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VOLUME 94, NUMBER 27
TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 1981
KINGS MOUNTAIN, NORTH CAROLINA
Sunday Morning Fire Claim Three KM Teens
A fun Saturday night of
skating and camping turned into
a Sunday morning tragedy for
' three Kings Mountain teenagers
when the barn in which they
were camping burned at 3 a.m.
Sunday.
The youths, identified as Todd
Barrett of 902 Lee Street,
Rodney Lewis of 320 Amherst
Drive and Jeffery Wood of 900
Lee Street, all died in the fire.
The barn, located on a narrow
dirt road several hundred yards
behind Kings Mountain Junior
High, was owned by M.P.B.
Corporation of Kings Mountain.
The bodies were sent to the
Chief Medical Examiner’s Office
in Chapel Hill for autopsies. Bar
rett’s body was officially iden
tified Mondy afternoon through
dental records and autopsies on
the other two bodies were being
performed late Monday after
noon. Cleveland County Cor
oner Bennett Masters said he
was "99 percent sure” the bodies
were those of Lewis and Wood.
Bethlehem Volunteer Fire
Department received the call at
3 a.m. Sunday after two young
men who were jogging on Phifer
Road spotjed the blaze and call
ed. Kings Mountain Fire Depart
ment also responded, as did law
enforcement officers from the
Cleveland County Sheriffs
Department, Kings Mountain
Police Department and the State
Bureau of Investigation. •
Mike Sanders, a Kings Moun
tain Police officer, reportedly
overhead the young people talk-
iiig at a restaurant Saturday
night about going camping in the
area.
Tim Echols, a volunteer with
the Bethlehem fire unit, was the
first fireman on the scene and
said he arrived at about the
same time as Sanders. After
Sanders told him of overhearing
the conversation of the young
people, Echols said he fought the
fire with that in mind.
However, according to the
firemen on the scene, the barn
was already “on the ground”
when they arrived, and it was far
too late to rescue any of the
three.
Rumors hit the streets before
noon Sunday that the three had
been shot, but Sheriff Dale
Costner and Lt. Bobby Putnam
of the Cleveland County
Sheriffs Department said “no
foul play is suspected at this mo
ment.”
“We did get a report that some
people in the neighborhood
heard shots down there during
the day Saturday,” Putnam said,
“but they said it sounded like
somebody doing target practice.
TODD BARRETT
JEFF WOOD
Photo by Gary Stewart
Scene of Sunday morning’s fatal fire ...
We are not suspecting foul play
at this moment. Of course, we
will know more after we get the
report from the autopsies.”
The Medical Examiner’s Of
fice said there was no evidence
of foul play. It listed fire as the
cause of Barrett’s death.
Officials said it appeared there
had been a campfire about 60
feet from the barn and sparks
could have blown over and ig
nited the fire.
Two of the three-Wood and
Lewis-were ninth graders at the
junior high, where they were ac
tive in sports and other activites.
Their coaches described them
as “good students who gave a
hundred percent and always
went out to win.”
Lewis had just celebrated his
16th birthday Friday.
“1 talked to Rod in the library
Friday, where he was an aide,
and he wished me a good
weekend before I left school,”
said John Bumgardner, assistant
football and track coach. “He
was like that, friendly and in
terested in people.”
Head football coach David
Heffner said both will be missed
at KMJH, where they were
popular students. “Their at
tributes were excellent,” he said.
Bumgardner said that Lewis
was a member of championship
football teams as an eighth and
ninth grader and that Wood was
a member of the team this past
season. “Rod was one of our
outstanding players both years,”
he said. “He had a lot of spirit
and he motivated the other
players. We were looking for
ward to big things athletically
from him and he was looking
forward to play football next
year at the high school. He was
also on the track team last year
and was one of the most
coachable young men I ever had
the pleasure of working with.”
Bumgardner said Wood also
played hard but music was his
big interest as he was also active
with the band. “Jeff had a good
personality and as a first year
player gave it his best,”
Bumgardner said. “He was very
dependable.”
Bumgardner described Wood
as “a quiet young man” and
Lewis as “more outgoing.”
“I wish we had a whole school
full of kids like those two,” Heff
ner said.
Barrett, a senior at Kings
Mountain High School, was also
a talented musician. He was to
take part in the Senior Class, Play
beginning Thursday night.
‘The whole campus is shocked
to learn of this tragedy,” said
Mrs. Carolyn McWhirter, a
counselor. Mrs. McWhirter
described Barrett as a “quiet
young man and a good student.”
He was active in the Speech and
Drama clubs. Future Farmers of
America and track.
Barrett was the son of Mrs.
Pat Blanton and Steve Barrett.'
Lewis was the son of Mr. and
Mrs. Gerald McMahan and
Wood was the son of Marvin
and Catherine Wood.
Senior Class Play
Opens Thursday Night
'COMEDY OPENS THURSDAY - Th* KMSHS
Senior ClaM will proaont "Hillbilly Woddln"
this wMkond In thrso night poriormancos.
From loft, standing. Dale Groans, Dennis
Photo by Lib Stewort
Coveny, Phil Fisher, Arnold Clayton, Mike
Black and Barry Morrow. Seated, Elisabeth
Bradley, Goye Caveny and Bruce Young.
A 100-member cast will pre
sent the three-act comedy,
“Hillbilly Weddin’” as the
KMSHS Senior Play Thursday,
Friday and Saturday nights in
B.N. Barnes Auditorium.
Mrs. Steve Wells is directing
the production for which tickets
will be on sale at the door at $1
for students and $2 for adults.
The play will begin Thursday
night at 7:30 p.m. and on Friday
and Saturday evenings at 8 p.m.
The setting of the play is the
Belsnickle Cabin in the hills of
Kentucky during modern times
and woodworking students have
constructed a log cabin scene. As
the curtain opens Paw (Bryan
Norris) and Obey, a neighbor,
(Toasty Hardin) are engaged in a
game of checkers which has
lasted three days. Maw (Teresa
Leonhart) confronts Paw and
tells him he must find husbands
for Ceelie (Myra Jenkins) and
Boni)je Mae (Suzanne Thorn
burg). »'he third daughter, Juney
Lou (Jefrnta Mielyski) is sweet
on Homer (Dennis Caveny) but
until the older girls find
husbands the two lovebirds can’t
marry. The action tickens when
two city slickers (Eddie Ham
mett and Elizabeth Bradley)
show up and Ceelie takes a shine
to the diide and Pa goes after
him with a shotgun.
Other members of the cast in
clude Gina Bell, Mark MeSwain,
Gaye Caveny, Sandy Horne,
Jolean McHone, Ed^e Ham
mett, Susan Ollis, Todd Patter
son, Dale Greene,
Faith McCullough, Pat Donald,
Cathy Loveless, Louisa Wood,
Loretta Oates, Roy Lewis, Loret
ta Oates, Dwight Cooper,
David Rhea, Barry Mor
row, Dwight Cooper, and Gary
Thompson.
Cousins and neighbors are
portrayed by Loretta Oates,
Scott Hardin, Barry Wright,
Mike Donald, Sharon Bumgard
ner, Diane Williams, Terry
Bumgardner, Lynn Peeler, Den
nis McGill, Shawn Bumgardner,
Trudy Bridges, Donna Morrow,
Donna Whetstine, Margaret
Grant, Kenneth Bush, Linda
Gsellman, Dawn Bowen, Renee
Cook, Jolean McHone, Susan
Ollis, Ginger Martin, Tela Gard
ner, Cindy Penner, Vicky Ruff,
Tommy Thombs, Amber
Ramsey, Jon Lineberry, Susan
Ware, Curtis Foster, Kim
Haney, Wayne SHort, Craig
Bridges, Ricky Proctor, Lynn
Peeler, Tony Holmes, Robert
Lutz, Pam Jackson, Leigh
Howell, Chris Fortenberry
Barry Weight, Karen Bumgard
ner, Debbie Moore, Paul In
gram. Jay Jones, Melissa Smith
Allen Smith, Chuck Champion
Kenneth Bush, Lynn Cole
Angela Wilson, Sherry Guyton
and Lisa Byers.
Committes for the show are
Staging and Props, Mark MeS
wain, chairman; Eric Myers,
Terry Bumgardner, Dane
Horne, Leslie Hamrick, Kenneth
Babb, Waley Davis, Robert
Wright, Kenny Fannin, Barry
Wright, Chris Fortenberry,
David Rhea, Kris Gatts, Tommy
Eubanks, Mark Russell, Mike
Donald, Chris Wright, Bernard
Womaic, Lori Ross, Timmy
I Gaddy, Jeff Melton; Programs-
Carolyn White, chairman; Linda
Gsellman, Sheryl Godde, Leigh
Howell; Tickets-Carolyn White,
chairman, Pam Jackson, Pebbles
Whetstine, Dana Horne and
Margaret Grant; Costuming-
Karen Dbton, chairman, Mary
Anne White, Kim Sisk, Stephen
Gnadt, Ginger Martin;
Musicians-Arnold Clayton,
Dwight Cooper, Bruce Young,
Scott Hardin,
Lawson Mitchem,. Mike Black,
Philip Fisher; Lighting-Phil
Wright, chairman; Margaret
Grant and Jennifer Pruette;
Make-Up-Deborah Carpenter,
chairman; Kim Roper, Jolean
McHone, Willowdean Burris,
Cindy Sutherland, Priscilla
Hambright, Karen Oliver;
Publicity-Pam Jackson, chair
man; Leigh Howell, Sandy
Horn, Sheryl Godde, Pebbles
Whetstine, Margaret Grant, Lin
da Gsellman; and Posters-Susan
Bolin, Shawn Bumgardner,
Margaret Grant, Pebbles
Whetstine, Barry Wright,
Willowdean Burris, Sheryl
Godde, Ricky Proctor, Bernard
Womic, Kenny Womic, Chris
• Wright, Debbie Barnette and
Lela Gardner.