Stinker Marching Band goes missing

By Tracy Farr
Editor, The Daily Spittoon

The Marching Stinkers participated in the Magic Springs Music Festival Saturday at Magic Springs Amusement Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas. But what was supposed to be a day-long outing for the band turned into an intra-state nightmare that left many families scratching their heads.

The band, under the direction of band director Marty Hester, was scheduled to leave Magic Springs by 7 p.m. Saturday and return to Stinky Creek High School by 11. Parents started to worry when the band and its 37 members hadn't made it back by 2 a.m. Sunday.

"It's not like Mr. Hester to be late for anything," said Thomas Gaverly, father of Sam Gaverly, senior tuba player with the band. "We all just waited there until finally we couldn't take it anymore."

That's when they called Sheriff Max Welter.

"That was one group of unhappy parents," Welter said. "They were all standing around, some mothers crying, coming up with outlandish reasons for why the band could be late. I heard everything from the band must have crashed into a ravine in the middle of nowhere, to Mr. Hester took them hostage, to space aliens zapped them up to their ship to do a detail study on high school musicians. I'm just glad everything turned out okay."

And what happened to the Mighty Band from Stinker Land?

"I took a wrong turn," Hester said. Hester is a licensed bus driver and was driving the bus at the time. "We were singing, having a good time, and just reliving all the fun we had during the day. Unfortunately, I was enjoying myself so much that instead of going south I headed north. I didn't realize anything was wrong until I crossed into Missouri."

According to Hester, he was so tired, and the band members by that time had all fallen asleep, that Hester found a rest area and pulled over for the night.

"I would have called the band parents, but my cell phone didn't have reception," Hester said. "In fact, none of our phones worked at all. I just prayed the parents would be understanding."

Hester and the band were back on the road by 8 a.m. Sunday, heading in the right direction. They made it back to the high school by 4:30 p.m.

"I'm glad our students and Mr. Hester made it back alright," Superintendent Marcus Spilling said, "but I think some changes need to be made in how we do business when it comes to field trips. That's why I'm going to recommend to the school board that we purchase GPS units for every bus along with satellite phones. I asked for these in the past and the school board thought it was better to spend money in other areas. I think now they will think differently."

The next school board meeting is Tuesday at 6 p.m. Parents are encouraged to attend.