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--> --> Singer Sara Evans is flying high as tour starts By Lisa Snedeker Associated Press Writer LAS VEGAS - Sara Evans is flying high. The country music sensation, who lived in Jefferson in the mid-1990s is sharing the stage through August with one of her idols, remodeling a recently purchased farm house near Salem and preparing for her son's second birthday all while she has her second hit off her current album in Billboard's Top Ten. Evans helped kick off the national Girls' Night Out tour featuring an all-female bill of five acts Friday in Las Vegas. It will play Portland on Saturday. "Reba (McEntire) is my total idol," Evans told The Associated Press. "I haven't had a chance to tell her what her music means to me. But I can't believe I'm actually on stage with Reba McEntire." Evans attributes her newfound stardom to the success of her current album "Born to Fly" and the song of the same title's video. "`Born to Fly' was the song," she said. "People recognize me now." In addition to Evans and McEntire, the tour features veteran Martina McBride and newcomers Jamie O'Neal and Carolyn Dawn Johnson. Evans' current single off her third album, "I Could Not Ask For More," is No. 5 on Billboard's country chart. As part of George Strait's most recent stadium tour, Evans last performed in Las Vegas in April. "We play Vegas a lot," she said. "It's our favorite place to come." She regrets that she never has time to go out to shows or shop because she's too busy working when she visits the Neon City, Evans said. Evans and her husband, Craig Shelske, last month bought a second home near Salem, so that Shelske can make a bid for Congress. Their other home is in Nashville, Tenn. "We bought an old farmhouse," said Evans. Shelske grew up near Stayton and attended Jefferson Baptist Church. Avery Jack Shelske, Evans' son, will celebrate his second birthday on Aug. 21. "He's the most amazing thing in my life," she said. "We want five kids. We're crazy." Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing