Talent show stuns crowd p. 8

By Ashley Gable

BCHS senior Montreal Barnette won the Miss BCHS crown last semester. Always having been interested in pageants, and being in many others, Bar-nette thought she had a pretty good chance of winning, due to her prior experiences. She was new to our school, com-ing from North Gaston High School. Montreal decided to come to Bessemer City High her senior year so that she could focus more on her academics and to enhance her-

self socially to meet and get to know more people. At BCHS, she enjoys the teachers the most, saying, “...the teachers, because

they seem to care for their stu-dents and [are] concerned about how they perform academically and that’s very important to me as a student.” Her name has an interesting story behind it, actually. Dur-ing the 1976 Olympics held in Montreal, Canada, her father, a sports’ fanatic, promised that if the United States did well that year, he would name his unborn daughter Montreal. Her past four years, she

says, have been fun, but she feels it is time for a change. “I’m really just ready to graduate,” Barnette stated. As for her college plans, she has decided to attend UNC-Pembroke with a scholarship for Track and Field. In the fu-ture, Barnette plans to pursue a career in the entertain-ment industry.

Montreal Barnette is crowned Miss Bessemer City High School

By Michelle Platt and Tracy Tuck

S gt. Travis Lee Payne is a Bessemer City High School graduate who now serves

his country. Payne attended Besse-mer City schools from the fourth grade through his senior year, graduating from BCHS in 1994. “I’m proud of it,” Payne said, of his time spent at BCHS. Payne remembered many of his teachers from his senior year: Judy Bess, his “favorite teacher,” in Biology 1, AP Biology 2 and Chemistry 1; Louis Carpenter, U.S. History; Coach Eric Nichols; Tony Groce, band; and Cam John-son, English.

Bessemer City High 1994 alumnus becomes marine sergeant

He also recalled some of his fondest memories of high school, especially Friday night football. “Wow,” he said. “Actu-ally, I loved Friday night football games. All my friends were at the games, at the after parties and around the pool at midnight,” recalled Payne. In 1995 Sgt. Payne entered the military and was honorably discharged in February 1999. During that time, he worked as an oceanographer in the meteorol-ogy field. When Sgt. Payne came home, he pursued a career in car-pentry and construction for seven years. After the war kicked off,

Sgt. Payne got the urge to go back into service, so he re-joined in De-cember 2005. When asked about his decision of returning, Payne said, “It was who I had become. The Marine Corps became home for me.” What motivated him to go into the Marine Corps? “I wanted to put my footprints on this earth and make a difference.” For the next three years he will be on recruiting duty at the Recruiting Substation on Franklin Square in Gastonia, NC. Payne became a sergeant on January 1, 2007, has been in honorable

Sgt. Payne / Stinger

Edition 1 Issue 2 Bessemer City High School

“I wanted to put my footprints on this earth and make a differ-ence.” --Sgt. Travis Lee Payne

service for seven years and is looking forward to making a career of it. He went to Iraq with the 2nd Combat Logistics Battalion and served from February through Sep-tember 2007. Sgt. Payne is currently a Combat Engineer Sapper by trade. He has just relisted for four more years.

Review of Aida, BCHS Talent show and Cannibal Corpse p. 4

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“I have come home to show my passion for God, the country, and Corps with every young person I encounter,” Payne said. “I truly believe there is a patriot in every one of us, but only few grasp it and com-mit themselves.” Payne is married to Emily Oates. The couple has three children.

Note: Payne always visits BCHS on the first Monday of every month.

Jon-Matthew McCutheon takes the reader on a journey as a fire-fighter p. 6

Josh Ross escorting Montreal Barnette at the pageant

May

Stinger Staff Ashley Gable - Editor Cody Flowers - Design Editor / Co-Editor Ericka Chabot - Copy Editor Jon-Matthew McCutcheon - Reporter Logan Lanier - Reporter Ashley Camp - Reporter Sydney Goode - Reporter Michelle Williams - Reporter Michelle Platt - Reporter Tracy Tuck - Reporter Ashlee Keller - Photographer Bessie Meeks - Adviser Bryan Nichols - Assistant Adviser

A publication of Bessemer City High School/ 119 Yellow Jacket Lane / Bessemer City, NC 28016 / 704-629-2258

2

ever, is that the finish may not turn out how I want it. Seeing the final product or just making something that’s mine

should give me great satisfaction. I encourage others to put some serious thought into their topics, for they will be spending a lot of time researching and working

with (their topics). —Harley Whitesides

Teacher’s Perspective The graduation project is part of my curriculum because I teach both junior and senior English classes. I also serve on the Bessemer City High School Graduation Proj-ect Committee and on the

Gaston County GPC. The project should make the students become better future

employees and better college or university material.

Making sure that the material is not plagiarized seems to be the stu-

dents’ greatest challenges. Each student needs to do the paper and project in incre-ments. Waiting until the last minute

only makes everything more overwhelm-ing, stressful, and leads to an inferior piece of work. My advice to students is to choose a topic that is important to you, for you will be spending a great deal of time and effort on your project. -- Diane Leazer, English Teacher

Print Journalism Working on my graduation project has brought me satisfaction because I am more knowledgeable about my career goal now. At first, I was a little nervous about getting everything to the standard I was comfort-able with and making sure I didn’t leave out any factual information. In order to get some of my volunteer hours completed, I interned at the Gaston Gazette. Now, I have finished the final draft of my essay and have com-pletely planned out my project for next year. I am most proud of my paper because I put a lot of effort into it and in-corporated what I learned at the Gazette as well. My message to next year’s juniors is to start early and add to the project as time goes by to avoid mistakes. Realize that the project is not going to go away and should be taken seriously. -- Tiffany Oakley

Building a Guitar I’m building a guitar. Right now I’m working on sanding and finishing the body. What makes me most nervous about the project, how-

Graduation Project recieves a lot of comments

Campus

Teachers examine professional learning communi-ties through book studyBy Michelle Williams

In the past, teachers might have spent their planning periods in isola-tion. But now they might be seen col-laborating with their col-leagues about how best to communicate high expectations to improve student performance. “I believe that collaboration will bring positive change to the way we teach and as-sess our students,” said Bill Busshart, business teacher at Bessemer City High School. Teachers have met each month during their planning periods to discuss the book, On Common Ground: The Power of Professional Learning Com-munities, by editors Richard and Re-

becca Duforr and Robert Eaker. Prin-cipal Ted Saunders purchased the book for each teacher at BCHS. Initially led by Saunders, the book study later became the responsi-

bility of the depart-ment chairs. Math chair and discussion leader Mike Minnick said, “Continuous improvement is a necessary constant for every organiza-tion. This is true whether we are discussing business practices or teach-ing practices. This

change has to come with a buy-in from every person the change affects. Pro-fessional learning communities are an excellent way to facilitate change with the teaching profession.”

pictured above

Students and teachers make plans for their summer vacation

‘Try (attempt) to get a job”

Lashan Mann

“Trying to stay out of trouble,

might get a job”

Shashree Smith

“Sit on the beach, volunteer with Habi-

tat for Humanity, work”

Angela Bates, Teacher

Compiled by Hillary Cook and Ericka Chabot

Spotlight3

Allen Coker

Kyle Powell

Kyle Powell wants to go into the military, saying, “It’s a way to start a new life, earn plenty of money and learn a good skill.” He has wanted to join the military since he was about four years old and will leave for Paris Island on July 13. He says he is excited and that he loves shooting.

Gilbert Law wanted to get out of Bessemer City and not be stuck in the same place his whole life. He has wanted to join the Marine Corps since his sophomore year. Law leaves for Paris Island in June 2009; his joint recruiters are Sgt. Christopher Thomas and Travis Lee Payne. “I’m excited and can’t wait to get the mind set,” Law said.

Gilbert Law

Allen Coker was moti-vated to go into the military be-cause it will pay for his college education. He’s been planning to go for two years and will leave for Paris Island, S.C., on June 15. Allen is excited because of the training he will receive.

Travis Stiwalt

The temptation of a college degree motivated Travis Stiwalt to go into the military, and he made this decision last summer. Stiwalt is excited to leave because of the adven-tures. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Stiwalt said.

Cody Hensley The lure of being able to receive a college degree motivated Cody Hensley to go into the military, and he has been planning on going for three years now. He leaves for Fort Linerwood, Mississippi, on July 2. Hensley’s recruiter is Sgt. Farmer.

Kristen Robinson Kristen Robinson says that going into the military has been a passion since the third grade. She plans on leaving to go to Orlando, Florida, for training about three weeks after graduation; her recruiter is Roy Lewis. Kristen is very excited to get away and travel, hoping to have another war on water.

Bill Busshart set to recieve Masters degree, interns for administrationBy Michelle Williams

By the end of the summer, business teacher Bill Busshart will have finished with the course work re-quired for a Master’s degree in School Administration. He will be working this summer learning how principals schedule teachers and many other things principals do

when school dismisses for the summer break. “I really enjoy working with students and faculty,” said Busshart, “and I want to become a principal in the future.” Busshart expects to log 150 hours as

an intern this summer and an additional 250 hours next year to finalize his degree. When students return, they will be greeted with a brand new website that he will work on over the summer.

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Editor’s Corner In this edition of The Stinger, we have decided to go online because of the budget cuts and deadlines. Being chosen as the new editor of The Stinger this semester, I asked Cody Flowers to help us as Design Editor/ Co-Editor. We have worked extra hard and have stayed after school stressing over dead-lines, trying to get things done right and on time. We wish for everyone to have a great summer and to be ready for the new and im-proved edition of next year’s school newspa-per. Coming next year, our new design editor will be dusting off the desk of The Stinger and giving a modern, turn-of-the-century look. We hope next year to have more input from students and to be more involved in our school and community. If you wish to be a part of the 2010 Stinger staff, see the editors or Bessie Meeks, adviser. -Ashley Gable

ReviewsBy Travis Stiwalt

The Bessemer City High School chorus and theatre arts departments took a field trip to the Blumenthal Theatre in Charlotte to see the Northwest School of the Arts production of Sir Elton John’s musical, Aida (pronounced Eye-ee-da). The production, with music written by Sir Elton John, and lyrics by Tim Rice, tells the story of Aida, the Princess of Nubia, and her forbidden love with Radames, the captain of the Egyptian Army. The play tells the story of Aida, a Nubian princess, who is captured by the Egyptian captain Radames and forced into a hard life of slavery. Radames becomes captivated by Aida and gives her as a handmaiden to the Egyptian princess Amneris, his future bride. Aida’s identity as a princess stays unknown and she forms a deep friendship with Amneris. Aida, however, also begins to have feel-ings for Radames, who has also fallen deeply in love with her. She is torn between her growing friend-ship with Amneris, her undeniable passion for Radames and her steadfast loyalty to her people. The lead role of Aida is portrayed by Kel Wil-liams, a senior at NWSA, and an experienced actress, having played in multiple productions throughout her career. Williams plays her role

nearly perfectly, with all the acting lines memorized well, with very few flaws, and she sings her musical numbers with experience and confidence that belies her age.

The role of Radames is performed by Matt Carlson, a freshman, who has been a student at NWSA since sixth grade. He has also acted in many performances, ranging from “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown” to “Willy Wonka.” Carlson also plays his role to perfection, singing on key, and acting flawlessly. The story builds in intensity as all involved must make difficult, heart-rending choices. Overall, the play went very smoothly, and was worth seeing. The choreography, arranged by Eddie Mabry, went well with the music andwas well preformed.If the opportunity ever arises, I’d suggest that anyone looking for a good story with action, romance, and a little comedy, look up a performance of Aida.

“...anyone looking for a good story with action, romance, and a little comedy, look up a performance of Aida.” --Travis Stiwalt

Choral and theatrical departments travel to the musical Aida

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Cannibal Corpse releases new CD: “Evisceration Plague”By Logan Bean

The world’s most respected and renowned death metal

group, Cannibal Corpse, released its 11th stu-

dio CD, Evisceration Plague, on Febru-ary 3 of this year. With more gore and

violence than any horror movie,

the album has been a favorite

among fans. Debuting at number 66 on the Billboard 200, the album

has kept the group’s over-all brutality yet

has sky-rocketed the band’s technicality at an alarming rate. From the fast-paced opening track, Priests of Sodom, all the way through the rest of the album, Plague maintains the band’s absolute death metal magnitude that cannot be measured or compared to any other metal acts in modern music. Cannibal Corpse shows off good writ-ing skills in Evisceration Plague. Bassist Alex

Webster’s lyrics are very gory while maintaining an intellectual aspect. The thunderous drums and screaming guitars can only add to the madness which is Webster’s lyrics. An example of the new album’s lyrical direction can be seen in this excerpt from the title track Evisceration Plague:

The bass guitar, though prominent on past Corpse records, is a bit inaudible, because of the detuned (low octave) guitars. Though considered a limited genre, death metal can be molded a bit, and Cannibal Corpse has reshaped the genre for the best since their debut in 1989. Even after 20 years, the band is still able to bring the metal to the masses and will continue on doing so.

Disease will spread and cover the world. Mass insanity the end of our time. Scavengers will eat the remains of man. Our extinction was by our design.

Science club wins green award The Environmental Club won the I Love a Clean School Award. The con-test was sponsored by the solid waste division of Keep Gastonia Beautiful, Inc. Students from the science department assisted members of the club by mak-ing posters and cleaning up the inside and outside of the school. The club sponsor is Connie Grissom, BCHS science teacher..

The Stinger presents this summer’s Box Office hits

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

(7/17)

Transformers: Revenge of the

Fallen (6/26)

Terminator: Salvation

(5/21)

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

(7/1)

Up (5/29)

The Hangover (6/5)

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Campus

By Michelle Platt and Ashley Camp

Brooke Wilson - Student Intern in English

Q: What college did you attend?

A: UNC - Charlotte

Q: What do you want to teach your students?

A: Never settle for passing. I want to teach them to strive for success in everything they do. I want my students to set goals and work hard to achieve them.

Q: Were did you grow up?

A: Gastonia, N.C.

Q: What do you do in your spare time?

A: I like to spend time with my family and friends, shopping when I can and traveling.

Q: What do you like about BCHS?

A: Everyone knows each other here. It is a small community and I really appreciate the familial atmosphere.

Q: What song best describes you?

A: “Live Your Life” – Rihanna and T.I.

Q: What’s the best book you have ever read?

A: Circle of Friends, by Maeve Binchy

Q: What is one word that describes you?

A: Silly.

Q: Anything else?

A: I really enjoy it here; the students and teach-ers are so welcoming!

Tanisha Abernathy - Assistant Pricipal

Q: What college did you attend?

A: UNC - Greensboro

Q: What do you want to teach your students?

A: What academics are for and how they can prepare you for life.

Q: Were did you grow up?

A: Mt. Holly, N.C.

Q: What do you do in your spare time?

A: I absolutely love to travel. I also like to shop, read, and spend time with my family and friends.

Q: What do you like about BCHS?

A: I like the students here and the way every-one welcomed me at the beginning of the year

Q: What song best describes you?

Faculty Feature: Wilson and Abernathy at Bessemer City High SchoolA: “Material Girl,” by Madonna.

Q: What’s the best book you have ever read?

A: The Notebook, by Nicholas Sparks.

Q: What is one word that descibes you?

A: Cheerful

Q: Anything else?

A: I was the first person in my family to ever graduate college.

Assistant Principal Tanisha Abernathy

Student Intern Brooke Wilson

Beta Club holds spring induction, accepts 28 new students in the Bessemer City clubBy Michelle Williams

The Beta Club inducted 28 students on Tuesday, March 24. The Spring 2009 initi-ates were Aaleyiah Bess, Kassie Bowen, Justin Cobb, Sierra Croft, Dylan Dixon, Katelin Falls, Ashlee Garneau, Taylor Horney, Destiny Huggins, Ashley Jones, Lacey Julian, Cassandra Lenox, Carissa Mathews, James Morgan, Kay-lee Neal and Franklin Necessary. Also inducted were Victoria Ormand, Shane Patterson, Somer Picklesimer, Alexis Richardson, David Shelton, Tyler Shumaker, Breanna Stevens, Brent Stevens, Megan Sum-mey, Zachary Vanhouten, Joshua Wiggins and Brandon White-sides.

English teacher Diane Leazer gave the keynote address

on “Never, Never, Never, Never Give

Up,” a quote from Winston Churchill. Officers are Caroline Mar-

tin, President; Brooke McAbee,

Vice-President; Natalie Elswick,

Secretary, and Rebekah Will, Treasurer. Emily Ledbetter assisted with the program and Princi-pal Ted Saunders gave closing remarks. Shan-non Eads, math teacher, is the adviser for the Beta Club.

“Never, Never, Never, Never Give up.” --Diane Leazer, quoting Winston Churchill

Brooke McAbee (Vice-President), Shannon Eads (Adviser), Michael Beta (Mascot) and Rebekah Will (Treasurer)

Student StoriesBy Jon-Matthew McCutcheon

“….Fire Center to Station 70, mo-tor vehicle accident County Line Road and Tryon Courthouse Road. County Line Road and Tryon Courthouse Road, reference a motor vehicle accident with injuries. Station 70, respond….”

It’s 12:30 a.m., and I’m jolted awake by my pager. I jump out of bed and throw on my clothes as the dispatch finishes up. I head out the door to my car, preparing myself for a long night. As I drive to the station, a million thoughts are rushing through my head: “How many victims are there? Are they severely hurt? Are they pinned?” I hear dispatch again over my pager as Engine 701 checks en route. “Engine 701, affirmative. County police on scene are confirming a pin-in, also confirmed ejection….” “Oh boy, this is going to be a long one,” I think to myself. I crest the hill to see Engine 700 awaiting a crew. I pull in to the station, grab my gear and head for the truck. I stop for a minute to put on my bunker pants, throw my helment and coat in the seat and climb in. As we pull out of the station, sirens wailing and air horns blowing, I wonder if anyone is still alive. We pull up on the accident scene. I can already see my fellow firefighters at work. I know I must move fast for there are lives on the line. I head straight for 701, passing by the ejected victim on my way. I notice several lacerations and a pool of blood. A paramedic is already giv-ing treatment, but there’s no time to stop and help; I have my assignment. As I get closer to the accident scene, I go straight into my training, sizing up the scene as I head for the truck. There’s a late model conversion van on its roof, appearing to have flipped several times. The front is crushed in, and is visibly going to require some work to free the patient. Another fire-fighter and I pull the hose line off the front bumper of 701 while others get the Jaws of Life ready. I give the signal to the engineer to charge the line, and we go to work. As they work to extricate the vic-tim, I keep a close eye on the car. With any car accident, there is always a possibility death, which greatly increases when you add roll over and high pressure tools into the mix. With so many people operating around the vehicle, a flash fire is the last thing we want. If this car goes up, we are the only help those guys will have until another line gets pulled. Thankfully, ev-erything went smoothly and we weren’t needed that night. The extrication was a simple one, with the door being cut off with the Hurst Tool. After cutting the door off of the van, we slice the seatbelt holding the girl and slowly lower her onto an awaiting

back board. We can’t transport her face down, so after clearing the car, we care-fully roll her over onto her back. After this, immobilized on the backboard, treatment begins, and we lift her onto a stretcher. The paramedics wheel her into an ambulance, and she’s taken off to an awaiting Medivac helicopter. After both victims have been transported, clean up begins. From start to finish, we’ve only been operating for about 20 minutes. It was a hectic scene, but we got the job done and hopefully saved a life that night. This night, everything went right. This night, everyone went home. This night, we saved a person. What I wouldn’t give if every night could be this way. Some people will read this story and say, “Aw, that was so brave of

them.” But before we get any further into this editorial, it wasn’t. It was do-ing a job, nothing more and nothing less. The only difference is, if we don’t do our job right, people die. That’s a hard thing to think about, but it’s the reality of be-ing in the fire service. Over 100 brothers died in Charleston, Salisbury, the World Trade Center and many others. Putting our life on the line doesn’t make us any better than anyone else. We’re just doing our jobs, as we signed up to do. However, being a firefighter isn’t all fun and games. Not all calls are as ex

citing as the one described above; you still get the general sickness, head acheseveryday run of the mill stuff that could probably be handled alone with a little common sense. But you have to respond to those calls with the same commitment as you did when you went to the four alarm commercial fire last week. You can’t become a firefighter expecting to be a hero; you’ll be disappointed time after time. There are far less glorious things that we have to do everyday. Cleaning the station, washing trucks, preparing gear, and training are necessary to keep-ing the crew and station running smoothly. It’s not as exciting, but it still needs to be done. Becoming a firefighter is a lifelong commitment. Firefighters are held to a higher standard. When’s the last time you saw the news media make a big deal out of the garbage truck driver getting a ticket for DUI? I can’t recall one. But you let a firefighter get caught like that, on or off duty, and there’s going to be media fren-zy. To get a Firefighter 1 certification, you have to complete 294 hours of class, which includes physical practicals and classroom time. You do have to be in rela-tively good shape to be a firefighter, for it is a very demanding job. It will push you to do things that you never thought you would do, like going into a burning build-ing, performing CPR or cutting up a car.

Editor’s Note: Writer Jon-Matthew McCutcheon is a senior at Bessemer City High School and works for the Tryonata Fire Depart-ment.

Jon-Matthew McCutheon (left) conducts an attack during a training burn

“After cutting the door off of the van, we slice the seatbelt holding the girl and slowly lower her onto an awaiting back board.” -- Jon-Matthew McCutcheon

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Jon-Matthew McCutcheon writes about the extreme tasks and experiences of a firefighter

Courtesy Jon-Matthew McCutcheon

By Ashley Gable

The following athletes from Bessemer City High School were quali-

fied for the 2A Midwest Track & Field Regionals held Saturday May 16th at Monroe High School: Montreal Barnette, Kiera Ussery, Meghan Glenn, DJ Parker, Tray Good, Aaron Rainey, Johnathan Sellers, Steven Goode, Xavier Logan,

and Arkevius Thomas. Coach Bryan Nichols extended congratulations to Montreal Barnette, Tray Good and Aaron Rainey for making the Southern Piedmont 1a/2a All-Confer-ence Track & Field Teams.

SportsThornburg named new ADBy Cierra Arrendale

Brian Thornburg has been named Besse-mer City High School’s new athletic director. Coach Thornburg will be replacing Coach Mike Mahaffey, who served in that position for the past 21 years. Mahaffey plans to retire at the end of this school year. “I think [Thornburg] is going to do a good job for the school,” said senior softball player Jessica Scates. “He knows a lot about all of the sports here.” Thornburg has been a member of the BCHS faculty for two years. “I feel great. I’m very excited,” Thorn-burg said of the appointment. He attended Gardener Webb University and later played pro football for the American Football League. Thornburg played for the Co-lumbus Destroyers and the Louisville Fire.

Russell Kennerly, 18, won the Crew Chief award for having a car prepared to win in the World of Outlaw Race Series on Saturday, April 18. Kennerly’s taste for racing began when he was 10 years old. He has been working for Jeff Smith Racing for four years. His day consists of changing tires, hanging car bodies, putting the suspension

underneath the car and making necessary adjustments to the car where needed. He said, “I’ve seen almost the entire Southeastern United States.” Not only does he instruct his race team, but he builds other competitive race cars for a range of teams.

Russell Kennerly, third from right

Cheerleaders head to national competition this summerBy Cody Flowers

Eighteen varsity cheerleaders will travel to Myrtle Beach, SC, in March to compete in the Cheer Ltd. CANAM 2010 national cheerleading competition. Prior to their weekend trip, they will be busy with fundraisers, trying to raise enough money to attend the weekend event.

The group will also attend a state competi-tion in November at the Raleigh Conven-tion Center. Later, they will attend a re-gional qualifying competition at Erwin High School in Asheville, N.C., in January. Heather Meadows and Linda Crews, cheerleading sponsors, and Tanisha Aber-nathy, BCHS assistant principal, will travel with the squad to Myrtle Beach.

Bessemer City High students make track conference teams

7

By Austin Stanley

Talent Show

Above: Savannah Glaze belting a performance of “Stay,” by Sugarland, while Dalton Holland accompanies on the guitar.

Above: Mandi Payne, Logan Lanier, and Sydney Goode argue about whos’ “baby mama” Logan is going to stay with.

Stinger StaffAbove: Mandi Payne, singing and dancing to “Big Black Horse,” by KT Tunstall.

Stinger Staff

Above: Tray Good enlight-ens the mood with, “Save Room,” by John Legend.`

Stinger Staff

Above: Montreal Barnette sings “You Know I’m No Good,” by Amy Winehouse, while strutting her stuff.

Stinger Staff

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By Logan Lanier

On Friday May 15th, the an-nual Bessemer City talent show was held in the school

auditorium. As usual, the performance contained students who were eager to showcase their talent. Preceding the talent portion of the event, a ‘Jerry Springer’ skit was performed by the cast. The skit contained three families with their own dysfunctional family issues. Choral director Sarah Fulton made an appearance in the role of Trixie, a teen previously abducted by aliens. As the skit blasted to an end with a massive fight, and the curtains closed, Savannah Glaze took the stage accompanied by Dalton Holland for her rendition of “Stay” by Sugarland. Her meek attitude as she gracefully poised atop a barstool added a needed sense of sorrow to the already heart-shattering tune. K.T. Tunstall’s “Black Horse and a Cherry Tree” followed the de-pression, lifting the spirits and elating the mood of the audience as Mandi Payne pranced around stage. Sorrow filled the room once again as Sydney Goode belted “Ave Maria.” Beyonce’s sorrow-filled ballad caressed the ears of the auditorium and brought the crowd to a dead silence by the song’s end. The mood remained constant as Sydney departed backstage, and Logan Lanier stepped forward. “You and Me” as sung by Lifehouse, was the song of choice for him. The audi-ence respectfully listened and sang along as the romantic ballad picked up and leveled off. Danielle Sturgis was soon to fill the void of the stage, and performed “Love You I Do” by Jenni-fer Hudson.

The talent show makes BCHS crowd cheer

Left: Montreal Barnette fight-ing with Cierra Johnson about who is cheat-ing on their boyfriends.

Right and Below: Danielle Sturgis smirks at character played by Sarah Fulton, music teacher

Stinger Staff

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