PICKENS — A Pickens County jury found a former Easley businessman not guilty Tuesday of murder and arson in connection with the 2010 death of his wife.
Don Kinsela had faced charges after his wife Cheryl died of smoke inhalation in a two-story, air-conditioned outbuilding behind their Easley home in July 2010, after a fire broke out while the couple was taking a break from several hours of lawn work.

Kinsela was represented by attorney Druanne White, who argued that Cheryl Kinsela’s death was nothing more than a horrific accident.

Evidence presented by the prosecution sought to establish that Kinsela deliberately set the fire that killed his wife, while the defense sought to prove that the fire was accidental in nature, a flash or vapor fire that ignited spilled gasoline rapidly, then grew out of control.

Kinsela had told police that he was refueling a brush trimmer in the shed when it exploded, starting the dire.

Jurors deliberated Tuesday after four days of trial testimony and two days of pretrial testimony ended. Kinsela faced 30 years to life for the murder charge and no less than 30 years for the first-degree arson charge if he was convicted.

COUNTY — A group of citizens who live on the shores of Lake Keowee appeared at Monday night’s meeting of Pickens County Council to express their opposition to Duke Energy’s intention to allow the level of Lake Jocassee to be lowered.
“We feel this will hurt property values,” said Newton Bridwell, spokesperson for the group.

Bridwell said that Duke officials had claimed that the water supply from the lake was the reason for the company’s support of lowering the lake level, but further research proved that the water used to operate Duke’s power plants without lowering the level.

Allowing the lake level to fall below its artificially maintained current level could cause as many as 46 percent of the docks could be on dry ground, making the docks useless, property owners said.

“The property values will plummet,” Bridwell said.

Bridwell said that because of the benefits of the lake, Duke Energy had been able to sell lakeside lots for a premium profit. Allowing the lake level to drop would rob property owners of the value they had paid for.

PICKENS — A Liberty man convicted on multiple sex charges against minors has been sentenced to nearly 30 years in jail for his crimes.

13th Judicial Circuit Solicitor Walt Wilkins announced Friday that a 359-month sentence was handed down for Damon Tyler Brown, 28, who was convicted on three counts of first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, one count of first-degree sexual conduct with a minor and three counts of lewd act on a minor by a Pickens County jury.

Judge G. Edward Welmaker sentenced Brown.

The crimes were reported in 2009 when one of Brown’s three victims reported the abuse to a school resource officer, according to Wilkins. Wilkins said that the crimes occurred between 2003 and 2006, and the victims were an 8-year-old boy, a 10-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl.

COUNTY — Pickens County sheriff-elect Rick Clark has named the chief deputy who will assist him when he takes office next month.

Creed Hashe, a former chief deputy at the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office and currently corporate security manager for Michelin North America, has been selected to become Clark’s chief deputy.

Hashe brings more than 25 years of exlaw enforcement experience to the job, Clark said.

Hashe started his law enforcement career at the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office.

“Mr. Hashe brings a tremendous amount of experience and dedication to the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office,” Clark said in a news release. “In addition to being the Chief Deputy in Anderson, he was the SWAT Team Commander, COBRA Response Team Commander, Director of Regional Training Facility and Senior Detective.

COUNTY — December is here, and local municipalities throughout Pickens County are still ushering in the Christmas season with family-friendly annual parades and events.

This Saturday, Dec. 8, the town of Norris will feature “A Groovy Christmas” parade at 11 a.m. The parade begins on Highway 93 off of Garvin Street and ends at Depot Street by the bridge. For more information, contact Norris Town Hall at (864) 639-2033. Town Hall is open Monday-Thursday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Dacusville will host the Dacusville Tree Lighting on December 7 at 7. p.m. The guest speaker at the event will be the Rev. Earl Reed of Peters Creek Baptist Church. The following day Dacuvile will also host its annual parade, beginning at 2 p.m. with the theme “Candy Cane Christmas.” Entry forms can be picked up at the Handee Mart and Dacusville One Stop, and entry fee is $15 ahead of time or $20 on the day of the parade.

The city of Pickens and the Pickens Revitalization Association (PRA) will host their annual Christmas Parade, themed “Christmas Lights,” on Saturday, Dec. 15 at approximately 6 p.m.

For more information on parade entry and guidelines, please visit the city of Pickens’ website at http://www.cityofpickens.net/ or the PRA website at http://historicpickens.com/.

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. The Dream Center exists to provide a network of support and resources to individuals and families who are living in poverty with emphasis on helping them achieve lives of self-sufficiency. The website for The Dream Center is dreamcenterpc.org. For more information about The Dream Center, email wilson@dreamcenterpc.org.

For more information about the Michael’s Pizzeria Christmas Cruise 5K & Crossfit Challenge, contact Josh Castleman at josh@pcymca.net.

The link to register for the race is www.pcymca.net/christmas_cruise.php.

PICKENS — Christmas is for kids, which is why Pickens Presbyterian Church Child Development Center is working to ensure that they can continue meeting the needs of every child that walks through their doors.

The Child Development Center will host a Pancake Breakfast with Santa. The holiday fundraiser will take place on Saturday, Dec. 8 from 9-11 a.m. in the All Saints Hall at Pickens Presbyterian Church at 311 West Cedar Rock Street in Pickens.

“We’d like to invite our community to come out for a morning of good food, fellowship and of course an appearance by Old St. Nick himself,” said CDC director Karen Durham. “Proceeds from this event will go toward care items for our indigent children. Our center serves children of all walks of life, and we want to continue to ensure that every child’s needs are met while in our care.”

PICKENS — Main Street Pizzeria is excited to announce the opening of its new restaurant on Main Street in downtown Pickens.

“We are very excited about being part of the Pickens community,” said Dixon Howard, owner of Main Street Pizzeria. “Our commitment to quality, outstanding service, and community involvement will be our primary focus.

“Catering and bulk discounts as well as discounts for churches, schools and other organizations will be offered.”

The pizzeria is located at 213 West Main Street next to State Farm (formerly Chanelo’s).

The phone number is (864) 898-4200. Business hours are Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

The restaurant offers hand-tossed pizzas, fresh subs and salads, and a variety of other menu items.

Customers are invited to dine in or take advantage of free delivery or carry-out.
Information about Main Street Pizzeria can be found on their website, MainStreetPizzas.com, their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/mainstreetpizzas and on Twitter, @PickensPizza.

EASLEY — The city of Easley has already started its holiday celebrations, and the festivities will only continue to ramp up this weekend.

It began on Nov. 24 with Small Business Saturday.

On that day, the Easley Downtown Business Association revealed the first installment of the collectible Downtown Easley Christmas ornament. The ornament is the first in a series of ornaments that will be offered annually and can be purchased for $10 from participating merchants.

On The Way
By Olivia Fowler

Aren’t you glad they didn’t blow up the moon? I didn’t even know they ever thought of doing it until I heard it on NBC World News. Apparently there was a plan devised sometime during the ‘50s to send an atomic bomb to the moon to destroy it in order to make an impression on the Soviet Union to show how powerful America was.

This was back during the Cold War. The reasoning seems to have been that although the Russians got the cosmonauts into space, we would see to it that they didn’t reach the moon first by eliminating it as a possible destination.

What a brilliant plan. Someone actually thought of it. And had the audacity to suggest it in a meeting. I wonder how it was included on the agenda.

It probably came after the Pledge of Allegiance under New Business, Item A, listed as Plan to Blow Up Moon.