JANUARY
• In an interview with Hometown News,  State House District 37 Representative Ralph Davenport reveals a plan to consolidate school districts in Spartanburg County. Davenport states that the plan will “probably cost me my house seat.” Although his plan was shelved before any legislative action was taken on it, Davenport was defeated in the November elections by Steve Parker.
• Hendrix Elementary School in District Two begins a cultural exchange program with Izumi Chuo Kindergarten School in Gifu City, Japan. During the year teachers from Hendrix visited Japan and Japanese educators visited Boiling Springs, SC.

FEBRUARY
• The Boiling Springs Branch Library breaks ground for a major renovation of the existing building. The library relocates to KVC Plaza on Highway 9 during the renovation of the current library building.
• The new Ragan’s Stop and Go convenience store re-opens at the intersection of Highways 9 and 292 after the landmark store had been destroyed in a fire in late 2006.
• School District Two Board of Trustees awards the firm of McGarity, Gilmore, and Forrester of Spartanburg the architectural contract for the new Rainbow Lake Middle School to be built on River Oak Road near the old lake site.

MARCH
• United States House Representative Bob Inglis representing South Carolina hosts a town hall meeting at the Upstate Family Resource Center to discuss health care issues.
• The students at Boiling Springs Intermediate School put together 1100 projects and present them at the school’s Science Fair.

APRIL
• The Vietnam Memorial Traveling Wall comes to USC Upstate for an exhibition. In excess of 23,000 people view the wall during the 4 - day period.
• Peggy Blackwell and daughter Mitzi Kirsch of Century 21 Realty announce that they will open a real estate office in Boiling Springs in May 2008.
• The annual Crappie Fishing Tournament sponsored by Highway 9 Auto Stop and owner Steve Edwards draws the largest field yet with 89 teams entered. A record two - and - one - half pound crappie is caught by contestant Amber Easler.

MAY
• Four hundred and twenty-eight seniors graduate from Boiling Springs High School. As a class they garner more than 8 million dollars in scholarship funds.
• Special Olympians from Boiling Springs Junior High School participate in the Special Olympics at the South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind.

JUNE
• School District Two Board of Trustees name Kim Ashby the new principal at Boiling Springs Elementary School. Ashby previously was the principal at Beech Springs Intermediate School in District 5.
• Hope Remains Youth Ranch opens its gates. The ranch offers equine - based programs to help troubled youth.

JULY
• The Lee family, long - time operators of Lee Furniture and Appliance, open under the banner of Badcock and More Home Furniture.

AUGUST
• The Upstate Family Resource Center gives away more than 240 sets of backpacks and school supplies to underprivileged children in School District Two.
• The Boiling Springs Marching Bulldog band premieres in front of a capacity crowd at the Ninth Grade campus football field. The band has a successful competition season and finishes third in the state in class 4A.

SEPTEMBER
• Evangelists from Team Impact visit Boiling Springs First Baptist Church and spread the gospel through feats of strength.
• Superintendent Yoshihiro Asano of the Izumi Chuo School in Gifu City, Japan and 14 other Japanese educators visit Boiling Springs again as part of an ongoing cultural exchange program. Asano receives a Key to the City from Spartanburg Mayor Bill Barnet and a US Flag from State Senator Glenn Reese.
OCTOBER
• Members of Boiling Springs High School class of 2010 receive their class rings during a ceremony at the high school.
• Juliana Olivieri is selected 2008 Boiling Springs High School Homecoming Queen. Second runner-up is Raven Guy  and first runner-up is Cayce Tate. Olivieri was sponsored by football player Chris Jeter.

NOVEMBER
• State Highway Commissioner Hugh Atkins announces at a meeting of the Boiling Springs Area Council that final approval has been given to the Highway 9 widening project and that it will begin in 2010. The plan calls for four, 12 - foot driving lanes, bikes paths, walking paths, and green areas from Rainbow Lake Road to Seay Road.
• A two million dollar bond referendum to support purchasing of land and the building of a new firehouse to replace the 30 - year - old plus current building is approved by voters in the November election of an overwhelming 4405-1974 total.
• The Boiling Springs Branch Library renovation is completed ahead of schedule and is re-opened with nearly double the capacity of services.

• The Boiling Springs Business Association holds its annual Thanksgiving Banquet. During the banquet Mike Brady is named Citizen of the year, Hometown News reporter David Stephens receives an award of gratitude for journalistic support of the community, Steve Edwards is named the Citizen in Action, and Fire Chief LeRoy Searcy is given the Edgar Gregory Memorial Award.

DECEMBER
• The Hutchings-Caldwells Marine Corp Detachment in conjunction with the Spartanburg County Victim Advocates office gives 13 children a Christmas by shopping with them at Wal-Mart in Boiling Springs.
• The Boiling Springs Christmas parade, sponsored by the Jaycees, brings Christmas to town with more than 70 units in the parade.

All of his life, Billy Gowan has been an avid reader and a book lover. By his estimation he has read “thousands” of books of every genre. Now, that love of books has led to the fulfillment of a dream of owning a bookstore. Gowan moved to Boiling Springs about two years ago after owning and operating a furniture store in Pawley’s Island for thirteen years. He had family here, along with the fact that his dad, now deceased, lived here for twenty years.
Initially, after moving here Gowan worked selling furniture for another store. During that time he met his wife, Wendi, at a church when he stopped to ask what time they held services. When they moved into a new home together
 Gowan had so many books he was going to have to have build new bookshelves to cover one entire room.
Then, as fate would have it, he was driving down Highway 9 one day and saw a sign that announced the gift shop, Daffodils and Butterflies, was closing. Gowan stopped in and began a deal with the owner that day to take over the building and open a bookstore. The Book Store & More opened in mid-September of this year. Now, the bookstore, formerly a four - room cottage, is one of those rare places today that genuinely has that “mom and pops” store atmosphere.
One customer in the store said, “It is rare to find a store that has personal service and knowledgeable people anymore. This place has all of that.”
Billy Gowan also believes that his deceased dad is looking over his venture because, “When I arranged to get a phone in the store, AT&T gave me the old phone number that my dad had when he was living. I believe that was a sign he is watching from heaven,” Gowan said.
The Book Store & More offers thousands of paperback and hardcover books in categories of children’s books, theology, fiction, non-fiction, biographies, true crime, westerns, science fiction and fantasy, and Christian fiction. Audio books are also available. New and used books are in the store and Gowan offers trade in credit for most books. The Christian - themed gift portion has t-shirts, hoodies, candles, mugs, hats, bags, figurines, and more. Gowan has just begun a children’s Christian story hour on Wednesdays from 10:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. Free coffee is served all day every day. Thursday evenings feature live variety and Christian contemporary music. Mostly, Billy Gowan sells and trades books.
Gowan said, “Books are a true gift. You can open them again and again. Reading is a way to travel to places you may never get to go and to learn.”
The store is drawing customers from all over the local area and even visitors passing through the area. Gowan said, “My favorite thing about the bookstore is the wonderful people I meet. They start as customers and become friends. I love to see the goodness of mankind in action. This store is my outlet to exercise my love of books and to share my faith in God.”
Gowan, who has recently joined the Boiling Springs Business Association, said,
“My wife and I are very excited to be a part of this community. I want to grow my responsibility to Boiling Springs as my business grows.”
The Bookstore & More is located at 112 McColloch Road, Boiling Springs, di-rectly behind the Rite-Aid Pharmacy. Store hours are
10 a.m. - 6 p.m., Monday-
Saturday.
For more information call Billy Gowan at 864-578-7939.

Davidson’s Clothing Store in Chesnee has been in business since 1928 when Sam Davidson opened the general merchandise store near the center of town next to the then Blackwell Funeral Home. Later, Sam Davidson moved to a corner building next to Rexall Drugs that now houses part of Watson Furniture Company where the store remained until 1954.
In the meantime, David-son’s daughter, Jeannette, in 1941 married Jack Fink-
elstein. Together, Jeannette
and Jack ran a general merchandise store in Inman in a rented building that was formerly a pool hall called “The Dead Rat.” In 1950 after Jeannette’s father Sam Davidson died, they took over the Davidson store in Chesnee. In 1954 they moved to a building at 121 S. Alabama Avenue bought from Furman Bran-non where the store has been ever since.
The Finkelsteins ran that
store together until 1957 when Jack died. Jeannette then kept the store because “It was all I really knew and I had four children to raise.” So ever since that time “Miss Jeannette,” as she is  known, has commuted six
days a week to the Chesnee store from Spartanburg and the home she has lived in for over 60 years.
“Well, except for a three-week period after I had aortic heart valve replacement,” she says.
Now, however, as she approaches her 90th birthday, she is ready to retire. She said, “I have just de-cided that it is time and I do not want to be working on my 90th birthday.”
Asked about what she plans to do, she says, “Stay home and do nothing. I do like to watch some television like Judge Judy and Walker, Texas Ranger. It is
going to be a hard adjustment after so long of doing something every day of your
life, but I am ready. If I get too bored, I’ll get involved in some volunteer work.”
Miss Jeannette continued, “I really love this town
and its people. I also love fashion and the satisfaction I get from helping someone dress nice and look nice.”
Jeannette Finkelstein also sends this message, “I want to thank every loyal customer who ever came into my store for many, many good years. The people have helped make my time here very enjoyable.”
Miss Jeannette will un-doubtedly be missed in Chesnee. Angelique Smith, Executive Director of the Carolina Foothills Artisan Center said, “My goodness, Miss Jeannette is Chesnee. It is hard to imagine a day without her in that store. She is going to be greatly missed.”

Randy Foster, President of the Boiling Springs Ar-
ea Council, convened that council in regular session on November 13. Leading
off the meeting was guest
speaker Hugh Atkins, co-
mmissioner for the SCDOT.
Atkins stated that at the most recent meeting of the Spartanburg Area Transportation committee (SPATS) approval had been given for the existing portions of the Highway 9 widening project. Atkins said that the committee had authorized four 12-foot driving lanes, five-foot bike paths, green spaces, and walking paths from Rainbow Lake Road to Seay Road past Oakland Elementary School and the Junior High School. Fifteen - foot grassed medians were also approved, but those are contingent on acceptance of maintenance of them by the county. Atkins also said it was specified that property and business owners needs would be considered in construction of turn lanes.
Atkins  asked that people understand that none of this widening is going to begin prior to 2010. He further said that the widening of Highway 9 from Seay Road to Highway 292 is not even funded and probably won’t be until 2023 or beyond. Atkins further said that while intersection improvements along Old Furnace Road are still on go, widening of that road “is not in even the distant future.”
Atkins further stated that the $200,000 enhancement money recently granted to USC Upstate for the planting of trees was not “education money” but rather from a fund set up for projects such as this.
Atkins was asked why some of the already funded projects like the traffic light synchronization and the improvements at Hanging Rock and Old Furnace
Roads were still not completed. Atkins replied, “In my opinion it is because “someone” at SPATS does not have their finger on the pulse of projects in Boiling Springs.”
Atkins continued by com-
menting on “working with the inefficiencies of bureaucracy and government is difficult and that sometimes
you have to work with what you have.”
After the meeting Com-missioner Atkins spoke via
telephone with a state en-gineer involved with the light synchronization project who said that project is underway and should be completed by late winter or early spring.
In other business, council member Harold Rakes made an observation about all the new business construction going on in Boiling Springs. Chairperson of the
beautification committee,
Louise Rakes stated that she is to meet soon with a
landscaper about needs around Boiling Springs.
With no further business
on the agenda council ad-journed at 5:15 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for December 11 at 4 p.m. in the Upstate Family Re-source Center.

A festive crowd gathered on the evening of November 20 in the Boil-ing Springs High School cafeteria for the 29th an-
nual Boiling Springs Bus-
iness Association Thanks-
giving Banquet. After the
presentation of the Col-ors, those in attendance shared fellowship and en-joyed a traditional holiday fare of Thanksgiving turkey and dressing as they were entertained by comedian Ron Felkers as “Fearless Fife.”
Business Association President Mike Brady then spoke of the successes of the association and outlined a major goal for 2009. Brady said, “With the economy as it is and seemingly getting worse every day, one major goal of the business association is going to be to form close relationships and a network with businesses in Boiling Springs to keep money here and our economic outlook bright.”
An announcement was made that the Dupree Brady Memorial Scholarship, the Gerald Moore Scholarship from the business association, and the Pioneer Scholarship granted by the Boiling Springs Community Park committee would be awarded at the Boiling Springs High School senior awards night in May 2009.
Next, four community service awards were presented as follows: Mike Brady was named the Business Association 2008 Citizen of the Year, Fire Chief LeRoy Searcy was the Edgar Gregory Memorial award winner, Steve Ed-wards was named the community park committee’s Citizen in Action, and Hometown News reporter David Stephens was given an Award of Gratitude by the Boiling Springs Fire Department for journalistic support of the fire department and the Boiling Springs Community.
The event concluded with the presentation of traditional door prize awards hosted by Cleon Graves and Doug Cheatwood.

When the newly renovated Boil-ing Springs Branch Library re-opened on November 10, it was with an expansion in every aspect of the library. The entire library features a bright, airy look enhanced by the natural lighting shining through the added windows. The book section is double the previous size and computer public access capability is doubled as well.
In the video media section, the movie selection has grown. The staff now has extra work and storage space along with expanded meet-
ing rooms. Outside there is more parking and a book return drop.
Branch Librarian Jean Foster was beaming because of the new facility and said, “We are very thankful to be back in this wonderful new facility. It was called a renovation, but I think people will see a whole new place. We are very proud to be able to serve the public with a facility like they deserve. Everything is twice the size and we look forward to heavy usage of the library.”
Foster also said that a library favorite, children’s story time will return on November 25. Refer to the community calendar for library hours and the story time schedule.

By a vote of 4405 to 1974, the residents of the Boiling Springs fire district gave overwhelming approval for the issue of a two million dollar bond to finance a new fire station for Boiling Springs. At the fire house, the mood was one of relief and happiness.
Fire Chief Leroy Searcy said, “This is great for the community and the fire department. I was still out last night at midnight gathering vote totals from the Boiling Springs precincts. It was good to see the support that we received. The station house we are in now is over 30 years old and just does not meet our needs anymore.”

In addition, the current station house has suffered numerous mold problems in recent years, causing illness to some firefighters. Searcy continued “The Board of Commissioners will meet Monday night and sign the resolution, and as I understand it, then it is filed by our attorneys and put out for bids to the banks. We are already in negotiations for a 3-acre parcel of land on Rainbow Lake Road and soil tests have already been done. Our aim was to be as close to the center of Boiling Springs as we could. That center is probably Old Furnace Road and this land is pretty close.”

The commissioners will start the search for an architect soon and plan to form a committee to look at other facilities and fire stations to get ideas for what they can build to suit the needs of Boiling Springs. A tentative target date to be in the new fire house is February 2010.

In conclusion, Chief Searcy wanted to tell the community, “Thank you so much for your support. The community came to our aid in our time of need.”

Following a singing performance by students from Carlisle-Foster’s Grove Elementary School, the District Two school Board of Trustees convened in monthly session on Oct-ober 14 with nine trustees and Superintendent Dr. Scott Mercer in attendance. Minutes from the September meeting were submitted and approved.

Public Relations Director Rhonda Henderson gave out certificates of appreciation to several district school teachers who had successfully pursued and been granted EIA grants which will benefit instructional activities at their respective schools.
Then, Kelley Ezell, Ex-ecutive Director of the Upstate Family Resource Center in Boiling Springs which serves children and families of District Two updated the trustees about services and programs that are available at the Center. Some of those include GED, ESOL, Parenting Teen services, healthy babies, Har-vest Family Ministry, a food pantry, food drives, school supplies, low cost child care through the YMCA, computer labs for learning, Family Therapy, and positive behavior reinforcement programs. Ezell said that 500 families have been helped through the Resource Center and reiterated that caring about families is the mission of the Upstate Family Resource Center.

Next, assistant superintendent of instructional services, Dr.Quincie Moore stated that a grant for the Gateway to College program had been received from the Wal-Mart Foun-dation and that program would begin in 2009. Moore said the Scholars Academy program continues to excel and that $20,000 extra grant money had been received from the U.S. Department of Education because the program had met all indicators of excellence. Dr. Moore then informed trustees that the single gender classes at Boiling Springs Intermediate School continue to be well received and flourishing. She then distributed lip gloss to the female trustee that had been made by the girls’ class as a science project. Moore stated that the task force working on configuration for the new middle school continues to meet and hopes to present some proposals to the board in the near future. Regarding internet security, Moore said that all school principals have been made aware that the system is subject to monitoring at both the local and state level at all times and that they are to make their faculties aware of that fact. Moore further stated that the district’s phone system had been upgraded in an effort to improve the ability of parents to reach their children’s school.

Director of student services, John King, then introduced John Gilmore, who provided an update on district construction projects. Gilmore said that the additions at Boiling Springs High School were at the state level for review and anticipates that project being completed in the fall of 2009. Gilmore also said that the South Carolina Department of Transportation had approved the driveway locations for the upcoming Rainbow Lake Middle School and that would be going out for bids soon. John King requested approval for two student trips which was granted. King then presented the bids submitted for the Chesnee High School auditorium and fine arts center additions. The Trustees approved the low bid of approximately 4.1 million dollars from Beam Construction. It was pointed out by Trustee Jack Mabry that Beam Construction has completed other successful projects in District Two, including the new Chesnee Elementary School.
Kristi Woodall, director of personnel informed the board that the policy manual update was still in progress and that currently section J was being worked on.

In his address to the board, assistant superintendent for finance and operations, Don Denton, provided trustees with current financial reports and received no inquiries from the board.

Rhonda Henderson, director of public relations,  stated that a signup sheet was available for several upcoming meetings and the SCSBA Delegate Assembly. Henderson also announced a new award in the district called the “You had me at hello,” award which will be used to recognize front line communicators at district schools similar to what the current Red Carpet award does for schools. To begin his Superintendent’s report, Dr. Mercer distributed to all trustees the booklet used for the annual superintendent evaluation and requested they be completed in time for the November board meeting. Mercer stated that the Boiling Springs High School swim team had recently competed in the state meet at Rock Hill and had done well.
He then addressed the traffic situation at Hendrix Elementary School that has been receiving so much attention. Mercer said that owing to exceptional effort from the school staff, the situation was much better now and students were getting into the school much earlier. Mercer than stated that over a recent weekend there had been an air conditioner failure in one of the computer server rooms causing downtime to the district’s email system. He said that a new thermostat has now been installed that will make phone call alerts to key personnel when the temperature breaks a certain level.

Dr. Mercer then advised the trustees of several action items he has implemented in light of the uncertain budget and economic situation. Mercer began the list by stating that safety would always be the top priority and would not be sacrificed. He also said he has not planned any teacher cutbacks as it is felt they are the most valuable assets in the classrooms. Mercer said that the district would delay any big equipment buys and some construction when practical. He said that travel would be closely scrutinized and that nearby training opportunities would be sought out if possible rather than distant travel. Mercer stated that some current job vacancies did not have to be filled right away and that software, hardware buys, and supply purchases would be evaluated closely. Next, Mercer stated that DSS background checks as well as State Law Enforcement Division background checks would be done on all chaperone volunteers for student trips. Dr. Mercer provided data from a research project by former Boiling Springs High School principal Gerald Moore that shows District Two is number two in the state related to expenditures per unit of student achievement, which indicates the district is getting an excellent return of investment in student achievement.

In his last item, Dr. Mercer said that while the school board and administration is non-partisan, he urged everyone to educate themselves on the candidates and the issues and to get out and vote. He also stated his intention to send out an email to all District Two personnel urging them to vote as well.

The Board of Trustees then convened in Executive Session to discuss personnel matters. The next monthly meeting is scheduled for November 11, 2008, at 7:00 p.m. at the district offices.

Ray Rogers is an American hero. As an Army Ranger in the 4th Infantry Division, Rogers not only fought on
D-Day but survived it. Now the 91-year-old Inman na-tive tells a story that will make any U.S. citizen with a beating heart proud to be an American.

Born November 22nd, 1916, Rogers grew up in In-man. He attended old Inman High School and excelled in football, basketball, and pole vaulting. Rogers would go on to work at Inman Mills until October of 1941 when he was drafted into the US Army. After receiving basic training at Fort Belvare in Virginia, he headed to Camp Gordon in Augusta, Georgia for Ranger School.

“It was some really tough training,” Rogers reflects. “In
fact it was so tough that a lot of the men didn’t make it through. I remember those 30-mile hikes with a backpack. At the end, I would take my boots off and my feet would just be bleeding.”
The Inman native successfully completed Ranger school and, in early 1944, left the states for Bove Tracey, England. Overseas, he spent 6 months training to be an Army Ranger.

“We were receiving some mine training in Bove Tracey and this one fellow accidentally touched two mine heads together and when he did, we lost 12 people. It was a horrible explosion and it was so sad.” Rogers adds.
After leaving Bove Tracey, Rogers was sent to Slapton Sands, England for even more training. Once there, tragedy struck again when the Germans sunk two US ships, killing 700 soldiers. Though he was on land at the time, he remains haunted by the events.

“Somehow the Germans slipped up in there and took all of those lives,” Rogers states. After Slapton Sands, Rog-ers found himself on one of 5000 vessels crossing the English Channel on the eve of D-Day.

“Nobody was really talking as we crossed the channel. Everyone was nervous,” Rogers says.
Then, after the troops had mentally prepared themselves for what they feared was a suicide mission, the operation was pushed back.

“You know [the attack] was supposed to be on June 5th, but the wind was blowing so bad that we couldn’t carry out our mission that day,” Rogers explains.
General Eisenhower decided to go through with the mission the following day, June 6th, after his meteorologists informed him that there would be a brief break in the bad weather in the early morning Rogers and the 4th Infa-ntry Division were to storm the Utah Beach stretch of Normandy, climb the steep embankment and proceed to Sainte-Mere-Eglise to meet up with the 182nd Airborne.

To say the mission got off to a bad start for Rogers would be an understatement. During the chaotic boarding of the small watercraft that transported Rogers and his fellow men to the beach, the Upstate native dropped his rifle into the water.
“My rifle ended up in the English Channel. I didn’t know what I was going to do,” he states.

Rogers was now in a watercraft heading wide open towards full-scale war on Normandy Beach without a firearm.
“I remember asking a sergeant what I should do and he told me to carry the bazooka. That thing was so heavy. It was made to be carried by two people,” Rodgers states. Rogers grabbed the bazooka and with his fellow soldiers stormed the beach. Amidst the chaos of battle, Rogers watched a US plane crash right near him.

“One of our planes was shot down and there were two dead soldiers in it. I took a rifle off of one of them,” Rogers explains.
Rogers then continued to engage in battle as he and his fellow soldiers headed up the banks of Utah beach towards Sainte Mere-Eglise. When he and his fellow soldiers arrived there Rogers saw some things he will never forget.
“I saw this soldier who was on his knees and he was leaning forward into the tip of his gun with the butt of the gun against the ground holding him up. It was a German soldier. I walked up behind him and punched him and he just fell over. He was already dead,” he says.

Rogers will also never forget the numerous paratroopers that were still hanging up in the trees of Sainte Mere-Eglise, most of whom had been helplessly gunned down by German fire after their parachutes tangled.

“They were everywhere. It was so awful,” he says. After joining those soldiers of the 102nd Airborne who had survived, Rogers and the 4th Infantry Division fought their way towards Montebourg, France. It was there the Upstate hero would narrowly escape death and earn his Purple Heart.

“I was coming out of a minefield I had been working in and was crossing a highway to get back to camp,” he recalls. “Right when I was in the middle of the highway I was shot in the leg by a sniper hiding out in the steeple of a nearby church. I knew I was hit bad in the leg but I never fell down. I was able to get to a ditch.”

Once Rogers made it to that ditch, two fellow soldiers picked him up and rushed him to cover. Once he made it to cover, he was placed atop a jeep to be transported to a nearby medical station.
But Rogers would soon realize he was far from out of the woods.

“I looked up and there were these two German planes spraying the highway that we were traveling on with gunfire. The driver of the jeep immediately stopped it and retreated to a ditch,” the veteran says.
Lying on top of the jeep and unable to move, Rogers assumed his life was over. But somehow, the gunfire from the two Nazi planes missed him.

“I was one of the luckiest ones, I don’t know how I did it,” he states.
Rogers would eventually be transported to a hospital near Birmingham England, where he would spend four-and-a-half months re-covering and undergoing countless operations on his wounded leg.

“When I first got into the hospital there were two doctors that were going to take my leg off and then a third doctor came in and said, ‘We don’t have to take that leg off’. That third doctor saved my leg,” he states.
After recovering, Rogers was sent back into battle in Luxembourg with the 108th AAA, where he helped gun a tank. He still remembers the harsh elements of Luxembourg.

“It was so cold. We had people that were nearly freezing to death. All the Germans fought us in white camouflage because of all the snow,” he explains.

Rogers and his company would eventually fight their way through various parts of Austria and Switzerland.
When the war ended in May of 1945, the Upstate native was sent to Heidelberg, Ger-many, where he served as a prison guard. He finally returned to the states in October of 1945 and was awarded several war medals and a Purple Heart.
Since returning home, he has gone back overseas four times and visited all of the places that made him an American hero. He and his wife have even eaten lunch in the church where the sniper was standing when he shot him more than sixty-four years ago.

The now 91-year-old Rog-ers still remains humble about the bravery he displayed. He is proud of his country and his service to it — a true hero’s tale that makes every US citizen who hears it proud to be an American.

The Boiling Springs Bull-dogs built a 16-0 lead and held off a Fort Mill rally for a 16-13 victory in their last non-region game of the season.
The Bulldogs dominated the Yellow Jackets in total yardage, piling up 352 total yards and 310 on the ground, but tossed an interception and lost three fumbles as the Jackets kept it close.
The teams traded turnovers early in the game, with the Jackets’ Danny Till tossing an interception, and the Bulldogs fumbling the ball away on the return. Boiling Springs’ defense stiffened, but a Fort Mill punt was fumbled at the Bulldogs’ 19-yard line, setting the Jackets up with great field position. The Bulldogs held again, however, and blocked a field goal to keep Fort Mill off the board.
The Bulldog defense tallied the only points of the first half on a Fort Mill punt later in the first half. Yellow Jacket punter Chris Larson corralled a bad snap in the end zone under pressure from the Bulldogs, giving Boiling Springs a 2-0 halftime lead.
In the second half, the Bulldogs had two scoring drives led by the tough running of Josh Murph. Murph finished the game with 213 rushing yards and a touchdown, and fullback Dylan R. Thompson added 58 yards and another score on just three carries.
Fort Mill got two fourth-quarter scores from Max Simons to cut the lead to three, but the Bulldogs were able to run the ball effectively and run out the clock, escaping with the win.
“The offensive line continues to do exactly what we asked them to do,” Boiling Springs head coach Bruce Clark said. “I felt like we dominated the game again up front.”
Clark said Murph, who went over the 1,000 yard mark for the season on Fri-day, provided a tough, consistent running game.
“Murph is just Murph,” Clark said. “He’s gonna get his 200 yards. He’s just a great running back. He uses every bit of the talent he has. I was proud of him, and proud of the offensive line.”
Clark said the defense’s inability to get off the field was the reason for the tight contest.
“That’s my responsibility entirely, and I’ll take the blame for it,” Clark said. “We’ll work and get better.”
The coach said a close win in what was expected to be an easy victory could benefit the team.
“It can be a learning tool if they’ll use it as that,” he said. “If they think we can still play our own game and play bad and win, then it didn’t serve its purpose. But if they realize that we weren’t mentally ready, we didn’t bring the same sense of purpose and focus, we weren’t as intense, we didn’t play with the same passion, if they put all that together, then somebody better look out Friday night. It all depends on how they look at it.”
Clark said the team would take the win, no matter the score.
“I’ve always said that if you play bad and still win, there’s good things to come,” he said.