Chris Stapleton claimed top country music award, then hung around to help clean up: 'If you’re gonna be a dreamer, you better be a doer'



Kentucky-born country singer Chris Stapleton may just be a traveler on this earth, but he evidently wasn't in a rush anywhere Thursday evening after claiming a top country music award.

The 45-year-old "Tennessee Whisky" singer was recognized as entertainer of the year at the 58th Academy of Country Music Awards, co-hosted by Garth Brooks and Dolly Parton at the Ford Center at the Star in Frisco, Texas.

Billboard indicated that the honor comes seven years after Stapleton, son of a coal miner, won new male artist of the year. Stapleton has three ACM male artist of the year awards, another three wins for album of the year, and a songwriter of the decade trophy.

Stapleton, reputed for his humility and "working man's honesty," said in his heartfelt acceptance speech, "By any imaginable metric, I don’t deserve this. There are so many other great people in this category. I get up there and try to play music every night. I write songs and make records, and I never thought of myself as someone who would win this award."

After offering thanks for the various people he reckoned helped make the night possible, including his wife, he singled out his kids: "My kids sitting at home — they give up a lot of my time and a lot of my wife's time so that we can go do this, and this is for them."

Chris Stapleton Wins Entertainer Of The Year | ACM Awards 2023 youtu.be

When the night drew to a close, Getty Images photographer John Shearer, still in the Ford Center, glimpsed Stapleton moseying out with his team. The country singer stopped, however, and began helping workers clean up.

Still dressed in his suit and tie, Stapleton put a leaf blower to good use, reportedly clearing the confetti that had rained down earlier during his big moment.

The moment, captured on film by Shearer, later received a nod from friends, fans, and family.

Stapleton shared the image on his Instagram, captioning it with a quote from his peer, 2023 ACM female artist of the year Lainey Wilson, "If you're gonna be a dreamer, you better be a doer."

Wilson commented on the photo, writing, "Ain't nobody like ya, man."

Faithwire noted that Wilson had said in her acceptance speech, "Everybody in this category didn’t just wind up here by happenstance; they have worked their fingers to the bone. They have put the blood, sweat, tears, and years and years into this, made so many sacrifices, missing a lot of weddings, a lot of funerals — not that I wanna go to all of them, anyway, but I’m just sayin’."

Wilson added, "Oh my goodness, y’all. For the little girls watching this — this right here — it stands for hard work. If you’re gonna be a dreamer, you better be a doer."

Morgane Stapleton, Stapleton's wife and fellow singer, commented on the photo of the post-awards show cleanup, writing, "Love this so much."

The Home Edit account noted that "Chris *literally* cleaned up at the ACMs."

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Portland man knocks out active shooter who fired 29 gunshots, hogties him until police arrive



A Portland man is being hailed as a hero for disarming and restraining an active shooter who fired 29 gunshots at an apartment complex in Oregon.

Luke Stolarzyk launched into a heated argument with his neighbor over a dog barking around 1:15 a.m. June 29, according to the Oregonian. Stolarzyk reportedly was belligerent toward Kenneth Nelson, a fellow resident of the Stephens Creek Crossing apartments. Stolarzyk allegedly abruptly left the confrontation but only to return with an AR-15.

Stolarzyk, who was "visibly intoxicated," then fired nearly 30 rounds indiscriminately into the apartment building in southwest Portland, court documents say. Bullets hit the apartment buildings and cars in the area. Resident Peroz Khoshnaw said she was on her knees praying once the flurry of gunshots rang out. Several bullets shattered the windows of her home.

Neighbor John Dickson snuck up on the gunman from behind and bashed him with a stick, KATU reported. Dickson wrestled the gun away from Stolarzyk and punched the suspect until he was knocked unconscious.

"He knocked the guy out," Misty Garrett, a resident of the complex, told the Portland Tribune. "It took a long time for the police to show up here. During that time, another guy joined in trying to tie him up and beat him up."

Court documents say Dickson was able to knee the rifle out of Stolarzyk's hands, then take away the gun from the shooter, and hand it to a bystander who dismantled the weapon. The neighbors then hogtied Stolarzyk until police arrived at the crime scene. The arrest warrant says responding officers arrived to find "several people standing around the defendant, who was hogtied and had been beaten up."

Stolarzyk yelled, "You're lucky I didn't kill you," before being taken away in an ambulance, according to the documents.

Portland Police Bureau Lt. Greg Pashley said nobody was injured in the shooting.

Police recovered several firearms from Stolarzyk.

Stolarzyk was arrested and jailed Monday after being cleared to leave the hospital. He was booked into the Multnomah County Jail and charged with second-degree attempted murder, four counts of unlawful use of a weapon, second-degree attempted assault, first-degree attempted assault, and 10 counts of recklessly endangering another person, according to KPTV. Stolarzyk's bail has been set at $320,000. Stolarzyk is scheduled to be arraigned on July 14.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Nathan Vasquez wrote in a memorandum filed Thursday, "The combination of guns, alcohol and mental health issues create an unmanageable risk to the victims and members of the public."

The Oregonian reported, "Stolarzyk has a history of using guns to threaten himself and family members while intoxicated, leading his mother to apply for a restraining order in April after one such incident, according to court documents."

Portland police spokesperson Sgt. Kevin Allen said the restraining order was not in effect at the time of the shooting, and noted that Stolarzyk legally obtained the guns.