MUSICAL HOMECOMING: A free concert to honor late musician Levon Helm and to help raise $100,000 to preserve one of his boyhood homes near Marvell is set for Oct. 24 at the City Baseball Field in Marvell. The Levon Helm Down Home Jubilee will include food, beverages and a local band.
"He lived in this house when he was a teenager," said Marvell Mayor Clark Hall, adding that Helm also once lived in another house in Marvell but it has since been torn down.
Earlier this year, the rustic wooden house from nearby Turkey Scratch, now owned by the local civic club, was moved intact to Marvell and placed on donated land across from the City Hall, library and police station. The goal? Transform the house into a museum.
Gates open at 6 p.m. with the event beginning at 7 p.m. Those attending are asked to provide their own lawn chairs. For more info or to see a photo of the house, visit levondownhomejubilee.com.
HERE COME THE JUDGES: Fox's reality singing competition show, American Idol, returns to Little Rock. The show held initial tryouts here Aug. 8, but its host, Ryan Seacrest, and trio of celebrity judges -- Keith Urban, Jennifer Lopez and Harry Connick Jr. -- didn't attend. For today's audition, the crew is back and has brought along Seacrest and the three celebrities to a location that has not been publicly announced. This new season marks the show's 15th and final one.
SPECIAL EDITION: For those who missed the coverage last week, the U.S. Marshals Museum in Fort Smith and Wal-Mart have joined forces to sell U.S. Marshals Service 225th anniversary silver dollars. The coins were available starting Saturday for $51.95 at Wal-Mart stores on Zero Street in Fort Smith and Liberty Drive in Greenwood. The coin, produced by the U.S. Mint, highlights the pivotal role the U.S. Marshals Service played in the American West. It has a marshal's star and silhouettes of horseback deputies on one side and a frontier marshal holding a "Wanted in Fort Smith" poster on the reverse side.
BACK IN THE GAME: The day after being signed by the Washington Redskins Aug. 16 as a tight end, D.J. Williams, most recently one of the morning show hosts on KARK-TV, Channel 4, posted a heartfelt personal message on the station's website to his co-workers and viewers. In his message, filmed from his hotel room in Washington, the former Razorback thanked those back home in Arkansas for their support. Williams joined KARK's morning show in February. The station's website is arkansasmatters.com.
As a Razorback, Williams won the 2010 Mackey Award as the nation's best tight end. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in 2011 in the fifth round of the NFL draft. He was released by the Packers in 2013 and was affiliated with three other teams until he was waived in December by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Contact Linda S. Haymes at (501) 399-3636 or lhaymes@arkansasonline.com
SundayMonday on 08/23/2015