The Item from Sumter, South Carolina • 2

PAGE IA THE DAILY ITEM HTMIER MONDAY AUGUST in Obituaries Bus Driver Ed Ray Given Hero Treatment By Town Mir Jalii JackiM Coiambfi Fred King Clinton Monica Tbomai Camden Efrtd Taylor Gilbert Mn Key Cbllet GreeavUle Robert Prince Lynchburg Herbert Parker Lorit Mn RL Morrii OUr Jobs Ward Darlington Emaaael Dowling ColambU Sbep Herring Morion Mn Ola Heati Newberry TR Hook Weat Columbia Gay Langley Belvedere CHOWCHILLA Calif (AP) Bus driver Eld Ray and 24 of the 28 children he helped escape after a bizarre kidnaping rode down the street on a red white and blue float as they were honored by a grateful town The crowd on hand Sunday exceeded the population by about 500 The shy hero and the youngsters rode down main street while a high school band played Spanish marching music Juvenile Arrests Rise OnWeekend SONYA MICHELLE SKINNER Sonya Michelle Skinner 14 died Sunday night at the Colleton Regional Hospital in Walterboro She wat the daughter of Mr and Mn John Worrell of Walterboro and Wayne Skinner of Ft Pierce Fla She wai a member of the Grace Advent Christian Church in Walterboro Surviving in addition to her parents are two sisters Miss Rhonda Skinner and Miss Robin Worrell a brother Tommy Skinner maternal grandparents Mr and Mrs TL Skinner of Oswego two aunts Mrs DP (Patsy) Freeman of Sumter and Miss Gwen Skinner of Columbia and two uncles Ben Stokes Jr and Marvin Skinner of Sumter Services will be 4 Tuesday at the chapel of the Shelley Brunson Funeral Home conducted by the Rev Leonard Boston and the Rev Yates Frady Burial will be in the Evergreen Memorial Park Cemetery CORRECTION It ii incorrectly itated in the obituary ol Mrs Janette Aycock which appeared in Saturday'! edition that funeral arrangement! were handled by Harri and Soni Funeral Home The arrangement! were actually handled by Sbelley-Brunson Funeral Home The ITEM regret! thli error Ray waved from his seat at the front of the float His arms were draped around two of the youngsters he helped free Two of the kidnap victims have moved from Cbowchilla and were not present but the other youngsters perched in uneven rows on the float waved pointed to friends and laughed PEOPLE SITTING ON CURBS and lawn chairs whooped and hollered and parents held tiny children aloft under a sunny sky America should be indebted to his President Ford said in a letter read to the crowd by Cbowchilla Mayor Jim Dumas Ray 55 received 10 plaques and scrolls Among them was one handed to him by 9-yearold Jennifer Brown one of the children on last fateful bus ride and the kids have something for you too Eld" she said we all signed A gray stone monument was unveiled It bore a plaque which reads heartfelt thanks the people of Chowchilla commemorate the safe return of 26 school children and their bus driver who were abducted July 15 1976 and who escaped unharmed 30 hours Then there was a barbecue at the fairgrounds About 5500 people showed up more than the population THERE WERE FEW WORDS from the hero Asked how he felt he answered "Gee 1 dunno" When a reporter asked whether this was the biggest event of his life Ray thought a moment finished a plate of barbecued beef and replied The children and driver had been whisked away in two moving vans and transported to an underground prison in a rock quarry Under direction they dug their way out to freedom Three young men from wealthy San Francisco Bay area families were arrested after the incident Frederick Woods 24 James Schoenfeld 24 and Richard Schoenfeld 22 have pleaded innocent to kidnap and robbery charges They are scheduled to face a preliminary hearing Thursday Drug Possession Charged Man i bar to pry open the seals on the cars but nothing was reported missing The boys were released to their parents pending action by the Family Court City police arrested a 16-year-old Sumter boy early Sunday morning and charged him with simple possession of marijuana and two counts of having unlawful weapons Reports said the boy was arrested when police investigated a traffic accident involving the boy Investigation allegedly disclosed a wooden club on the car seat and a knife with a four-inch blade concealed in the sock Police said they also discovered several marijuana cigarette butts in the ash tray The boy was released to his parents pending action by the Family Court Jake Huggins 220 Red and White St told police that someone stole a Lawn Boy lawn mower from his yard over the weekend Value of the mower was set at 975 (UPI) Ed Ray reflects upon praise Sheriff's deputies have arrested a 19-year-old Sumter man and charged him with possession of more than one ounce of marijuana Reports said John Bee Robertson 1022 Beckridge Drive was arrested Friday afternoon after deputies found three bags of marijuana under the seat of his car while making a routine search after stopping Robertson for a traffic violation Robertson was taken to the County Correctional Center and Who Was Slain? The city police crackdown on juvenile crime is apparently continuing as more charges were placed against two boys arrested Friday and four other juveniles were arrested over the weekend This brings to 14 the total number of juveniles arrested in the city since Friday NEW CHARGES have been filed against two juveniles arrested Friday night in connection with a housebreaking on Dorn Street When the two boys ages 11 and 15 were picked up they had property valued at almost 9900 in their possession Further investigation resulted in the recovery of more than 910000 in stolen property The additional property came from the residence of James Sr 500 Haynsworth St who reported a break-in at his home Friday afternoon between 3:30 and 5:30 pm Taken from the James home were watches and jewelry valued in excess of 910000 including an 98000 pair of diamond earrings The boys are still in the County Correctional Center Juvenile Division pending referral to the Family Court FOUR OTHER JUVENILES were arrested by city police over the weekend three in connection with the Friday night break-in of a raildroad car and a fourth for marijuana and illegal weapons charges Three boys two aged 14 and one aged 12 were arrested in connection with the Thursday night break-ins of two railroad cars in the railroad yard on South Sumter Street Reports said the boys were using a steel Questions Still Unanswered bond has not yet been set Someone broke into home of Leroy Tindal 734 Webb St sometime Sunday morning and stole a 19-inch black and white television set valued at 9100 Lionel Edgerly Rt 4 Box 219B told deputies that his wife was driving her van on Frierson Road Saturday and when she made a left turn a Pinto motor valued at 9400 fell out of the van She came home to get Edgerly reports said and when they returned the motor was gone Willie Rogers Rt 1 May-esville reported the theft of a black and white television set and a window fan from his home last Thursday night Value of the missing items was set at 9150 Robin Webster 5420 Plantation Drive reported the theft of a girl's bike from the carport of his home Thursday night Value of the bicycle was set at 975 Someone stole a 10-speed bike from Glenn Reese 2129 Ginbranch Road last week Value of the bicycle was set at 9160 Bonnie Puckett 4452 Amelia Drive reported the theft of a bicycle valued at 9100 from her home last Thursday and with school about to start and the vacation season ending hoping the break in the case will come in the next few THE BODIES WERE FOUND EARLY the morning of Aug 9 on a dirt road known as the Locklair Road between 1-95 and SC 341 near the Florence County Line Both victims had been shot several times Both were in their late teens to early 20s and were white The girl was described as being very pretty with brown hair and bluish gray eyes She was about 5 feel 5 inches tall and weighed about 100 pounds She was wearing cutoff jeans a pink halter top white blouse and wedge sandals with a hot pink and purple instep strap The man was about 6 feet tall weighing about 150 pounds with shoulder-length brown hair and brown eyes He wore faded blue jeans a red T-shirt with "Coors" on the front and "Camel GT Challenge Sebring and a picture of Snoopy and a race car on the back and a pair of brown strap sandals Sheriff's investigators ask that anyone with any information about the case or anyone who thinks he might be able to identify either of the two bodies please call the Sumter County Department Investigations Division 775-1133 Sign-Ups Urged For City Schools School District 17 officials are urging all students planning to attend district schools who have not yet registered to do so this week Students must bring a certificate of medical examination a birth certificate and an immunization certificate (kindergarten through fourth grade) to register according to district community coordinator Pete DuBay If parents are in doubt as to which school their child will attend they are asked to contact DuBay at 469-8536 School starts Aug 30 Man Drives Car Into Train By JERRY ADAMS ITEM Staff Writer Who was shot to death on Locklair Road? That is the key to the puzzle of the bodies of the young couple found shot to death in eastern Sumter County two weeks ago Who were they who shot them and what was the motive behind the killings? How did they get to Sumter? Are they from this area? Were they the victims of hitchhikers or possibly hitchhikers victimized by a driver? THESE AND OTHER QUESTIONS are being asked by the people of Sumter and by the investigators handling the case but until the first question that of the identities is answered the riddle of the how and why of their deaths will remain a mystery "We need to have these bodies identified so we can get on with cracking this case says Sheriff I Byrd Parnel running down every tip we receive but so far none have panned Investigations into the identities of the two young people have been a series of frustrations Attempts to trace the serial number of an Accutron watch found on the man proved fruitless as investigators were told that the Bulova company no longer kept track of serial numbers and all such records had been destroyed Fingerprints of both victims were sent to the office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Washington in the hope that their records might contain the names of the victims They ALL POINTS BULLETINS CONTAINING descriptions of the two people have been sent to every police and sheriff's department in the country Sketches compiled from pictures taken when the bodies were found and during autopsy in Charleston and from drawings of the bodies made at a local funeral home have been sent out by Associated Press and United Press International wire services But still no one can name the two victims Many have tried The department has been flooded with calls from as far west as Texas and as far north as Canada and Rhode Island but no call has been the right one A Vamville man was sure he recognized the girl as someone from Brunswick Ga who he had dated last year Investigators took the man to Georgia to seek out that family to see if they could provide a positive identification but the mother said the dead girl was not her daughter MANY PEOPLE FROM THE SUMTER area and around the state have looked at the pictures and even viewed the two bodies but no one can positively identify them Investigator Hugh A Mathis has hopes that a break in the baffling case may come soon He theorizes that the two young people were probably on vacation and it might not be unusual for them to go for two weeks without contacting family or friends Many calls have come in from parents who say their kids are making Bicentennial tours of the country and haven been heard from in a week or so Mathis says and as the summer ends most young people will be going home to return to school been dead for two weeks and nobody has missed them" said Mathis "They have to be missed by somebody soon head xf into FALL with NEW in it HAIRDOS A Sumter man escaped injury Friday night when his car colllided with a train Louis Franklin 306 Sumter St was charged with driving too fast for conditions Friday night after he ran his 1968 Ford into the engine of a northbound Seaboard Coastline train which was crossing Hauser Street Damages to his car were set at 9400 Beverly Truluck Felder of Wilson NC was charged with improper backing after a two-car accident on Hasel Street Friday afternoon Reports said she backed her 1970 Chevrolet out of a driveway and into the path of a 1973 Pontiac driven by Claude Lanham 23 Frank Clark St Damages were set at 31500 to the Chevrolet and 9750 to the Pontiac James Alva Locklair 245- Woodlawn Ave was charged with driving under the influence and shifting lanes improperly after a two-car accident on Broad Street Friday night Reports said he was trying to change lanes and ran his 1965 Ford into a 1972 Ford driven by Herbert Samuel Green Rt 3 Box 397 Both cars Come See Us At Our Newly Remodeled Shop Prices Good Thru Sept 15 Permanents Reg 25 off Shampoo Set $400 Call: Jackie Sutton Deborah Reynolds Jaye Moore Susie Spencer Sandra Rogers Phono 481-8283 Rosewood Beauty Salon Pinewood Road Mon-Sot Alto lot appt Frostings 2500 $2Q00 were eastbound at the time of the accident Damages were set at 9400 to the 1972 Ford and 3150 to the 1965 Ford A two-car accident on Sumter Street Saturday afternoon resulted in an estimated 31250 damaages to the vehicles involved Reports said Bert A Bradham III Rt 3 Box 134 was headed north on Sumter Street in his 1975 Datsun when a 1976 Buick driven by Ruth Singletary pulled out of a parking lot and into his path Damages were set at 9600 to the Datsun and 9650 to the Buick Singletary was charged with failure to yield right of way A two-car accident on Broad Street Saturday afternoon resulted in 31000 damages to the vehicles involved According to reports Rudy Raymond Hill 6 Cubbage Trailer Park Dalzell was westbound on Broad Street in his 1971 Mercury when a 1972 Chevrolet driven by Jacob Dennis Rt 2 Box 7A Rembert pulled into his path Damages were set at 9600 to the Chevrolet 9400 to the Mercury and Dennis was charged witlf failure to yield right of way Reg Council To Talk Consolidation Sumter County Council is scheduled to discuss endorsing a study on consolidation of city and county governments at its Tuesday meeting The Sumter Daily Item The study was discussed at last week's meeting of the City-County Liaison Committee and county members of that committee will make a report to the full Council Tuesday County Council chairman Lauren Booth has said he plans to recommend that the full council endorse the consolidation study Flying lesson ty Courthouse starting at 10 am They are scheduled to listen to a second reading of an ordinance amending the green dumpster ordinance The amendment allows the county to take over garbage collection for School District 2 Three other committee reports are also planned coming from the Law Enforcement Public Works and Internal Affairs committees The meeting is open to the public Established 1894 Published every afternoon except Sunday by Osteen Publishing Company Inc 20 Magnolia St Sumter SC 29150 Second class postage paid at Sumter SC SUBSCRIPTION RATES CITY CARRIER BICYCLE DELIVERY In other business councilmen face a short agenda for the meeting to be held in the Coun Cw Carter Ford (Continued from Page IA) with the hindsight of how safe we were in California well I believe that with four or five days campaigning in Ohio we would have carried Ohio Ford got 91 of Ohio's 97 delegates Dole who was Republican national chairman during the last presidential campaign was quoted by Time as saying Ford was "running like a congressman still drawing for help oh (House) friends who represent districts not states or regions press secretary Janet Anderson said the quotes "appear wife Betty in another interview in Time said the President's campaign workers "were not organized early enough and were not good enough I know who to blame maybe the President himself running mate Sen Walter Mondale of Minnesota wound up a week's stay at a lakeside retreat in Hibbing Minn His schedule called for a brief visit to Washington then a nine-day campaign swing through nine states All carriers dealers and distributors of The Sumter Daily Item are independent contractors Advance payments for subscriptions may be made directly to Osteen Publishing Co as agent No responsibility for advance payments is assumed by the company until the money is received at this office Member Audit Bureau of Circulations Take off for the Yellow Pages Whether you want to fly a plane or just plain want to find anything at all It's there at your fingertips when your fingers do the walking through the Yellow Pages yellow pages.