Monthly Archives: March 2016
Easley Pride Day set for next month
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — With spring comes spring cleaning in Easley.
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The City of Easley will sponsor Easley Pride Day next month to encourage residents to pitch in and help beautify their neighborhoods.
Councilman Kent Dykes spoke of the community cleanup effort during Monday night’s Easley City Council meeting.
The cleanup will be held from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, April 16, in all wards of the city “to help our residents properly dispose of large refuse in their area that’s not collected on the curbside,” he said.
Large waste containers will be placed in each ward of the city for Easley Pride Day.
“Go into your neighborhoods, get those large items and bring them to these containers to be disposed of,” Dykes said.
Signage will be posted in the weeks leading up to Easley Pride Day to let residents know where the large waste containers will be.
During the cleanup time, a shredder truck will be parked at City Hall, Dykes said.
“Any businesses that have confidential papers, stuff that you want shredded, you can bring it up there at no cost and it will be taken care of,” he said.
Last year’s community cleanup effort netted more than 14 tons of trash, Dykes said.
“It was a big hit last year,” Mayor Larry Bagwell said.
This year, the city wants to collect “significantly more than that,” Dykes said.
“Spread the word,” Dykes said. “Let’s clean up our city.”
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MOW pancake breakfast is Saturday
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
LIBERTY — Local residents will be able to start Saturday morning off right with a pancake breakfast whose proceeds will help Meals on Wheels continue to help others.
Pickens County Meals on Wheels will host the pancake breakfast from 8-11 a.m. Saturday morning at the McKissick Center for Senior Wellness in Liberty.
Tickets are $5 each and can be ordered in advance or purchased at the door Saturday. The breakfast includes pancakes, sausage, juice and coffee.
The breakfast is part of the March for Meals campaign, PCMOW program coordinator Marsha Robertson said.
“It’s a nationwide, monthlong celebration of Meals on Wheels,” she said.
In addition to filling bellies Saturday, the breakfast is a way to introduce the community to the local Meals on Wheels program and its needs.
“We’re always looking for volunteer drivers to help,” Robertson said. “We depend solely on volunteer drivers to deliver meals to about 200 seniors every day in the community, Monday through Friday. There are about 22 routes that volunteers cover in making those deliveries.”
Volunteer drivers are welcome, no matter what their availability. Some drivers deliver every day. Others give of their time once a month.
“Whatever their schedules allow,” Robertson said. “We’re willing to work with them.”
PCMOW drivers deliver more than meals. For many area seniors, a visit from a Meals on Wheels driver is the only social contact they may have in a day. Visits from drivers help seniors fight isolation.
If you’re not interested in driving, there are other ways you can help.
“We produce all of our meals at our center in Liberty,” Robertson said. “We have needs for volunteers to help prepare our meals for delivery in the mornings. We also need volunteers in the kitchen in the afternoons to do food prep for the next day.”
A third opportunity for volunteers is helping with programs.
“We have a senior activities center,” Robertson said. “There are opportunities for adults to come in and help with some of the activities at the senior center, primarily in the morning.”
To purchase breakfast tickets in advance, email marsha.robertson@pcmow.org or call (864) 712-0289 or (864) 855-3770.
To volunteer, “drop by, give us a call or check out our website,” Robertson said.
Pickens County Meals on Wheels is located at the McKissick Center for Senior Wellness at 349 Edgemont Ave. in Liberty. For more information, call (864) 855-3770 or visit pcmow.org.
School board votes to shut down elementary schools
Rocky Nimmons/Courier
Local residents hold signs in support of schools during Monday night’s Pickens County School Board meeting, at which the board voted 4-2 to shut the doors of Holly Springs and A.R. Lewis elementaries.
By Rocky Nimmons
Publisher
rnimmons@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — In the time it took to raise four hands, two Pickens County communities lost their identities Monday night, as the Pickens County
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School Board voted 4-2 to shut the doors of Holly Springs and A.R. Lewis elementaries.
Despite numerous meeting with parents, teachers and residents and even motions to postpone and pleading from two of the board’s own members, trustees Judy Edwards, Phillip Bowers, Brian Swords and Herbert Cooper all voted to close the two “mountain schools” and push their students and teachers into the remaining Pickens-area elementary schools. Dr. Henry Wilson and Alex Saitta voted against the proposal.
In a special called meeting Saturday morning at 7:30 a.m., the district’s facilities committee settled on a recommendation to keep Ambler Elementary open, abandoning an earlier plan to push the school’s students and teachers to Dacusville Elementary. The move, which spared one of the three Pickens elementary schools on the chopping block, did not affect the fates of the other two.
With only 68 people allowed into the board room at the district office by a fire marshal and dozens more waiting outside the building during a heavy thunderstorm, members of the public were denied the chance Monday night to speak one last time to save their schools.
Wilson started the meeting by making a motion to move the proceeding to a larger venue to accommodate all who wanted to attend. That idea was voted down, with only Saitta and Wilson voting in favor of the measure.
Wilson also motioned to allow 90 minutes for those who wanted to speak to have the chance to do so before the vote, and again the motion was voted down 4-2 to the jeers of those allowed in for the proceedings.
Bowers then made a motion to amend the meeting agenda to strike the facilities committee report concerning the possible study of Pickens-area middle schools. Prior to the meeting, a note was made available that was titled “Message to Dacusville Residents.” The note stated that Dacusville schools were not a part of the consolidation proposal that would be before the board Monday night. It stated that no plans for closure of Dacusville schools have been presented to the board.
“Mr. Bowers had a PowerPoint and clearly pointed out that there was a proposal to close Dacusville Middle School and move the 300 students to Pickens Middle School and have the alternative educations program moved to Dacusville,” said Wilson, who represents the Dacusville area. “I respect that we adjourned the meeting on Saturday, but that puts it on the table. I think the majority of people in this room pretty much understands that when you guys put something on the table regardless if you call it a rumor or not, it comes to pass. That is why you see all these Dacusville people here today. Even our county councilman (Tom Ponder) is standing outside in the rain.”
Edwards told Wilson that the closure of Dacusville Middle was not on the table during Monday’s meeting. She said the proposal was just an idea or a study and was not presented as a fact or something that was going to happen.
“So the people should wait until you guys talk about it in a back room where nobody will knows about it and then bring it for a vote and the next week pass it?” Wilson asked.
“If it is discussed and we pursue it, and like we said, it was just an idea that was presented to save money rather than spend money on the old B.J. Skelton building and use Dacusville Middle as an alternative school,” Bowers responded. “That was just a suggestion from a citizen in the community. We didn’t get around to that at the meeting on Saturday.”
Rocky Nimmons/Courier
Dozens of people were left outside during a thunderstorm at Monday night’s Pickens County School Board meeting.
Edwards then read the recommendation from the committee that would close Holly Springs and A.R. Lewis and consolidate them into other Pickens-area schools.
Edwards said the recommendation was based on information concerning Census trends, school enrollment, operational and capital improvements and efficiencies and transportation.
“The reason we are faced with this is that we continually kicked the can down the road,” Swords said. “We did not take the time to create the funding mechanism for our capital improvement plan. We have to let go of the things in the past. The building program is over. We have to quit pulling the scab off this wound and let it heal.
“If we do not change course and act strategically, there will be more closings to come.”
He then made a motion to amend the recommendation to allow the remaining elementary schools in the Pickens area to continue to house grades K4-5. The motion passed.
Bowers followed with a motion that would allow, if passed, the two schools closed to continue to get minimal maintenance for one year to keep the school viable in the event that a charter school wanted to be created. The amendment passed.
Saitta then made a motion to not consider the closures indefinitely so people could take a step back and think about it a little longer and see it from a broader prospective. The amendment was voted down 4-2.
Wilson said that in a poll he had taken across Pickens County, 70 percent of the people said they would not be in favor of closing schools.
“Clearly, if two-thirds of our community does not want us to close schools, obviously that is going to upset people,” he said. “That is what the overwhelmingly majority of our community wants.”
Saitta then questioned if the board had the moral standing to close schools.
“Leaders have to be conscious not only of their legal authority, but whether or not they have the moral authority,” he said. “I don’t have the moral standing, and I have been representing this district for 12 years. My roots are not from here. Frankly, I am from New York City. I have no place messing with a 100-year tradition in rural Pickens County, South Carolina. When I think about people who could make that decision of this magnitude, this (school board) is at the bottom of that list.
“If you close these schools, it will be unforgivable. You are going out of your way to close these renovated schools. Some are the top performers in the county. I am telling you, your names will be mud in this county, because you do not have the moral authority to make this decision in the eyes of these people. Closing these schools is going to be your signature issue.”
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Quinn announces bid for SC Senate District 2 seat
Easley — Allan Quinn announced his intention to seek the Republican nomination to be S.C. Senator for District 2 (Pickens County) at the IPRA World Championship Rodeo held at T. Ed Garrison Arena in Clemson recently.
The position is currently held by Sen. Larry Martin, who has represented Pickens County for the last 37 years in Columbia as state represenative and as state senator (24 years).
Quinn
“I have the experience, knowledge and education to represent District 2 as state senator and will have as my first priority Pickens County.,” Quinn said. “The career politicians in Columbia have lost sight of what really matters to the people that elect them to office.
“We live in an area of the country that is seeing tremendous job growth in counties close to us, but nothing ever comes to Pickens County. My first goal will to bring in well paying jobs to the Pickens County Commerce Park that the county spent millions of dollars to develop in 2003, but very few good jobs to show for it. I will do every thing I can to bring in good paying jobs so our children and grandchildren will not have to move away to find work after they finish their education.
“My second goal will be to team with a group of senators in Columbia that want true SCDOT Reform. It has even been called for by the governor, but the good old boy network in the state senate refuses to enact meaningful road reforms that we direly need for the whole state. My idea is no more money until reform is done. That’s the only way it will get done.
“My experience includes being a Pickens County native, graduating from Easley High School in 1968, being drafted in the U.S. Army in 1968 and ending up spending 10 years in the Nuclear Weapons Logistics Division. I saw service in nine countries during my service having to deal with many different governments. I went to work for Duke Energy at Oconee Nuclear Station in management and procedure control, where I retired after 30 years in 2009. I attended night classes at Greenville Tech and graduated in 1988 with a degree in business, with a major in management. I worked with the South Carolina High School Rodeo Association for 17 years as parent, president, executive board member and then as their national director for seven years (1999-2006). I am currently owner/operator of Easy Bend Farm in Easley. We hosted a S.C. high school rodeo at our farm for 13 years in conjunction with the Easley High School Navy JROTC unit as a fundraiser for them.
“My family includes my daughter, Heather, and son, Zach, four grandchildren, Hope, Bryce, Lil Claire and Ashley. My wife, Susan, passed away in 2010.
“We must have reform at the state level with the SCDOT and SCIB to repair our roads. Currently the commissioners and other officials are appointed by state legislatures instead of being voted for. That is why we see no road work going on, because they all owe each other favors and special interest payoffs. We don’t need gas tax money we need to spend what we have in a responsible way. We need to replace as many career politicians this year in Columbia as we can so things will start working for the taxpayers again,” Quinn said.
To find the campaign on Facebook, search “Win with Quinn.”
Martin to seek re-election to State Senate District 2
PICKENS — State Senator Larry A. Martin (R-Pickens) has announced he intends to file for re-election to the S.C. Senate District 2 seat on Friday.
Martin, the first non-attorney to serve as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, was first elected to the state Senate in 1992 and previously served in the South Carolina House of Representatives.
Martin
“It has been a great honor to represent the people of Pickens County in the General Assembly. I truly appreciate the confidence that has been placed in me to serve and to hopefully make our county and state a better place. I don’t take for granted the upcoming primary campaign and humbly ask for the continued support of the citizens in Pickens County on June 14, Martin stated. When asked about his accomplishments, Martin stated the recent bill that he and other members of the Pickens Delegation just pushed through the Legislature to stop coal ash from being dumped near Liberty was a good example of his leadership and effectiveness. “Pushing that bill through the Legislature in a very short period of time did not just happen because it was a good idea. I utilized every resource at my disposal to draft a workable bill and prepare it for introduction. Then it became a team effort as each member of the Pickens Delegation did his part in getting it through both houses and to the Governor’s desk,” Martin said.
“Also, I am extremely proud of the domestic violence reform legislation that was enacted last session,” the Pickens Senator commented. “For much too long our state has led the nation in domestic violence deaths, and that important legislation is just the beginning of a much larger effort to reverse that awful statistic.”
Martin also pointed to reform efforts that began with a major state government restructuring bill early in his term as Judiciary Committee chairman. “I used the influence of the Judiciary chairmanship to work closely with Governor Haley and other reform-minded legislators to build on the late Governor Carroll Campbell’s cabinet initiative. We also formalized legislative oversight of state agencies so that the General Assembly has an ongoing responsibility to closely examine every state agency over a seven year cycle.”
The Senator concluded, “The Senate just passed a significant reform of the Department of Transportation that also dedicates $400 million of existing general fund revenues toward repairing our roads without raising taxes. Very soon, I intend to make another run at meaningful ethics reform. The bill would require independent investigations of ethics violations by members of the Legislature and disclose sources of private incomes.”
Martin and his wife, Susan, have three children, one grandchild, and are longtime Pickens residents. The Martins are active members of Pickens First Baptist Church where he serves as a Sunday School teacher and church moderator. Martin has been associated with Alice Manufacturing Company in Easley for almost 35 years.
“I’m proud that all three of our children went through our local public schools, graduated from Clemson University, and are gainfully employed,” Martin chuckled.
DAR members visit WV
At the 111th State Conference of the West Virginia State Society of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), Rooche Field of the Wizard of Tamassee Chapter of DAR in Seneca and Mari Noorai of the Andrew Pickens Chapter of the DAR in Clemson were invited guests of Joan Gibson, WVDAR State Awards Chair. This state conference was held at The Greenbrier in White Sulpher Springs. Pictured are Field, Gibson and Noorai at the event.
A jolt of magic teaches students electrical safety
McKissick Elementary assistant principal Anita Richardson, along with principal Gary Mohr, join magician Chris Dixon (center) as he includes students Brendon Lindsey, Kendric Williams and Makaela McIntyre during a magic trick.
EASLEY — Students at a local elementary school got an interesting lesson in electrical safety recently.
However, unlike traditional lecture style lessons, this presentation was of a magical variety.
Using magic tricks and comedy to hold the students’ attention, magician Chris Dixon presented his “Making Accidents Disappear” program, sponsored by Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative, to students at McKissick Elementary.
“There is no performing art that is more universally loved among children than magic,” Dixon said. “I’m excited that Blue Ridge Electric Co-op decided to sponsor this program in area elementary schools. Teaching electrical safety in a way that is memorable and fun for the students is a real passion of mine.”
“The Blue Ridge Electric electrical safety program was wonderful,” McKissick principal Gary Mohr said. “The kids were engaged, listening to the presenter for the duration of the program. Combining education with entertainment is the best way to instruct and present information. Blue Ridge does it with this safety program.”
Assistant principal Anita Richardson called the presentation “a great way to teach electrical safety through humor and magic.”
“We are so grateful to Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative for bringing this program to McKissick Elementary,” she said. “Partnerships like this are vital to educating the whole child.”
“At Blue Ridge Electric Co-op we’re totally committed to doing everything in our power to prevent accident-related injuries and deaths among children in our community,” Blue Ridge marketing coordinator Liza Holder said. “A commitment to community and education is one of the things that make rural electric cooperatives different. That’s something our members can be proud of.”
Police ask for public’s help in theft of trailer
A surveillance camera shows a 60-foot enclosed trailer being stolen from the driveway of an Easley home Monday morning. The Pickens County Sheriff’s Office is hoping the public can provide information leading to the arrest of two people believed to be involved in the theft.
By Greg Oliver
Courtesy The Journal
goliver@upstatetoday.com
EASLEY — A 60-foot enclosed trailer was stolen from the driveway of an Easley home last Monday, and the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office is asking the public for help in identifying the suspects involved.
Chief deputy Creed Hashe said Wednesday afternoon that the stolen red “Hallmark” tandem axle trailer has a side door.
The trailer was parked in the driveway of a home on Midland Drive, and the sheriff’s office believes it was stolen around 8:20 a.m. after the homeowner had left the residence.
Located inside the trailer at the time of the theft was a 1931 Ford car described as a black “Hot Rod” model 2s. Hashe said the vehicle is currently not operational.
Three images collected by the sheriff’s office from a home surveillance system near the residence have been provided to the news media. The images show the trailer being pulled by a dark-colored SUV believed to possibly be a GMC Yukon or Chevrolet Tahoe.
Police believe the vehicle may have been occupied by a white male and a white female.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the sheriff’s office at (864) 898-5500 or CrimeStoppers at 1-888-CRIMESC.
You will be seeing more of less of me
It’s good to be back. It’s been a while.
I started covering Pickens County not quite 10 years ago, after lucking into a job at the Easley Progress. I literally went from being a pizza delivery guy one day to the paper’s entire hard news department the next. I hit the ground running and for the next few years, I ran faster and faster.
One thing people in the news business have gotten used to hearing in recent years is “We’ve got to do more with less.” You get used to having more responsibilities divvied up among less people. And then even less people. And then even less people.
But it’s a great way to learn, and it was a fun learning experience for a long time. I was in my twenties and having a good time. Who needs a social life? Who needs sleep? Not this guy!
Eventually I left the papers and took a job running a website all about Easley. I was writer, editor, picture-taker, uploader, everything and everybody.
It was a fun job. It let me focus on what I’m good at — telling stories — and leaving behind what I’m not good at, which is everything else.
I was able to expand the site’s coverage areas and I got good at getting the stories nobody else was getting.
As I bounced from meeting to meeting, event to event, story to story, I got used to hearing, “Jason! You’re everywhere!”
And it felt like I was.
But the problem with being a one-man band is eventually you get tired of your own tunes. In fact, the very concept of music-making starts to make you twitch.
That’s how it was with me and writing for a long time. I burnt the candle at both ends for so long that I snuffed out my desire to write, both as a career and for my own enjoyment. When it came to writing for myself, if I had the time, I never had the inclination. And if I had the inclination, I somehow never found the time.
Another problem: No time to take care of myself. My diet was pure junk. My weight didn’t just balloon, it Goodyear Blimped.
It was all taking a toll.
So when my previous writing gig went kerblooey a few years back, I found a new job. One that was behind the scenes in journalism. No writing at all. A set schedule. A predictable, seldom-changing set of daily tasks.
And it was … fine.
I mean, it was good.
I mean, it was OK.
All right, all right, it was mind-numbingly boring.
There were nice, talented people putting out a great product every day, but my new job utilized very little of what I bring to the table, in my humble or not-so-humble opinion.
It took me, oh, maybe two days to realize that I missed writing and covering communities very much. I hung in there for two years before leaving to try and figure out what I want to be when I grow up.
What’s that you say? I’m 34 and not getting any younger?
Shush. Age ain’t nothing but a number.
I was very glad when Rocky and Zack reached out to me recently. Helping them out is a happy medium. I get to have a social life and I get to do what I enjoy. It’s nice. I’ll be doing a mix of hard news and feature writing for the Pickens County Courier, and I’m eager to get started.
And it’s an exciting time to be covering this area, with possible school closures and controversies over coal ash, just to name a couple of the most recent topics. It’ll be nice to stop viewing it all from the sidelines and get back into the game.
I’m already enjoying one perk of being back on the scene. I’ve lost quite a bit of weight since the last time I was out covering stories in Pickens County. I’m really enjoying being told that I look good — or at least better — these days. Keep that up. I don’t think it’ll ever get old.
I’m looking forward to getting back in the groove. So you’ll be seeing more of me, in these pages and out and about. It’s going to be fun.
Let’s get started.
Courier Letters to the Editor 3-16-16
Signature issue
Dear Editor,
Under the state law, the school board has authority to close schools. I do not dispute that, but board members also must have a moral authority or standing to make such a decision. When making a decision of such gravity — one that turns lives upside down, changes communities and ends traditions going back to the 1920s, leaders must be conscious of not only their legal authority but whether or not they have the moral authority as well.
Phil Bowers is from Six Mile, with one year on the board. Herb Cooper has been on the board 24 years, and I understand he visited Holly Springs last week, and my bet is that was his first visit. Dr. Danny Merck has been superintendent less than two years, and he doesn’t have a middle school or career center named after him. I don’t have the moral standing either. While I’ve been representing Pickens 12 years, I’m not from here. Frankly, I’m a Yankee with no place messing with a 100-year tradition in Pickens County, S.C., without the blessing of the people who spent their entire lives here.
When I think about the people who should make a decision of this magnitude, I can’t help but think our names are near the bottom of that list, despite what the law says.
Someone like Larry Martin, who has been representing the county for 35 years, been elected and re-elected numerous times, would be seen as having the moral authority to do this. Someone from the Chastain, the Edens or the Lynch families, who have been living in those communities since the 1790s, would be at the top of that list.
Where is the respect for the wishes of those who have been here long before us, or made the investments of time that we haven’t made?
The fact the board seriously considered making this decision against the wishes of the thousands who have put years, and whose families put generations of time and effort into those schools and communities is reprehensible. The fact they voted to close those schools is unforgiveable.
I could see if the buildings blew down in a tornado over the Easter break and then such a decision was hoisted upon us — to rebuild these small schools or not rebuild them? Then we would be justified in making that decision, moral standing or not. But that was not the case here. Absent the necessary moral authority or standing, Judy Edwards, Brian Swords, Phil Bowers, Herb Cooper and Dr. Merck went out of their way to close those freshly renovated schools — some of the top performers in the county — and ended a nearly 100-year tradition up there.
Their names will be mud with these people because they know these “leaders” lack the moral authority or standing to make such a decision in their eyes. The parents of students in those schools, the decades of alumni spread around this county, the families that have been up there since the 1790s or those who just moved into places like the Vineyards know these trustees have not invested one moment of time in these schools or communties.
Later, when these trustees think of why they ran and the superintendent what he aimed to accomplish in his tenure, there will be no way to run away from this decision; closing these schools will be their signature issue, and no one will look upon them favorably for it.
Alex Saitta
School board trustee
Pickens
Do you care?
Dear Editor,
My heart goes out to the families and children who are affected by the school board’s irresponsible and deplorable vote on Monday night. We went through this and know what these changes and challenges will be like for you.
As far as the board members who didn’t listen to the hundreds of people who didn’t want this for their family, their children, their friends and neighbors — I certainly hope you enjoyed your time on the board playing God with the people who voted to put you in that position in the first place and mistakenly trusted you.
There were other options rather than closing any of these schools, and you know it. It amazes me how you four board members can disengage and not care that you just hurt hundreds of families and children.
When you go to sleep at night, will you even think about the children who go to bed crying at night because they’re losing their school, their friends, their trusted teachers and their feeling of safety in all that they know right now? Do you care that their first experience in politics is the knowledge that money matters, not people?
If I have anything to say about it, I will do everything in my power to make sure you do not get re-elected. You have effectively made these children numbers and treated these families like they were part of a business plan, instead of the community that they are. Shame on you.
When the next board seats come up for election, you will be on the chopping block. You have made people feel like their voices are not heard, and you don’t care about what’s best for them and their families, and people do not have short memories.
If there is ever a time to get involved in voting and choosing board members who care about us, and not the schools as a business where you can “write off” loss, now is the time.
We need the “majority” of the board to represent the voters, the families, the children and the community, and as it stands right now, we do not have that.
Personally, I would like to thank Henry Wilson and Alex Saitta for being steadfast in doing your best to keep us informed and truly representing us and the community. It couldn’t have been easy to stand up against the bullies that make up the remainder of the board. But please know that you have our respect, loyalty and appreciation for standing up for what was right and fighting for our children’s best interest.
Laura Demler
Pickens
