For the rest of the story, read this week’s Woodruff News.

By Brandon L. Leonard
HOMETOWN NEWS
Dozens of yellow balloons faded into low-hanging clouds on Jan. 21 as area residents gathered to remember and honor babies who lived only a few seconds or minutes after birth.
“I hope everyone in Woodruff knows about Perinatal ComfortCare after today,” said TJ Norris, husband of Hannah Burgess Norris and the couple who organized the balloon release benefit in memory of their daughter Sadie Mae. “I’m praying wherever these balloons land they will let more people hear about Perinatal ComfortCare and what they do.”
Hannah and TJ went in for what they thought would be a routine pregnancy exam in September 2010 only to find out their unborn daughter was diagnosed with a fatal disorder, bi-lateral renal agenesis, or missing kidneys. With help from Tammy Tate of Perinatal ComfortCare, the couple made the courageous decision to carry Sadie Mae to term in spite of the fatal diagnosis.
“You get told your baby’s not going to live and this lady comes in and is there with a plan and helps advise you through a difficult time,” TJ said.

For the rest of the story, read this week’s Woodruff News.

By Brandon L. Leonard
HOMETOWN NEWS

An anonymous letter surprised District Four staff over the Christmas holidays.
The two-sentence note postmarked leaving Greenville on Dec. 16 did not include a name or return address but did include $5.
“Dear Sir,” the letter reads. “I went to the Woodruff Public School in the 1940s. Enclosed is $5.00 for some candy I took without paying for it.”
The letter arrived to the District Four administrative offices the week before Christmas. During the holiday break, people who work at the office will go by the Woodruff Post Office to pick up the mail and bring it in on their way to the office.
Assistant Superintendent Dr. Glen Carson said he got this letter and other mail from the mailroom on Dec. 26 to divvy out.  The letter was opened by Dr. W. Rallie Liston, who then shared the letter with other staff members because of its unique nature.

For the rest of the story, read this week’s Woodruff News.

Woodruff resident Tony Kennedy was arrested by deputies on Dec. 28 and charged with criminal domestic violence - first offense, according to the deputy’s report.
Kennedy represents Ward 5 on the Woodruff City Council.
The 50-year-old Woodruff man had been taking "a lot of pills and drinking a lot," according to his wife, the report stated. He also had been crying often and not sleeping any, according to the report.
An argument between Kennedy and his wife started when she tried to leave their 151 Irby St. home to go to Laurens. Kennedy tried to stop his wife from leaving and told her he "would strong her" and asked her to pay attention to him.
According to the report, the couple was arguing over a cell phone.
Kennedy then grabbed his wife by the arm and raised his fist to seemingly punch her before retreating, the wife told deputies, according to the report.
Deputies also spoke with the couple’s son, who arrived home while his parents were arguing.
The son only heard parts of the argument and said Kennedy came into his room, asked the boy where his phone was and searched the clothes his son was wearing looking for the phone.

For the rest of the story, read this week’s Middle Tyger Times.

By Brandon L. Leonard
HOMETOWN NEWS

January 11 will mark the 25th anniversary of the Woodruff High School fire.
In memory of the event, The Woodruff News interviewed teachers, a student and a volunteer firefighter who had close ties with the old school.
The fire was the final act of a two-night vandalism spree by a group of three Woodruff students.
A 16-year-old and two 11-year-old Spartanburg County District Four students spray painted obscenities on the outside of Woodruff Primary School and broke a few windows to the facility trying to get inside on Jan. 9. Then, on Jan. 10, the boys broke into the former Woodruff High School, painting obscenities, swirls and KKK on the walls, ripping apart library books, smashing trophy cases and taking school supplies and videotapes.
The boys left, then returned early on the morning of Jan. 11 with a plastic 2-liter soda bottle filled with 30 cents worth of gasoline and splashed the fuel around the school’s front office area before igniting it. Eleven hours later, the gymnasium and a new four-classroom addition were the only things still standing.

For the rest of the story, read this week’s Woodruff News.

What TJ Sevin asked for as a Christmas gift this year surprised his parents and relatives.
The nine-year-old McCormick, SC boy wanted to use some of his Christmas money to make the wish of a Woodruff resident battling cancer come true.
“I made a Christmas wish come true for someone I love, for someone that makes me happy,” TJ said.
The Boy Scout traveled two hours to the Woodruff home of Roy Donnells, bringing Christmas lights, red bows, strings of pine and more to decorate the sixty – year - old’s porch and thirty-foot-tall pine tree with the help of local Boy Scouts and their scoutmaster.
For Donnells, who was first diagnosed with rectal cancer three years ago, and whose cancer has now spread to his liver and lungs, this Christmas is singularly precious.
“It makes me feel good” to see the house and tree decorated, Donnells said. “I just mentioned it one time that I’d like to have it.”

For the rest of the story, read this week’s Woodruff News.

Parents and relatives of a missing 21 – month - old experienced a Christmas miracle on Dec. 17 when officers found the toddler alive and sleeping on the banks of the Tyger River after a 25-hour hunt.
“The Lord must have held Jason in the palm of His hand protecting him until he was rescued,” said Sheriff Chuck Wright in an announcement that the Cross Anchor boy had been found around 2:30 p.m. Dec. 17.
The 21 month old led search and rescue personnel on a 25-hour hunt after wandering away from his home early in the afternoon on Dec. 16.
At about 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 16, the Spartanburg County Communications Center received a call reporting a missing child in the Cross Anchor area.
Deputies traveled to 250 E. Blackstock Road and learned 21-month-old Jason Burton had managed to open a kitchen door that led outside and wandered off.

For the rest of the story, read this week’s Woodruff News.

It wasn’t supposed
to end this way…

After months of workouts, summer passing tournaments in sweltering temperatures, and 13 games of unblemished football, the Wolverines seemed destined to bring home state championship number 11 to Woodruff after a 27 year drought.  It wasn’t meant to be.  The Wolverines fell to the Wolves of Timberland 20-3 in the 2A Division I state title game Friday night at Benedict College.
Woodruff (13-1) started off the game strong and appeared to be on their way to seizing an early lead.  However, the Wolverines lost starting senior QB Ryan Perkins late in the second quarter, and any momentum they may have had went with him as Timberland (14-1) walked away with the title.
The Wolverines received the ball to start the game.  Perkins marched his troops down the field on a 10 play drive, completing passes to four different receivers.  Facing fourth down and three at the Timberland 19 yard line, however, the drive stalled when the Wolves’ Lee Mayes intercepted a Perkins’ pass.
Timberland then proceeded to kill off the final nine minutes of the quarter.  Using their punishing ground game led by the two-headed monster of Classe Thompson and Daquan Lucas, the Wolves mounted a 21 play drive that was culminated by a one yard touchdown dive by their third back, Roderick McCray.

For the rest of the story, read this week’s Woodruff News.

By Ernie Lambert
HOMETOWN NEWS

It is not a common thing to see tears running down through the eyeblack underneath a player’s eyes, especially when that player is on the winning team.
Yet that is what one could see on Ryan Perkins’ face as he stood under the goalposts and watched the ecstatic crowd of his fellow players, coaches, parents and fans who flooded the field after Woodruff’s victory over Strom Thurmond for the 2A-Level I Upper-State Championship last Friday night.
“I can’t explain the way I feel right now,” the record-setting senior stated. “We executed our plan, we performed well and accomplished this…it just feels so good.”
And that feeling, if possible, was made even sweeter by the fact that these 2011 Wolverines once again clawed back to victory after trailing a truly fine Strom Thurmond team.
Before one of the largest and loudest crowds in W.L. Varner Stadium history, Woodruff got on the board first as Taylor Green kicked a 19 yard field goal.

For the rest of the story, read this week’s Woodruff News.

Photo by William Buchheit

Woodruff wide receiver Christian Simmons picks up yardage against Strom Thurmond last Friday.

By Garrett Mitchell

The Woodruff Wolverines are no strangers to the territory they now find themselves in.  For the second straight year, and for the third time in the past four, the Wolverines will be playing for the Upper-state championship.  Woodruff has fallen twice in this game in 2008 and 2010 and now they are hoping the third time is the charm.
Standing in the Wolverines’ way are the Rebels from Strom Thurmond High School.  Both teams are 12-0 and from the start of the season it seemed pre-destined that these teams would finally meet in a contest that has been anticipated by both fan bases for the past four years since the Rebels came to 2A after leaving the 3A ranks.  When both teams participated in the Clinton preseason jamboree there was a moment of tension between the two squads as Woodruff was leaving the field and Thurmond was entering.  For a brief moment both teams started at each other as if they were prize fighters anticipating the big bout.  Now, that game has arrived.
The Rebels come into the game on the strength of a cast of solid playmakers on both sides of the ball, which have carried them to an undefeated campaign thus far.  Strom Thurmond will be without the services of offensive do-it-all Darrius Hammond.  However, the Rebels still have plenty of horses in the stable. 

For the rest of the story, read this week’s Woodruff News.