POP/ROCK - Feb. 27, 1989

Thanks to singer Dolly Parton, every student who graduates from high school in Sevier County, Tenn., will be given a $500 scholarship to attend a nearby college. The Parton-formed Dollywood Foundation announced on Sunday that a $500 scholarship will be given to any Sevier County student who applies to Hiwassee, a two-year college in Monroe County, Tenn. The scholarships will be given to those students who meet the school’s admission qualifications regardless of the student’s grade-point average or score on college entrance exams. Officials said the program is designed to provide incentive for students to finish high school and to go on to college. Sevier County, where Parton was born, currently has 530 seniors in its three high schools.