Monthly Archives: June 2016
Courier Notice to Creditors 6-15-16
The publisher shall only be liable for an amount less than or equal to the charge for the space of the item in error in the case of errors in or omissions from any advertisement, and only for the first incorrect insertion.
NOTICE TO CREDITORS OF ESTATES
All persons having claims against the following estates MUST file their claims on Form #371ES with the Probate Court of PICKENS COUNTY,
Courier Trespass Notices 6-15-16
In the state of South Carolina, trespass after notice is a misdemeanor criminal offense prohibited by section 16-11-620 for the South Carolina Code.
Those who enter upon the lands of others without the permission of the owner or manager shall be deemed guilty of misdemeanor trespassing.
Courier Classifieds 6-15-16
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1 killed in early-morning accident Monday
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — A Greenville man was killed in a single-vehicle accident Monday morning.
Pickens County coroner Kandy Kelley identified the victim as Warren Kyle Rice, 47, of Donaldson Street in Greenville.
According to Lance Cpl. David Jones with the South Carolina Highway Patrol, the accident occurred at 2:50 a.m. on Prince Perry Road in Easley.
Rice was traveling north on Prince Perry Road when his 1999 Honda Accord went off the left side of the roadway, striking a ditch and then a tree, Jones said.
Rice was entrapped in the vehicle, Jones said.
Kelley said Rice was not wearing a seatbelt. He was pronounced dead at the scene of blunt-force trauma.
The Highway Patrol is still investigating the accident.
Dacusville library kicks off summer reading program
Jason Evans/Courier
The Dacusville Community Library kicked off its summer reading program Saturday morning. This year’s summer reading theme is “Growing Good Readers.” Young readers enjoyed a lesson about plants and trees from Susan Childers before she read Janice May Udry’s book “A Tree is Nice” to them, showing off the illustrations by Marc Simont. “We’re going to grow some really good readers out of all of you,” Childers told the children. The kids then made their own trees during arts and crafts time. Participants in the Dacusville Community 
Library’s summer reading program can earn rewards by keeping a log of the books they read this summer. Grand prizes will be given to outstanding readers at the end of the program. The Dacusville Community Library is located in the Dacusville Community Center, the former Dacusville Middle School building.
County officials release statement on TCTC flap
Officials ask for specific plans to justify expenditure
PICKENS — Pickens County officials responded Monday evening to media reports suggesting the county has reversed course on a proposed Tri-County Technical College construction/renovation project at its Pendleton campus.
Officials said the reports are incorrect
“In contrast, Pickens County’s position has remained consistent throughout,” the county said in a release sent to media outlets.
According to the county’s release, when TCTC president Ronnie Booth met with county council on Oct. 12 of last year, council members agreed to the proposed building program in concept only, specifically providing that Tri-County Tech should return to council with more specific building details during this year’s budget process.
That position was reiterated durinc council’s regular meeting on Oct. 19, when members unanimously approved a letter of support with the intent that funding, final building specifications and bond information would come back during this year’s budget for approval of funds, according to the minutes from that meeting.
County officials claim council chairman Jennifer Willis wrote to Booth after the Oct. 19 meeting to inform him that funding for any project would “require a separate vote by Pickens County Council.”
According to the release sent Monday by the county, council members expected Booth would include requested details, such as building plans, specifications and site plans, at a May 25 meeting with county officials.
“No such information was provided,” the county said in its release. “Instead, Dr. Booth provided only general information about the project and rehashed justification information that was discussed during the October meeting last year.
“Pickens County was disappointed that Tri-County Tech did not provide the needed detail to move forward with the proposed expansion/renovation plans.”
County officials said they were also “disappointed to learn through the media that Tri-County Tech is threatening to raise tuition on only Pickens County students for the second time this year if the county insists on detailed building plans prior to voting to authorize any building/renovation funds.”
Pickens County Council members have expressed concern that the counties are expected to pay for the new building, which they say is a state responsibility. Counties are responsible for maintenance and operations, according to county officials.
“The failure by the state to fulfill its obligations should not mandate the county cover that cost,” county officials said.
“We again request that Tri-County Tech come forward with actual building plans and specifications to include total costs per square foot, so the county may be justified in authorizing the expenditure of millions of dollars of taxpayers’ funds,” the release said.
Baptist Easley dedicates eternal flame in honor of ‘remarkable human being’ Cam Underhill
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — Cam Underhill may be gone, but her light shines on at Baptist Easley.
She is remembered as a caring nurse, administrator, encouraging leader and dear friend.
A crowd, including Underhill’s family and friends, gathered at the employee entrance of the hospital Friday afternoon to honor Underhill, who passed away in 2007 after battling cancer.
An eternal flame has been created at the entrance in Underhill’s memory.
Quint Studer, founder of Studer Group, remembered Underhill as “a remarkable humans being” and “a fire starter.”
“In earliest civilization, they had people that kept the flame alive,” Studer said. “If those people didn’t keep the flame alive, civilization would have ended. In healthcare, we need fire starters. We need people to keep the flame alive.”
In healthcare, “there are winds,” Studer said. “There’s external pressures we don’t plan on. There’s internal challenges. There’s ups and downs. There’s times when you get a little bit off-track. There’s times when you go a little backwards.”
Quint Studer, founder of Studer Group, shared memories of Cam Underhill and her passion for helping others before an eternal flame was lit in her memory last week at Baptist Easley Hospital.
Underhill and hospital staff worked with Studer Group to increase satisfaction scores at the hospital. Studer dedicated one of his books to her.
“Your values bring you back to home,” he said. “There’s probably no better place with stronger values than Baptist Easley.”
Underhill was recognized with many awards throughout her career, including the Golden Palmetto in 2002, Director of the Year in 2003, the Studer Group’s prestigious Flame Award in 2005 and the YMCA of Greenville Dream Achiever in 2007.
The employee entrance at Baptist Easley Hospital has eight pillars, each displaying a different word, Baptist Easley director Brian Finley said. As employees come in, they see the words “Inspire,” “Heal,” “Honor” and “Serve.”
“So when employees come in, that’s the focus, that’s what you should be focusing your attention to,” Finley said.
Employees see a different set of words as they leave the hospital.
“After you do such great work, you should be leaving and you should be thinking about renewing your promise or commitment,” Finley said. “‘Peace of mind’ — we should all have peace of mind that we gave our very best. ‘Passionate’ — we want everybody to do worthwhile work and be very passionate about that. And then ‘Dream.’ One thing that never fails to amaze me was the dream we had when Cam was here and what we continue to do when Cam left us.”
After her cancer metastasized, Underhill drove to the airport in Columbia to meet with Studer.
“Cam had two major concerns on her mind,” Studer said. “One was her children — what’s going to happen to them, how are they going to be? Never talked about herself, never talked about her cancer, never talked about her death. She talked about what’s going to happen with her children and everything she could do to make sure that transition was as soft as it could possibly be.
“But being Cam, she also asked me if I had any new information on physician relations, because that’s what she was working on at the time,” Studer continued.
The flame and the employee entrance will remind everyone to keep Underhill’s work going, the speakers agreed.
“We thought it was very important, just because of Cam’s legacy, to do something that she was very passionate about, and that’s give great patient care,” Finley said. “No matter what was going on, she constantly thought about the patient, the physicians, the staff, her family — that’s what kept driving her.”
“She was selfless in her service and was always seeking to enlarge the circle of leadership and influence,” Dr. Walter Coleman said during his invocation. “She sought to make every effort better and more solid through love and grace. We are recipients of her legacy of light. This flame will serve as a constant reminder of that legacy. “
“Cam Underhill will never be away from you, never be away from our family, never be away from us,” Studer said. “I’ve often heard the only legacy we really have is the people we touch. If that is true, and I believe it is, Cam Underhill leaves an unbelievable legacy because of the many people that she has touched.”
A plaque with Underhill’s picture and the words “Keep the Flame Burning” will be placed near the eternal flame.
By Greg Oliver
Courtesy The Journal
goliver@upstatetoday.com
COUNTY — Although the district’s overall winner won’t be named for several months, the School District of Pickens County has announced the 26 teacher of the year winners from each individual school who will vie for the ultimate prize. [cointent_lockedcontent]
The teachers of the year are selected by a vote of the staff members at their schools. Once selected, they will serve on the district’s Teacher Forum.
“These teachers have proven themselves to be leaders among their peers, and the Teacher Forum is an important voice in informing our direction as a district,” superintendent Danny Merck said. “I’m very proud of these teachers and can’t wait to interact with them more next year.”
The individual teachers of the year and the schools they represent are as follows: Sydney Cox, Ambler Elementary; Lisa Cheek, Central Elementary; Steve Gilstrap, Chastain Road Elementary; Michelle Conley, Clemson Elementary; Rachel Kaskin, Crosswell Elementary; Beth Atkins, Dacusville Elementary; Chantel Wooten, Dacusville Middle; Dana Howard, Daniel High; Rick Langdale, Easley High; Kim Dockins, East End Elementary; Mary Bridges, Edwards Middle; Tracy Brandt, Forest Acres Elementary; Michelle Hydrick, Gettys Middle; Amy Hardin, Hagood Elementary; Ann Bowen, Holly Springs Elementary; Sheila Martin, A.R. Lewis Elementary; Jenifer Griffis, Liberty Elementary; Tim Johnson, Liberty High; Lou Ann Ellenburg, Liberty Middle; Christine Rybolt, McKissick Elementary; Janie Collins, Pickens County Career and Technology Center; Alicia Tennis-Shock, Pickens Elementary; Tom Faithful, Pickens High; Justin Bramblett, Pickens Middle; Melissa Nolan, Six Mile Elementary; and Mario Stanitzek, West End Elementary.
District spokesman John Eby said school-level teachers are eligible for the district-wide teacher of the year award, which will be announced at the district’s annual back-to-school celebration Sept. 6 at Easley High School. The event will take place a month later than usual.
“The date of Sept. 6 was set because of the uncertainty around the start date for next year,” Eby said. “We scheduled the back-to-school celebration/E3 conference a couple of weeks into the school year because we needed to go ahead and book speakers and presenters while the school board was still deliberating on the calendar.”
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Clark, Morgan square off for sheriff
By Greg Oliver
Courtesy The Journal
goliver@upstatetoday.com
COUNTY — Pickens County Sheriff Rick Clark and former assistant sheriff Tim Morgan both have considerable law enforcement experience. Both also have considerable differences of opinion, however, on how best to handle the operation.
The two men squared off last Tuesday in a candidate debate at Tri-County Technical College’s Easley campus, two weeks ahead of the June 14 primary.
Clark said prior to the debate he feels the sheriff’s office is making “positive movement forward” when it comes to a new jail.
“Our interim administrator has gotten on board, and we’ve had our first preliminary needs assessment done by Moseley Associates,” Clark said. “They’ve given some preliminary numbers on beds, how many people are coming in and a couple of different layouts.”
Clark didn’t give a time frame for a new jail, saying, “We’re going to invest our time in planning and make sure it’s done right.”
Morgan, who spent 22 of his 37 years in the sheriff’s office as the right-hand man to longtime Sheriff David Stone, said he feels leadership “is the biggest issue.”
“There’s a lot of other peripheral issues that need to be addressed, but leadership, officers needing support and addressing all those is going to be a matter of working with people and not having a toxic relationship with Pickens County Council,” Morgan said. “They gave him the keys to the sheriff’s office bus, and he gave it to others and said, ‘You drive.’”
When he first announced plans to seek office earlier this year, Morgan said he has worked successfully with dozens of county councils through the years to provide for the needs of the sheriff’s office “while being fiscally responsible to the citizens.”
“A leader who refuses to work with others when he doesn’t get his way does a disservice both to those he leads and the community for which he is responsible,” Morgan said. “Council sent a letter to the governor in 2015 saying they were at odds with the sheriff’s office. How can you get anything done if you can’t get along with people?”
Clark said the sheriff’s office has worked to meet his goal of instituting new technology upon entering office four years ago.
“We bought a cellular phone analyzer where we don’t have to drive to Columbia anymore and can instead go to Greenville and Anderson,” he said. “We have to get a search warrant and download all the data that’s on the phone.
“One of the things we’ve upgraded at the courthouse and detention (center) is installing a high-definition video system. We were facing a huge liability because of a system you couldn’t see. Over the next four years, we need to look at upgrading our records maintenance system and jail management system in a lot of areas.”
Morgan scoffs at the technology improvements, saying that, “it’s the same computer system, the same computers (at the sheriff’s office).”
“I would like to see technology that improves the safety of officers and the public,” Morgan said. “Technology is overrated, because the right technology applied to the right application is a good thing.”
While attending an FBI Academy conference in March, Morgan said officials told the class officers needed to “get out of the car and talk to people.”
“Computers are a tool in a toolbox, and they don’t solve crimes, people do,” he said. “There’s some good things out there — it’s just a matter of what the county is willing to spend. Don’t buy it for technology’s sake; make sure it’s appropriate. I want to get back to the basics of talking to people.
“I heard one time the worst thing that happened to law enforcement is the patrol car. There has to be more of a concerted effort to get out of the patrol car and talk to people.”
Clark said the sheriff’s office is committed to addressing the drug problem that plaguing Pickens County — evidenced by the multiple drug busts that have occurred during his tenure.
“We’re going to keep our throttle open on getting drug dealers in jail and a hand up to keep them out,” Clark said. “We have a great staff here, and one of the reasons it works so well is our officers on the road are in correlation with our narcotics officer. Forming our Community Action Team has been one of our successes.”
Morgan said he feels the news media should “look at the quality of those arrests.”
“You sign a warrant and call them an arrest. … You’ve got officers who are going to do their job — they just need leadership in the right direction,” he said.
Clark said the murder rate in Pickens County “has not really increased that much” in recent years.
“There’s just been some high-profile cases,” he said.
Domestic violence, the sheriff said, has always been a problem statewide, including Pickens County.
Morgan said he is concerned with turnover that has occurred in the sheriff’s office — pointing to county personnel records that show that 54 employees, or approximately 40 percent of the total number of full-time workers, have left employment or transferred out in the last three years.
“I have not called the first employee or asked them any questions,” Morgan said. “If someone wants to call me, I’ll be glad to listen to them. But when you walk through the door of the sheriff’s office, it needs to be like you’re coming home to family. When one part is pitted against another, there’s no way you can do your job effectively.”
Clark said the biggest improvement in the sheriff’s office is “the way we organize things and the mission we have in protecting the public.”
“We have a focus on making sure those who commit crimes are caught,” Clark said.
Morgan said he believes that the sheriff’s office must do a better job of using the resources that are available and balancing drug education and prevention with treatment.
“Perhaps we could have some retired officers providing some mentoring, and it wouldn’t cost the taxpayers a thing — even starting in elementary schools,” Morgan said. “We’ve got some great professionals in the retirement communities — a growing complement of law enforcement officers — and I think we need to use evidence-based models, to see what has worked and hasn’t worked.”
The sheriff’s office, Morgan said, “belongs to the citizens.”
“The person occupying the position is just the temporary custodian of the office,” Morgan said. “Therefore, there should be a greater emphasis on service to our citizens.”
Voters to head to the polls
Tuesday’s GOP primary to decide most races
COUNTY — Pickens County voters will head to the polls next Tuesday, June 14, for the 2016 Republican primary.
For many candidates, Tuesday will be the day of reckoning. Barring any runoffs and write-in campaigns, many of the races for county and state offices will be decided on Tuesday, as many candidates will face no Democratic opposition in the Nov. 8 general election.
In the Pickens County Council District 3 race, incumbent Randy Crenshaw willl face a challenge from Jimmy Davis, Wes Hendricks and Alex Saitta.
Challengers Roy Costner and Keith Culbreath seek to unseat incumbent G. Neil Smith in the County Council District 4 race.
There will be a new county council member representing District 5, as incumbent Jennifer Willis is not seeking re-election. Mitch Bagwell, Chris Bowers, Robert Sams, Harley Staton and Jeff Willis are seeking the District 5 seat.
In District 6, Carl Hudson faces no opposition for the seat. Daniel Lee also filed for the race, but has withdrawn his candidacy. Incumbent Tom Ponder is not seeking re-election.
Sheriff Rick Clark seeks re-election. He’ll face former assistant sheriff Tim Morgan on Tuesday.
The winner of that contest faces no opposition in November.
Only one of the two State Senate races is contested. In District 1, Senator Thomas Alexander faces no opposition.
In the District 2 race, three Republican candidates — Don Joslyn, Allen Quinn and Rex Rice — are seeking to unseat incumbent Sen. Larry Martin.
In the race for the State House of Representatives District 5 seat, challenger Rick Tate will try to unseat incumbent Neal Collins.
Two House members face no Republican opposition on Tuesday, but will have challengers in the fall. District 4 Rep. Davey Hiott will face Libertarian candidate Joey Lum in the general election. District 3 Rep. Gary Clary will face Libertarian candidate Travis McCurry November 8.
Congressman Jeff Duncan faces no Republican opposition on Tuesday for the U.S. House of Representative District 3 seat, but he will face Democrat Hosea Cleveland in November.
Likewise, U.S. Senator Tim Scott faces no primary opposition on Tuesday. He’ll face Libertarian and Constitution Party candidate Bill Bledsoe, Democrat Thomas Dixon and American Party candidates Jim Hinkle and Rebel Scarborough in the fall.
Many county officials face no opposition at all, including auditor Brent Suddeth, treasurer Dale Looper, coroner Kandy Kelley and clerk of court Pat Welborn.
A list of polling locations and sample ballots can be found at pickenselections.org.
