PICKENS — Pickens County Seniors Unlimited is inviting the public to its third annual Holiday Craft Bazaar on Dec. 8.

The event will be held at the Easley Senior Center at 401 Blair Street in Easley from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Along with favorite crafters and local vendors, top name brands will also be for sale that day, including Tupperware, Paparazzi Jewelry, Avon, Mary Kay, Scentsy and Thirty-One Gifts just to name a few.

PICKENS — “Main Street was a lot different 25 years ago when I moved to Pickens,” said Jerry Black, Pickens’ ninth recipient of the I Fan The Flame award.

As co-owner of the historic Garren’s Café on Main Street, along with his wife and mother-in law, Jerry still greets and visits with new and long-time customers every day. As Pickens has grown and evolved, the cafe breakfast and lunch business is still good, but they are now closed for dinner. The building the café is in was built in 1898 to house the Keowee Bank. In 1928, the bank closed and it has been a café ever since. The Garren family has owned it since the mid 60s.

PICKENS — Each year, Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative welcomes the holiday season with a tree-lighting celebration at its Pickens office on West Main Street.
The annual tradition of lighting the huge evergreen dates back to the early 1980s and represents the official beginning of the Christmas season for many area residents.

EASLEY — The Dream Center of Pickens County will benefit from the upcoming Michael’s Pizzeria Christmas Cruise 5K race in downtown Easley.

The Michael’s Pizzeria Christmas Cruise 5K race is in its fourth year and will be held Saturday, Dec. 8 in downtown Easley.

The biggest road race in Easley, the event is designed to give students and adults an affordable and exciting goal to promote health and fitness. Proceeds from the event will benefit The Dream Center of Pickens County.

Kim E. Masters

Easley — Kim Elaine Masters, 54, died Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2012 at Rainey Hospice House, Anderson.

Born in Pickens County, a daughter of Martha Ann Berryhill Masters and the late Harold Beaman Masters, Kim was of the Baptist faith.

Surviving, in addition to her mother, are a sister, Rita Masters Dodgins of Easley; and a niece, Moriah Dodgins.

In addition to her father, Miss Masters was predeceased by a sister, Karen Ann Masters.

Funeral services were 11 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 15 in the chapel of Robinson Funeral Home-Downtown with the Rev. Lewis Edwards officiating. Burial followed in Hillcrest Memorial Park.

Condolences may be expressed online at www.robinsonfuneralhomes.com or in person at Robinson Funeral Home-Downtown, which is assisting the family.

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COUNTY — The School District of Pickens County earned a “Good” rating on both Absolute and Growth categories on the 2012 South Carolina Annual School District Report Card. The rating is an improvement over the 2011 Absolute rating of “Average.”

Every SDPC school scored “Average” or better on both Absolute and Growth ratings. 12 schools were rated “Excellent,” nine were rated “Good,” and four were rated “Average.” No schools rated “Below Average” or “At-Risk” in any category.

“We are very proud of the hard work of our students and teachers and feel that our success is a direct result of their commitment to our schools,” said superintendent Dr. Kelly Pew. “We recognize that we must continue to provide support to our students and teachers as we implement new standards and assessments in our school district.”

COUNTY — An arrest has been made after postal workers and customers in Easley and Liberty reported seeing a man in see-through women’s clothes in several incidents over a four-month period.

According to a release from the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office, as a result of an investigagion that began in July, Douglas Dean Evans, 41, of 215 McDaniel Avenue in Pickens, was arrested last Thursday on three counts of indecent exposure.

Officers said a man believed to be Evans had been seen inside and around the Easley and Liberty Post Offices by both postal employees and Post Office customers wearing only ladies’ lingerie, high-heel shoes and a black wig. Witnesses claimed the outfits were sheer, revealing the man’s private areas.
According to the release, the witnesses, all women, were “shocked and appalled” by the man’s appearance, and each encountered him while they were alone and expressed fear because of the encounter.

COUNTY — The United Way of Pickens County, in conjunction with Pickens County’s Dream Center, are partnering with Bowers Signature Services Waverider to provide transportation services to those who need them to gain or maintain employment.

The new program kicked off on Nov. 5, and transportation services, for the purposes of employment and (or) education are available to people in the greater Easley, Liberty, and Pickens communities.

For a relatively nominal cost of $50 a week, employees and students in the Easley, Pickens and Liberty areas of Pickens County can be transported, round-trip, to their schools or places of employment up to six times a week. The fee must be paid in advance no later than the first day of transportation. These transportation services will operate 24 hours a day and seven days a week.
Employees and students will be picked up at their homes. Those being transported will arrive at their destination within a 30-minute window prior to the designated scheduled start time; they will then be picked up within 30 minutes of their scheduled finishing time.

By Ben Robisnon
For The Courier
EASLEY — Easley Mayor Larry Bagwell closed Monday night’s city council meeting with the announcement that retired doctor Herbert Bowick will be the grand marshal of the city’s 2012 Christmas parade.

“He’s served this community in so many ways over the years,” Bagwell said of Bowick, who he estimated to be “somewhere in his 90s.”

“He’ll certainly help Easley give the holiday season a good start,” Bagwell said.
The parade is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 1, according to the city’s website. More details about the city’s Christmas celebration will be released in the coming weeks.