Tragic as it was, Stokes's death set off an avalanche of goodwill that has left residents of Dora (pop. 500) feeling pretty good about their town. The day after his death, Clayton's classmates piled into vans and drove to the Stokeses' home. There, they handed a $3,000 check—their entire prom fund—to his devastated parents, Jim, 48, and Cathi, 45, so they could bury their youngest boy. "We never thought twice about it," says Kassandra Clark, 16. The rest of the school chipped in, raising another $4,000. "They floored us," says Jim, a construction worker. "For them to love my boy so much to give up their prom," adds Cathi. "It didn't take the pain away, but it eased it."
That was only the beginning. Local radio host Steve Rooney and his cohost got wind of the gesture, and on the day Clayton was laid to rest, they asked listeners for donations so the kids could have their prom. "We couldn't answer the phones fast enough," he says. The juniors, who had held a sleepover at classmate Ashley Carter's house, tuned in while dressing for the memorial. "We had to redo our makeup," says Carter. "We all kept crying."
The money kept coming—$22,000 so far, some of it to create a scholarship fund in Clayton's name. And on April 24, Dora High will have a prom. What would Clayton think of it all? "He'd go, 'Dang, golly,' " says Travis Belcher, his best friend. "He wouldn't believe it, but he'd be pretty proud."
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Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
