Belfry High School (South Williamson, Kentucky)

Belfry High School
From top: Belfry High School Campus, Gymnasium, "Old" Campus's Main Building, Belfry High School Cheerleaders at the High School Sweet 16 Tournament in 2010, Belfry High School Football Team, Football State Champions (2003)
Where Success is a Way of Life
Address
27678 U.S. Route 119 South Williamson, Kentucky, KY, (Pike County), 41514 United States
Information
Type	Public Secondary
Established	1924 (3 total locations-current location opened in 2005)
Principal	Rodney Varney
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	800  (2011)
Campus	Rural
Color(s)	Red and White
Athletics	10 KHSAA Sports
Athletics conference	Kentucky High School Athletic Association
Mascot	The Pirate
Newspaper	'Treasure Chest'
Website	[1]

Belfry High School, located in South Williamson, Kentucky, is a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence. Belfry enrolls over 800 9th-12th-grade students. The school is located in the northeastern region of Pike County approximately 22 miles northeast of Pikeville, Kentucky and 1 mile south of Williamson, West Virginia. The school moved from the community of Belfry in the summer of 2005 to a 32 million dollar comprehensive facility 3 miles north near the West Virginia border.

Belfry has been historically successful in sports, particularly its football program. Even with its success, a football state title was not won until 2003, when the team finally triumphed at the Kentucky Class 2A State Championships, a feat repeated in 2004. Due to re-alignment, Belfry is now a 3A football school, and came in runner-up in the state championship in 2008, 2010 and 2011 to Central High School (Louisville).

Belfry competes at the state level in ten of the thirteen sports sanctioned for competition by the KHSAA with bowling, swimming, and tennis being the sports not offered at the school. The school competes annually in the KAPOS state competition in cheerleading as well. The school boasts 7 Advanced Placement opportunities and partners with Morehead State University to offer college level classes at the high school.

Belfry High School is one of five public high schools in the Pike County Public School System and one of six public high schools of the seven high schools in Pike County.

Campus

Belfry has called three campuses home since 1924. The Belfry, Kentucky location (1938-2005), which now holds Belfry Middle School, ran next to U.S. Route 119 for .5 miles. The campus consisted of the Belfry Area Technology Center at the north end, the "Science Building" (a three-story multi-use building which held media and science classrooms as well as the school's library), the "Main Building" (offices, classrooms, cafeteria, drama department), the Special Education building (located at the back of the Main building), the "Music Building", a 2400 seat Gymnasium structure, an athletic complex, and the football stadium. At this campus, the school used the baseball facilities at nearby Hardy Park to host home games. At this location in 2005, Belfry was housed in one of the oldest structures in the Pike County Public School System. At the end of the 2005 year, a new campus was completed closer to the West Virginia border on U.S. Route 119 near Forest Hills. This campus consists of a consolidated building that housed all of the educational facilities as well as the gymnasium and a new 600 seat auditorium. Also located on the campus is a 5500 seat football stadium, a soccer field, an athletic complex, a baseball field and a softball field. Belfry, along with Phelps High School and Pikeville High School in Pike County are the only schools that have not been formed as a result of consolidation.

History/Development

(1860-1920) Early Years / Development

Sometime prior to 1860, a common school was established at the Old Pond Church on Meeting House Branch of Pond Creek, with the Reverend Mr. Stephen Trout as teacher. Until 1860, all children on Pond Creek attended this school if they attended school at all.

About 1860, the school was moved to Mudlick near the home of the Rev. Trout, where he and others taught for a term of three months in the year. About this time, similar schools were established on Road Fork, Blackberry, and at the mouth of Pinsonfork.

In the 1870s, other schools were established at McVeigh, Pinsonfork, Mill Branch, Stone, and the Mouth of Pond, at the present site of Leckieville. The Mudlick school was moved back to the Meeting House Branch were it first existed, and was taught in the old hewn log church owned by the Primitive Baptist Church. These schools remained the only schools on Pond Creek until after the beginning of the twentieth century,

With the advent of the coal mining industry and the railroad on Pond Creek, new locations for schools became necessary to care for the increased population. Additional schools were located at Huddy, McAndrews, Ball Fork , Hardy, Upper McVeigh, and Narrows Branch. The Old Pond Creek school developed into what is now Belfry High School.

(1921-1935) First Consolidated Campus

As a result of the vision of Amos Runyon, the foundation for Belfry High School was laid. Recognizing a need for education to advance beyond the elementary level, he petitioned the Pike County Board of Education to build a two-year high school as a department of the Belfry Grade School. In 1923 four rooms were added to the existing four-room structure, which was located at Hunt Bottom, and Belfry High School was born with an enrollment of four freshmen.

In 1924 the high school program was expanded to a full four-year program, becoming the only high school on the Tug Side of Pike County. The year 1924-1925 also saw the organization of Belfry's first football team. By 1928 Belfry High School also had a baseball team, a school paper, and a booster's club. The 1927-1928 school year had its first graduating class from Belfry High School consisting of five members.

By the close of the 1929 school year, the enrollment of the elementary-high school had reached 550. This growth brought about the need of new school building to accommodate the growing number of high school students. In 1930 the doors opened to the new school; built at the location of what is now the gymnasium of Belfry Middle School.

(1936-1960) Works Progress Administration Building

In 1936, the Board of Education began construction of a new facility in conjunction with the Works Progress Administration. In 1938, the doors of Belfry High School opened with an enrollment of approximately 400 students. Activities continued to expand, such as a basketball team, student council, 4-H club, Drama Class, and cheerleaders. The new school, built on the site just north of the old school, was completed at a cost of two hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars ($225,000.00).

The Belfry Vocational School, located on US 119 at Stone, KY, was established in October 1946. The building was donated by the Tierney Mining Company to provide training for students from the area to work in the mining industry. This vocational school was the first area center in the United States. The school offered a variety of technical training, ranging from electricity to machine tool technology. It was in service until August 1966.

(1961-1975) Overcrowding and Expansion

Belfry continued to be a pacesetter in both curricular and extracurricular offerings throughout the rest of the twenetieth century. In the 1960s, over-crowded conditions led to expansion. In 1964, a building to house the music program, including the marching and concert bands, was built. In 1967, a new vocational center (Belfry Area Technology Center) was constructed adjacent to the campus to replace the Belfry Vocational School.

In the fall of 1969, work began on a new gymnasium and a science building, including classrooms and a library. Renovations to the existing building included a cafetorium and major repairs. The project was completed in the fall of 1971.

In 1972, a concrete and steel football stadium with a seating capacity of 4,800 was installed. This was financed by the Boosters organization and the Board of Education.

During the 1972-73 school years, Belfry became a member of the Southern Association of Accredited Schools and Colleges and a comprehensive ratings was awarded by the Department of Education.

(1976-2004) Decline in Enrollment / Blue Ribbon School

In the fall of 1991, the athletic complex was opened. Supporters contributed $500,000 toward the completion of this facility.

In 1990-91 Belfry received the award of being a Kentucky State School of Excellence. In 1992-93, it was honored as a Kentucky State Blue Ribbon School. Belfry was selected as a National School of Excellence by the United States Department of Education in 1993. Also, in 1994, Redbook magazine chose Belfry High School as the "Best of the States" winner in the state of Kentucky.

During this era, Belfry's enrollment dropped from nearly 1200 students in the early 1980s to 650 in 2004. This was due mainly to the declining population in the Appalachian Region.

(2005-Present) New Facility / Enrollment Increase

The new high school was completed in 2005 roughly three miles north of the old campus on a former slate mining site. The hill was flattened to the level of U.S. Route 119 and the campus was constructed combining all sports facilities into locations adjacent to the school. Massey Energy financed a large portion of the construction of the athletic facilities on campus and the athletic complex and fields (with the exception of the football stadium) are named for the company. Central Appalachian Mining Company of Pike County financed a large portion of the football stadium (with the help of the football boosters club) and the turf field that was installed. The Belfry Area Technology Center which was located adjacent to the campus before the move, was not rebuilt and remains at the previous high school campus location. Students are bussed to and from those classes.

The enrollment began to increase after the construction of the new high school. Adjacent Mingo County, West Virginia's schools had experienced a state take-over and many students paid tuition to transfer to Belfry. The area's population continues to decline, but the pace has slowed thus allowing for a "leveling" effect on the enrollment in the school. Currently, enrollment stands at around 800 students.

In 2006, The Freshman Academy was established to provide a smaller, community based atmosphere for incoming students. This was one of the first Academies of its kind in the Kentucky Public School System and the first in the Pike County Public School System. In 2010, the Athletic Complex on the site was expanded adding more locker room space.

Feeder Schools

Until 1998, Belfry had six feeder schools each containing grades K-8. In 1998, with the flooding of Varney Grade School in Toler, Kentucky, The Pike County Board of Education voted to consolidate three feeder schools, convert Turkey Creek Grade School (K-8) into Turkey Creek Middle School (6-8), and construct a new elementary school, Southside (K-5), at an elevated location where Varney Grade School once stood. This lowered the number of feeder schools to five. In 2005, with the opening of the new high school, all feeder schools grades 6-8 were consolidated into Belfry Middle School, which would be housed in the remodeled 1938 structure of the old high school's Main Building. Turkey Creek Middle School closed after this year and the students attended Belfry Middle School. In 2011, due to declining enrollment, Runyon Elementary closed and its students were sent to the remaining three elementary schools in the system. As of 2011, Belfry Middle School is the largest feeder school at an enrollment of 598. Southside Elementary is next with 563, followed by Bevins Elementary with 220, and Blackberry Elementary with 160.

Awards/Recognitions

• In 1990-91 Belfry received the award of being a Kentucky State School of Excellence.
• In 1992-93, it was honored as a Kentucky State Blue Ribbon School.
• In 1994, Belfry was selected as the "Best of the States" Winner by the State of Kentucky.
• Belfry was selected as a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence by the United States Department of Education in 1993. Belfry is one of 15 High Schools in Kentucky to receive this award (1 of 10 public High Schools).
• Physical Science Teacher, Dr. Haridas Chandran, was selected in 2010 for the National Science Foundation NanoTeach Pilot Test Teacher. He was one of only 20 teachers nationwide to be selected for this honor.

School song

The school song is a modified version of the University of Notre Dame and the University of Kentucky's fight songs:

Cheer, cheer for Ole' Belfry High, Come on boys let's get in and fight. Send your falling cheers on High, Shake down the thunder from the sky. Whether the odds be great or small, Ole'Belfry High will win overall. While our loyal sons go marching, Onward to Victory. Rah!! Rah!!! V-I-C-T-O-R-Y Victory, Victory, Belfry High! We are the Pirates, We're the Pirates of Belfry High! We will defeat you, And we'll even tell you why: We are the P-I-R-A-T-E-S We will fight to the end, We will never give in. We're the Pirates of Belfry High!

Athletics

Notable Rivalries

Belfry has had several rivals throughout the years. Williamson High School in nearby Williamson, West Virginia was a major rival throughout the 60s, 70s, 80s and into the 90s when the enrollment of Williamson High began to decline and the schools stopped scheduling each other in most sports, with the exception of Men's Basketball. "The 'Outhouse' called Williamson High" was a popular chant throughout those years. With the consolidation trend, Williamson closed in 2011 and consolidated with three other in-county schools to form the new Mingo Central High School. Belfry and Mingo Central are scheduled to play each other in most sports in the 2011-2012 school year with hopes of renewing a rivalry. Sheldon Clark High School has developed a rivalry with Belfry in football due to their success and placement in Belfry's district in the 2000s. With the realignment of the 60th Basketball District in 2002 (due to the consolidation of Feds Creek, Millard, and Elkhorn City into East Ridge High School), Pike Central became part of Belfry's district and have recently become a basketball rival.

Baseball

Region: 15

District: 60

Home Field: Massey Energy Field 1 seating capacity of 300

Main Rivals: Pike Central Hawks, Pikeville Panthers

Head Coach: Michael Hagy

Record: 20-14 (2010-11)

District Championship Seasons: (since 1999): 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011

Regional Championship Seasons: 1961

Boys Basketball

Founded: 1930s

Region: 15

District: 60

Home Court: Belfry High School Gymnasium seating capacity of 2500

Main Rivals: Pike Central Hawks, Pikeville Panthers, Mingo Miners

Head Coach: Randy Casey

Record: 15-10 (2010-11)

District Championship Seasons: (since 1990): 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2007, 2010

Regional Championship Seasons: 1990, 1991, 1992

Boys Soccer

Founded: 2005

Region: 15

District: 33

Home Field: Massey Energy Field 3

Main Rivals: Pike Central Hawks, Pikeville Panthers, [Mingo Central Comprehensive High School|Mingo Miners]], Shelby Valley Wildcats

Head Coach: Luis Mendoza, John Hunt II

Record: 10-9 (2010-11)

Cheerleading

Founded: 1930s

Region: 15

District: 60

Main Rivals: Pikeville Panthers

Head Coach: Sherri Casey

State / KAPOS Competitions: (since 1999) Belfry's cheerleading squad has won numerous district and regional championships. Most recently, in 2011, the Belfry Varsity won the 15th Region Large Division and in 2010, the Belfry Varsity placed 3rd in the State Sweet Sixteen Competition. In 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2005, the squad placed 3rd, 5th, 2nd, and 4th respectively in the State Coed Division.

Football

Founded: 1925

Conference: Class AAA (1955-1998, 2007-present), Class AA (1999-2006)

Division: District 8

Home field: Central Appalachian Mining (CAM) Stadium, Haywood Field; seating capacity of 5500

Athletic director: Philip Haywood

Main Rivals: Sheldon Clark Cardinals, Breathitt Bobcats, Central Yellow Jackets, Pikeville Panthers

Coach: Philip Haywood (all time winningest coach in KHSAA history: 350-120

Record: 13-2 (2011), 579-211 (all time)

Regional Championship Seasons: (Since 1970): 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011)

State Championship Appearances: 1979 (L), 1985 (L), 1986 (L), 2003 (W), 2004 (W), 2007 (L), 2010 (L), 2011 (L)

Girls Basketball

Founded: 1975

Region: 15

District: 60

Home Court: Belfry High School Gymnasium seating capacity of 2500

Main Rivals: Pike Central Hawks, Pikeville Panthers, [Mingo Central Comprehensive High School|Mingo Miners]], Sheldon Clark Cardinals

Head Coach: Kevin Deskins

Record: 18-7 (2010-11)

District Championship Seasons: (since 1984): 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011

Regional Championship Seasons: 1984, 1987, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2011

State Championship Appearances: 1984 (L)

Girls Soccer

Founded: 2005

Region: 15

District: 33

Home Field: Massey Energy Field 3

Main Rivals: Pike Central Hawks, Pikeville Panthers, Mingo Miners, Shelby Valley Wildcats

Head Coach: Dr. Haridas Chandran, John Hunt II

Record: 7-11 (2010-11) 50-62-11 (all time)

Golf

Founded: 2005

Region: 11

Home Field: Johns Creek Golf Club

Head Coach: Elaine Rutherford

Softball

Founded: 1980s

Region: 15

District: 60

Home Field: Massey Energy Field 2 seating capacity of 200

Main Rivals: Pike Central Hawks, Pikeville Panthers, Mingo Miners

Head Coach: Ryan Chapman

Record: 16-15 (2010-11)

District Championship Seasons: (since 1998): 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011

Regional Championship Seasons: 2003, 2004

Track/Field

Founded: 1995

Conference: Class AA

Home Field: Massey Energy Field 3

Main Rivals: Pike Central Hawks, Pikeville Panthers

Head Coach: Randy Casey

State Championship Individual Appearances: David Jones 2004 (L)

Volleyball

Founded: 2000

Region: 15

District: 60

Home Court: Belfry High School Gymnasium seating capacity of 2500

Main Rivals: Pike Central Hawks, Betsy Layne Bobcats

Head Coach: Autumn Chapman

Record: 25-11 (2010-11)

District Championship Seasons: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011

Regional Championship Seasons: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

Wrestling

Founded: 2009

Home Court: Belfry High School Gymnasium seating capacity of 2500

Main Rivals: Pike Central Hawks

Clubs/Organizations

Every department is represented by co-and/or extracurricular activities as listed below:

Competition

Academic Team:

Region: 15

District: 59

Main Rivals: Pike County Central High School, Phelps High School, East Ridge High School

Head Coach: Whitney Ferrell

District Championships (overall): (since 2003): 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012

District Championships (Quick Recall): (since 2003): 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012

Spelling Team

Cultural

• French Club
• German Club
• Spanish Club

Fine Arts

Art:

Art Honor Society

Chorus:

The Belfry Chorus is instructed by Debbie Evans. The chorus annually has members in the All-State chorus and performs concerts in conjunction with the Belfry Pep Band at the end of each semester.

Pep Band/Orchestra:

Belfry's music department is headed by Debbie Evans. During the football and basketball seasons, the Belfry High School Pep Band plays features such as "Louie Louie" by the Kingsmen, "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" by The Offspring, and "Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne. The most popular pep band song is the Belfry High School Fight Song, which is played several times each game. During the football season, each touchdown by Belfry is celebrated by the playing of the fight song. The 2010-2011 season will see premiers of new songs, including Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" , "We Are Who We Are" by Kesha and "Bird Is The Word" by The Trash Men.

After the basketball and football seasons, the band performs at least 2 orchestral concerts, a Christmas concert and a spring concert.

Theater/Drama:

Belfry's Performing Arts Department puts on well-known musicals and dramatic productions. The department performed their productions on the stage in the School Cafeteria until the new campus was completed in 2005. The productions now take place in the 600 seat auditorium located at the east side of the school. This program is headed by Jonna Banks.

• Performances:

Grease, Beauty and the Beast, "Sleeping Beauty", Peter Pan, It's a Wonderful Life, The Wizard of Oz, "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat", "Tom Sawyer", 'My Fair Lady", "Toy Story", "Tumbleweeds", "Annie", "Alice Through the Looking Glass"

Media

Newspaper Staff:

The "Belfry Hi-Notes" was the school's newspaper until the name changed to the "Treasure Chest" in 2008. The Newspaper Staff produces 3-4 papers per semester.

Yearbook Staff:

The Belfry High School Yearbook "The Buccaneer" has won the Golden Galleon Award through Jostens Yearbooks in the following years: 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010

• Division: KHSAA-AA
• Awards (2007-present)

• 2007/2008

1st Place Theme Development

1st Place Cover Design

2nd Place Use of Graphics

3rd Place Overall Coverage

3rd Place General Excellence

• 2008/2009

1st Place Advertising Section

2nd Place Writing Style

3rd Place General Excellence

Mathematics/Technical/Scientific

• Help Desk
• Mu Alpha Theta
• Robotics Team
• Student Technology Leadership Program (STLP)
• Science Club

Professional

• Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA)
• Family Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA)
• Future Teachers of America (FTA)
• Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA)
• National Beta Club
• Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC)
• Vocational Industrial Clubs of America (VICA)

Leadership/Other

• 4-H Club
• Club 121
• Co-Ed Y
• Environmental Club
• Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA)
• National Honor Society
• Pike County Youth Leadership Council
• Principal's Cabinet
• Proficiency Advisory Council
• Robotics
• SADD
• Science Club
• Spirit Team
• UNITE
• Youth Alive

Notable alumni

• Fontaine Banks Jr. (1947): Served as the senior policy advisor to governors of Kentucky from 1960-2011
• Rick Kestner (1962): University of Kentucky Football standout. Was all SEC 1964-1965. Played for Baltimore Colts and Miami Dolphins. Died on September 25, 2009.
• Janet Stumbo (1972): First woman from the 7th Judicial District to be elected to the Kentucky Court of Appeals. First woman elected to the Kentucky Supreme Court
• James Ramey (1974): University of Kentucky Football standout. Played Defensive End for St. Louis Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
• Kathy Spinks Grizzell (1984): University of Tennessee Basketball Standout. Started on the UT National Championship team in 1987.
• R. D. Hall (1992): Comic book author. Most notably for NBC's Heroes.

External links

• BelfryKy.com
• Belfry High School official website
• [2]