Editor’s Note: This is the fifth and final installment of a multi-part series of interviews conducted between Courier staff reporter Nicole Daughhetee and SDPC board trustee Jim Shelton, a former board chair.

“When you roll all those things together, when you roll in the ongoing projects, when you roll in Gettys, you come up with $9.15 million that was the total cost of the bond,” explained SDPC board trustee Jim Shelton.
As with so many other things in life, the circumstances surrounding the bond issue are not black and white. There is always grey area, and, as Shelton continues to impart, various other elements that came into play during the discussions leading up to the adoption of the $9.15 million bond.

GREENVILLE — In what has become an annual occurrence, the School District of Pickens County is once again home to the South Carolina state champion mechatronics team.
Mechatronics programs teach students to combine mechanical and electrical engineering principles and since 2004, the team from Pickens County has won first place 7 times at the statewide SkillsUSA competition held in Greenville.

COUNTY — Those entering the Pickens County Courthouse will no longer be allowed to bring bags of any kind, including handbags and backpacks, according to Pickens County Clerk of Court Pat Welborn.
Welborn told the Courier Monday that five signs have been placed around the courthouse informing those who have business at the facility that the new policy is in effect.

PICKENS — Throughout his high school career, Pickens’ Justin Franks has strived to reach the goal of playing soccer in college.
That dream officially became a reality last Thursday, as the senior signed to play for Tri-County Technical College beginning next year.
“I’m so glad to know it’s set in stone and that’s what I’m going to do,” Franks said. “It’s been my goal since I started in ninth grade playing soccer. I just love the sport.”

By: Jim Shelton
School Board Trustee
To publicly call for the resignation of a public figure is not something done casually or flippantly. Those of us in the public trust must always be aware that decisions and attitudes affect our constituents in ways we may not be aware. Public service is not an electrical switch, something that can be turned on or off at a moment’s convenience. Wherever we go and whatever we do, we are on the job.
There is an expectation from the public that we take our roles seriously. An off-color or candid remark may be misunderstood by one’s audience. It’s in our collective best interest to avoid such incidents, and if not, then we are and should be held accountable for the words.

CLEMSON — A team from Clemson Elementary won the grand championship at the International JetToy Challenge last week in Detroit, Mich., beating out 120 engineer design teams from around the world.

Visitors from all over the Upstate flocked to the town of Central Saturday to participate in the town’s annual Railroad Festival. Above, a young festival-goer plays with a toy model train at one of the festival’s many sites for free entertainment for kids inside the Central Railway Museum.