CURRENTS

APRIL 6-12, 2012

The News-Reviews guide to arts, entertainment and television

A voice for veterans

Michael Petersons croons and tunes raise money to help area residents who served
Calendar/6 Theater Review/11 Film Review/12
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INSIDE: Whats Happening/3

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Roseburg, Oregon, CurrentsThursday, April 5, 2012

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Michael Peterson, perhaps best known for his 1997 Number One hit From Here to Eternity, performs for fans at a recent show. Peterson, who grew up in Richland, Wash., will appear Saturday at a benefit concert for area veterans. RYAN IMONDI The News-Review free to help raise money for an association of 21 county veterans organizations. The musician said he donates his time and talents in this way only twice a year. Proceeds will help veterans in need. Veteran organizations from Winston, Sutherlin and other areas in the county raise money for a collective fund. By holding car washes, bake sales and other fundraisers, they aid veterans with daily needs such as paying for gas, groceries or utilities. Last year the group reportedly raised $13,000 to help 92 veterans. Theyre really doing things to contribute to the overall need for veterans. Theyre setting an example for the rest of the country, Peterson said.
Please see PETERSON, page 9

A voice for C veterans

Michael Petersons croons and tunes raise money to help area residents who served

ountry musician Michael Peterson has never been to Douglas County. Although he grew up in the Northwest and was born on the same date as the Roseburg Blast, he has few ties to the region. Yet hes treating a visit here this weekend as if it were a homecoming. Dorothy had it right when she clicked her red slippers and said Theres no place like home, he said during a recent phone interview. Peterson will be in the county today through Saturday, with his trip culminating in a benefit concert for area veteran organizations Saturday evening at Jacoby Auditorium. Peterson, 52, is performing for

Roseburg, Oregon, CurrentsThursday, April 5, 2012

CALENDAR
If you go...
WHAT: Michael Peterson benefit concert for the Veterans of Foreign Wars WHEN: 7 p.m. Saturday. Meet and greet will be at 5:30 p.m. WHERE: Jacoby Auditorium, Umpqua Community College, 1140 Umpqua College Road, Winchester. A meet and greet will take place before the concert at the Lang Event Center on campus. COST: $15 in advance or $20 at the door. Meet and greet tickets are $70 per person and must be purchased in advance. Tickets can be purchased at the UCC box office, online at tickets.umpqua.edu or at VFW Post 2468. INFORMATION: 541-440-7700 or 541-733-5791

The News-Review, Page 9

Peterson
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Peterson said he is trying to bring attention to these efforts. Posters and advertisements have already created buzz for the show. As of Tuesday, half of the seats in Jacoby Auditorium, representing roughly 500 tickets, had been sold for the concert. The attendance is poised to exceed expectations for Kate Windsor and her father, Mike Eakin. The two members of Veterans of Foreign War Post 2468 have been working hard to organize the concert. Eakin gives his daughter full credit for getting Petersons attention. Windsor had been brainstorming a marquee event that would attract a large audience. She said she was up late one night researching possible entertainers who would be willing to help with a benefit concert. She came across Petersons website and saw his involvement with veterans. Unsure what response she might get, she wrote a detailed email at 3 a.m. to Jill Chambers, Petersons manager and partner. Windsor described local activities and outreach

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Michael Peterson cozies up to the microphone at a recent show. In addition to performing at Saturdays benefit show at Umpqua Community College, Peterson plans to entertain veterans Friday at the Roseburg Veterans Affairs Medical Center. efforts as well as the need to raise more money to help a growing veteran population. I was really trying to think of something that would be a success in Douglas County, Windsor said. Windsor said she had a parking lot or gymnasium concert in mind. To her surprise, Chambers sent her a reply in less than five hours, detailing a much larger-scale performance. Peterson said hes more than happy to make the show as large as possible, because helping veterans has been a top priority during his career as an entertainer. As wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have affected many in the military over the last decade, Peterson said hes worked to fund programs that help troops when they come home. His 25-year-career has produced 16 albums, including five Top 40 hits on the Bill-

board Hot Country Singles and Tracks and multiple Grammy and Country Music Award nominations. Hes played on national stages and toured the country performing. Peterson said the pride he gets from raising awareness matches his musical accomplishments. Hes visited the Middle East nine times, performing for thousands of troops. Peterson and Chambers have taken special interest in

helping to fund treatment options for veterans dealing with post traumatic stress disorder. I really had a desire to make a difference, rather than just show up and perform, Peterson said. Along with the concert, Peterson will also host a meet and greet at the Lang Event Center. Tickets cost $70, and proceeds will also go to support veterans groups. In addition, Peterson plans a special performance Friday for vets at the Roseburg Veteran Affairs Medical Center. Eakin said the organization has already raised $4,000 this year. Its up to service organizations to step up and take care of our fellow veterans, Eakin said. The Blast made Aug. 7, 1959, a date connected with a destructive force. But Peterson, born that day, could leave a healing legacy by presenting a concert remembered for helping those in need. You can reach reporter Ryan Imondi at 541-957-4211 or by email at rimondi@nrtoday.com.

The Library of America to release Little House on the Prairie books

NEW YORK (AP) Laura Ingalls Wilder, who already holds a special place in the hearts of millions of parents and children, soon will be added to the countrys official literary canon. The Library of America announced Tuesday that it will issue a boxed two-volume set this fall of Wilders Little House series, including Little House on the Prairie and Little House in the Big Woods. Wilder based the books on her familys experiences as pioneers in the 19th century. She died in 1957 at age 90. As people whove read it to their kids know, Laura Ingalls Wilders Little House books arent just for children. Terrifying and lyrical, the Little House books tell, through a meticulous firsthand account of one familys struggle to survive in a harsh, dangerous, unfamiliar world, the classic story of the American West from pioneering to settlement, Library of America publisher Max Rudin said in a statement. Rudin added that the new edition would include additional pieces by Wilder about the events and the composition of the books (that) will, we hope, encourage adult readers to rediscover an American classic. Founded in 1979, the Library of America specializes in clothbound volumes of classic American literature, including such works as Moby-Dick and Portnoys Complaint.

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