Engagement: Sunday, December 7, 2003

Loretta Lynn was recognized for her contribution to music at the 26th Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, DC on Sunday [December 7th]. Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Lyle Lovett and Patty Loveless were on hand to perform a medley of Lynn’s songs, including a Brooks and Yearwood duet of “Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man.” Also at the event were President George W. Bush and his father George Bush who described Lynn as “an American original.” The elder Bush added, “I feel very confident in speaking for the entire Bush family in expressing our love and our respect for this national treasure, Loretta.” Actress Sissy Spacek, who won an Academy Award for playing Lynn in the 1980 movie Coal Miner’s Daughter, was the first person to speak about Lynn, saying, “I loved being you. I would have gone on being you for the rest of my life, but everybody knows there’s only one Loretta Lynn.” Lynn is only the fourth country artist to receive a Kennedy Center Award. The others are Roy Acuff, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash. “The Godfather of Soul” James Brown, comedian Carol Burnett, director Mike Nichols and violinist Itzhak Perlman were also honored at the event. The Kennedy Center Honors will air on CBS-TV on December 26th.

A former League City resident who joined the U.S. Army after graduating from Clear Creek High School was killed in Iraq when the vehicle he drove was hit by a handmade explosive device. Pfc. Ray J. Hutchinson, 20, was attacked Sunday [December 7th] while he was returning from a security patrol in Mosul, Iraq, authorities said. Hutchinson was a rifleman with A Company, 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division stationed at Fort Campbell. He became the 57th casualty of the 20,000 soldiers from the fort serving in Iraq. He is survived by his parents, Deborah and Michael Hutchinson, and 25-year-old brother, formerly of League City. The family has recently moved to Arizona. “He was proud to serve his country. Before leaving for Iraq, he stopped by the high school in uniform to tell his teachers,” said Karen Fitzgerald, spokesperson for the school district. He was well-liked by students at the high school before he joined the Army in 2002, Fitzgerald said. He served on the school’s newspaper staff for four years and played in the school band for three years. On Tuesday, school officials informed students at the high school of Hutchinson’s death and made counselors available. The campus was also closed to outside visitors to allow students to grieve privately, Fitzgerald said. Hutchinson was killed when his vehicle hit an improvised explosive device, the Army said. He entered the Army in August 2002 and arrived at Fort Campbell in January 2003. Another soldier, Pfc. Jason G. Wright, 19, of Luzerne, Mich., was killed Monday when his vehicle came under fire while he was providing security at a gas station, the Army said. Wright was a mortarman assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment. He entered the Army in June 2002 and arrived at Fort Campbell the following December. He is survived by his parents.