PICKENS — A Pickens woman was found dead after her home burned on Dec. 30.

At around 6:54 p.m. that evening, a driver noticed fire coming from a home at 801 Reece Mill Road and immediately called 911, Pickens Police Chief Rodney Gregory said. Neighbors attempted to check the home, but the heat was too intense.

Members of Pickens Fire Department responded and extinguished the fire, and upon entry into the home, a woman’s body was found in the front room, Gregory said.

According to Pickens County Coroner Kandy Kelley, 48-year-old Margaret Ann

EASLEY — Two men will vie for Easley City Council’s ward 4 seat in a special election scheduled for April 1.

Terry Moore, of 602 Rampey St., and Chad Roach, of 101 Ruth Drive, will appear on the ballot in the race to fill the seat formerly held by Kim Valentin, who resigned her post last month.

The election was originally scheduled for March 4 but was delayed to coincide with a special election on April 1 to fill the unexpired school board term of Ben Trotter, who resigned last week. A runoff election, if necessary, will be held two weeks later on April 15.

The council race is a non-partisan election.

Valentin’s resignation was effective Dec. 31.

By Ben Robinson, Courier Staff

DACUSVILLE — Hundreds showed up at the old Dacusville Elementary last Thursday for the annual public meeting of the Pickens County Legislative Delegation.

Sen. Larry A. Martin shared memories from his days attending elementary school in the same building while growing up and being served meals in the former lunchroom, where the meeting was held.

Attending the meeting in addition to Martin were Rep. Phil Owens, Rep. Davey Hiott, Rep. B.R. Skelton and Rep. Joshua Putnam, who said his district once

Belton man faces multiple charges,

including failure to stop for blue lights

COUNTY — The man suspected of breaking into a home near Six Mile before leading police on a chase from Central into Clemson last month is still on the loose.

According to a Pickens County Sheriff’s Office incident report, a homeowner arrived at his home on Six Mile Highway in the afternoon of Dec. 18 to find a green Chevrolet car sitting in front of the residence with its engine running. The homeowner told police he saw a man coming from the back of the home carrying items including a long gun.

The homeowner said the man told him his family was hungry, then got in the vehicle

UPSTATE — As temperatures across the state and nation continue to plummet to historic lows, Duke Energy officials are asking the company’s customers to conserve power as extreme temperatures continue.

On a night of record frigid temperatures Monday, thousands in the Upstate went without power for some time after Duke Energy experienced an equipment overload, according to spokeswoman B.J. Gatten.

The outage affected not only Duke customers, but Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative

PICKENS — Concord Baptist Church will be showing the film “Light In The Darkness” Jan. 19 starting at 6 p.m. at no charge.

The film is a 30-minute documentary featuring Northern India and the stories of the Christians who live there.

The film also includes the ministry of the Jim and Autumn Roberts family from Pickens County. Jim grew up in Mile Creek Baptist and Autumn in Concord Baptist, and now

LIBERTY — The Samaritan Health Clinic recently announced that the third annual Samaritan Soiree will be held Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. at Mill Pine Farm in Liberty.

There are currently more than 70 silent auction items that will be available for bidding that night. For a complete list of items, directions and ticket purchase information, visit SamaritanSoiree.com. Tickets are available for $75 each.

For 22 years, The Samaritan Health Clinic has offered free healthcare to low-income

By Ben Robinson, Courier Staff

PICKENS — At Monday night’s meeting of Pickens City Council, Councilman Fletcher Perry was elected by his fellow council members as Mayor Pro Tem.

Perry replaces Council member Patrick Lark, who had served the maximum two terms as Mayor Pro Tem. Fletcher was nominated by Council member Isaiah Scipio. Lark seconded the nomination. Council approved the motion 5-0, with Perry choosing not to vote.

Council also approved accepting $30,000 from the Shady Grove Fire District in exchange for the city fire department serving as back-up for the local district,