Third-Grader Gets Her 15 Minutes Of Fame
B> KAREN M HANSON
Communits Nev^, Reporter
Nine-year-old Shereka Vaughn,
who calls herself the next Whitney
Houston, is savoring her first taste
of stardom.
This vibrant, energetic third
grader. the daughter of Kevin and
Sharon Vaughn, was one of 21 Cash
Elementary School students who
sang "Freedom" at President Bill
Clinton's inauguration dinner last
week.
Shereka said she and her class
mates left home on their way to
Washington, D.C. on Sunday morn
ing. Jan. 11> They sang Monday
night during the inauguration dinner
and came back home the next night.
k But she's still on cloud nine.
"We went to Washington, to
see the President," Shereka, said.
"And we saw the (Washington)
monument, the Capitol building,
and Jefferson and the Lincoln
Memorial, and the White House."
But Shereka said singing for the
President was a big surprise for her
class. They were originally chosen
to ride a float in the inaugural
parade.
"Our music teacher (Sondra
Philipphart) chose the song that we
sang in a Columbus Day program at
our school," Shereka said. "We
made a tape of it and sent it to the
Presidential Inaugural Committee,
and they invited us to ride a float.
But at the last minute, they wrote
our school and told us they had to
take the float we were supposed to
ride on out of the parade because the
parade was too long."
She said she and her class
mates, along with their teacher,
Caroj Carmichael, were disap
pointed.
"But then on New Year's Day.
they wrote us back and invited us to
sing our song at the dinner,"
Shereka said. "I felt great."
But Shereka says the most
exciting part of the entire trip was
not singing at the President's inau
guration dinner ? someone else in
the national spotlight cifught her
attention.
"I met M C. Hammer," Shereka
says with a big smile. "He uas at
the inaugural ball, and he heard us
singing. He said he just decided to
come over and talk to us. and he
gave me an autograph. 1 was more
excited about meetinv M.C. Ham
mer." \
Shereka's mothjer. Sharon
Vaughn, says Shereka wanted to tell
Hammer something, but she didn't
get a chance to.
"She said stf^vCan'ed to tell
him she was going to oe t;^ next
Whitney Houston, but she didn't get
to tell him." Vaughn said,
.'f Shereka; said before the dinner
she and her classmates practiced the
song "too many times." After their
performance, she said she had sung
the song enough.
"But then, when we came back.
ssc had to sing the son*: again tor
the secretary.' Shrrcka sxd '-'Ami
we had to s;ng it tor Channel !Z.
Channel S. and Channel 2
And Shereka sa>'s ?iie wasn't
nervous about singing during the
President's dinner Her mother sa\s
Shereka started singing in ehurch
when she was just tour \ear> old.
"She was the you tig est one in
the choir at Mt Pleasant Baptist
Church." Vaughn says. "That's her
grandmother's church."
Shereka is the granddaughter of
Jesse and Shirley F.aton and Sums
and Martha Gullick.
When asked it' she would
remember this event tor the rest ot
her life. Shereka said. "Yeah, cause
I never got to be interviewed before
by ans channel."
And when asked it she would
tell her children about singing at
President Clinton's inaugural din
ner. she said. "Onls if 1 get to sing
like Whitnes Houston. But if I don't
? nah!"
Shereka Vaughn , in the dress she wore while singing at President Bill
Clinton's inaugural dinner, shows off a sweatshirt she wore while her
third-grade class toured Washington , D.C. Each of the students received
a sweatsuit donated by the Hanes Group.
Defense Makes Motions
In Stoner Murder Case |
By SHERIDAN HILL
Chronicle Assistant Editor
Defense attorneys presented
motions this week in preparation for,
the upcoming murder trial in the
death of Carlos Colon Stoner.
Rickey Eugene Knight, 28, of 1 138
Bank St, is -the first of four men who
will be tried for first-degree murder
in connection with the death and
mutilation of Stoner, who was found
dead May 27 on a footpath near
Washington Park.
Prosecutors are seeking the
death penalty.
Motions filed by Knight s attor
neys include a motion to strike the
death penalty, and to keep prosecu
tors from using some statements
Knight made in his confession to
"detectives. ?
Superior Court Judge Melzer
A. Morgan Jr. is presiding over the
hearings, which are expected to con
tinue today and Friday.
In October, Knight was evalu
ated at Dorothea Dix Hospital in
Raleigh and found fit to stand trial.
In statements he made at the hospi
tal, Knight said he and three other
men were going to "whip his [Ston
er's] ass because he was talking
, junk and being disrespectful. ..We
took him over there to beat him up."
According to the forensic
report, Stoner was stabbed more
than 20 times. His chest was opened
up and his lungs exposed after the
initial assault. His penis and part of
his scrotum had been excised and
placed in his mouth.
Rickey Eugene Knight
Knight denied stabbing Stoner
and maintained that Stoner s body
was intact when he left the scene.
The other men charged in the
crime are Dwayne Gregory Doby,
21; Mark Anthony Smith. 21; and
James Andrew Gilbert. 23.
Too many North Carolina children are without the
basic necessities of life Join Gov. Jim Hunt and
?
other leading North Carolinians as they explore
ways to ensure our children's futures are healthy
and filled with hope.
19 9 3
Airs Tuesday, Feb. 2, 8 p.m.
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