EASLEY — Easley Fire Chief Butch Womack has been honored as the state fire chief of the year by the S.C. State Fire Chiefs Association.

Longtime Easley Fire Chief Butch Womack was recently honored by the S.C. State Fire Chiefs Association as the state fire chief of the year.

Council members continually bragged on Womack during Monday night’s meeting of Easley City Council.

At the end of the meeting, Easley mayor Larry Bagwell presented Womack with a plaque, joking that he had heard Womack liked to have things to put up on the walls of his office.

“We had a check for $10,000 ready for you, but this plaque fit what you wanted more,” Bagwell said with a laugh.

Womack became a firefighter in Easley in 1985, earning firefighter of the year honors in 1991 before being promoted to chief in 1993.

He is also a former president of the S.C. State Firefighters Association and S.C. State Fire Chiefs Association.

In other business at Monday’s meeting, local resident James Cochran complained about a neighbor who has an estimated 25-40 dogs. Cochran said he was worried the neighbor may be operating a puppy mill from his residence.

Cochran’s wife, Jackie, also told council a puppy mill at the location could pose danger to the general public, as the property is uphill from a public waterway.

DACUSVILLE — A sleepy Pickens County community that has been rocked by multiple tragic killings over the past 14 months will soon be a little more protected with help from its own residents.

Local residents are invited to attend a kickoff event for the Dacusville-area crime watch at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Dacusville Community Center.

The event will be hosted by the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office and the Dacusville Business Association to kick off a community-wide crime watch for the greater Dacusville area.

At the event, Pickens County Sheriff’s Office officials will provide residents with information about the most common crimes committed in Pickens County and introduce residents to the sheriff’s office community watch initiative.

Anyone interested in participating in the crime watch or helping to lead the effort is encouraged to attend.

PICKENS — Two-time Winfield National Banjo Contest champion Charles Wood will headline Hagood Mill’s third Saturday event this weekend.

CHARLES WOOD

Residents are invited to bring lawn chairs and blankets to the mill, located at 138 Hagood Mill Road in Pickens, for a “Banjo Extravaganza.”

The mill will be open from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., and music will start at noon, part of the Music in the Mountains 2014 series.

Wood, who won the prestigious Winfield banjo contest in Winfield, Kan., in 1999 and 2006, is a veteran showman. He has appeared on “The Late Show with David Letterman” and “A Prairie Home Companion” with Garrison Keillor.

Wood has toured in Austria and Germany with The Lonesome Road Band and taught at the Munich, Germany, banjo camp in Oct. 2009. He has also starred at many regional and national bluegrass festivals.

There will be lots to see during the event, as Hagood Mill will host a variety of folk life and traditional arts demonstrations.

UPSTATE — Last week’s Wednesday at the World of Energy proved to be a huge success, with nearly 200 children and adults in attendance for a program by the Critter Keeper.

Cody Teague holds a tarantula during the Critter Keeper presentation at the World of Energy.

The local entertainer/educator uses bug-themed presentations to introduce and educate children about critters of all kinds from all over the world.

Wednesdays at the World of Energy is a free, weekly summer program for children 12 and under every Wednesday at 10 a.m. through the end of July at the education center, located at the Oconee Nuclear Station in Seneca.

Upcoming programs include a showing of Disney’s Wreck-it Ralph, complete with free popcorn, interactive storytelling with storytelling guild member Rodger Ellington and sing-along bird songs and crafts with Terry Allen.

For more information or a complete listing of activities at the World of Energy, visit www.duke-energy.com\worldofenergy or call 800-777-1004.

EASLEY — The 2014 Mission Action Challenge (MAC) will be held Saturday, Aug. 23, and will once again include cycling events and a popular 5K run through downtown Easley.

Cycling events originating and concluding at Old Market Square will include 63-mile, 40-mile and 20-mile routes as well as a 10-mile family ride. Participants are urged to register online at macforkids.org.

More than 1,000 area children received shoes this year courtesy of the Mission Action Challenge, Easley First