by Emily Farache
Aug 17, 2000, 1:45 PM PT
Put down the suitcases, folks, Garthland ain't going to happen.
Garth Brooks, who earlier this week announced his intention to turn his suburban Nashville home into a Graceland-like attraction, has been dissed by his neighbors.
At a town meeting Wednesday night, more than 100 locals showed up to voice their disapproval of the project, complaining about the potential influx of traffic and rowdy crowds into the normally quiet neighborhood.
"I don't know of a single person in there that was for it," Nashville councilwoman Bettye Balthrop said. "Consequently, it's not going anywhere." Neither Brooks nor his wife, Sandy, was in attendance at the meeting.
Robert Langford, a lawyer for the singer, confirmed the plan is off the table for now.
Brooks, who is supposedly retired from the limelight, wanted to let the public in to see his home of 10 years, which he fondly refers to as the Blue Rose Estate. Fans of the hatted songster would have been able to wander the halls, admiring the bed he slept in, the kitchen he cooked in and the couch on which he watched TV. Brooks also planned a mini-museum of mementos, as well as the requisite all-Garth gift shop.
But making the 20-acre estate public would require a zoning change.
"We value our quiet and privacy on this dead-end street," Jae Park, who lives three doors down from the Brooks, told the Tennessean. "I'm not sure what this [museum] will mean, but I'm not thrilled by it."
Brooks is reportedly considering returning to his native Oklahoma, but he has not yet listed his Tennessee digs for sale.
Conway Twitty, Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton are among the country artists who have paved the road for homey tourist attractions. The granddaddy of them all, Elvis Presley's Graceland complex, attracts more than 600,000 visitors a year.
by Marcus Errico
"Standing Outside the Fire." Not just a Garth Brooks greatest hit, but also, apparently, a description of his real-life heroic exploits.
The top-selling country crooner is being credited with helping to rescue several people from a blaze in rural Oklahoma. According to the Tulsa World, Brooks and another, unidentified, man drove up to a Collinsville home and pounded on the door to attract the attention of the two boys, Ryan and Randall Cooper, who were inside as a raging grass fire approached Thursday afternoon. "I opened the door and the guy said, 'There's a fire. You've got to get out,' so I went," Randall, 10, told the newspaper. Ryan, 14, was upstairs taking a shower when he heard Brooks calling. "He was yelling, 'Ryan, Ryan!' I was like, 'Who are you,' and he said, 'Get in the truck,' " the boy recounted. "I was thinking, 'You look familiar, but that doesn't matter right now. Let's get out of here.' "
"The fire came in like a bullet," Randall said. "The flames were taller than the house. You couldn't see anything because the smoke was so thick."
The black-hatted tunesmith used his four-by-four pickup to deliver the would-be victims, which included the two boys and their neighbors, a mother and her three small children, to safety.
Firefighters were eventually able to stop the blaze about two feet from the Cooper house.
According to the singer's rep at Capitol Records, Brooks made no mention of his good Samaritan deeds, and sought no publicity over the matter.
The singer, who made headlines last week by announcing his divorce from longtime wife, Sandy, is building a house in the area. Sandy's parents also live nearby.
Oct 23, 2000, 11:00 AM PT
