Trace Adkins: Country's king of the county fair!

Story and photo's by Ray Tharaldson
Monday night Trace Adkins performed before a sold out crowd at one of America's premiere county fairs in Goshen, Indiana . The crowd rose to their feet early in the show and never sat down again. Trace's new single 'Just Fishin' drew a thundering applause as the video played on giant video screen's in the background. Several songs had never been performed in public before and the fans loved them. Trace Adkins smooth deep voice swooned the crowd for about ninety minutes before ending with a final encore.

Lucky fan, Patty Baker (right) caught Trace Adkin's hat after he'd tossed it into the crowd.

Another fan suffering from a degenerative disease was invited back stage to meet the performer.

Bio:
Trace Adkins has scored 30 Top 40 singles in his legendary career, including his memorable 2005 Top 5 hit, 'Honky Tonk Badonkadonk.' Still, the 49-year old admits that, in spite of his epic success, he is at a loss when determining which of his tunes will be a hit at radio.

"I've been doing this for 15 years now, but I still can't always tell a hit," he admits to Massachusetts newspaper, the Patriot Ledger. "Radio is a very fickle mistress. One day she is hot, one day she is not.

 My first single off this new album is a song called 'Just Fishin',' which I recorded a couple of years ago. It almost ended up on my last album, but it was too close to 'You're Gonna Miss This,' so I held it back. I have ultimate veto power over my singles, but I don't usually fight with the record label over what they want to do. The record label usually knows best."

The Louisiana native sold more than six million albums on Capitol Records, before moving to Show Dog-Universal Music in 2010, where he released his No. 1 CD, 'Cowboy's Back in Town.' Now, with the release of his second album on the label, 'Proud to Be Here,' scheduled for August 2, the former oil-rig worker says the new set of tunes marks a career milestone for him.

"This is my first time in the studio with Mark Wright," Trace says of the heavyweight producer. "He's worked with some of the biggest names in the business, everyone from George Strait to Brooks and Dunn and Reba McEntire. His pedigree as songwriter and record producer is bar none."

'Just Fishin'' is a single he didn't write, but he admits it's one of the most autobiographical songs he has ever recorded. "'Just Fishin'' sounds like it's some redneck thing, but it's a song about a father going fishing with his little girl, and she thinks it's just fishin', but it's about much more than that," Trace tells The Boot. "As a father of daughters, it hit all the right buttons. I've taught all my girls to fish, and it's about the lessons that you learn from teaching your children to fish. It's the time that you spend together doing it. That's what's really important."

The 6'6" star is in the midst of rebuilding his home following a devastating fire last month, all the while keeping up with a summer full of concert dates, including several shows in Ontario, Canada, later this week. Keep track of his schedule here.

For more information and tour dates visit:
 traceadkins.com/

http://www.4hfair.org/

Oslo anti-violence rally draws 100,000

(Reuters) - At least 100,000 people, many carrying white or red roses, rallied in Oslo on Monday to show support for victims of attacks that killed 76 people, police said.

"Tonight the streets are filled with love," Crown Prince Haakon told the crowd, gathered to mark opposition to a bombing and shooting on Friday.

Ola Krokan, operations chief at Oslo police, told Reuters there were at least 100,000 people at the demonstration. Rallies were being held in other cities around the nation.

(Reporting by Kjetil Stormark)

Bear Attack in Alaska, Teen Survives

By Patrick Barnard
A Westport teenager was among a group of seven who were attacked by a brown bear while learning survival skills in the Alaska wilderness Saturday night.

Samuel Boas, 16, of Morningside Drive South was training with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) in Palmer, Alaska, with six other teens, aged 16-18, when they were attacked by a brown bear with cub at about 8:30 p.m., Alaska time.

Boas was not injured in the attack — however two other teenagers in his group suffered "serious, life threatening injuries," according to a press release from Megan Peters, a spokesperson for the Alaska State Troopers and Department of Public Safety.

Two other teens in the group were seriously injured but sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Three others suffered "minor injuries or had exposure-related issues," the release said.

The other teens in the group were not from Connecticut.

In a phone interview this morning Carol Boas, Sam’s mother, said she was relieved that her son walked away “without a scratch,” but expressed concern for the welfare of the other teens, especially the two who are seriously injured.

“They were pretty bad,” she said of their condition.

“The fact that they were able to survive and get out of there was due to the survival training they learned through NOLS,” she said, adding, however, that there’s “never been a bear attack” in the organization’s 40-year history, as far as she knows.

Boas said her son, a student at Staples High School who also served on Westport EMS, administered first aid to the victims following the attack.

“It was because of the training my son got with Westport EMS that he was able to help save those victims,” she said.

As Boas explained, the group of teens had been on the wilderness expedition under adult supervision since June 30. “But during the last part of the trips they let the teens put their training to work and they let them spend the last 4 to 5 days on their own, with no adults,” she said.

“They had an emergency locater that they were only supposed to activate in the event of an emergency — which they did,” she said. “However they had to wait quite a while before the Alaska State Paratroopers were able to find them and get them out of there. As you know it’s pretty rough wilderness in that part of the state."

According to a report in Alaska Dispatch, a Fairbanks-based search and rescue helicopter was dispatched to locate the exact point from which the beacon was transmitting at about 9:30 p.m., Saturday. By 2:45 a.m. Sunday, rescuers had found the teens in a tent.

Boas said Sam “refused to leave” with the first transport, opting instead to stay behind and treat the other victims until the next helicopter could arrive.

“Because of his training with Westport EMS, he decided to stay there with the trooper and continue to administer first aid,” she said, adding that the trooper was not trained to deliver the same degree of emergency care.

Boas said Sam and the six other teens were hiking on a trail and coming down a ridge when suddenly the brown bear attacked — starting first with the two who were at the head of the line.

The first helicopter transported the two most badly injured victims — however the other victims had to wait another four hours for the next helicopter to come in.

The other teenagers were identified as Noah Allaine, 16, Albuquerque, N.M.; Shane Garlock, 16, Pittsford, N.Y.; Joshua Berg, 17, New York, N.Y.; Samuel Gottsegen, 17, Denver, Colo.; Simeon Melman, Huntington, N.Y.; and Victor Martin, 18, Richmond, Calif.

(Westport Patch will be following up on this story as more information becomes available.)

Norway: Powerful blast near Norwegian PM's office

Witnesses reported the massive blast blew out most windows in the building as well as nearby government departments including the oil ministry, in Norway's capital and most populated city.

Most of the windows in the 20-floor highrise were blown out, and the bottom floor appeared to be gutted. Nearby offices were also heavily damaged and evacuated, including those housing some of Norway's leading newspapers and news agency NTB.

Meanwhile, Norway's oil ministry has been evacuated following an explosion close to the government's headquarters amid reports that the oil ministry is on fire and may have been the target of the attack.

Ingunn Andersen, a journalist with Norwegian public radio NRK, said from the scene: "I see that some windows of the VG [a popular Norwegian tabloid newspaper] building and the government headquarters have been broken."

"Some people covered with blood are lying in the street. There is glass everywhere. It is total chaos. The windows of the all the surrounding buildings have been blown out."

NATO member Norway has in the past been threatened by leaders of Al Qaeda for its involvement in Afghanistan.

Norway has been part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan from its foundation in late 2001. Television footage from the scene showed rubble and glass from shattered windows in the streets - smoke was around some buildings. The wreckage of at least one car was in street.

Al Jazeera reports the blast blew out the windows of the building which houses the Prime Minister's office.

The cause of the blast is unknown, but a tangled wreckage of a car was spotted outside one of the buildings. The damage appeared consistent with that from car bombs. Police and fire officials however declined to comment.

Photos posted on the NRK website showed shattered glass in front of the devastated facade of the VG building, and soldiers closing off the area and people surrounding someone apparently injured in the blast.

Last week, a Norwegian prosecutor filed terror charges against an Iraqi-born cleric for threatening Norwegian politicians with death if he's deported from the Nordic country.

The indictment centered on statements that Mullah Krekar -- the founder of the Kurdish Islamist group Ansar al-Islam made to various media, including American network NBC.

 "Norway will pay a heavy price for my death," Krekar had said. "If, for example, Erna Solberg deports me and I die as a result, she will suffer the same fate."

A second theory that has been proposed behind Friday's attack is the cartoon crisis. In early 2006, a small Norwegian newspaper had angered many Muslims by reprinting Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad.

Senior adviser Oivind Ostang told Norwegian TV2: "We can confirm that everybody who was working in the prime minister's office today are safe.

"The only thing I know is that there has been a fire or something approaching a fire in the R4-buildling which houses the oil- and energy office."

A second theory that has been proposed behind Friday's attack is the cartoon crisis.


In early 2006, a small Norwegian newspaper had angered many Muslims by reprinting Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad.

Meanwhile, chaos prevails in Oslo.

The police depatment has asked people to nefrain from using cellphones, as the networks are at a breaking point.

Oistein Mjarum, head of communications at the Norwegian Red Cross, told the BBC the area hit by the blast would have been "very busy" on Friday afternoon.

Actor Gary Sinise Launching Foundation”

By Richard Webster.
Award-winning actor Gary Sinise launched the Gary Sinise Foundation on July 4th, 2011 to honor the Nation’s defenders, veterans, first responders, their families, and those in need. The foundation will provide and support unique programs designed to entertain, educate, inspire, strengthen and build communities.

Some of the many programs include relief for wounded warriors, entertainment for service members and their families, school supplies for children where U.S. troops are deployed, and scholarships for veterans.  The foundation will also support and promote several quality organizations, some of which include The United Service Organization (USO), Operation International Children, Snowball Express, Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation, American Veterans Disabled For Life Memorial, Fisher House Foundation, People to People International, Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, TAPS-Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, The FDNY Fire Family Transport Foundation, Hope For The Warriors, The Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, The Navy Seal Foundation, and Disabled American Veterans.

 The launch will coincided with the release of Jonathan Flora’s documentary “Lt. Dan Band: For The Common Good”.  During the 30-day online release, when people stream the film at www.LtDanBandMovie.com , one out of every four dollars will go to the Gary Sinise Foundation to support its programs.

ABOUT GARY SINISE:
In 2008 he received the Presidential Citizens Medal, the second highest civilian honor awarded to citizens for exemplary deeds performed in service of the nation. He is only the second actor, and one of only 110 people in history to have received the honor. Other awards include The Medal of Honor’s Bob Hope Excellence in Entertainment Award, The Spirit of the USO Award, The Ellis Island Medal of Honor, The Harry S. Truman Good Neighbor Award, and the Heart of a Patriot Award from USO of Illinois.  In April 2011 he received the USC School of Social Work’s Crystal Heart, the school’s highest honor for his outstanding community service, and the university established the Gary Sinise Endowed Scholarship in the School of Social Work in his name to support further education in the area of military social work.

Sinise has done hundreds of personal appearances and concerts with the Lt. Dan Band worldwide, mostly for military related organizations.  He has participated in over 40 tours and made over 150 appearances for the USO alone, and traveled to bases in Alaska and throughout the US, and overseas to locations such as Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, Germany, Belgium, The UK, The Netherlands, Italy, UAE, Qatar, Korea, Singapore, Diego Garcia, Okinawa and Guantanamo Bay, raising the spirits and boosting morale of hundreds of thousands of troops and their families.

As a result of Sinise’s first two trips to Iraq, he started Operation International Children with Seabiscuit author Laura Hillenbrand, which has worked with schools in the U.S., corporate sponsors and People to People International to supply the military with well over a quarter of a million school supply kits, along with more than half a million toys and thousands of blankets, backpacks, pairs of shoes, Arabic-language books, and sets of sports equipment to provide to children in conflict areas.

Sinise serves as the spokesperson for the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial (www.avdlm.org/site/c.gnKFIJNqEqG/b.5307877/k.B20F/About_the_Memorial.htm), traveling the country to raise funds to build the memorial to honor America’s 3 million living disabled military veterans, which broke ground in 2010.  He was involved in raising funds for The Pentagon Memorial (www.whs.mil/memorial) located just southwest of The Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia, where one can find a permanent outdoor memorial to the 184 people killed in the building, and on American Airlines Flight 77.  He also helped raise funds to build The Brooklyn Wall of Remembrance (www.brooklynwall.us) in KeySpan Park, to honor the first responders, those fire, police and emergency personnel from across the nation who raced to the sites after the terrorist attacks, risking their lives in service to others.

 “The Foundation is a strong, dependable resource to spread the ‘give-back goodness’.”  That’s what Gary Sinise wants his Foundation to do,  “provide opportunities for people to give back.”

 Currently, Sinise stars as Detective Mac Taylor and is also a producer of CBS’ highly successful “CSI: NY.”

Gary Sinise is an actor/musician who has long supported our troops.  He takes time to do USO shows and meet as many military service people and families as he can, just to say Thank You! Now he’s made a documentary that will support the troops every time you watch it.The documentary visits and spotlights our military service people from all branches.  Gary Sinise formed a band named after his character “Lt. Dan” in the Forrest Gump movie.  The Lt. Dan Band has since toured many bases and towns both overseas and right here in the states to entertain the military and their families.

This new documentary “Lt. Dan Band: For The Common Good” will be released July 4th and one of every four dollars raised goes to the Gary Sinise Foundation.  That organization supports others such as the USO, Operation International Children and Snowball Express.

For more information about the Lt. Dan Band and the Gary Sinise Foundation check out the websites.

garysinisefoundation.org/

Merle Haggard: New Album Due Oct. 4

Photo by Ray Tharaldson

all rights reserved 2000

Merle Haggard will release a new album, Working in Tennessee, on Oct. 4 on Vanguard Records. Along with many of his new songs, Haggard recorded a version of "Working Man Blues" featuring his son, Ben, as well as Willie Nelson. In addition, Haggard wrote one new song with his daughter, Jenessa, and three others with his wife, Theresa. The album concludes with a rendition of "Jackson," the classic Johnny Cash-June Carter Cash duet, sung with Theresa. Haggard recorded the project in his home studio in California with producer Lou Bradley.

Heirs Lose Fight With Gov't to Keep Rare Gold Coins

By Maryclaire Dane

A jury has decided that a set of rare gold coins found in a bank deposit box rightfully belongs to the U.S. government.

The decision, made on Wednesday, caps an unusual civil case that combined history, coin collecting and whether the set of rare $20 "double eagles" should have ever let the U.S. Mint in 1933.

Federal prosecutors had asserted that the coins never circulated when the country went off the gold standard. Most of the batch was instead melted down.

But Joan Langbord, the daughter of a Philadelphia jeweler, said she found the 10 coins in her father's bank deposit bank after he died.

She said that her father could have acquired them legally, perhaps through a trade of gold scrap.

One 1933 double eagle sold for $7.6 million in 2002.