Alan Peppard

Word is out that Jessica Simpson will be among those joining Willie Nelson when he appears as guest soloist with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra on Feb. 10 at Nokia Theatre. Willie's good friend Kinky Friedman will emcee and the Dallas Black Dance Theater and Cirque du Soleil will also perform at the benefit.

Proceeds will go to the AetheriA Foundation via the AetheriA Scholarship Fund at the Communities Foundation of Texas. The money will provide college scholarships for gifted Dallas-Fort Worth area arts students.

Tickets are available through Ticketmaster. More info is available at www.aetheriadallas.org.

It's no coincidence that a big backer of this inaugural event for the AetheriA Foundation is Dallas businessman Dennis McLaughlin. He is CEO of Earth Biofuels, one of the concert's sponsors.

He and Willie are partners in their project to reduce dependence on foreign oil and help small farmers by refining and selling BioWillie made from used vegetable oil as well as soy, canola and cottonseed oil.

The biodiesel blend with exhaust fumes that Willie claims "smell like french fries," is made at microrefineries. One is at the famous truck stop in Carl's Corner, Texas. BioWillie can run any unmodified diesel car or truck.

When France's ambassador to the U.S. Jean-David Levitte comes to Dallas this week for the opening of the Dallas Museum of Art's Matisse exhibition, he will also be entertained by the Alliance Francaise.

On Friday night, the ambassador will be the guest of honor at an Alliance Francaise party at the Turtle Creek home of Gloria McCall Godat.

Next week, students at W.T. Hanes Elementary School will have an unusually hunky new teacher. General Hospital star Jason Thompson is coming to Irving to sub for teacher Jamye Wolff while she goes to LA to sub for Jason on the soap set.

Soapaholics who follow the goings on in Port Charles know that Jason plays General Hospital's Dr. Patrick Drake.

Jamye won ABC Daytime's Fan February contest to switch jobs with a GH star.

On Jan. 22, Jason will take her classes and she will be on the show's set. She will not actually have a part on the air, but outtakes from her and Jason's day will appear in TV promos for General Hospital the week of Feb. 12.

Apparently the secret to the Anaheim Ducks success on the ice is pasta. The night before they stomped our Dallas Stars 5-1 last week, the Ducks' fraternal duo Rob and Scott Niedmayer and goalie Ilya Bryzgalov loaded up on risotto Milanese, pappardelle al Telefono, and spaghetti Bolognese at Bice in the Crescent.

The 60th anniversary of Chuck Yeager's breaking of the sound barrier in the Bell X-1 is coming up in October. And while he's not exactly the retiring type, Mr. Yeager (who will be 84 next month) does work in time to go fishing. The one-time "fastest man alive" sped through Dallas last week with his fly-fishing buddy Gary Loomis and shared lunch at Biernat's.

In fishing circles, Mr. Loomis is known as the manufacturer of G.Loomis fishing rods.

"The first time I ever saw a jet, I shot it down," said Chuck Yeager of his 1945 encounter with a German Me 262.

E-mail apeppard@dallasnews.com

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