Daily Archives: 10/13/2015
Soapstone to host meal fundraiser at church
PICKENS — Soapstone Church invites everyone to a special fundraiser at the church, located at 296 Liberia Road in Pickens, this Saturday, Oct. 17.
The event will feature fine cooking and will be held from noon-8 p.m.
Visitors will enjoy true Southern cooking, including a fish fry, barbecue and fried chicken with all the fixings right from Mrs. Mabel’s kitchen.
For more information, call (864) 414-8470.
YMCA, SDPC to mentor area students
EASLEY — The School District of Pickens County and the Pickens County YMCA are calling for volunteers to mentor children at Easley schools.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for our community to have a significant impact in our schools,” said Sid Collins, CEO of the Pickens County YMCA. “The teachers and principals work tirelessly to educate and guide today’s youth. This program allows for parents, churches, businesses and leaders in our community to give back in a way that is significant. All it takes is time, the one thing our children desperately need from us.”
The YMCA is seeking mentors willing to commit 30 minutes a week for a full school year. Mentors will be recruited, approved, and trained by the YMCA, while schools will select students for the program with parent permission. The YMCA and the school district will then work together to pair mentors with students.
“We want the mentorship program to help kids who are at-risk of not reaching their potential,” said Dr. Bill Roach, SDPC’s assistant superintendent of administration. “One of the things that we’ve determined will help these students is mentorship. Research shows that if a student can connect with at least one adult in the building they do better academically. We are excited to partner with the YMCA in this mentoring program to help these students reach their full potential.”
The YMCA will fully fund the program through contributions from the community, and will be holding mentor orientations and trainings throughout the year. The program will be limited to Easley-area schools for the 2015-2016 school year, with the goal of expanding it district-wide in years to come. “This program is modeled after the Mentor Upstate program which has a track record of success in other districts,” Collins said. “We believe life change happens through relationships where someone gives positive advice to another, and we’ve seen life change happen as a result of mentorship programs before.”
Those interested in becoming mentors should contact Cindy Perry, YMCA mentor director, by email at cindyperry@pcymca.net or by phone at (864) 307-0213.
Community prayer service scheduled
By Ben Robinson
Staff Reporter
brobinson@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — A community prayer service has been scheduled at Legacy Square the [cointent_lockedcontent] night of Oct. 20 at 6 p.m.
“There’s a group of us that’s been getting together the past few weeks, between law enforcement and several pastors of the community,” Marvin Short told Pickens City Council recently on behalf of Pickens United in Prayer.
“The idea behind it is that this would be a non-denominational prayer celebrating the good things about Pickens, because there’s a lot of good things about Pickens. We want the opportunity to be there and be all seen together, praying for Pickens.”
Short said the service is planned to last around an hour and feature prayer and singing, closed with a benediction.
“What we want to show to the community is that our strongest element in our community is our churches,” Short said. “And we’re hoping that all of our churches in the community — not just in the city of Pickens — can come together and be present.
Short said the service is for all churches in the Pickens area, not just Pickens city limits.
“We have reached out to a lot of the churches in the community,” Short said. “We’re hoping to reach out to even more. We have sort of identified our area as the Highway 183 corridor, the Highway 133 corridor and the Highway 11 corridor — that’s the Pickens area to us. We would appreciate the support of Pickens and its council.”
Short wanted no confusion about the purpose of the service.
“We’re looking to pray together and let everybody know how much we love our community,” Short said. “And most importantly, how we depend on our Lord Jesus Christ and what we need to do in our community.”
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Ancient art of storytelling meets the dark side at Hagood Center on Friday
Kim Weitkamp
PICKENS — Nationally renowned storyteller, singer and songwriter Kim Weitkamp will take center stage at the Hagood Community Center in Pickens this week.
Weitkamp is currently on an East Coast tour and will be making a stop at the Hagood Center on Friday to thrill audiences with a blend of story, song and horror. Weitkamp will be performing original stories and songs from her latest award-winning album, “Head Bone Rattles,” which has seen airplay on various NPR affiliate stations and Sirius XM Radio.
Weitkamp has been telling and performing stories for more than 28 years but became a career storyteller 12 years ago. She has become one of the most recognized storytellers on the continent. She has won a mantel of awards for most of her recordings, as well as recognition for her work using story in “Peace Projects.” The last two years have seen a new development in her repertoire — ghost stories.
One reviewer wrote that an evening of ghostly tales with Weitkamp was like having dinner with Tim Burton, Dr. Seuss and Alfred Hitchcock. Although Weitkamp’s performance is not graphically violent, it is not recommended for children under 12. Most of her shows are for adult audiences and carry heavier themes.
“One of the most fulfilling things about being a storyteller is captivating a room of 500-plus people with words,” Weitkamp said. “The second most fulfilling thing is taking the listener on a journey to another dimension without them ever leaving their seat.”
Doors will open at 7 p.m., and the show will start at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Coffee and dessert will be provided prior to the performance. Tickets are $6 in advance and $8 at the door. Contact the Hagood Center at (864) 878-6000 for more information. The Hagood Community Center is located at 129 School House St. in Pickens.
Sunset Post Office serving 110 years
SUNSET — Sunset post office clerk Melissa Link considers herself a bit of a “history geek,” so she was understandably excited when she found a treasure trove of old newspaper clippings and other items documenting the post office’s past earlier this year while cleaning out filing cabinets.
Left: Clerk Melissa Link is helping honor the Sunset post office’s 110th anniversary this year. Below: Pictured at longtime Sunset post office driver Cleo Chapman in 1991 are, from left, then-postmaster Edna Winchester Barton, former postmaster Essie Barton, driver Sonley Grant, Chapman and Chapman’s son, Eugene, who took over for her when she retired.
Courtesy photos
Upon her discovery of the items — which included an essay written by a former postmaster Edna Barton detailing the history of the office — Link realized this year is the 110th anniversary of the Sunset post office.
“Its history is of great importance historically,” Link said. “The Sunset post office has stood the test of time and is the only office to survive the combining of many small mountain town post offices during the horseback days — from being run out of the postmaster’s home to its current location.”
Now located at 7149 S.C. Highway 11, the Sunset post office was originally established on Dec. 4, 1905, in the home of William Walker Aiken near Antioch Baptist Church. Aiken ran the post office until 1918, when it was moved 800 yards northwest, to the home of A.T. and Flora Winchester. The Winchesters and their daughter ran the post office out of their home until Flora’s death in 1931. The post office then moved a little more than two miles northeast to the home of Essie Barton, directly across the street from the current post office.
Barton ran the post office out of her home until her retirement in 1968, when her daughter-in-law, Edna Winchester Barton, took over as postmaster and built the current post office adjacent to her home. Barton retired in 2001, handing the reins of the post office over to Joyce Heine-Dennis, who remained as postmaster until her 2012 retirement, when the U.S. Postal Service moved mail carriers to Pickens, eliminating the need for a postmaster at the Sunset post office.
“The history is technically complete with all five postmasters, which is amazing that the post office has only had five in its history,” Link said. “If you notice, from 1931-2001, (the post office) was run for 70 years by one family.”
Link, Sunset drivers and the couple who cleans the post office joined forces to create a banner honoring the post office’s history. In the retail lobby, Link created a display of all five former postmasters, with a history bulletin board for all the clippings she found. And in the post office box area, she framed photos of the three homes the post office was run out of before its current facility was built. She also designed a photo collage of past and present Sunset postal workers.
“All the residents seem to enjoy seeing it, and I have had a few travelers stop in just out of curiosity because they saw the banner from the road,” Link said. “So I feel like it’s a little post office with a touch of museum.”
“People need to understand keeping these small-town post offices open is not only important for the locals, but it keeps the history alive,” she added.
Courier Community Calendar 10-14-15
• Historic Old Pickens to host singing
Historic Old Pickens will feature traditional and gospel music presented by Heartstrings, Greg Lambert and nationally known vocalist Caitlin Tierce. on Sunday, Oct. 18, at 2:30 p.m. Historic Old Pickens is located on Old Pickens Church Road near the employee entrance to Duke Energy on S.C. Highway 183.
• Allen to preach at Prater’s Creek church
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and Pickens High School graduate Chris Allen will preach at Prater’s Creek Baptist Church at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 18. Allen, the son of Dr. and Mrs. Ray Allen, will give his testimony at 6 p.m. that evening. Everyone is invited to attend the services at the church, located at 601 Prater’s Creek Road, just off Belle Shoals Road.
• Trick or Treat on Main set in Pickens
Cannon Memorial Hospital and the City of Pickens will hold its annual Trick or Treat On Main Street on Saturday, October 31 from 5-8 p.m. for children. The event will begin at the intersection of Ann Street and Main Street in Pickens.
• Sarlin to present an evening with Wright
The Friends of the Sarlin Library are thrilled to host an evening with award-winning graphic artist Emily Wright on Monday, Nov. 16, at 6 p.m.
Wright, who is employed by the Pickens County Courier, is the recipient of more than 75 Palmy Awards in South Carolina Press Association’s annual contest.
Library officials said they are honored to have her share her journey that began as a child with “doodles on birthday cards” to her role, now, in the newspaper business, as the department head of graphic design since 2007.
• Fall Festival set for PPCCD Center
The Pickens Presbyterian Church Child Development Center will host a free fall festival on Saturday, Oct. 24, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 311 West Main St. in Pickens.Highlights of the day’s event will include a bounce house and games for the children, as well as performances by Last Road bluegrass, Sweet Potato Pie Kids, Power House Dance, Palmetto Martial Arts, balloon art and face painting.
A silent auction will take place to help raise funds for the child development center. As part of the center’s ministry, it offers a safe learning environment for children of all abilities to learn and play together in the Pickens area.
BBQ plates and hot dog plates will be available for purchase.
• Children’s Fall Festival set in Easley
The city of Easley and Gilstrap Family Dealerships will host a Children’s Fall Festival on Saturday, Oct. 31, from 4-8 p.m.
The event will be held around the downtown merchants and at Old Market Square in Easley. Children can trick or treat with the downtown merchants and then join a fun-filled festival with games, music, costume contests and more. The festival is free.
For more, visit easleyevents.com or call (864) 423-4344.
Patriot holds open house
Patriot Healthcare in Pickens held an open house on Sept. 24. Pictured are Norman Rentz, CEO Jill Birmingham, director of human resources Lynn Kelley, medical director Dr. James Mahanes, mayor David Owens and Patriot staff. 
Patriot Healthcare offers hospice care to patients with terminal illness and a life expectancy of six months or less. For more information, visit www.PatriotCares.com or call 888-515-3007. Patriot Healthcare is located at 1897-C Gentry Memorial Highway in Pickens.
Masquerade ball helps raise funds to help MARYS House
Masqueraders of the Upstate converged on the Bleu Voodoo Grill in Easley for the fourth annual Masquerade for MARYS House.
EASLEY — On Oct. 6, masqueraders of the Upstate converged on the Bleu Voodoo Grill to attend the fourth annual Masquerade for MARYS House, with one goal in mind, to raise money to support MARYS House.
MARYS House began as a dream, and in 2008 it opened the doors of a shelter for victims of domestic abuse. The shelter was unique in the fact that it contained what are considered family suites. The suites allowed mothers and children to stay together, giving them time to allow for healing. MARYS House is a faith based, non-denominational, nonprofit organization, which runs off of grants and donations.
This year’s event had close to 130 people in attendance.
Major contributors before the event were Bleu Voodoo Grill, Wingard Jewelers, Albertson Enterprises, Something Special, Cowan Farms, Easley Police Department, Whites Appliance, Lowes, Powdersville Insurance, Synnex, That’s Karma, Dunburks, Stockade Antiques, Marion Davis, Service Master, Niles Artistic Photography, Uncle Sams Antiques and Ace Auto Parts, just to name a few.
The night began on the porch, with hors d’oeuvres and entertainment by Malcolm Tempt. Tempt serenaded the guests as they were looking over silent auction items. Professional photographs were taken by Niles Artistic Photography.
The events then moved upstairs to the sights and sounds of Twos Enough. Dinner was served as the program began. Everyone listened as speakers told about the organization, and a special lady gave her testimony about how she came to live in MARYS house. After her testimony, patrons were reminded of the last call on the silent auction, and the upcoming cake auction.
Prizes were given for best mask, best overall outfit and best group mask participation
The cake auction began the first year of the Masquerade fundraiser, and has been a staple of the event every year. What has become to be known as “Momma’s Cakes” is a crowd pleaser.
Before the cake auction began, the emcee offered a challenge. If proceeds going to MARYS House reached $4,000, the emcee would wear a jester’s hat the following year. If the proceeds exceed $5,000, he would wear the full jester’s outfit.
After the cake auction, the live auction and proceeds from the ticket sales were tallied up, the event raised more than $6,000 for MARYS house.
Organizers gave special thanks to Safeco, Servpro, 20/20 auto glass the Bleu Voodoo Grill, Bleu Voodoo Friends and Krewe.
The biggest thanks went to everyone who attended and shared their time and donations to help families in need The event is scheduled for the first Tuesday of October 2016 for the fifth annual Masquerade for MARYS House.
Where there’s smoke, there’s fire
You can’t raise cattle inside city limits. Most people would agree on that.
[cointent_lockedcontent] Most land producing cattle or other stock in Pickens County has an agricultural deferment, which means the land is taxed at a lower fee 
because it meets the criteria for agricultural use.
Until now, no fire fee was applied to agriculturally deferred property. That’s because the S.C. Forestry Service takes care of fires breaking out on unoccupied acreage. Unoccupied by humans, that is.
Cattle and other farm stock don’t just amble around in a pasture eating grass. Pasture grass isn’t enough to take stock through a winter. You have to have hay, among other things, to sustain a herd.
And if pasture land is separate from hay production land, the property owner will now be hit with a double whammy, as each parcel will be charged an extra fee.
Some who run small operations to supplement retirement income will have a difficult time paying the fee.
Where they’ll come up with this kind of money is anybody’s guess.
Two letters to the editor in last week’s paper gave stark examples of how the fire fee is affecting owners of such property
Marie Vaughn of Easley wrote that because her several small tracts of land are being taxed separately, the fee increases her tax burden by 900 percent. She says she doesn’t understand why she is being asked to pay the fee at all since her property is protected by the South Carolina Forestry Service, funded through state tax.
Another letter written by Ruth Clark of Pickens says the county can collect an additional $1 million if 50,000 people pay $20 for each one- to five-acre tract of land.
If anyone is interested, they can go online and see how much profit is possible for a cattle production. There’s a pretty narrow profit margin.
If a farmer produces his own hay, it can cost as much as $435 per acre in seeding, fuel, fertilizer, lime and weed control. That’s not counting labor. And that’s just to produce it.
Cutting, raking and bailing are a whole separate operation. And if the hay gets rained on, it has to be tethered to dry it out before it can be bailed. Otherwise it will contain mold.
If the farmer doesn’t own the very expensive equipment necessary for this operation, he must hire someone else to cut and bail the hay.
Last year, it cost approximately $20 per bale to have a hay field mowed and baled. The bales could be sold for about $45 each.
Some years drought has prevented harvesting a fall hay crop. So even though the production costs are the same, the fall crop is lost.
If it becomes too costly to grow crops or raise beef and pork, how can someone in Pickens County with a small operation justify continuing?
Does every member of county council live in town? I don’t know.
In a county with a population of roughly 120,000, it would be safe to say at least half of the population is scattered among the many rural areas. Many of those living in rural areas do have small farming operations, even if it’s just a garden spot. There are people all over the county raising cattle, goats, sheep, hogs and chickens.
There are people selling fresh eggs and produce every week at the flea market. Has anyone checked the cost of a good laying hen lately? Go to a farm auction and check it out. It will be an eye opener.
The flooding in the Midlands and Lowcountry of our state will have a devastating effect on fall hay production as well as other fall crops. Those people will still have to find feed supplies for their stock. Otherwise the market will be flooded with stock farmers can’t afford to feed, which will send profit plummeting.
I can remember when extreme drought conditions here brought us help from other states in the form of hay.
We were among those who went to the railroad tracks in Easley to get a ration of hay bales donated by Kansas farmers to feed our stock.
I’ve never forgotten how grateful we were for being helped at such a critical time.
So next time, as there will surely be a next time, before an additional burden, such as the new fire fee, is approved, I would urge council members to see if the fee would be punitive for some of the population.
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Letters to the Editor 10-14-15
In defense of school board
[cointent_lockedcontent] Dear Editor,
I have been reading in the newspaper about the test scores for the School District of Pickens County. They have improved. High school students who are bound for college take the SAT and/or ACT college entrance exams. Pickens County students scored an average of 1501 combined in math, reading and writing on the SAT.
That was a 12-point improvement this year, and our district ranked fifth in the state out of 84 districts. On the ACT college entrance exam, students scored 22.4 combined in math and English. Our students ranked fourth in the state on that test.
All high school students had been required to take the high school exit exam, but the state legislature replaced that with the ACT Workkeys test. This exam tests all 11th graders and measures their qualifications for hundreds of entry-level jobs, focusing on applied math, reading for information and information location. Our district ranked eighth in the state on the Workkeys exam.
Our students are some of the brightest in the state.
These are superior achievements, and credit belongs to our students, teachers, parents, administrators and the school board.
But the AdvancED monitoring report dated March 24, 2015, is about the board of trustees. In an earlier report, they threatened to withhold accreditation. AdvancED’s focus should be on academics. Has it occurred to AdvancED that a more-involved school board that listens to the public is the reason for the improving academics?
Dan Winchester
Pickens
Panama and Turkey can wait
Dear Editor,
I have read two articles lately about Easley Rep. Neal Collins. Seems he has recently been to Panama and Turkey “representing” South Carolina. OK, that’s fine. Nice vacation spots, I guess. He said the widening of the Panama Canal would help Charleston. But Mr. Collins was elected to represent Pickens County at the state level. Roads, bridges, education, local government funding, DSS and so many other core functions of the state are in a mess, according to the news I read.
Why is Mr. Collins traveling all over the globe, at least partially on the taxpayer dime, when there is so much that needs attention here at home? I believe there is plenty of work to do right here in South Carolina, and there is no justification for a state representative to travel anywhere in search of things to do. Mr. Collins, I say stop ignoring your Statehouse duties in favor of searching the globe for busy work. Please stay home and resolve the problems right on our front door. People are suffering in South Carolina. Panama and Turkey can wait.
Weldon Clark
Liberty
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