Ed note: for whatever reason, Joni never appeared at this event.

Lackawanna County has adopted two towns in Iowa.

"Those towns are Eddyville and Colfax, Iowa, which have been especially hit hard by the floods," said County Administrator Jerry Stanvitch. "Those towns will receive direct financial contributions from Lackawanna County, which will be used at the discretion of local county officials."

A large part of those contributions will come from the Rainbow Relief Concert, which will be conducted Aug 28 from 2 to 10 p.m. at the Montage Mountain Amphitheater.

The concert will feature a rare appearance by Joni Mitchell, along with Richie Havens, Janice Ian, Shawn Colvin, Roger McGuinn and others.

It is being staged by Lackawanna County Commissioners Joseph Corcoran, Ray Alberigi and John Senio, and sponsored by WYOU-TV, WARM/Magic 93 Radio, ROCK 107/WEJL Radio, Coors Light and Pocono Outdoor.

The city of Colfax, Iowa, was especially hard hit by flood waters. Water broke through three levees, damaging 50 homes and ravaging miles of farmland.

"For weeks, the nation has helplessly watched the flooding of the heartland of America from afar," said Alberigi. "Now, Lackawanna County has a way for all the people of Northeastern Pennsylvania to assist these disaster victims."

A portion of the proceeds will also go the "Rainbow Relief" committee, which is sending local volunteers to work three-week shifts in flooded communities.

"We all remember Agnes in 1972 and I remember working as commissioner during Hurricane Gloria (in 1985)," Corcoran said. "We all know what it's like here."

Rainbow Relief volunteers receive a $500 scholarship, sponsored by Akzo Salt, Martin Media, Allied Services, Scranton Area Foundation, the Scranton Red Cross, The Times-Tribune and Specialty Records.

Bill Risse, a county spokesman, called the concert the "county's part in Rainbow Relief."

"The Rainbow committee, which includes the commissioners, asked us to come up with an idea," he said. "They liked our suggestion, but it took us a while to nail it down."

County Commissioner Joseph Corcoran said the idea for the concert came during a trip to Chicago to attend a county commissioners' conference.

"The call went out from Illinois to county commissioners all over the country for help," Corcoran said. "A lot of Midwestern communities wanted to have a benefit show but couldn't because of the flooding. We thought it would be a good idea to have it here."

Joni Mitchell is famous for her songs "Big Yellow Taxi/Paved Paradise" and "Help Me." She has not toured in 15 years and in June appeared before more than 17,000 people at a folk fundraiser at UCLA.

She will join an ensemble of 11 folk musicians at the concert. Tickets are available at Ticket Master, Lackawanna County Stadium and Montage Mountain. They are available for $12.50 lawn and $25 reserved.