Monthly Archives: May 2016
Fulcher wins SWU Provost’s Award
CENTRAL — A Southern Wesleyan University student was honored for making a difference in the lives of residents in an area recovering from plant closures and a tragic chemical spill.
Anne Fulcher of Warrenville was enrolled at Southern Wesleyan’s North Augusta learning center and graduated May 6 with her master of science in management and leadership.
Anne Fulcher, above, received the Provost’s Community Leadership Award April 28 at Southern Wesleyan University in Central. Dr. Tonya Strickland, Southern Wesleyan’s provost, presented Fulcher with the award.
Fulcher is the editor of the GVW Report, a community activism newspaper that was started last year as a way to help redevelop the towns of Graniteville, Vaucluse and Warrenville following a devastating chlorine spill from a 2005 tanker derailment. She also volunteers as the Graniteville Community Coordinator for the Graniteville Brownfield Project, in which she works with local businesses, churches, and nonprofits to help make the area a better place to live.
Fulcher also serves on the board of directors for several organizations, including Area Churches Together Serving, Christ Central/Hope Center Graniteville, Masterworks Chorale, Aiken County Family Y, Midland Valley Area Chamber of Commerce and the GRACE Study. She has written multiple funded grants for the area.
Dr. Tonya Strickland, Southern Wesleyan University provost, shared comments about Fulcher, describing her as an individual of “strong moral fiber,” character, leadership ability, enthusiasm and a willingness to help others.
Fulcher was selected out of three finalists.
One of the finalists, Lindsay Blair, is enrolled in the bachelor of science in human services program at Southern Wesleyan’s Greenville learning center and is the founder of Switch, an Upstate-based non-profit organization aimed at fighting human trafficking. As its Survivor Services Director, Blair focuses her efforts on fighting human trafficking and sexual exploitation on a local level through awareness, prevention, demand, intervention, and restoration.
Another finalist is Tim Prendergast, who attended Southern Wesleyan’s North Augusta learning center and graduated May 6 with his master of science in management and leadership degree. Prendergast served in the military for 26 years and is currently veterans outreach coordinator at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Augusta Vet Center. Prendergast serves veterans who are institutionalized in nursing homes and is spearheading an effort to visit veterans in local nursing facilities to ensure that they are aware of their earned benefits.
EHS world language students score well
EASLEY — Nearly two dozen Easley High School students earned national recognition for excellent performance on the 2016 National Spanish Examinations.
Ashley Lynch earned gold placement, Ashton Downs and Prajwal Patel earned silver placement, and Leanna Gibson, Levi Wilson, Katelyn Dailey and Olivia Roach earned bronze placement, along with 15 honorable mentions.
Attaining any placement is very prestigious because the exams are the largest of their kind in the United States, with well over 160,000 students participating in 2016.
Students from Easley High School have a long history of high achievement on these exams and were taught by Spanish teachers Shannon Wood, Brad Seabrook, Juan Ubeda, Sara Abarca and Monika Santiago.
Courier Obituaries 5-18-16
Sara Crowe
Liberty — Sara Mae Powell Crowe, 82, of 120 Roanoke Road, passed away peacefully Monday, May 9, 2016, at her residence.
Pickens County to celebrate EMS Week
PICKENS — From May 15-21, Pickens County will celebrate the 42nd National EMS Week.
All EMS workers deserve recognition for the work they do within the community. They are a critical component of emergency medicine and the public health safety net. While they remain behind the scenes most times, paramedics save lives on a daily basis — a service that should not be taken lightly. They are well-trained and skilled individuals. On any given day, EMS responds to any and all medical emergencies, whether it is cardiac arrest, car accidents, difficulty breathing, drowning, stroke, drug overdose, etc.
EMS is able to provide both basic and advanced medical care to patients at the scene and en route to a hospital. Their abilities and response time to emergencies is quite impressive. It is safe to say they are the difference between life and death.
The Pickens County community recognizes and thanks all EMS personnel for their service and willingness to work within our great community. To show a small token of appreciation, lunch will be provided to all EMS employees throughout the week by local businesses including Ingles, Papa John’s, Lowe’s, Applebee’s, Fatz, and Meineke Car Care.
Although EMS is being honored this week, they will also be giving out helmets to first-grade students in remembrance of Emma Boughman, a little girl struck by a car while riding her scooter without a helmet. EMS is able to purchase more helmets each year with donations given by the community. Donations can be made to the Emma Kapps (Kids Are Precious People) account at the First Citizens Bank in Liberty. Helmets will be presented to students, as well as education on protecting the vital organs when riding scooters or bikes.
EMS week will close Saturday, May 21, with a Health Fair at the United Methodist Church in Liberty. This a chance for the public and EMS to interact with one another, and a chance for the community to be educated in health related issues and procedures.
Community celebrates AR Lewis Elementary
Jason Evans/Courier
Former A.R. Lewis Elementary School principal Kathy Brazinski explained the significance of the red butterflies on the school’s murals. Her aunt once told her “Wherever you see a red butterfly, there I am.” Brazinski told the crowd during A.R. Lewis Day that she hopes they think of her when they see a red butterfly, too.
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
PICKENS —Members of a close-knit community recently gathered to say goodbye to A.R. Lewis Elementary School.
The school hosted a celebration, A.R. Lewis Day, on Saturday, May 7. A large crowd gathered to share memories of the school and walk its halls — for many, for the last time.
Members of the Pickens County School Board voted on March 14 to close the school, along with Holly Springs Elementary School, at the end of this school year.
Jason Evans/Courier
A.R. Lewis principal Melissa Terry shared the early history of her school with the crowd. She said the school’s first 8 teachers strove to make the school “one of the best elementary schools in Pickens County.”
Principal Melissa Terry welcomed the crowd on “this very special day” and shared the school’s early history.
The school is located on “some of the most beautiful land in Pickens County,” she said.
A.R. Lewis opened for its first term in September 1959.
The school was built to consolidate smaller schools — even one-room schools — including Martin School, Shady Grove School and Mile Creek School.
The school was formally dedicated on March 20, 1960. The school is named for former Pickens Centralized Schools trustee Albert R. Lewis. Lewis served as the trustee of the newly-formed Pickens County School District A until his death in 1957.
“Pickens County honored his memory by naming our school after him,” Terry said.
When it was built, the school had eight classrooms and 258 students, she said.
The approximate cost of the building at that time was $199,000, Terry said.
“At that time, the eight teachers said they intended to make this one of the best elementary schools in the county,” she said. “And I would say that they did.”
The school was extensively renovated and added on to in 1991 and again in 2009.
“A.R. Lewis has had a rich history,” Terry said. “It has won numerous awards and it has been recognized for many accomplishments in education. That is wonderful.”
Terry said her two years as principal had been “the best years of my professional career.”
Jason Evans/Courier
Mayor David Owens reads a proclamation declaring May 7 “A.R. Lewis Elementary School Day” in the city of Pickens.
“I fell in love with this school upon arrival, and I will always have a special place in my heart for it, for the students and for the families,” she said. “The families of this community are to be commended for the love and support that they have shown this school over the many years. Thank you so much.”
Pickens mayor David Owens read a proclamation declaring May 7 to be “A.R. Lewis Day.”
“A.R. Lewis has nurtured and educated some of Pickens County’s finest citizens for more than half a century,” Owens said. “A lot of them, if you look around, are here today.”
Dr. Henry Hunt, a former principal at A.R. Lewis, shared his
Jason Evans/Courier
Dr. Henry Hunt was once the principal at A.R. Lewis Elementary School. He remembered parents and teachers working together to make the school even better.
memories of the school.
“That tree was a lot smaller when I was here before,” Hunt said with a laugh.
“I remember fondly the students,” he said. “It’s good to see former students, our present and former teachers that are here. It’s been a real pleasant experience for me to come back and walk around and talk to folks, to look at the facility.”
He praised the parents and the school’s Parent Teacher Association.
“The PTA when I was here was very supportive, and I know they still are,” Hunt said. “In fact, in the spring of 1982, the parents, through the PTA, raised funds and air-conditioned the classrooms. That was a major milestone for us.”
Before that, open windows and loud fans were commonplace in every classroom in warm weather.
Hunt remembered the “big, long lines” at the water fountains after recesses before the rooms were air conditioned.
A.R. Lewis Elementary School was a family, he said.
“The students, they know the teachers,” Hunt said. “The principals know the students — it certainly was that way when I was here. We know the community, we know the parents. Parents were very supportive when I was here, and I’m sure they still are. If there are issues and problems, we could call on them. They would help us out, help us out with individual children or help us with funds.”
The very ground the stage was sitting upon was graded thanks to the PTA so students would have a level playing area, he said.
Hunt said he hoped the students and others would be comforted by their own fond memories of the school in the days ahead.
“We had a great school, and it will live in our memories,” he said.
Jason Evans/Courier
Former A.R. Lewis principal Kathy Brazinski said the teachers, staff and parents at the school “were a family.”
Former principal Kathy Brazinski said the tradition embodied by the school began in 1890, “when community residents saw a need to properly educate its children while providing the closeness and individualized supervision a small school can provide.”
“So for over 100 years, this community has provided that,” she said.
She said the PTA provided school funds for “whatever the district budget didn’t cover.”
“People in the community were always willing to provide special learning experiences, and it has continued through to today,” Brazinski said.
She spent 12 years at A.R. Lewis. Her dealings with the school first began with teaching gifted and talented students, a program students from A.R. Lewis took part in.
“They came to me on Tuesdays, and I was always especially excited on Tuesdays because I was getting the students from A.R. Lewis,” Brazinski said.
“What a close-knit school A.R. Lewis was when I was first introduced to this wonderful school and community,” she said. “Little did I know that I would have the privilege of being the principal here and being a part of this family.”
Jason Evans/Courier
Teachers and staff line up to receive a special memento from the PTA — framed pictures of the school.
Teachers and staff went the extra mile for their students by securing grants for innovative programs for A.R. Lewis, she said.
One such program was Project Success, a writing program to teach teachers how to teach writing skills to their students. The program was part of the National Diffusion Network.
“Because the teachers did just an excellent job, and the students did just an excellent job, it was the only school in this nation that was a Model National Diffusion Network Writing School,” Brazinski said. “The only one in the country.”
While she was heading up Simpson Academy, Brazinski said she was “still wishing for an elementary school.” That wish was granted in 1998, when she became principal at A.R. Lewis.
“What a beautiful and fun ride,” she said.
She remembered the work that went into providing affordable afterschool childcare for the community.
The school isn’t near any childcare facilities, “so we made our own,” Brazinski said.
“That’s what families do when they need something,” she said.
She listed some of the school team’s many accomplishments, achieved, she said, because teachers, staff, parents and students banded together to accomplish them.
A.R. Lewis was the first Red Carpet School in Pickens County, first in 2001 and again in 2009.
It was a South Carolina School of Promise. It was named a USDA Healthier School in 2009.
Other achievements include Palmetto Silver and Gold Awards, Safe Kids programs, proving fresh fruit and vegetables to the students, Nickelodeon coming and building the school’s water garden, the nature trail and the garden, which was available to the larger community during the summer months- and “11 straight years of closing the achievement gap.”
Jason Evans/Courier
Albert and Louise Lewis live on as the namesakes for these eagles behind A.R. Lewis Elementary School. Students created the eagles, their eggs and their nest.
She drew many laughs as she recalled times when she fulfilled some outlandish promises made to students and teachers for certain achievements they made and milestones they reached.
During the Freezing for Reading program, Brazinski sat on a block of ice. She remembered taking quick trips to the cafeteria, where pan warmers awaited “so I could run in and warm my buns and then go sit on the ice again.”
“I got my hair dyed red, I got my hair dyed rainbow,” Brazinski said. “I was taped to a wall. My skin could not breathe, and my feet turned purple. I had whipped cream in my ears and my face and my nose.”
She remembered snakes appearing not only on the playground but in trash cans inside the building. That wasn’t the only wildlife — many times horses, pigs and goats had to be lured from school grounds and reunited with their owners.
She recalled a near miss from a tornado.
Brazinski remembered the motto on the school’s pens, “Never Stop Caring.”
“I sincerely want to thank every teacher and staff member and parent,” she said. “Thank you for taking care of your children, our children here at A.R. Lewis.
“I’ll never stop caring, and I hope that each of you will not stop sharing with me your hopes, your dreams, your successes and your failures,” Brazinski said. “I love you all.”
During the celebration, the PTA presented framed photos of the school to all the staff present during the special celebration.
Some of the school’s youngest students, in K4-K5, sang “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” for the audience.
“It’s because they want to honor the friendships they have made over their little time here at A.R. Lewis and they’ll continue to have throughout their future in Pickens County schools,” Terry said.
Jason Evans/Courier
The youngest students at A.R. Lewis sang a special song, “You’ve Got a Friend in Me,” during the celebration day program.
A.R. Lewis students taking part in the Young Appalachian Musicians program then played several songs.
Following the YAM performance, the band Left Lane Bluegrass performed for the crowd.
A.R. Lewis Elementary School’s last day of instruction for students will be June 1.
CMH Auxiliary announces 2016 Dr. John Harden Scholarship recipient
PICKENS — Cannon Memorial Hospital Auxiliary presented the 2016 John Harden Scholarship to hospital employee health and wellness RN Renee Turner at its May meeting.
In addition to working at Cannon for the past 10 years, Turner is also an adjunct nursing instructor at Tri-County Technical College. She graduated in 2003 from the University of South Carolina-Spartanburg with a Bachelor of Science in nursing, and has a total of 13 years of experience as an RN. She recently began working on a Master of Science in nursing-family nurse practioner degree. Turner’s plans are to complete the program in two years and practice in the Pickens area. Turner is married to Matt Turner and has one son, Braxton.
Pictured, from left, are Amanda Cooper, Diana Hancock, Renee Turner and Barbara Woolsey.
The Cannon Memorial Hospital Auxiliary established the Dr. John Harden Scholarship in 1996 as a way of honoring the memory of Dr. John Harden, a physician and surgeon who devoted his life to serving Cannon Memorial Hospital and the people of Pickens County. A $30,000 donation from the late William G. Acker, a trustee emeritus of Cannon Memorial Hospital, helps fund the scholarship program.
The annual $1,000 scholarship is awarded each year to a student planning a career in a health care field. The scholarship is open to students from Pickens High School, Liberty High School, Prince Avenue Prep School and Lakeview Christian Academy. Employees of Cannon Memorial Hospital, their spouses, and children, Cannon volunteers and their children age 25 and under are also eligible, as well as employees of Pickens and Liberty physician practices or dental and eye care practices. Applications are due each spring, and interested students can contact their prospective schools. Applications can also be found at cannonhospital.org.
Clemson Farmers Market kicks off season with Healthy Living Expo
CLEMSON — The Clemson Farmers Market hosted an opening day celebration and Healthy Living Expo on Friday, May 13, at Patrick Square’s Village Green at 578 Issaqueena Trail in Clemson.
The market featured more than 25 vendors offering fresh, locally grown produce, farm products, specialty food items and handmade arts and crafts. More than 20 local businesses and organizations whose mission is to promote a healthy lifestyle participated in the second annual Healthy Living Expo. In addition to the vendors, a variety of family-friendly activities were scheduled.
Market partners are the City of Clemson, Patrick Square and the Clemson Area Chamber of Commerce. Market sponsors are AgSouth Farm Credit, Baptist Easley Hospital, Clemson Area Transit (CAT), Clemson Downs, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute – Clemson (OLLI) and Rick Erwin›s – Clemson.
For a complete 2016 market schedule or vendor guidelines, application and forms, visit clemsonfarmersmarket.org.
The market is also looking for musical entertainers and groups, guest chefs for cooking demonstrations, and individuals and groups to host family-friendly workshops and hands-on activities. To find out how you can participate, contact market manager Kathi Dimmock at kathi.dimmock@att.net.
Agriculture, military celebration set for Saturday at Hagood Mill
PICEKNS — Friends of the Hagood Mill will host a special “Agriculture and Military Day” concert at the mill site this Saturday, May 21.
The free event will feature musical performances by Pretty Little Goat String Band, delivering a fresh, driving, energetic take on old-time string band music. This five-piece group from Brevard, N.C., includes the driving and innovative bass fiddle work of J.T. Linville, the train-whistle, foghorn buck dancing of Tim Fisher’s fiddle, the cigar-box chunking mandolin rhythm and leads of Josh Carter, the charming percussion of Mallory Carter’s home-made washboard contraption, and Owen Groom’s fretless banjo sounds like water rolling off rocks. Everyone in the group trades off strong old-time vocal leads and harmonies. Just as musicians of the Southern Appalachians have done for centuries, the Goat Band creates their own music from old mountain ballads and fiddle music, while paying respect to the grand tradition. Pretty Little Goat String Band will be performing between 1 and 3 p.m.
Warming up the stage around 11:30 a.m. will be Dakota Waddell. Born and raised in Western North Carolina, Waddell is a musician who specializes in acoustic traditional music of the Appalachian Mountains. You can usually catch Waddell playing upright base with his band Nitrograss, formed with two-time national banjo champion Charles Wood. Waddell’s musical influences stem from all across the spectrum. Some of his greatest inspirations for banjo have been Mark Johnson, Ralph Stanley, Adam Hurt, Bruce Molsky, Cathy Fink, Dan Levenson, Dusty Lee Elmer, Doc Boggs and Wade Ward. Along with Nitrograss, Waddell regularly performs with acoustic groups that include Grits and Soul, Asheville-based Sanctum Sully, electric funk jazz rock power trio Max Gross Weight and a number of other artists and groups.
The gristmill and all other demonstrations will be running from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.
This year’s Agricultural Celebration is co-sponsored by the Bart Garrison Agricultural Museum of South Carolina.
Kids and adults are welcome to take part in a variety of activities hosted by the museum including proper milking techniques with “Clarabelle the milking cow,” hand grinding corn, operating an old-fashioned water pump, corn darts, and much more.
Local farms will be on hand selling live plants, vegetables, hand cut herbs and more.
Visitors won’t want to miss the opportunity to meet and greet with one of the Southeast’s premiere heirloom seed providers, Heavenly Seed LLC. This highly respected company will be onsite offering a variety of heirloom, open pollinated, and certified organic fruit and vegetable seeds for visitors to purchase.
Present on site for the Military Day Celebration will be the Military History Club of the Carolinas with military vehicles, historians and re-enactors. Cpt. Jim Bay, Calhoun Light Artillery and the Second South Carolina Regimental Rifles Volunteers will be onsite with an encampment of “War Between the States”-era soldiers, along with firing demonstrations of cannon and rifles.
The featured demonstrator will be gunmaker Don Bruton, who specializes in the creation of Southern long guns circa 1760-1780. Bruton will demonstrate how a “Boone Gun” was traditionally loaded, fired and utilized on the American frontier during this time period. He will also explain how these guns were created and give insight to the items carried within the typical hunting pouch of the mid-to-late-1700s.
There promises to be plenty to see and do and lots of fun. There is a $5 parking fee for the day, but admission is free to the Hagood Mill Site, as well as the Hagood Creek Petroglyph Site. All proceeds from parking support the Hagood Mill Site.
Food from the Gatehouse Restaurant will also be available on-site.
For more information, contact the Hagood Mill at (864) 898-2936 or visit visitpickenscounty.com/calendar.
Career and technology center graduates working in county
COUNTY — Alliance Pickens developed the Scholar Technician initiative to encourage students to consider STEM manufacturing technical careers and to create a highly-skilled, technically trained workforce that would both support existing companies and attract top-notch manufacturing firms to Pickens County. This initiative has been very successful, and Pickens County industry and students are benefiting from the applied technical training students are receiving at a young age.
The School District of Pickens County has developed one of the best Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) initiatives in South Carolina, and a large part of that success starts at the Pickens County Career and Technology Center (CTC). The CTC provides students with hands-on career training in a variety of areas, including Machine Tool Technology and Mechatronics Integrated Technologies. This advanced technical training has helped many Pickens County students obtain full-time employment with industrial firms in Pickens County immediately after graduating high school.
For example, students who successfully completed Brian Aiken’s courses in Machine Tool Technology have been very successful in obtaining full-time work here in the Pickens County industrial community directly after graduating; last year’s graduating class placed seven of the ten students who completed Mr. Aiken’s courses at manufacturing facilities in Pickens County, at businesses such as Reliable Automatic Sprinkler Co. Inc., Integrated Automation Inc., United Tool and Mold Inc., Southeastern Industrial Services and Imperial Die Casting Co.
“It is a real blessing to see students begin to be productive, responsible young adults in our community. The technical skills that are instilled in them here at the CTC are what open doors for these entry-level positions. Many progress quickly on the job and soon become valuable team members,” Aiken said.
Hank Hutto’s Mechatronics Integrated Technology students have also been very successful in finding employment in Pickens County directly after completing high school; his former students now work at companies such as Yokohama Industries Americas, JR Automation Technologies LLC, Cornell Dubilier, and Sealevel Systems, Inc.
The high-quality, hands-on education these students received at the CTC allowed them to obtain quality, well-paying jobs in Pickens County at a young age, thereby setting them up for long and successful careers here in our community. By integrating hands-on training and first-class education at a young age, Pickens County is developing a workforce with the technical skills modern industrial firms require, which is why more and more business leaders are deciding to move their manufacturing facilities to Pickens County.
By educating students to solve problems with their minds and their hands, Pickens County is seeing an ever-increasing number of young residents merit jobs that pay family-raising incomes.
Annual Rogers scholarship golf tourney continues to be success
PICKENS — Eleven teams participated in the 12th annual Charles F. Rogers Scholarship Award Golf Tournament held at Pickens Country Club on May 7.
The event, which is held annually, raises money for scholarships that will be awarded to Pickens High School basketball team members who plan to further their education. A senior from the varsity girls’ team and a senior from the varsity boys’ team will receive the scholarship awards later this month.
First-place winners in the annual Charles F. Rogers Scholarship Golf Tournament were, from left, Chad Roper, Craig Roper, Matt Gutschow and Josh Durham.
This will be the 13th year the scholarship has been presented in honor of the late Charles Rogers, a man who gave so much to Pickens High School as a player and coach for so many years.
“This tournament honors the memory of Charles Rogers, and his legacy lives on through this award,” PHS girls’ coach Butch Morris said. “It’s the least we can do for a man that gave his time and talents to Pickens High School, as well as our community.”
First-place winners of the tournament were Chad Roper, Craig Roper, Matt Gutschow and Josh Durham. Second place went to Clyde Carr, Tom Green, Bernard Johnson and Tee McGowens. Third-place team members were Tyler Burgess, Parker Owens, Derek Smith and Seth Lamb. Other winners were Bernard Johnson and Tom Green for longest drive, and Craig Roper and Matt Gutschow for closest to the pin.
Of course, the big winners from the golf tournament are the future recipients of the scholarship award, as donations brought in almost $2,500. The first year the award was given in 2004, seniors received $200. This year the scholarship award will be $1,000.00. The scholarship money they receive can be put towards their college education.
“This scholarship fund continues to grow thanks to so many caring and giving individuals,” Morris said.
Morris gave a special thanks to Rodney Wakefield for coordinating the event again this year, as well as a sincere thank you to all the participants and the volunteers who made the tournament run smoothly. Donations for the fund can be turned in at South State Bank in Pickens.
