LIBERTY — The Liberty High School principal and bookkeeper placed on paid administrative leave after a school records audit in February were arrested last week, with the principal accused of stealing more than $10,000 from LHS and the School District of Pickens County.

EASLEY — Richard H. Gettys, a prominent, highly-regarded figure in Pickens County, died Sunday at the age of 80.

SIX MILE — After months of volunteer work and thousands of donations, the Community Library of Six Mile officially opened its doors to the public with a ribbon cutting ceremony Monday morning.
The one-room library, located at the intersection of S.C. 183 and S.C. 137 in Six Mile, has around 8,000 books stocking its shelves, according to committee chair Brenda Rippy.

Rocky Nimmons/Courier

Longtime Pickens County newspaper publisher and columnist Jerry Alexander signs a copy of one of his most recent books for a pair of readers at a special signing held at Poor Richard’s during Saturday’s annual Spring Fling in downtown Easley. Hundreds converged on Easley to take in the sights and sounds of the annual celebration of the beginning of spring.

county — Compared with the packed auditoriums and impassioned public pleas that defined the prior two Pickens County school board meetings, Monday night’s called board meeting bordered on anti-climactic.

The primary focus of the meeting was a report on the latest general fund budget draft from district executive director of financial services Missy Campbell, following the board’s decision to eliminate 84 SDPC positions last week.

COUNTY — The Pickens County Sheriff’s Office and Easley Police Department have partnered with Cannon Memorial and Baptist Easley Hospitals to participate in the Drug Enforcement Administration’s “National Pill Take-Back Day,” Saturday, April 30, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
The general public can prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous, expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

EASLEY — The board of trustees of the Nalley Brown Nature Park have embarked on a strategic planning and business design formulation process in preparation for a feasibility study to determine community support for a state of the art Environmental Education Center on a 38-acre site in Easley.
The facility will be a key feature of the site housing labs, meeting rooms, lecture and interpretation spaces. The 38 acres is currently a mixed scrub of small saplings, overgrowth of exotics and some exceptional hardwoods.

COUNTY — Two more SDPC schools — B.J. Skelton Career Center and Pickens High School — have earned recognition in the Palmetto Gold and Palmetto Silver awards program.
The South Carolina Department of Education announced today that the c