The Blast from the past returns to Pigeon Forge Sunday at the Grand Majestic Theater

   The Blast from the Past returns to Pigeon Forge Sunday night at the Grand Majestic Theater on the Parkway. The show is a tribute to Elvis and the Movie Grease.

    The Blast stars Matt Cordell who performs a tribute to Elvis and plays Danny in Grease.  Matt is joined by Kendall Manning, Greg Stout, Tasha Cordell and the rest of the cast from the original production. The show ran for two successful seasons at the Smith Family Dinner Theater. Cordell appears regularly at the Grand Majestic in the “America’s Hit Parade.”

    Blast from the past is a 90 minute walk down memory lane featuring the music of the greatest rock star in history and the music from the biggest musical in history.

   Cordell posts an impressive resume. He won the National "Tribute to The King" competition in Kansas City, MO in 2004 where he won 1st place. He also won 1st place in the "Reflections of the King" competition in Pigeon Forge, in 2007.

   Cordell has performed all across the country with stops at major casino locations too numerous to mention. Matt competed in the Elvis Extravaganza competition in 2003 in Las Vegas and was ranked number 9 in America without being a member of any Elvis associations.

   The Blast From the Past Show starts at 8 P.M. at the grand Majestic Theater on the Parkway in Pigeon Forge. Doors open at 7 p.m. For ticket information call 865-774-7777 or visit the Grand Majestic web Site at  www.thegrandmajestic.com.

  “We had a huge following when we performed this show at the Smith Theater,” said Cordell. “We want to invite all our fans and friends to come out and join us for what promises to be a great show. We look forward to seeing everyone there.”

  Matt Cordell plays Elvis and as Danny from the Musical "Grease."

     From time to time Joe Diffie meets a fan that can identify with his hit song “If the Devil Danced in Empty Pockets.” They can identify because many feel as though they have been to Diablo Motors. The fictional car dealership is parodied in his classic hit about a man that went to buy a used car and ended up deeply in debt with a lemon after making a deal with a car salesman that could be compared to the devil himself.

     This will be an evening filled with stories and songs, getting back to the roots of their music. These three great artists will be performing on stage together, acoustic versions of more than 40 Top Ten Hits. A few of Aaron's hits include "There Ain't Nothin' Wrong with the Radio", "You've Got to Stand for Something", "Kiss This", and "Where the Stars and Stripes and the Eagle Fly". Sammy has quite a list of hits as well, including "Cadillac Style", "She Don't Know She's Beautiful", "National Working Woman's Holiday", and "Third Rate Romance."

  “This is a really fun show,” Diffie said. “The three of us sit on stools and sing our hits and we tell stories and the audience gets a chance to get to know us better. After the show we meet with the fans and sign autographs. It’s a lot of fun.”

  Diffie recently got an enormous surprise when superstar Jason Aldean recorded the song “1994.” The song is about Diffie and many of his songs are cleverly mentioned in the song.

  “I was tickled he did it,” Diffie said. “It brought me notoriety and put me back on the map. I thought he was just going to mention my name and the next thing you know the whole song was about me. I thought, ‘holy cow, can you believe this?”

  For tickets call 1-800-792-4308 or 865-453-2003 or visit the web site http://www.countrytonitepf.com/celebrities.aspx.

Joey Spurlock poses with two pups he plans to train in Dock Diving. 

    It was at the Dock Dogs AKC Eukanuba National Championship competition last December when a yellow Labrador retriever, named Tango, stepped confidently out on the dock ready to compete. At the command of his trainer, Joey Spurlock, Tango charged down the dock and leapt into the air for an incredible 22 feet 6 inches.

   Impressed by his performance, the commentator remarked “Can you believe it? He was a shelter dog and nobody wanted him. Look at him now.”

   Tango was rescued from a shelter in Wisconsin by ex-cop turned animal trainer, Joey Spurlock who taught Tango and a number of other dogs to dock dive.

   Dock Diving is a competitive sport that tests a dog’s agility, speed and stamina in a contest that combines three events. The first is the Big Air jump in which the dogs run down a 40 foot dock and jump as far as they can into a 40 foot pool of water (distance is measured from the end of the dock to where the tail set breaks the water).

  The second event is the speed retrieve in which dogs run down the dock at the 20 foot mark and leap into the pool to retrieve a bumper, in a timed competition.

  The third and final event is the extreme vertical event in which dogs are running and jumping to grab a  bumper that is suspended in the air 8 feet from the end of the dock (20 feet or less on the dock is to be used for the starting point). 

  The Iron Dog competition is a combination of the three disciplines that are given points for how far they jump, how high they grab the bumper and how fast they make the retrieve.

 Tango has come a long way since he was left at an animal rescue facility. But, Spurlock concedes he still has work to do with the agile canine.

  “Tango has been jumping early,” said Spurlock. “If he could jump from the end of the dock he would be one of the biggest jumpers. There was one occasion when he jumped 13 feet early, he still cleared over 17 feet. If he could jump like that from the end of the dock, he would be jumping 30 feet which would be one of the biggest jumps in the sport.  He’s new to the sport so he will need a lot of time on the dock to hit his full potential.”

  Despite those early jumps, Tango is winning competitions. In St. Louis he jumped seven feet early and still cleared 22 feet 2 inches. Tango is currently ranked the #1 yellow lab in the World for Iron Dog as well as the #1 overall in the Sportsman Series for Iron Dog. Tango is not the only champion trained by Spurlock who has 15 years of animal training under his belt. Another of his Timber Dogs is Brock who is working on his fifth straight World Championships.  Brock is the defending Dogs and Logs Relay World Champion and is consistently ranked in the top for the sport.

  Tango and Brock are among several performing dogs that entertain at the Great Smoky Mountain Lumberjack Feud in Pigeon Forge. In the show, the dogs participate in the boom run and give a demonstration of dock diving.  

  For more information about dock diving visit the web Site at http://www.dockdogs.com/. To see action photos of Tango and Brock in action visit the web Site http://www.lumberjackfeud.com/.

   A two year legal battle has finally been decided in favor of Doug and Jackie Miranda owners of the Grand Majestic Theater.

    It took two long years but Doug and Jackie Miranda finally received the vindication they had sought this week in a suit brought against them by a company representing a former singing group.

  The Mirandas are the owners of the Grand Majestic Theater on the Parkway in Pigeon Forge. The theater is the home of two shows, the Soul of Motown and America’s Hit parade. Two years ago they were sued for $2 million by Ron Layher and Rhonda Lyles, of SM Productions, promoters and producers for Nate Evans, and the Temptations Review, which had appeared and performed the Grand Majestic Theater at its former location on Music Mountain Drive.

  According to court documents, SM Productions rented the Smoky Mountain Jubilee in 2009 and produced a show featuring the Temptations Review. After an unsuccessful run, SM Productions was forced out of the Smoky Mountain Jubilee and contracted with the Mirandas to open the Temptations Review at The Grand Majestic. The Temptations Review’s tenure at the Grand Majestic was brief and SM Productions soon initiated a lawsuit alleging breach of contract on the part of the Mirandas.

 Last week Chancellor Telford Forgety, Jr. issued a ruling in the case in which he ruled in favor of the Mirandas  and awarded them compensatory damages of $13,000 for a loan the Mirandas made to SM Productions. In addition, SM Productions was ordered to pay $5,878.35 for unpaid sales taxes, $2,589.15 to reimburse the Mirandas for equipment, and $387.33 for printing costs.

    In his dismissal of the suit, Forgety chastised the company for misrepresentations made to the Mirandas and ruled “The plaintiffs are precluded from recovery based on the grounds of lack of good faith, unclean hands, and perhaps outright fraud and inducement.”

  According to court documents, SM Productions owed $72,000 in back rent to the owners of the Smoky Mountain Jubilee and were under the threat of eviction when they closed the show.

  After leaving the Smoky Mountain Jubilee, SM Productions contracted with the Mirandas to perform at the Grand Majestic. From the outset, the Temptations Review lost money. At one point the Mirandas lent the owners of SM productions $10,000 to pay the band. 

   Under the contract between the Mirandas and SM Productions, the production company was obligated to pay the band and provide marketing. SM Productions provided the Mirandas with a projection of revenues the Temptations Review were expected to generate. The group failed to generate the projected profits and lost considerable sums of money in the process.

   In his ruling Fogerty stated “So the evidence is abundantly clear to the court that this show was a losing proposition from the time it started at the Smoky Mountain Jubilee in 2009 to, in the month of June when SM operated it at the Grand Majestic, and then from July until the end of December when Mr. Evans continued to perform and operate the show at the Grand Majestic Theater, the show still lost money.”    

  “We are glad it is over,” said Doug Miranda. “We feel justice has prevailed. We just want to move forward and do what we love to do which is to entertain and put on great shows.” 

     These  buffaloes were spotted grazing in a field on Birds Creek Rd. near Gatlinburg. The behemoths belong to Benny Hammonds, Gatlinburg-Pittman’s  football coach.

Reigning U.S. Timbersport Champion Arden Cogar will be competing in Pigeon Forge 

  For Arden Cogar, timbersports is more than a competition. Six generations of his family have competed in the sport going back several decades.

  “I have a grandfather, a great uncle, my father, 16 cousins a wife and daughter and myself who have all competed in the sport,” said Cogar. “My father continues to compete and he is in his late 70s.”

  Timbersports is a sport that challenges skill, endurance and strength. The timberjacks compete in a variety of events such as the hot saw competition which involves a chain saw with a modified engine. At the signal, the competitors start their saws and make three cuts. With only six inches of wood to work with, precision is key

  In the single buck competition, the competitor makes one cut through 19 inches of white pine using a single man cross-cut saw.

  The springboard chop is a discipline based on the need for old-time loggers to establish a cutting platform above the massive root bases of old growth trees, the competitor uses an ax to chop pockets into a 9-foot poplar pole and then place 6-inch wide springboard platforms into the pockets. Climbing up on the springboards, the competitor chops through a 12-inch diameter white pine log at the top of the pole.

 The standing block chop mimics the felling of a tree, the competitor races to chop through 12 to 14 inches of vertical white pine. The competitor must chop from both sides of the log with the time ending when the block is severed.

  The stock saw discipline is a true test of operator ability. The competitor uses a MS 660 STIHL MAGNUM® chain saw and begins with both hands on the log and the chain saw idling on the deck. At the gun, the sawyer makes two cuts through 16 inches of white pine. With only four inches of wood to work with, precision is key.

 Because the sport relies more on skill than strength, competitors often become more proficient at the sport in later years.

 “I use the analogy of comparing it to golf,” Cogar said. “In golf the older players have acquired more skill and discipline. You will see these more experienced players hit the ball down the fare way. The younger players have a difficult time keeping it straight. It either goes right or left. In timbersports  it’s the same way. The younger competitors aren’t as proficient with their axes or their saws. Technique and timing are crucial to competing in the sport. Those skills come with experience.”

  While many older competitors have been successful at the sport, Cogar said the sport is extremely physically demanding. His father, who continues to compete late in his 70s, had been a lumberjack for years and has competed for decades.

  Currently Cogar is the reigning U.S. Timbersports Champion. He will be competing in Pigeon Forge on June 7-9 at the Great Smoky Mountain Lumberjack Feud located on the Parkway. The event will be televised on ESPN and the Outdoor channel. If Cogar should emerge victorious he will advance to the World Championship competition in Stuttgart, Germany in the fall. Last year Cogar was one of many athletes from 24 countries that competed in Lillehammer, Norway for the STIHL® TIMBERSPORTS® Series World Championship in front of 10,000 international fans.  Cogar , placed fourth in the World Championship individual competition.

  That’s a big if. Cogar will be facing stiff competition from around the world. Tickets for the Stihl Timbersports Series U.S. Championship are now on sale. For more information about the competition visit www.stihltimbersportsus.com. Or call the Great Smoky Mountain Lumberjack Feud at 855-244-3383. 

     Two separate burglaries of the Sevierville Sprint store, located at 699 Parkway, have been reported this month. According to Sevierville Police Department Detectives Kevin Bush and Dweese Milliron, Sprint managers say that a total of over $50,000 in cell phones and a small amount of cash were taken. The stolen cell phones were mostly iPhones and other smart phones.

     The first burglary allegedly occurred on April 13, 2013 at about 4:15AM; the second was on April 19, 29, 2013 at about 4 AM. In both instances, it appears that the suspect was a white male wearing a mask and gloves, approximately 6’1” tall and weighing 200 pounds. The suspect made entry into the store by forcing open a rear business door on April 13, and by breaking the front store glass on April 29. The attached video was taken from security equipment on April 29, 2013.

     Anyone with information on these incidents is requested to contact Detective Bush or Detective Milliron at 865-453-5507. 

     Seviercountynews.com writer Michael Williams has released a new book about amazing kids. Great Kids in History is a collection of 22 amazing stories of incredible kids who have accomplished many great feats. Throughout history children have played a significant role in key events. As incredible as it may seem it was a 14-year-old boy that invented television and it was a child that discovered the legendary Lost Sea. Read about the child that invented a frozen treat that changed summer forever. Learn the amazing tale of the incredible Sybil Luddington, the teenage girl that rode more than 40 miles to rally soldiers to defend two towns during the American Revolution.

   Read the tale of amazing Jackie Mitchell who struck out the two greatest baseball players in history. Learn of the courageous kids that organized the greatest labor strike in U.S. history. Read the story of the young girl that named a planet, and learn of the boy with learning disabilities who invented more than 1,000 inventions.

   Marvel at the exploits of the Heroine of Lime Rock. Read about Joe Nuxhall, the youngest major leaguer who played professional baseball and stepped up on the pitcher’s mound at the age of 15.

   Read about the precocious Tad Lincoln whose plea for mercy for a doomed animal started a holiday tradition.

   These and other stories will inspire and entertain and amuse readers of all ages. This book is written with the young reader in mind in a vernacular that appeals to children. The stories are short but informative which and capture the attention of the younger readers. It is my hope that parents will enjoy these stories with their young children who will be inspired by other kids who accomplished wonderful things.

  The book can be purchased in Kindle or in print. For more inromation go to amazon.com or www.strangerthanfictionnews.com.

   You can order a signed copy for your child by sending $8.95 to P.O. Box 6421 Sevierville, TN. 37864.

 Celtic Woman performed to a capacity crowd at Harrah's Friday.

    Celtic Woman, the internationally acclaimed all women band, inspired and entertained a capacity crowd at Harrah's Cherokee Friday April, 26, with a rich blend of Scots-Irish music and dance.   

   The talented group kept the audience mesmerized with their melodic Irish jigs and timeless classics. 

    Celtic Woman debuted on Public Television in March 2005 where they quickly emerged as a spectacular commercial success that crossed cultural borders with now more than six million CDs/DVDs and over two million concert tickets sold worldwide.

   In Cherokee they charmed the audience with the energetic act that has endeared them to audiences around the world. The group performed songs from the newest CD "Believe." The show was part of a 60 city tour that is currently underway.

   The band performed classic Irish and Scottish melodies such as "Caladonia" and their internationally renowned hit "Sail Away."   

  Celtic violinist Mairead Nesbitt performed several tunes including Irish jigs with great energy and enthusiasm that kept the audience clapping to the melody.

   The band performed a show  stopping rendition of "Amazing Grace' with bagpipe accompaniment and harmonies that were as tight as a drum. The reverent gospel classic brought the audience to their feet with a standing ovation.  The women performed a breath taking tribute to Broadway that included "The Circle of Life"  from the "Lion King."

  Celtic Woman is truly a magnificent show that is not to be missed as they continue on tour. 

Mairead Nesbitt performs an Irish jig in a high energy performance. 

  Country Music legend George Jones died this morning at the age of 81.

   Country music icon, George Jones, died this morning at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville after being hospitalized with fever and irregular blood pressure, according to his publicist Kirt Webster.

   Jones, regarded by most music critics as the greatest country music star, recorded as many as 150 chart topping hits in a career that spanned five decades.

  “I was fortunate to have worked with him in 21 sold out shows in Pigeon Forge,” said Tim McAbee, president of First Class Productions. “He was my favorite male vocalist. It is a sad day. He paved the way and created a way for himself in the music industry. He was a favorite of many artists in so many fields and his loss will be felt across all genres. His family is certainly in our prayers. My heart is very heavy for his family.”   

  With a wide ranging baritone voice ,Jones had No. 1 songs in five separate decades, 1950s to 1990s. He was idolized not just by fellow country artists, but by Frank Sinatra, Pete Townshend, Elvis Costello, James Taylor and countless others. "If we all could sound like we wanted to, we'd all sound like George Jones," Waylon Jennings once sang.

   Nicknamed "Possum," Jones’ career evolved from young honky-tonker to country music legend as he recorded more than 150 albums and became the champion and symbol of traditional country music influenced by his hero, Hank Williams. Over the decades he waged battles with alcoholism and drug addiction and had close encounters with death, including bypass surgery and a tour bus crash that he only avoided by deciding at the last moment to take a plane. In the end he conquered his dependencies and emerged as an iconic elder statesman of the industry.

   His hits included the sentimental "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes",  "The Race is On", "I Don't Need Your Rockin' Chair",  "She Thinks I Still Care", "White Lightning", "Still Doing Time." Jones also recorded several duets with Tammy Wynette, his wife for six years, including "Golden Ring," ''Near You," ''Southern California" and "We're Gonna Hold On." He also sang with such peers as Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard and many others.

   But his signature song was "He Stopped Loving Her Today," a song about a man who carries his love for a woman to his grave. The 1980 ballad, which Jones was sure would never be a hit, often appears on surveys as the most popular country song of all time and won the Country Music Association song of the year twice.

  Jones won Grammy awards in 1981 for "He Stopped Loving Her Today" and in 1999 for "Choices." He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1992 and in 2008 was among the artists honored in Washington at the Kennedy Center.

  In declining health in the past year, Jones went on what was intended to be his farewell tour. He appeared in Knoxville in April and was scheduled to appear in Cherokee in June.

   Jones was born Sept. 12, 1931, in a log house near the east Texas town of Saratoga, the youngest of eight children. He sang in church and at age 11 began performing for tips on the streets of Beaumont, Texas. His first outing was such a success that listeners tossed him coins, placed a cup by his side and filled it with money. Jones estimated he made more than $24 for his two-hour performance, enough to feed his family for a week.

   He got his start on radio with husband and wife team Eddie & Pearl in the late 1940s. Hank Williams once dropped by the studio to promote a new record, and Jones was invited to back him on guitar. When it came time to play, he froze.

   "Hank had 'Wedding Bells' out at the time," Jones recalled in a 2003 Associated Press interview. "He started singing it, and I never hit the first note the whole song. I just stared."

   After the first of his four marriages failed, he enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1951 and served three years. He cut his first record when he got out, an original fittingly called "No Money in This Deal."

   He had his first hit with "Why Baby Why" in 1955, and by the early '60s Jones was one of country music's top stars.

   Jones was married to country music star Tammy Wynette, his third wife, from 1969 to 1975. (Wynette died in 1998.) Their relationship played out in Nashville like a country song, with hard drinking, fights and reconciliations.

   In 1983, Jones married his fourth and final wife, Nancy Sepulveda, whom he credited with stablizing his private life. He had four children, one with first wife Dorothy Bonvillion, two with second wife Shirley Ann Corley and one with Wynette. His daughter with Wynette, Georgette Jones, became a country singer and even played her mother in the 2008 TV series "Sordid Lives." 

    In a literary event of Titanic proportions, ten authors of Titanic related books were on hand at the titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge for the inaugural Titanic Authors Book Signing event April 1-7.

   The youngest of the authors was 11-year-old Luke Copas, author of “Facts for Kids About the Children of the Titanic.” The book was written to honor the memory of the more than 100 children on board the ill-fated vessel.

  Julie Hedgepeth Williams dressed in period attire in remembrance of her great-aunt, Sylvia Caldwell, whom she wrote about in “A Rare Titanic Family: The Caldwells  Story of Survival.”

  Among other authors on hand were Daniel Allen Butler, author of “The Other Side of the Night” and Allan Wolf author of “The Watch that ends the Night.”

  The authors were scattered throughout the museum at tables strategically located from the entrance to the gift shop where Lee Meredith signed copies of his book “1912 Facts about the Titanic.” Meredith has authored several books about the Titanic.

  Hundreds of Titanic enthusiasts perused the museum and met with the authors to discuss their books and hear the stories of the survivors and of those that went down with the ship.

11-year-old Luke Copas was the youngest of 10 authors to sign copies of their books at the first annual Titanic Authors Week at the Titanic Museum.

Julie Hedgepeth Williams dressed in period attire in remembrance of her Great Aunt Sylvia.

Lee Meredith has authored several books about the Titanic.

Daniel Allan Butler is the author of "The Other Side of the Night."

Superior lighting helped enhance a stellar concert by Alicia Keys  

   Fourteen time Grammy winner Alecia Keys electrified a capacity crowd at Harrah’s Cherokee Grand Event Center Wednesday, Marc 29. The charismatic Keys took the stage to a tumultuous standing ovation and regaled the audience with the hits that made her an international superstar.

  With a voice that is as powerful now as it was 10 years ago, Keys mesmerized the audience with such hits as “Girl On Fire” and “Fallin’”

  The enthusiastic crowd was swept up into a frenzy of excitement as Keys performed hit after hit. Keys played the piano while singing many of the crowd favorites. With her engaging stage presence and excellent lighting combined with great sound and an entertaining set list, Keys never lost the attention of her audience and brought the crowd to their feet several times throughout the evening.

  The amazingly talented Keys kept the show moving. Keys set a standard and her show will be difficult for other acts to follow.

The Charismatic keys brought the audience to their feet with the hits that made her an international icon.

  Jack hughes and Terence Mullin attempted to steal Lincoln's Corpse

   While several attempts had been made to steal President Abraham Lincoln’s corpse, none were ever successful. The closest anyone ever came to stealing Lincoln’s corpse was in 1876 when a band of outlaws attempted to steal the body and hold it for ransom and to secure the release of a counterfeiter, Ben Boyd. Boyd was a highly skilled master engraver whose engravings had fooled even the experts.

    The gang’s leader was “Big Jim” Kinealy who realized that with Boyd out of circulation the supply of counterfeit money would soon dry up. This was a very lucrative enterprise for Kinealy and he was prepared to do whatever he had to do to preserve his way of life, even if it meant stealing Lincoln’s corpse.

      The plan was simple, Kinealy’s gang would steal Lincoln’s corpse and hold it for ransom. The government could have it back if it paid $200,000 in gold and freed Ben Boyd.

      After a failed initial attempt, Kinealy decide to try again and recruited a local pub owner named Terrance Mullin and a small time criminal named John “Jack” Hughes. They needed a third man to help carry out the plot. Mullins suggested Lewis Swegles, who had patronized his pub many times in recent months, and quickly recruited him into the gang. They were unawre that Swegles secretly worked for the United States Department of the Treasury as an informant.

   The plan was set to rob the tomb on November 7, 1876. This would be Election Day. Everyone would be preoccupied with the election and no one would be near the cemetery. Kinealy was confident nothing would go wrong this time.

    On the night of November 7, the trap was set. Swegles had been in contact with the Treasury Department and they were well aware of what was about to take place. The outlaws entered the tomb and had lifted the coffin out when federal agents stormed in. The outlaws fled into the night and were caught 10 days later.

     Incredibly, at the time there was no law on the books against stealing bodies. Therefore, the best the prosecution could hope for was to get a conviction for the theft of a coffin valued at $75. Mullin and Hughes was found guilty and sentenced to 1 year in Joliet Prison.

     Government officials were concerned there may be other attempts to steal Lincoln’s body and began moving it periodically in the course of the next 25 years.

     In 1900, construction began on the permanent final resting place of the Lincoln Family. It was designed so that it would be impossible for anyone else to attempt a robbery.

       Robert Lincoln arranged to have his father’s coffin placed in a huge cage and then buried 10 feet deep and encased in concrete. On September 26, 1901, the tomb was ready. The coffins were carried up to the newly completed tomb.

    Because of the permanency of the tomb, and the chaos that had surrounded the President’s body over the years, there was a discussion among those present as to whether or not the coffin should be opened. Some argued that the remains should be positively identified due to rumors that the body in the box was not Mr. Lincoln.

     When the coffin was opened a pungent smell arose. Twenty-three people removed their hats and stepped toward the coffin to see the body.

    They discovered Lincoln’s body had been mummified and was immaculately preserved.  His hair was thick and course. The wart on his cheek was an obvious characteristic. His face was a bronze color from the gunshot wound that shattered the bones in his face. The color was described as being that of unhealed bruises. His beard was still there although his eyebrows had fallen out. His suit had mildew on it and there were tiny specks of cloth on his chest that were red, white and blue in color. It was later discovered that a small flag had been placed on his chest at the funeral. These tiny pieces of cloth were all that remained of the flag.

   Michael Williams is the author of a book entitled "Stranger than Fiction: The Lincoln Curse." The book is a collection of 50 strange and unusual but true stories. The stories will leave the reader convinced that perhaps Mark Twain was right when he said "truth is stranger than fiction."

        The book is 187 pages in a softbound edition with numerous photos. The book can be purchased from amazon.com for $19.95 plus shipping and handling or you can save shipping cost and save $2 on the purchase price by ordering a signed copy directly from the author. Send $17.95 to P.O. Box 6421 Sevierville, TN. 37864.

    The book is available in Kindle on Amazon.com for $3.99. For more information visit the website www.strangerthanfictionnews.com.                               
 

Grammy Award winning superstar Alicia Keys wil perform in Cherokee on Mar. 27

  Fourteen time Grammy Award winner, Alicia Keys will bring her electrifying award winning music to Harrah's in Cherokee, North Carolina March 27 at 8 p.m.

  Keys is best known for her captivating soulful music and memorable songs such as "Girl on Fire", "Fallin'" and "A Woman's Worth." 

  In addition to her Grammy wins, Keys has racked up a plethora of other awards including eleven Billboard Music Awards, three American Music Awards, three World Music Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards, two MTV Europe Awards, three NAACP Awards, two Nickelodeon Teen Choice Awards, one BET Award, six Soul Train Music Awards, one Soul Train Lady of Soul Award, one People’s Choice Award, and one My VH1 Award

  As a child, Keys was strongly influenced by music from all different generations and disciplines, from the essential music of Nina Simone, Donny Hathaway, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder to urban lyricists such as Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z and the Wu-Tang Clan.

   With her unmistakable blend of soul, hip-hop, jazz and classical music, Keys burst onto the music scene in June 2001 with her debut release Songs In A Minor on Clive Davis’ J Records. Songs In A Minor debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 Chart selling over 235,000 copies in its first week.  The album went on to sell more than 10 million units worldwide symbolizing the international impact she has as an artist. 

   Keys is the author of  "TEARS FOR WATER:  Songbook of Poems & Lyrics by Alicia Keys."  This deep rooted personal collaboration of Alicia’s inner most thoughts
and emotions has landed her a spot on the New York Times Expanded Best Seller List. 

  Keys will take the stage at 8 p.m. Harrah's is located at 777 Casino drive in Cherokee North Carolina. For ticket information call 1-800-745-3000.

(from left) Tyler Nutter and Jack Lipkin practice the log roll at the Great Smoky Mountain Lumberjack Feud. 

    With only days to go before the 56th annual Southern Forestry Conclave, the University of Tennessee Forestry Club arrived at the Lumberjack Feud in Pigeon Forge Tuesday night, after the show, to get in one more practice before the big event.

   The conclave will be held in Auburn, Alabama, March 14-16. The conclave will pit the best collegiate lumberjacks in the nation in a grueling competition of physical skills and test the knowledge of the participants in a variety of events.

   Fourteen schools across the Southeast are expected to participate in the Conclave including: Virginia Tech, North Carolina State, Clemson, Georgia, Florida, Auburn, Alabama A&M, Mississippi State, Louisiana Tech, LSU, Stephen F. Austin, Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas Monticello.

  The Forestry Club of the University of Tennessee began training at the Lumberjack Feud in 2012 and the improvement in the skill level of the team was notable.

  “Last year we finished fifth in the conference,” said Jack Lipkin, senior in forestry and president of the team. “That’s the best we have ever done and this year we expect to do better. The people at the Lumberjack Feud have been amazing. They have bent over backwards to help us. They have provided the facility, training, wood and gear. ”

    The lumberjack team is a part of UT's chapter of the Society of American Foresters and meets every Tuesday to practice the events that comprise a typical intercollegiate timbersports competition. The events include archery, team bolt split, stock sawing, bowsawing and the standing block chop, and technical skills such tree identification, wildlife identification and timber estimation. The team will square off in 18 physical events and eight technical events.

  In 2012, the UT lumberjack team began training at the Lumberjack Feud which offered the lumberjacks a rare opportunity to hone their special skills by working with professional lumberjacks. There are few facilities in the nation that are designed to offer such training.

  “We didn’t have the facility to train the way we can train here,” said Tyler Nutter. “At UT we didn’t have the equipment they have here and wood was a major factor. We also get professional instruction on a new level.”

  Providing that professional level of instruction is a former UT forestry major and a lumberjack at the Lumberjack Feud, Adam Lethco.

  “I wanted to help build up the sport,” said Lethco. “I would like to see if get bigger and see the team go on to more competitions.”

    Lethco is one of a team of lumberjacks that performs at the Great Smoky Mountains Lumberjack Feud in Pigeon Forge. The show is a family oriented dinner show that pits two rival families against one another in a lumberjack competition for the logging rights to the Great Smoky Mountains during the 1930s.

    Two schools, Stephen F. Austin in Texas and Arkansas Monticello, have dominated the competition for the past 56 years it has been going on. Last year, however, Georgia took home the trophy. Lipkin is confident the team will fare better.

    For more information about the UT Forestry Club contact Jack Lipkin at jlipkin@utk.edu for inquiries about the club.

Adam Lethco, a UT Forestry graduate, competes at the Great Smoky Mountain Lumberjack Feud. Lethco has been hard at work training the UT Forestry team to compete in a conclave in Auburn, Alabama. 

                             Junius "Mad Booth" Brutus Booth

  In July of 1835, President Andrew Jackson received a chilling letter dated July 4. The letter was a tersely worded death threat against Jackson written by one of the most prominent actors of the American stage, Junius Brutus Booth.

   Although, regarded by some modern historians as the Richard Burton of his day, Booth was known for his erratic and often irrational behavior. He suffered throughout his life with alcoholism and mental illness. He was a bigamist who was married to an English woman and an American simultaneously. Neither woman knew about his double life. Booth was known to become violent during his drunken fugues.  His behavior earned him the unenviable moniker “Mad Booth.”

  Booth’s menacing letter was a direct threat on Jackson’s life. The correspondence was addressed to Jackson and began with the salutation “"You damn'd old Scoundrel."

  The letter went on to demand presidential pardons for two men accused of piracy. Both men named De Ruiz and De Soto, were facing the death penalty in one of the most high profile trials of the decade.  In the letter, Booth threatened he would   “cut your throat whilst you are sleeping.” Later in the letter, the actor also promised to have Jackson “burnt at the Stake.”

  Strangely enough, at the time it was not against the law to threaten the president’s life. In the modern era Booth would have been arrested and thoroughly interrogated by the Secret Service.

    Booth penned a second letter that day to the manager of a theater where he was scheduled to perform.  Booth apologized that he missed a performance.  

    The letter was filed away in Jackson’s home and labeled “Anonymous,” despite the fact Booth signed it. Little more was  thought of it.  Booth later apologized to Jackson for the letter and sent apologetic correspondence to several other members of the government.

   The letter came to the attention of investigators once again 30 years later after “Mad Booth’s” son assassinated another president. On April 14, 1865, the son of Junius Brutus Booth, John Wilkes Booth, earned an ignominious place in history when he fatally shot President Abraham Lincoln, thus committing a crime his father could not carry out. Unlike his father, the younger Booth was never apologetic for his crime. 

  Obviously, murder ran in the Booth family.

   Michael Williams is the author of "Stranger than Fiction: The Lincoln Curse." The book is a collection of 50 strange and unusual but true stories. The stories will leave the reader convinced that perhaps Mark Twain was right when he said "truth is stranger than fiction."

      The book is 187 pages in a softbound edition with numerous photos. The book can be purchased from amazon.com for $19.95 plus shipping and handling or you can save shipping cost and save $2 on the purchase price by ordering a signed copy directly from the author. Send $17.95 to P.O. Box 6421 Sevierville, TN. 37864.

    The book is available in Kindle on Amazon.com for $3.99. For more information visit the website www.strangerthanfictionnews.com.

    Cookie, Played by Uncle Bud Beasley seems to blush as Dixie Dawson, played by newcomer Felicia Gammon, teases him

    Anyone who has visited the Great Smoky Mountains or the Pigeon Forge area in the last 16 years is certainly familiar with Uncle Bud Beasley. The affable Uncle Bud is an accomplished singer, song writer, musician, comedian and TV personality. Recently, he joined the cast of the Great Smoky mountains Lumberjack Feud playing the part of Cookie the chef. 

   Uncle Bud played in a bluegrass band for 16 years touring the country with various bands and country music artists. For five years he performed with Uncle Bud’s ‘Lectro Wood Experience.

   “We played classic rock the way the good Lord intended it,” Uncle Bud said. “We played it bluegrass style.”

   Who could ever forget a rousing rendition of “Smoke on the Water” with banjo accompaniment?

   Uncle Bud went on to appear in numerous TV commercials for Metro West Ford. In the commercials Uncle Bud gave advice to the “automotively challenged.”  In a backdrop that resembled a DJ’s booth Uncle Bud received letters from listeners inquiring about car repairs. Invariably, the letter writer would be given the timely advice “You need a new car.”

  It was eight years ago that Uncle Bud joined the cast of the Tennessee Shindig. Over the years he recorded several CDs and attracted a following of loyal fans. The Shindig closed last year and Uncle Bud was recruited by the Great Smoky Mountain Lumberjack Feud.

  Uncle Bud’s career took a new direction at the Feud. Now, he is plays as "Cookie," the cook who prepares hot meals for hundreds of guests and two camps of rowdy lumberjacks.

  “They may be divided in the competition but we all eat together,” said Uncle Bud.

  In addition to preparing hundreds of hot meals, Cookie provides the pre-show entertainment. In a fashion statement only he could pull off, Cookie enters the arena dressed in red long johns, a hunting cap similar to Elmer Fudd’s and bear claw house slippers.

  He wrote two original songs for the pre-show including “That’s what a bear is good for.” The song contains some unusual bear recipes, such as bear bacon, that could have only come from the mind of a culinary genius such as Cookie.

  Fortunately, none of these recipes are on the menu at the Feud. Cookie's preshow is lighthearted entertainment that’s fun for the whole family.

 The Lumberjack Feud is a 90 minute dinner show and fun for the whole family. For more information visit the web Site at http://www.lumberjackfeud.com/ or call 855-244-3383.

 East Tennessee's Own Janelle Arthur wowed the judges of American Idol Tuesday

  Pigeon Forge's own Janelle Arthur wowed the judges and received a standing ovation from the audience on Tuesday's edition of American Idol.

   Arthur sang the timeless Elvis Presley signature song "If I can dream." Her performance drew praise from the panel of judges.

  Keith Urban told Arthur her choice of songs was a good one. Nicki Minaj said "It was the best performance of the night."

  Randy Jackson told Arthur "I like that you are a throw back. That;s what we need right now, a throwback. Someone who can sing like Patsy Cline,"

  Mariah Carey congratulated Arthur on a job well done.

  At the end of the night Ryan Seacrest instructed the viewing audience to call in and vote for their favorites. Five of the ten that performed will be eliminated. If Arthur receives enough votes she will move on to the next round of eliminations. 

       David Acuff                     Maranda Acuff

       Devin Sullivan                  Daniel Gonzales

        Stephen Gross                Craig Stevenson

    The Sevier County Sheriff’s Office has rounded up suspects in a number of burglaries in the area in three separate arrests.

    A  Morristown couple has been arrested and charged with burglarizing several rental cabins in Sevier County. According to Sheriff Ron Seals,  on Monday Feb. 25th at app. 8:41pm Officer Jerry Huskey was patrolling in the Smokey Cove Cabin Resort and observed a man jump from a balcony of a rental cabin.

    The male subject jumped into a vehicle and sped off.  Huskey stopped the vehicle and after a search of the vehicle Huskey found three stolen flat screen TV’s that had been taken from area rental cabins. The man was identified as David C. Acuff, 28 of 534 Sunrise Ave Morristown and his wife Maranda A. Acuff,  25 was a passenger in the car. Both were charged with aggravated burglary and possession of Burglary Tools. Both were booked into Sevier County Jail and a bond was set. They are awaiting a March 18th hearing in General Sessions Court.

     A Sevier County man is in custody at the Sevier County Detention Center and has been charged in connection with burglarizing 6 homes in the Boyds Creek Community.

    According to Seals, Craig Stevenson, age 21, of 2470 Native Dancer Way, Sevierville was arrested on Monday Feb 25, by the Sevier Co. Sheriff’s Office Detective Division after an investigation was conducted into the recent burglaries of homes in the Stables Subdivision.

   Detectives developed Stevenson, who also resides in the Stables Subdivision, as a suspect and then found where he had sold several items of stolen property from the burglaries. Stevenson has been charged with six counts of Aggravated Burglary.

     Also charged with one count of aggravated burglary was Daniel Gonzales Jr. age 52 ,of 2478 Native Dancer Way who was an accomplice to Stevenson in one of the burglaries. Stevenson is being held in Sevier Co Jail awaiting arraignment before a Judge. Gonzales is also being held pending arraignment. The investigation is continuing and anyone with information is asked to contact Det. Johnny Bohanan the Sheriff’s Office at 865-428-1899

  Two Sevier County men were arrested in connection with a home burglary on Meadows Drive. Sheriff Ron Seals states that on Feb 4th,a burglary was reported to the Sheriff’s Office on Meadows Drive in Sevier County.

   Officers arrived on the scene and found that someone had entered the home and took several items of value. A TV  that was among the missing items was recovered the following day by a citizen that found it lying beside the road in the Gatlinburg area.

    Sevier County Detectives investigated the case and developed two suspects. On Sat. Feb 23, the suspects were questioned and gave incriminating statements. The suspects are identified as Devon R. Sullivan, 18 and Stephen R. Gross, 21 both of 2226 Meadows Drive Sevierville. Both have been charged with one count of Aggravated Burglary in connection with the burglary and were arraigned before a Magistrate. A $5000 bond was set and they were booked into jail. An April 5th hearing date has been set in General Sessions Court. Anyone with information pertaining to the case is asked to call Det. Jim Huddleston at the Sheriff’s Office Criminal Inv. Division at 428-1899.

    Firefly Fisher and Big Easy of the Harlem Globetrotters

   The high flying basketball wizardry of the Harlem Globetrotters is coming to the Thompson-Boling Arena March 19 at 7 p.m.

   The world renown Globetrotters have been dazzling basketball fans for 86 seasons in 121 countries around the globe to live up to their name. The team has long established themselves as innovators of the game with such concepts as the four point shot. This year is no exception. The Globetrotters are inviting the fans to decide what the rules of the game will be in the “You write the Rules” Tour.

   Globetrotter Tay “Firefly” Fisher explained the concept in a telephone interview.

  “We are asking the fans to go to harlemglobetrotters.com and vote on the rules of the game,” said Fisher. “They just go the web Site ‘HarlemGlobetrotters.com” and click on Vote and they can choose several options detailing what they want to see in the game.”

   At the web Site fans can decide to vote for two balls in play at once or double the points or six players against five Globe Trotters or the penalty box. The vote allows more interaction between the fans and the players.

  Fisher and the team have recently completed a USO tour in which they entertained U.S. troops in Dubai, Afghanistan, the U.A.E., Qatar and Bahrain.

  Fisher is now in his fourth year with the Globetrotters after a successful career at Siena College where he played an integral role in unsetting Vanderbilt to win the NCAA tournament.

  Fisher tours with the legendary team nine months a year. During the off season he operates the Tay Fisher Fundamental Basketball Camp where he mentors to troubled and economically disadvantaged youth.

 “I make the camp as affordable as possible,” Fisher said. “I reach out to kids because I want to give back. I want to mentor to them. When my basketball career is finished I plan to become a teacher.

  The Globetrotters have partnered with the Susan G. Komen Foundation in the battle against breast cancer. The team will be selling pick rubber bracelets at the game with the proceeds to benefit breast cancer research. The team will use a pink ball at one part of the game as a sign of support for the cause. Breast cancer is a subject Fisher is well familiar with.

  “I had a teacher that suffered from it and a friend of my sister is batting it right now,” Fisher said. “It means a lot to me to show our support.”

     Fisher said he hopes to meet UT women’s basketball legend Pat Summit during his visit to Knoxville.

“A lot of men aren’t big fans of women’s basketball but I am,” Fisher said. “I am a big fan and I would love to meet Coach Summit. She is at the top of my list of people I would like to meet. She has made a huge impact on the game.”

  Tickets are now on sale at tbarena.com.