The State : Bands Want Their Reward

High school band directors from Modesto and Visalia want either trophies or financial compensation for awards that were denied them because their units marched with wooden replicas of rifles. Beyer High of Modesto and Redwood High of Visalia were stripped of awards they earned at the Central California Band Review in Merced on Nov. 7 because of a rule barring rifle drill teams in the parade section. The rule had been ignored in the past. Gary Gilroy, director of the Beyer band, demanded that his group either get the trophies it won or be paid $1,500, which Gilroy claimed was the cost of transporting students on the 70-mile round trip between Modesto and Merced. Redwood High band director Dennis Bettencourt said he too will send a letter asking for the trophies he feels his band should receive. But his monetary demands are not as high--only the entry fee of $75.