Monthly Archives: December 2015
Central man pleads guilty in ’14 killing
By Greg Oliver
Courtesy The Journal
goliver@upstatetoday.com
PICKENS — Benjamin Anthony Vinson, whose murder trial was postponed in October and was scheduled for Monday, instead pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of John Chitwood nearly two years ago.
As a result, Vinson was sentenced to seven and a half years but received credit for the 20 months he has already served. That means Vinson will have a little more than five and a half years remaining in prison.
Arrest warrants claim Vinson knowingly and willfully possessed and displayed a shotgun during the commission of a violent crime. On April 24, 2014, warrants allege Vinson left his Moser Street residence following a verbal confrontation before returning a short time later.
When he returned, warrants allege Vinson removed a shotgun from the trunk of his vehicle, engaged in another verbal confrontation with Chitwood and then fired the shot authorities say caused the victim’s death.
After responding to a 911 call, sheriff’s deputies arrived on the scene and located Chitwood in the front yard with what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the lower abdomen. Chitwood was transported to AnMed to undergo surgery, but died shortly thereafter.
A shotgun authorities believe was the weapon used in the incident was recovered from the scene.
Vinson was initially charged with murder, as well as possession of a weapon during a violent crime.
The trial, originally scheduled in October, was later delayed when defense attorney John DeJong asked for and was granted a continuance due to illness.
Vinson saw his effort to have the murder case dismissed under provisions of the South Carolina “Stand Your Ground” law denied by circuit court judge Ned Miller last year.
Shrine Bowl another step in long journey for Pickens’ Gravely
By Eugene Jolley
Courier Sports
ejolley@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — When Pickens senior kicker Matt Gravely takes the field Saturday in the 2015 Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas at Gibbs Field in Spartanburg, not many will understand the long journey it took to get there.
John Bolton/BoltonPhoto.com
Pickens kicker Matt Gravely will be the first Blue Flame player to participate in the Shrine Bowl since 2006 when he takes the field at Gibbs Stadium in Spartanburg on Saturday.
You see, the game itself will be the capping to a road of redemption, forgiveness and finally triumph.
After two successful seasons kicking as a freshman and sophomore, Gravely, the brother of former Blue Flame and North Greenville standout kicker Justin Gravely, had a junior season in which the world around him was seemingly crashing down around him.
The summer before his junior season, he and some teammates were suspended for the first three games of the season. Then, after playing in two games, Gravely was suspended for the rest of the season after another off-the-field incident.
“That was just a real low moment for me,” Gravely said. “I really messed up. I’m really proud of where I came to now and from where I can go to from here.”
Schoolwork wasn’t a picnic either, as he was failing every class.
“A year ago, he was suspended the first three games,” Pickens coach John Boggs said. “He comes back and gets kicked off the team at the end of the year making some poor decisions. We sat down back in January when I got hired, and he was one of the first kids I talked to. I told him ‘The slate is clean. Here is what you need to do to get back on this football team.’ I laid it out for him. Every single thing that I’ve asked of him, he’s done. Maybe not with flying colors, but he’s cleared the hurdles.”
“That was a big deal for me when he did that,” Gravely said of Boggs. “He came up to me personally and called me into his office. I knew I was the first person he talked to, player-wise. He really helped me through being a friend and helped me through coming back this year being the best I could be. “
But, the light turned on. Gravely saw the light just as bright as Saul on the road to Damascus. Suddenly, the grades began to change.
“It was like something smacked me in the face,” he said. “I needed to get my act together.
“Everything bad turned to good when that wakeup hit me.”
Boggs said Gravely busted his tail in the classroom.
“In December, he was failing every class, and then come May, he ended up passing everything,” Boggs said. “At one point in December, we didn’t know if he would be eligible to play. We’re proud of what he’s done academically to get himself eligible.”
“I slacked off in the classroom a lot, and I know I do and people get on to me for it,” Gravely said. “This year has been really different. I’ve really been nose-in-the-books, grinding hard and trying to get those good grades so I can pursue other things.”
Still, there was a lot of work to do to get back on the playing field and the question of whether he would be accepted by his coaches and teammates.
Spring workouts began, and there was Gravely. Every summer session, nobody worked harder. Entering the pre-season, there he was, not only back booming kicks with his powerful right leg, but now the golden-cleated athlete was starting at outside linebacker and making plays.
“That’s real fun. It keeps me loose and I stay in the game,” Gravely said. “I get to hit people, which is really fun. I have fun doing it, too.”
Defensively, he tied for the team lead with three interceptions and was third in tackles with 59, eight for losses. He broke up two other passes, forced one fumble and recovered another.
“He’s been one of our leaders in the offseason,” Boggs said. “He does a great job in the weight room. He works extremely hard. And look at the job he does on defense, too. He’s just a heck of a kid that goes out and plays his tail off.”
And for the Gravely family, he joins his uncle — and special teams coach — Harold Alexander as a Shrine Bowler.
“He’s family on the field and off the field,” said Gravely, the son of Bill and Tonya Gravely. “He is my mom’s brother. It’s great having him around. I used to go at 5:30 in the morning and work out with him every morning at the YMCA. He’s been working with me since seventh grade. Just as much as Justin, he’s got me here. I’m really thankful for him being there for me, on and off the field. “
Alexander made the 1988 Shrine Bowl before going to Appalachian State, followed by a long NFL career as a punter.
“Obviously, he’s worked very hard to get to where he is,” Alexander said. “This past offseason, in the summer, he really started to focus in on some things, doing what he needed to do, so that he could get back on the field and do what he loves to do, which is obviously play football. It’s been a great ride so far. I can’t be more proud for what he has achieved and going to the Shrine Bowl. That’s a great accomplishment, and it really just shows how much work he has put into playing this year. Not only that, but also at outside linebacker. Whatever position he is playing, he’s giving it 100 percent. He works hard in practice.
“Coaching him has been a pleasure over the past three years. He works on everything we work on, and the little things we talk about, he’s more than happy to try the things I ask him to try. He’s just one of those guys that work hard all the time.”
“It’s fun for me to see him getting to kick in the Shrine Bowl, which is what I got to do as well,” Alexander added. “That is just neat. It’s a great experience. Seeing who he’s going to see and being around who he is going to be around, the atmosphere, I couldn’t be more proud of him.”
For the season, Gravely finished 27-of-27 on extra points, 36-of-52 on touchbacks on kickoffs, and 11-of-19 on field goals, with a long of 49 yards. As the Blue Flame punter, he punted 44 times this season for 1,867 yards, good for a 42.4 average.
As for colleges, right now, there is not a lot of attention, with the Shrine Bowl likely to change that.
“Right now, it’s not a whole lot,” Gravely said. “We’ll see after the Shrine Bowl where life takes me.”
The selection is special for his brother Justin as well, who had a great career at Pickens and at North Greenville, but didn’t get selected for any all-star games following a senior season where the state was blessed with many great kickers.
“It really motivated him after he went through high school, and now that I’m in the position he was and I made the Shrine Bowl, it’s really thanks to him for being my role model and my go-to guy when I’m struggling on the field and at home, too,” Gravely said. “I really appreciate him being there for me. I’m really glad that I made the Shrine Bowl as well.”
Gravely is the first Blue Flame to make the Shrine Bowl since offensive lineman Wilson Norris made the team in 2006.
“I just want to see what happens and go through the motions and practice like I practice here at Pickens,” Gravely said. “I just want to keep everything the same and see how I do.”
“I will go up there several times to check him out and be part of it, and if he needs anything, I will be happy to,” Alexander said. “I will definitely be there at the game.”
So when he kicks off, or makes that first punt, understand that the journey to the Shrine Bowl wasn’t just about the mileage from Pickens to Spartanburg. It was longer. But for Gravely, it was all worth it.
Christmas time is here!
With Christmas right around the corner, Pickens, Norris and 
Dacusville held the county’s final parades of the season last weekend. Pickens’ event, which
ended with a fireworks display, paraded down Main Street on Friday night, while Norris and Dacusville held their parades on Saturday. To see more photos of the parades, visit The Pickens County Courier’s Facebook page.
Rocky Nimmons and Kerry Gilstrap/Courier
PCCTC teacher earns state honor
Jordan Constance/Photos
Pickens County Career and Technology Center teacher Janie Collins is “like our mama,” according to some of her students.
By Jordan Constance
For The Courier
news@thepccourier.com
LIBERTY — Pickens County Career and Technology Center teacher Janie Collins was named South Carolina Health Science Educator of the Year on Dec. 3 at the Association for Career and Technology Educators’ annual Health Science Educators Conference in Myrtle Beach
Janie Collins
Since Collins is on the board that helps choose the award winner, the other board members had to keep her selection a secret.
“It was a complete shock and surprise,” said Collins, who was taking photos of other award winners when she found out she was among the honorees.
In addition to her duties as a board member, Collins and a fellow teacher had a presentation called “Activities in a Pinch” at the conference, detailing fast and easy classroom teaching tips. The purpose of the conference is to bring together health science teachers from across the state to share ideas and teaching techniques.
Although she has now been recognized as the best in her field in the state, Collins was not always a teacher.
After working as a registered nurse for 25 years, Collins’ life changed when she was diagnosed with breast cancer nearly a decade ago. She said she prayed to God, asking “What do you want me to do?” It was then she felt led to become a health science teacher. She is now an eight-year survivor of breast cancer.
Collins loves her students, who she said “have become family.” Her students agree, with some even saying she is “like our mama.”
In addition to teaching the curriculum, Collins tries to teach her students about life skills and gives them real-world examples from her time as a nurse. She places priority on her students, saying she wants to give them hope and show them there is “a better way.”
Collins helps students further by being one of four advisors to the HOSA-Future Health Professionals organization. She helps with fundraisers so students can afford to join HOSA and make trips to state and national competitions where they can earn recognition and volunteer hours.
In addition to her responsibilities in the classroom and with HOSA, Collins hopes to one day go back to school to take business classes, as she has always wanted to own her own business. She also hopes to maintain connections with her students.
Lighting candles in memory of loved ones
Dillard Funeral Home/Hillcrest Memorial Park and the Liberty Mortuary each held their annual Christmas candlelight services of remembrance on Saturday. Hundreds were in attendance at both locations. Loved ones got the chance to hear beautiful music along with inspirational messages as they gathered to light candles at their loved ones’ places of rest.
Top left: Families gathered to light candles at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens. Bottom left: Michelle and Aubrey Moore light a candle at the grave of Michelle’s mother and father, Weldon and Jean Porter, in Liberty. Bottom right: The Carolina Boys Quartet performed at the Liberty Mortuary event.
Kerry Gilstrap and Rocky Nimmons/Courier
Reserve at Lake Keowee announces charitable giving record of $110K
Five local organizations to
benefit from fundraising efforts
SUNSET — The Reserve at Lake Keowee’s Charitable Foundation announced recently that its 2015 giving totaled $110,000, nearly doubling the nine-year-old program’s record for a single year. The funds, raised throughout 2015 and presented during a ceremony Tuesday evening at The Reserve, are being shared by a quintet of local organizations who each received $22,000.
The group includes Pickens Senior Center, Safe Harbor, Pickens County Meals on Wheels, Feed a Hungry Child and Helping Hands of Clemson.
“The recipient organizations are each thoroughly deserving and have an excellent track record of community assistance and improvement,” said Cathy Washburn, the first-year executive director of The Reserve at Lake Keowee’s Community and Charitable Foundation. “This funding will have direct and tangible impact in Pickens County.”
The annual contribution was made possible by proceeds from the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corp., The Reserve at Lake Keowee’s 2015 Charity Golf Classic and Auction and The Reserve’s Swine and Dine culinary event and fundraiser.
“The Reserve at Lake Keowee community and staff support the Foundation’s goal of giving back to our Pickens community each year,” Washburn said. “It is through their diligent efforts, as well as the fantastic support of our sponsors, that our financial contribution to local organizations continues to grow.”
Since the charitable foundation’s inception in 2006, The Reserve at Lake Keowee has raised and distributed nearly $400,000 to support the Pickens community. In addition to financial support, Reserve community members volunteer hundreds of hours annually with various organizations.
The Reserve at Lake Keowee’s annual Charity Golf Classic and auction, which celebrated its seventh anniversary in 2015, is a primary fundraising tool for the charitable foundation. The event raised more than $80,000 this year. Organizations can register as early as July to play in the next Charity Golf Classic scheduled for Oct. 24, 2016. Sponsorship opportunities are also available.
The Charitable Foundation, part of The Reserve at Lake Keowee’s Community Foundation, is a 501(c)(3) dedicated to funding outreach and charitable giving in the community. Members of The Reserve annually select local charitable organizations for the foundation to support.
Liberty council members sworn in
[cointent_lockedcontent]Clockwise from above, Liberty City Council incumbents Brian Petersen, Lavant Padgett and Josh Harrison, who all retained their seats in last month’s municipal elections, were sworn in at Monday night’s city council meeting. Holding the Bible was council member Lisa Hunter, and administering the oath was mayor Eric Boughman.[/cointent_lockedcontent]
Pickens girls crowned as state champs
The Pickens Recreation 12U Volleyball All-Star team won its third SCAP State Tournament on Dec. 5 in North Myrtle Beach. [cointent_lockedcontent]The team defeated Abbeville and Liberty to win the Western District title and earn a trip to the State Tournament. In pool play, the team defeated 
Myrtle Beach by scores of 25-17 and 25-14, then North Myrtle Beach, 25-12 and 25-16, before taking on Myrtle Beach again for the championship and winning 25-21 and 25-14. While visiting the beach, the girls stayed oceanfront at the Sea Mist hotel and had a blast playing in the pool. When they returned home, they were thrilled when asked to be grand marshals of the Pickens Christmas parade. The girls would like to thank all of their supporters for the terrific representation at both tournaments. It was a great experience and one they will not soon forget! Pictured, back row, from left: Kinsey Fowler, Destanie Abney, coach Amanda Powell, Gracie Alexander, Calie Covey, Coach Jennifer Parvis, Caroline Lucas and coach Jim Parvis. Front row: Chloe Parvis, Regan Powell, Bailee Earnhardt, Maggie Sizemore, Shelby Parvis, Brie Lesley, Ansley Reid and Tinsley Gowens.
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Fruit cake time is here again
The pantry in my Grandmama’s house was a treasure cave. It joined the kitchen and the dining room, with swinging doors at each entrance. Inside the pantry were shelves on three walls reaching all the way to the 14-foot ceiling.[cointent_lockedcontent]
And on those shelves were rows and rows of fruit jars filled with vegetable soup, asparagus, green beans, tomatoes, peaches, pickles and jellies. Big bags of sugar and flour were kept on the bottom shelves next to stores of other kitchen necessities.
Against one wall stood a pie safe where pies and cakes were stored for family get-togethers and a sturdy table used for meat cutting and other food-prep functions.
In the fall after hog killing, the table would be scoured and returned to the pantry in readiness for the next project.
The fat links of sausage hung in the smokehouse, and the last ham had been prepared for curing.
It was time to make the fruit cakes. Everyone in the household was involved in this. As Grandmama always said, “Many hands make light the work.”
Grandchildren were a source of free labor, and we were set to the task of cracking pecans and picking out the meats. This was demanding work, as it was vital that no bits of bitter shell should be mixed in with the nut meats.
There were always two huge fruit cakes to be assembled. One was Mama’s favorite, a white fruit cake. Uncle Walter and Matt preferred the dark fruit cake.
The white fruit cake had golden raisins and slivered almonds, and the dark one had dark raisins and pecans. Sultanas, citron and different candied fruits like pineapple and cherries were used.
The huge crockery bowls would come out, dozens of eggs would be separated, and the process of slicing, dicing, chopping, beating and whipping would go into high gear.
The heavy metal tube pans would be brought out. Children were good for tearing off sections of waxed paper, setting the pans on the paper and for drawing around the bottom of the pans and inside the circular tube to get a perfect fit. The sides, bottoms and tubes were thoroughly greased with Crisco, the wax paper circle was carefully pressed in the bottom and then the paper itself was greased.
All the candied fruits would be coated with flour and folded into the stiff batter. This took muscle, and Uncle Walter or Matt would do this.
Then the batters would be poured into the pans, and into the oven they’d go.
After about an hour and a half of baking, the cakes would be pulled out and a long, clean broom straw would be inserted into the cake. If no crumbs clung to it when the straw was withdrawn, the cake was judged done and removed to cool.
There were large round tin containers waiting for the cakes.
Each tin would have a clean dishcloth laid in the bottom. The cooled cakes would be turned into the cake tins, wine would be dribbled by the tablespoon over the cakes, and then they’d be wrapped with the dish towel and the lids would be snapped into place.
And then, for the next few weeks before Christmas, the process of wine dribbled across the cake would be repeated at regular intervals. The cakes had to ripen before they were sliced. The slices had to be thin and when held to the light appear translucent.
We always thought sliced fruit cake looked like stained glass windows. It was part of the ritual approaching Christmas, and even now just seeing a picture of a real fruit cake brings it all back. I’m thankful to have the memory of that special time.[/cointent_lockedcontent]
Why S.C.’s legislative session should be much, much shorter
Editorialists and commentators have chastised the South Carolina legislature relentlessly for failing to get anything done during the 2015 session. In fact, though, they did plenty of work.[cointent_lockedcontent]
This year our Legislature met from January to July, and during that time 1,336 bills were filed between the House and Senate. Of those, 131 were passed by lawmakers. In addition, 950 resolutions were filed, and all but 64 of those passed.
The question, of course, is this: How many of these were actually worth legislators spending over half a year in Columbia?
The length of South Carolina’s legislative session has consequences. Studies have found that professional, full-time legislatures are more prone to pressure from lobbyists — and this translates into higher spending and more favors for special interests.
Consider this year’s attempt to deal with roads. There are two ways to devote new revenue to roads: raise taxes or cut spending. But lobbyists — in this case, lobbyists working for companies and industries that would benefit from additional spending on roads — aren’t going to urge lawmakers to pay for new road projects by cutting other parts of government. They’re going to urge tax hikes. And thanks to South Carolina’s long legislative session, they had plenty of time to do it. In the end, thanks to citizen groups raising the alarm, they weren’t successful. That’s a rarity, unfortunately, and tax hike supporters are sure to be back in January.
According to one media account, toward the end of session legislative leaders even tried to prevent the Board of Economic Advisers from publicizing a revenue surplus, presumably on the grounds that a surplus would undermine the argument for a tax hike. That simply couldn’t have happened without a lengthy session.
Or take ethics reform. The year began with a few good proposals, but the longer they sat in committees, the longer lawmakers had to water them down or amend them with insidious provisions. A bill to reform the state’s Freedom of Information law gained a provision allowing government agencies to take citizens to court for filing “frivolous” FOIA requests. A bill to require elected officials to disclose their sources of income eventually included a provision loosening requirements on disclosing government income. And so on. The longer the session went on, in other words, the more pointless these bills became.
Or consider the debate over the bond bill. House lawmakers introduced a bill to issue bond debt and use the money for a variety of largely unnecessary projects connected to state colleges and universities. It would have been difficult for lawmakers to pass such a controversial bill within the confines of a short session. As it was, though, they were able to introduce the bill; then take it off the floor when the Policy Council and (separately) the Gov. Haley raised objections; then find ways to pay for the new projects through the General Fund; and then spend much of the rest of the session trying to figure out how to pass the bond bill anyway, which they were almost able to do.
In short: our excessively long session gave the State House complex — lawmakers, lobbyists, consultants, various special interests — plenty of time weaken reform, make tax hikes more likely, and spend every last available dime of revenue.
What should a session-shortening bill look like? A sensible reform would be to mandate an end to sessions by the second Friday in April, making each one last roughly 90 calendar days, and holding session every two years. This would encourage lawmakers to use their time — and our money — more wisely.
Members of the House argue that they pass a bill every session to shorten session but Senate ignores it. That may be technically true, but this year, anyway, the bill they passed was anemically weak. The House of Representatives passed a bill that cut a mere ten days off session. The Senate’s bill would have shortened session by three months. It wasn’t passed, but at least it was worthy of passing.
Our legislature’s job is to ensure that citizens’ rights are protected. After they do that, they should go home. More time leads to more mischief.
Cecilia Brown works as an research assistant at TheNerve.org and its parent organization, the S.C. Policy Council.
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