Amid the tragic loss of life and devastating injuries caused when the stage at the Indiana State Fair collapsed in August, two Indianapolis women tried to get money that they didn’t deserve. According to the state prosecutor, Stephanie Murry and Sandra Hurn both filed claims for settlements from the State Fair Remembrance Fund and the Indiana Tort Claim Fund, even though neither of them was at the Sugarland show that night. Heck, according to court records, they weren’t even at the fair! Both face lengthy jail time, if convicted.
DoSomething.org is out with their annual year-end list of Celebs Gone Good. The list recognizes stars who give of their time and talents to help others, and this year, several country stars show up on it. Taylor Swift is there – this year, she gave over a million dollars to charitable causes and did a benefit concert for tornado relief after the bad spring storms in the Southeast. Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert made the list, too, Blake for his work with tornado relief efforts and wife Miranda for her work with the Mary Kay Ash Foundation.
Congratulations to Vince Gill and Amy Grant, who have been named Tennesseeans of the Year by the Tennesseean newspaper. In bestowing the honor, the paper noted: “Amy Grant and Vince Gill not only make a meaningful impact on the global stage through their music, but their philanthropy also helps people throughout Tennessee. Their years of charity work reached a crescendo in 2011, from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and American Red Cross to the Mental Health Association of Middle Tennessee and many, many more causes."
Lee Greenwood will be part of a tribute to fallen war heroes tomorrow at the Valero Alamo Bowl in San Antonio. He’ll perform the National Anthem and sing “God Bless the USA” before the game between the Washington Huskies and the Baylor Bears. The event will be especially poignant to the 2011 Valero Bowl Chairman and team physician for the Spurs, Dr. David Schmidt, whose son died not long ago while serving in the Marines.
Jake Owen is part of the pre-game fun at the Orange Bowl on January 4th from Sun Life Stadium in south Florida. He’s the headliner for the Bud Light Orange Bowl Game Day Fan Zone. The Voice winner Javier Colon will also be part of the show.
It’s always interesting to follow a conversation between two stars on Twitter. In the wee hours of this morning Martina McBride and Sarah Buxton were chatting about David Nail’s current (headed for #1) hit, “Let it Rain.” Sarah Buxton sings on it with David and the blend of their voices is so magical that Martina was gushing to Sarah about how good she sounds. The conversation turned into a mutual admiration society, so don’t be surprised if Martina and Sarah team up on something one of these days.
Happy birthday to Diamond Rio’s Marty Roe and Joe Diffie, who both turn 51 today.
The tweet of the day is from Kellie Pickler: “My grandpa got me a radar detector for Christmas. Think he's trying to tell me something?? ;)”
