W-b Woman Jailed In Alleged Shouting Of Obscenities 
Debbie Thurston Was 
Previously Fined After Being 
Found Guilty Of Harassment And 
Disorderly Conduct

Abortion Protesters From Area Rallying

By VAN ROSE; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Friday, January 23, 1998 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1C 





For the award-winning country band Diamond Rio, the sky's the limit. At the
very least for lead guitar player Jimmy Olander, that is. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 On Saturday afternoon, just hours before Diamond Rio performs its 8 p.m.
concert at the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts in Wilkes-Barre,
Olander will fly over Northeastern Pennsylvania in a plane ... &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ... And jump out. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Olander is an avid skydiver. He's completed more than 120 jumps in the past
two years, several of which were part of radio promotions for Diamond Rio
concerts. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The skydiving promotions have enabled Diamond Rio to attract new fans,
Olander said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Basically, we've been dealing with the same audience members for a long
time," Olander said in an interview with The Times Leader. "We're trying to
expand our audience." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The skydive will take place at 2 p.m. at the Hazleton Municipal Airport and
is open to the public. Joining Olander will be expert skydiver Don Kellner, of
Sugarloaf, WGGY-FM (Froggy 101) DJ Dawn Early and a yet-to-be determined
Froggy 101 listener. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "This is just a really fun promotion," said Olander. "I'm trying to promote
the band as well as skydiving. It's kind of a cool thing to be there with
somebody for their very first skydive." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Olander, 36, said skydiving is something he's wanted to do since he was a
teenager. However, he didn't make his first jump until 1992, after deciding
life was too short not to take some new chances. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "During the course of our first album in 1990, I learned I had a
lemon-sized tumor in my chest," Olander said. "My life flashed before my eyes,
and I thought of all these things I wanted to do but that had never came to
pass. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Two of the things I wanted to accomplish were to get married and to learn
how to skydive," he said. "After I healed up (the tumor was benign), I
realized you've got to do things while you're still alive." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In 1995, Olander married his wife, Claudia. They were introduced a few
years earlier by Robin Roe, the wife of Diamond Rio lead singer Marty Roe. In
1992, Olander and his wife-to-be decided to learn to skydive. They attended a
skydiving center in Tullahoma, Tenn. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Things didn't go well. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I made my first skydive in Tullahoma," Olander said. "Claudia went to do
it and she just freaked. It was so traumatic for her that I just kind of
shelved the idea of becoming a skydiver." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 However, Olander had a change of heart four years later. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I had a vacation period in July of 1996, so I called down to the same
place and said I'm ready to train," Olander said. "We got all of my training
in a week. I learned the accelerated freefall, and I've been jumping ever
since." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Ironically, Olander became a skydiver despite his fear of height. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "When you jump out of an airplane, fear of height isn't a factor because
you can't see the ground," Olander said. "You're anywhere from 3,500 to 15,000
feet high." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Olander said he got over all of his anxieties about skydiving after he
completed his 13th jump. The thrill that makes the experience worthwhile is
the freefall, he said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "When you're floating along, the normal rate of descent is 124 miles per
hour," Olander said. "I can kick that up to 180 or 190, depending on the
position I'm in. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Basically, you feel like you're flying," he said. "You're highly
maneuverable in the air. Backflips, front loops and barrel rolls are really
simple to do." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Meanwhile, Diamond Rio also is flying high. Last September, the band won
its third Country Music Association Award as Vocal Group of the Year. It also
won the honor in 1992 and '93. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The group's recent hit song, "How Your Love Makes Me Feel," enjoyed a
three-week stay at No. 1 on the Billboard Magazine charts. Their current
single, "Imagine That," is No. 10 on the charts. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Olander, a native of Minneapolis, said the band's members were genuinely
surprised when they won their latest CMA Award. "I think this was a really
sweet win for us," Olander said. "In a million years, you couldn't have told
me that we were going to win this thing. Not that I didn't think it wouldn't
be appropriate," he said. "I thought we had as good a shot as anybody for
winning, other than the fact that, traditio

Falling Star Diamond Rio Guitarist Jimmy Olander Plunges From Planes So That Band's Popularity Might Rise