Members of the Suzuki Strings Ensemble from Hendrix Elementary School perform prior to the March school board meeting.

District Two school board Chairperson Connie Smith convened trustees in regular monthly session n March 9 with all trustees and Superintendent Dr. Scott Mercer in attendance. Following approval of the agenda and February minutes, the board issued recognitions to spelling bee winners, writing contest winners, athletic state champions, and to Hendrix Elementary School for achieving International Baccalaureate certification.

Dr. Quincie Moore then introduced Jennifer Evins, representing the Spartanburg County Foundation. Evins presented information concerning the 40/30 challenge project in Spartanburg County,  which aims to have 40 percent of persons over the age of 25 have at least a BA degree by the year 2030. Evins emphasized that this degree level will be necessary to attract and meet the employee needs of companies considering working in Spartanburg County.

Dr. Moore then stated that the PASS writing test for grades 3-8 was coming up as well as MAP testing. Moore said that in the curriculum update project grade K5 was being updated and that the PE curriculum update would take place over the summer. Moore informed the board that Hendrix Elementary School is meeting with next year’s second grade parents and initiating single - gender classes at that level. Moore then played a DVD entitled “Volcano Story” which was produced by a single - gender class at Boiling Springs Intermediate School. 

Also, Dr. Moore said that 11 Fine Arts instructors in the district will be attending workshops at Winthrop University.  Lastly, Dr. Moore stated that implementation of the 100 book challenge was at the 99 percent level in 7 of 9 elementary schools and at 100 percent in the other two.

For the rest of the news, see this week’s Boiling Springs Sentry.

Junior Natalie Pack was crowned Miss Boiling Springs High School and also won the talent competition. Of her win Natalie Pack said, “Oh, this is so exciting. It is an honor because all of these girls are so great. I want to thank my parents who supported me through this.” Pack is the daughter of Sean and Rhonda Pack.

In the Miss BSHS category Katie Brown won the academic award. Miss Senior winner was Shannon Daniel who also won the senior academic award and overall interview award. Selected as Miss Junior was Hilary Martin,  who also took the junior academic award. In the Miss Sophomore competition Tiara Beason came out on top with that crown. In overall competition Ashley Hall was named Miss Photogenic and Anna Pless won the sponsorship award. Selected by the competitors was Marshanda Shadrix as Miss Congeniality.

The event was emceed by Autumn McAbee, Miss Boiling Springs High 2006, Hillary Bradshaw, Miss Boiling Springs High 2008, and Caroline Byrd, Miss Boiling Springs High 2009. Entertainment was provided by Caroline Byrd, and Autumn McAbee and Robert Andrews. Winners were crowned by high school Principal Chuck Gordon.

Students from the environmental class taught at Boiling Springs High School by Sandy Phillips-Long began a project on January 29 to clean-up and study the water and surroundings of “The Springs” site.

Before they began the project, students researched water quality factors.

Phillips-Long stated on an  email, “The water will be analyzed using handheld computers which will benefit the students by knowing how to use them already when they go to college.”

Another class will perform the same tests on the stream by the high school and compare them with The Springs water over the next five or six months to provide long-range comparison results.

Students also performed maintenance tasks like removing debris and trash from the water and surrounding area.

The Boiling Springs Business Association had dinner at Grandma’s Kitchen on February 11 prior to their regular monthly meeting.

After the meal,  Association Vice President Eric Hayler gave a presentation on Business Networking which gave tips about how to network to improve business. County Councilman O’Neal Mintz then spoke and said that once again the county was looking at a “tough budget year” and  work on the budget would begin with a workshop on March 4, 2010. Mintz also said that he was working towards improvements for Seay Road and 4th Street in the Boiling Springs area.

For the rest of the story, see this week’s Boiling Springs Sentry.

Four days after 11 Boiling Springs boys basketball players did not attend practice in protest of head coach Glenn Reese, Jr., the Bulldogs finally took the court for the season’s final game against Byrnes.

Five of the 11 who walked out on the team - C.J. Mack, Ryan Petrea, Trey McKinney, Christian Durrah and Alec Tuner - were allowed by Reese to rejoin the team.

Carl Drummond and Jordan Wallace never left. Xavier Page, Joseph Rice, and Gary Jeter joined the squad from the J.V. team.
Somehow, out of the chaos of the last few days, the Bulldogs summoned the will to pull out a 56-54 victory, leading by as many as 15 points in the second half and holding off a late Byrnes charge.

For the rest of the story, see his week’s Boiling Springs Sentry.

Last Wednesday was a banner day for the Boiling Springs Bulldogs.

The football program saw five players sign scholarship offers with Division I schools, including two with SEC programs. In total, the players gathered $875,000 in scholarship money. The five players were the most ever from the Boiling Springs football program to sign scholarships.

“This is a great day for Boiling Springs High School, for these players, and for their families,” said principal Chuck Gordon at the school’s signing ceremony. “It’s wonderful that these guys are going to get a chance to continue their football careers while getting an education.”

Austin Crowe will play at The Citadel, Issac Lowrance signed with Charleston Southern, Ryan Petrea will attend Wofford, Logan Stewart signed with Vanderbilt, and Dylan P. Thompson will play at South Carolina.

For the rest of the story, see this week’s Boiling Springs Sentry.

When Boiling Springs firefighter Kellie Hughes moved from North Carolina to the Cowpens area in 1998,  she was surrounded by family members that were involved in firefighting. It wasn’t long before Hughes wanted to participate as well,  and as she said, “I got tired of watching them ride off on the fire trucks”, so Hughes began volunteering herself.

Hughes became certified in 1998 through the South Carolina Fire Academy and has been a paid firefighter since 2006. Hughes is now a Firefighter II, an EMT basic, certified in swift water I and II rescue, and is a qualified fire vehicle driver. She also added, “Firefighting requires constant training and updating and especially here at our station. The Chief is committed to training and something is always going on.”

Hughes said she likes the firefighting field because, “it is never boring. I had an office job at one time and found out I am just not that type. As a firefighter I have to constantly keep re-evaluating my skills to make sure I am doing the right thing for a patient or a victim of some tragedy.”

For the rest of the story, see this week’s Boiling Springs Sentry.

Boiling Springs Area Council President Cindi Knox convened the council for their annual retreat on January 18  during which they heard updates and information from various speakers of interest.

First to speak was State House Representative Steve Parker. Parker said that in the next legislative session,  to begin on January 19, legislators would be looking carefully at what impact new laws or regulations would have on individuals, families, and the community as a whole.

Representative Parker said the main emphasis would be on job creation, economic development, and education. Parker said another item to be looked at was the Employment Security Commission. He said, “Currently, a person can get fired from a job for just cause and still reap the unemployment benefit with only minimum penalty. We need to fix that.”

Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright (pictured above) announced some programs the department is initiating in the community. The first is the “Alive at 25” seminar which is designed to reduce traffic fatalities among people ages 15 to 25. The second program will be a program to heighten residents’ awareness of crime prevention and a series of public service announcements advertising things citizens can do to protect themselves against crime.

For the rest of the story, see this week’s Boiling Springs Sentry.

Following a musical performance by several members of the Boiling Springs Elementary School honor choir on the evening of January 12, District Two School Board Chairwoman Connie Smith convened the board in regular session with nine trustees and School Superintendent Dr. Scott Mercer in attendance.

Minutes from the November 2009 meeting were submitted and approved. Personnel Director Dr. Kristi Woodall then presented National Board Certifications certificates to 13 newly certified teachers from District Two.

Following that Dr. Woodall administered the oath of office to newly elected school board trustee Craig Sims and presented the outgoing board chairman a plaque in recognition of his service.

For the rest of the story, see this week’s Boiling Springs Sentry.

The quiet of Sunday morning church services was shattered by gunfire in downtown Spartanburg over the weekend as Spartanburg County sheriff’s deputies shot and killed an armed suspect following a robbery and chase shortly after 11 a.m.

According to Spartanburg County Sheriff’s spokesman Tony Ivey, deputies had been summoned to an armed robbery call at the Li’l Cricket at the intersection of Valley Falls Road and Lone Oak Road just before 11 a.m. when responding officers spotted the suspect fleeing up Asheville Hwy toward Hearon Circle.

Shortly thereafter the pursuit ended after one of the pursuing deputies rammed the suspect car causing it to crash against the raised curb on West Henry Street just below the main post office. The suspect then exited the vehicle and pointed a rifle at deputies who then shot and killed him.

Spartanburg County Coroner Rusty Clevenger identified the suspect as Billy Leonard Gowan, 51, of 122 Bermuda Ln in Inman. Clevenger said Gowan died from blood loss secondary to gunshot wounds.

For the rest of the story, see this week’s Boiling Springs Sentry. For more area news, visit www.BoilingSpringsSentry.com