EASLEY — The man who put Easley High School football back on the map is going to be trying his hand at resurrecting another program.

Chad Smith, a Pickens High School graduate who took over the Easley program in January 2010, was announced as the new head coach at Clover High School on Tuesday afternoon.

Clover was winless in 2012 after head coach John Devine resigned in September.
Smith engineered a remarkable turnaround during his three-year stay at Easley after the Green Wave finished a combined 1-21 in the two seasons prior to his hiring.

LIBERTY — A Liberty man was hit by three cars and killed while walking away from a single-car accident last week.

According to Pickens County coroner Kandy Kelley, 30-year-old Vance Bailey wrecked his vehicle by losing control and overcorrecting on Anderson Highway in Liberty in the early morning hours of Jan. 2.

Kelley said Bailey had walked at least a mile away from the accident when he was struck by a car around 1:30 a.m. After the initial hit, which state troopers said was from a 2010 Mitsubishi, Kelley said Bailey was hit again while lying in the road.

Bailey was pronounced dead at the scene from blunt force trauma, Kelley said.
The accident is still being investigated by the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

By Nicole Daughhetee
Courier Staff

PICKENS — The first executive director hired to oversee the Pickens Revitalization Association, dedicated to the preservation, enhancement and sustainable growth of Pickens’ historic downtown area, has resigned.
Kristen Henry, who has been the only director of the organization since its formation in 2011, resigned at the end of December.

According to city of Pickens human resources director Denise Dyer, Henry left the PRA to seek full-time employment.

Currently, the PRA’s executive director position is part-time and does not include benefits.Dyer said the city of Pickens is actively seeking a new hire.

“We have placed ads with the Municipal Association of South Carolina,” said Dyer. “We’ve put out as many feelers as we can so we can find the most qualified person to fill this position.”

Dyer said the city has no specific deadline to hire a replacement, but officials hope to have someone in the position soon.

With a primary focus on the downtown area of Pickens, the PRA works in conjunction with the larger Main Street South Carolina program designed to transform the way communities think about the revitalization and management of their downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts.

COUNTY — Pickens County’s stars will once again step into the spotlight for the second annual “Pickens County Has Talent” competition over the next several weeks.

The School District of Pickens County is setting the stage for talents ranging from breathtaking to bizarre, with a winner to be crowned in a live concert on Feb. 23 at the Easley High School Auditorium.
Auditions will be held at the four county high schools — Daniel High, Easley High, Liberty High and Pickens High — and are open to anyone who lives or works in Pickens County.

Proceeds from ticket sales and sponsorships will go to the school district to help pay for supplies for teachers, and the winner receives a cash prize.

Matthew Lee Moore, Jr., born at 2:41 a.m. on January 1, was the first baby of 2013 born in Pickens County. His parents are Jennifer Atkinson and Matthew Moore of Easley. Matthew weighed 6 pounds, 14 ounces. Staff of The Birthplace and Volunteer Services at Baptist Easley presented Matthew’s parents with a New Year’s gift basket filled with baby supplies.

PICKENS — Dr. Daniel Dahlhausen was named 2012 Physician of the Year by the South Carolina Home Care and Hospice Association at its recent Awards Dinner. 

The association is comprised of leading home health and hospice providers in South Carolina. 

The award recognizes the physician’s commitment to assisting home health and hospice patients who wish to remain in their homes. Interim HealthCare of the Upstate nominated Dr. Dahlhausen for the award based on years of partnering with Dr. Dahlhausen in the home care of his patients.

The award recognizes Dr. Dahlhausen’s commitment to patient care and service, including care that keeps patients safe and independent at home when faced with diseases or other disabilities or even end of life care. 

EASLEY — With the arrival of the new VCT 64-Slice CT Scanner at Baptist Easley, patients can now receive CT scans in a shorter amount of time and with less radiation exposure. Less contrast is needed (for contrasted studies), thus making it a safer procedure.

“A 64-slice CT scanner is the newest generation of CT technology,” said John Cooper, MD, radiologist. “Having this scanner at Baptist Easley Hospital puts our hospital on par with the largest medical centers in the area.”

During a CT scan, the scanner rotates around the patient and takes a large number of x-ray images. These x-ray images are then sent to a computer for processing. Because the images are taken from a variety of angles, the computer is able to put them together and create a 3-dimensional image of the patient. Unlike a traditional x-ray, which is taken in only 2-dimensions, this image allows the physician to look at the arteries and other organs in the body from essentially any direction. This is extremely valuable in the diagnosis of disease.

EASLEY — J.C. Brice Middle School will have a mascot and color scheme waiting for it when it opens in 2014.

Brice Middle’s athletic teams will take the field as the “Riptide” and will sport green and black on their uniforms.

The Riptide name continues the nautical tradition for Easley mascots, joining the Easley High School Green Wave and the Gettys Middle School Breakers.

“I think our school committee did a great job leading this task for the new school and blending the great traditions in Easley with a new school. One thing that was very evident with our students, staff and community was the importance of the ‘Easley’ green representing both middle schools in Easley,” said Gettys Middle School principal Mike Cory.
Cory oversaw the mascot and color committee, composed of Gettys Middle School staff with input from students, parents and community members. The student population for Brice Middle will come from a split of Gettys Middle at the start of the 2014-2015 school year. Brice Middle will be housed in the renovated former Easley High School building on Pendleton Street.

Life as I know It
By Nicole Daughhetee

I love my children dearly, but I am thrilled that school is back in session.
Yes. I said it. Out loud! And I am assured that sharing this feeling does not make me a bad mother, nor am I conveying a feeling that other parents throughout Pickens County aren’t thinking.

I grew up watching The Cosby Show. When I was little, I dreamed of having five children. God absolutely knew what He was doing when He made Ella my last child. The way things have worked out, two is about all I can handle.

My greatest fear in life is that I am going to irreparably damage the two most precious gifts I have ever been given. That 20 years from now they are going to be sitting on some over-priced cushy leather love seat telling a psychiatrist that their mother is the root cause of them having to schedule this appointment.

Where am I going with all of this? Originally my thought was that my mother had it easy, having only one child to raise.