges (recalling and using those mountaineering skills) to the hike. 

   The real challenges they outlined would be dealing with the emotions of being back in the mountainous Afghanistan type of terrain where they had lost most of their Marine brothers and taking time to share stories and remember an individual fallen Marine in camp each night.

   The Travis Manion Foundation review committee saw this challenge as a way for the Marines to reconnect with each other - all are working, in school, or both - as well as reconnect with their fallen comrades spiritually and emotionally.  We saw a way to help these veteran survivors work through their grief and loss together as a team with the support of their peers - perhaps a unique approach to healing for young, adult OIF/OEF combat Marines.

   The application said, “All of our fallen brothers were tough infantry Marines who always loved the opportunity to challenge themselves physically... for us to be able to come together and share an experience as unique as this, there is no equivalent.”

    The challenge set forth by the six Marines included organizational, fitness, and logistical goals.  Perhaps the most enduring challenge included sharing with the families of their fallen Marines memorial photo books and videos they created on the hike to honor their service and sacrifice.  We saw this as an opportunity to help these Marines heal and address their grief together as well as for them to do something tangible for the families of their fallen brothers in sharing with family members the positive impact each of their loved ones had on the lives of these Marines. 

   This Challenge Grant covered the cost of food, water, pre- and post-hike lodging, and a banner to display at Clingmans Dome honoring the seven fallen Marines.

   The Marines can be contacted - cell phone reception permitting - by calling Nick Collier at 703-489-2849.  The Travis Manion Foundation can also help coordinate contact through text messages and calls with Nick as well.  They are scheduled to spend the night of Sunday, August 21 and the morning of the 22nd in a hotel in Gatlinburg.

  The second annual Smoky Mountain Civil War Relic Show will be held this Friday at the Smoky Mountain Convention Center in Pigeon Forge.

  Attendees can peruse an array of authentic Civil war era swords, muskets, uniforms, pistols, rifles, photographs and other artifacts.

  Living history camps will be presented by the 8th Tennessee U.S. regiment and the 63rd Tennessee Confederate regiment. An artillery demonstration with an actual canon will be fired every hour.  

 The National Civil War Museum will display several pieces of ironclad ships including the C.S.S. Jackson and the C.S.S. Georgia. Meet reenactors portraying the wives of presidents Davis and Lincoln and much more.

  For ticket information or to become a vendor call  800-223-6707.

Artillery demonstrations will be performed every hour at the Civil War Relics Show .

  Country music superstar Keith Urban played to a near sell out audience Friday night at the Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville as he continued on his 2011 "Get Closer" tour.

Country music superstar Keith Urban headlined at Thompson Boling Arena Friday. 

  Urban's show was opened by local talent Brandon Greene who gave his fledgling career a tremendous boost by opening for Urban and later joining him on stage.

  Greene had won a local contest that enabled him to open the show where he performed covers of other artists.

  Following Greene was the award winning artist Jake Owen who performed many of his tops hits "Don't think I don't love you" and "Startin' with me."

  The charismatic Urban took the stage shortly after 9 p.m. performing to an enthusiastic audience.  The dynamic performer sang many of his hits including "Days go by", "Only you can love me this way", "Without you", "Kiss a girl"  and "Put you in a song." 

 During the performance Urban noticed someone holding a sign that read "No homework for my students for a year if I get on stage." Urban invited the local educator, named Patty, on stage for a photo.

  Patty assured Urban she would keep her promise to her students who will likely become big fans of the performer when they find out he arranged for them to have no homework for a year.

  Urban surprised the audience by stepping out into the crowd, surrounded by security, where he went to a stage in the back of the arena and continued performing. He then went upstairs for a few songs where he signed his guitar and gave it to an excited fan who delighted at her newfound fortune.

  For an encore, Urban returned to the stage with Owen and Greene and the trio delighted the audience with a rendition of Steve Miller's "The Joker." 

  The supergroup "Sugarland" will perform at Thompson-Boling Arena on October 6. For ticket information visit the Web site at www.tbarena.com. 

    Hannah and Savannah Denney, of Pigeon Forge and Christy Newsom, of Sevierville were recently awarded the Best Picture and Best Action Film Awards for their 15-minute film “Extreme Girl Scoutz” that premiered at the 2011 inaugural Film Camp at Clayton Center for the Arts, at Maryville College in Maryville.

   Eighteen films were submitted in the contest and Hannah Denney wrote and directed the award winning film and was also awarded the Best Film Editing and the Best Film Poster Awards.  Newsom received the Best Young Supporting Actress Award.  The show also garnered a nomination for Best Actress by Savannah Denney.  
  

  Hannah Denney said the idea for the winning film came from watching the show, “Phineas and Ferb” on the Disney Channel.  She said this is the third film she has ever made, but the first one she has ever entered into a contest.  She has been editing films with her father for the past three years. 

  “Extreme Girl Scoutz” is about three girls who pose as Girl Scouts delivering Girl Scout cookies, but they are really Federal Bureau of Investigation  agents.  The girls attempt to stop a mad man who is trying to take over the world with mind control devices.  They go on an adventure and get in some trouble along the way. The cast includes Hannah Denney, 15, as Bellah, Savannah Denney, 10, as Allison, Christy Newsom, 12, as Kate, and Bob Denney as “the madman.”  The entire cast took turns as camera “men.”

   Festivities at the awards ceremony included “red carpet” fun and a full day of watching filmmakers showing off their masterpieces.  The awards were termed “The Bucket Awards” and the Girls received an empty bucket and “bragging rights” for winning the contest.  In addition, their winning student film will be shown at the Maryville Film Festival on Nov. 5, at the Clayton Center for the Arts, in the Ronald and Lynda Nutt Theatre, 502 E. Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville.  For more details, see: http://www.bucketawards.com.
     Hannah and Savannah Denney are the daughters of Bob and Carina Denney of Pigeon Forge.  Newsom is the daughter of Tom and Debbie Newsom of Sevierville. 

Clouds are crisp since the humidity has left, hopefully for good.

MoonRIse

    LeConte Medical Center was recently honored with multiple awards for patient satisfaction by Professional Research Consultants, a nationally known healthcare marketing research company based in Omaha, Neb.
     PRC, now in its 31st year of operation, currently conducts research for more than 200 healthcare organizations nationwide. The company conducts patient satisfaction research weekly throughout the year by contacting a random sample of recent patients from each facility. The research findings are then presented to PRC’s participating organizations for use in improving patient satisfaction. 
     Customer service awards are given on a “star” system, with 5-Star awards representing the top 10 percent of hospitals surveyed (at or above the 90th percentile) and 4-Star awards representing the top 25 percent of hospitals surveyed.

 LeConte was recognized with the following achievements:
5-Star Award: Inpatient Services Overall Quality of Care
5-Star Award: Outpatient Services Overall Quality of Care
5-Star Award: Outpatient Surgery Overall Quality of Care
5-Star Award: OB Department Overall Quality of Care
4-Star Award: Emergency Department Overall Quality of Care

    LeConte President and CAO, Ellen Wilhoit, commented on the awards, “National recognition such as these PRC awards is greatly appreciated. Our LeConte staff, physicians and volunteers are committed to excellence in patient care. While our focus is on serving our patients with excellent, compassionate, and personalized care, the acknowledgement of our efforts is greatly appreciated.”

   This year LeConte has also been honored with Top 100 Hospital recognition, and was named the #6 most beautiful hospital in America.