Luke Menard's wild ride on American Idol is not over just yet.
The Crawfordsville Board of Public Works and Safety approved a police escort for Luke and his family on April 3. The family will drive from his Crawfordsville home to Crawfordsville High School at approximately 6:30 p.m. Crawfordsville Mayor Charlie Coons said the escort is part of Luke Menard Day Festivities.
"They will be coming down Main Street to the high school," Coons said.
Luke is currently in Nashville, Tenn., and unavailable for comment, his mother Joannie Menard said. Luke said in an e-mail to The Paper Wednesday that he will be back in town in a few days.
"It has been a humbling experience," Joannie said. "I think the community was getting as excited as the family was."
She said that her son's time on American Idol may be over, but he will be returning at least two more times for episodes. She said the first episode he will be back in Los Angeles for is the American Idol Gives Back episode.
But that too will not be the end of the road.
"He will be going back to the season finale," she said.
Joannie Menard said that Luke going back for the finale will give his brother Mark a chance to go out to Los Angeles and see the show.
"He is the only one that didn't get to go.
Joannie and her husband Jamie, as well as Luke's wife Laura, all were in California when Luke was on American Idol each week.
She said that it has been amazing seeing how the community reacted to a local resident making it onto the show.
"You could see all the signs all over town," she said. "The community was very supportive."
So while Luke Menard may not be the next American Idol, he will remain Montgomery County's favorite idol.
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