Happy birthday, Kellie and Justin

Sunday, June 28, 2009 June 29, 2009 09:10 am

— Sunday Stanly County’s favorite entertainer - Kellie Pickler - turns 23 while Representative Justin Burr turns 24.
While Burr and his fellow General Assembly members take their scalpels in hand, performing surgery on state’s budget with its $4.7 billion shortfall, Pickler is on her Fearless Tour with good buddy Taylor Swift... and for this young tandem, money is definitely not a problem.
While the state budget deadline is by law June 30, Burr said Friday a continuation bill is being introduced in the House. He expects another 2-4 weeks before the General Assembly finalizes a budget. In the interim, the state will continue with the current budget at 85 percent of the funding.
On the Fearless side of June 28th, Pickler will be singing “straight from the heart” as she always does to her adoring fans at the Country Stampede in Manhattan, Kan.
When night falls on that thrilling show, Kellie’ll get on her personal $1 million bus and head north to Muskegon, Mich. for a Tuesday concert. Then it’s back on her luxurious home on wheels and a long ride deep into the South to Round Rock, Tex. for a July 4th concert.
By that time, hopefully Burr and his fellow representatives will have completed their arduous task and have presented Gov. Bev Perdue with a fiscal road map that will help all North Carolinians weather the fear of our economic times.
As for Kellie and Taylor, they have a sold-out date in Charlotte on Sept. 5, which makes Kellie’s return to the NC State Fair on Oct. 17 as a possibility for the ticket-less to see her perform.
As she has done since her rise to fame on American Idol, Kellie continues to grow her loyal fan base and as one Charlotte ticket-holder blogs, “I have said over and over again that Kellie will be the biggest star from American Idol (AI). I am saying this as an HR Talent professional who makes a living judging talent. Kellie has the magic unlike any other AI contestant.
“The shelf life of singer is 3-5 years but Kellie has the talent, personality, and moxie to be this generation’s Dolly.”
We couldn’t agree more regarding Kellie... and prayerfully hope that Justin and his fellow servants of the people can deliver a budget that will work for all of us.