Monthly Archives: September 2016
Ride to the Rock planned Sept. 24
PICKENS — The Pickens Rotary Club will present the fourth annual Ride to the Rock cycling event on Sept. 24.
Day-of-ride registration will begin at 8 a.m., and the ride will start at 9 a.m. The Ride to the Rock will start and finish at 319 Ann St. in Pickens.
The Ride to the Rock will have three different routes that leave Pickens and go to Pumpkintown, Table Rock and Caesar’s Head. The rides are for 40k, 60k and 100k. The ride will be fully supported with rest stops and a SAG vehicle. There will also be a beer garden and food vendors at the finish line. Riders will receive a complimentary meal, a complimentary beer and a ride T-shirt. Food and drinks will be sold as well.
The ride is a fundraiser to support the Pickens Rotary Club’s charitable projects. One project is to install six AEDs in vital locations, including the McKissick Senior Center, the Hagood Senior Center and the Pickens Recreation Center. Another project is to continue to improve the Doodle Trail with signage and a water fountain at the Rotary rest stop. The Doodle Trail is a rail to trail connecting Easley and Pickens that has been open a year now and is providing a safe walking and cycling trail to thousands of people.
Visit pickensrotary.org/ridetorock to see additional information and maps of the routes and to register to ride.
Courier Community Calendar 9-14-16
• Day family reunion planned for Sept. 18
The sixth annual Day family reunion, including descendants of Bradwell Day and Elizabeth Cansler Day, will be held on Sunday, Sept. 18, starting at 1 p.m. at J.B. Day’s Riverbend Old Stock Car Racing Museum, located at 154 Floyd Circle in Easley.
Courier Legals 9-14-16
INFORMATION TO HEIRS AND DIVISEES
STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
COUNTY OF PICKENS
IN THE PROBATE COURT
CASE NUMBER: 2016ES3900133
IN THE MATTER OF: DEBORAH HENSON HENDRICKS (Decedent)
Courier Notice to Creditors
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, the address of which is 222 MCDANIEL AVE., B-16 PICKENS, SC 29671, within eight (8) months after the date of the first publication of this Notice to Creditors or within one (1) year from date of death, whichever is earlier (SCPC 62-3-801, et seq.), or such persons shall be forever barred as to their claims. All claims are required to be presented in written statements on the prescribed form (FORM #371ES) indicating the name and address of the claimant, the basis of the claim, the amount claimed, the date when the claim will become due, the nature of any uncertainty as to the claim, and a description of any security as to the claim.
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.
Courier Trespass Notices 9-14-16
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. All persons are hereby notified and warned not to hunt, fish, cut timber or trespass in any manner whatsoever upon the lands of the undersigned:
Courier Classifieds 9-14-16
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Man sent to prison for abusing newborn
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — A Pickens man has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for abusing an infant.
Matthew Steven Pillon, 25, was convicted by a Pickens County jury last week on charges of unlawful neglect of a child, assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature and child abuse with great bodily injury.
Thirteenth Circuit solicitor Walt Wilkins announced the conviction and sentence in a news release issued Thursday.
During the trial, assistant solicitors Doug Richardson and Brandi Hinton presented evidence that established that Pillon abuse the baby between June 6 and June 7, 2013, when the victim was only 10 days old.
Due to the severity of the injuries, the infant was admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at a Greenville Health System hospital, where he was treated for bruising all over his body, scratches on his face and a puncture to his throat that required a feeding tube.
Pillon was arrested on June 12, 2013, records show.
Judge Robin Stilwell handed down the sentence.
Pillon must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence before he will become eligible for parole, Wilkins said.
Lt. Jan Kelly and Capt. Marvin Nix of the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.
Connected Classrooms
Samsung, AT&T providing tablets, internet to Pickens County middle schoolers
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — Pickens County sixth and seventh graders are now able to bring the connected classrooms of today home with them.
Last Wednesday, the School District of Pickens County announced a partnership that will connect Pickens County middle school students.
AT&T is providing free 4G internet to sixth and seventh graders in the district at all five of its middle schools — Dacusville, Edwards, Gettys, Liberty and Pickens.
Samsung will donate 2,500 Galaxy tablets to those middle school students and their teachers.
The announcement was held at Gettys Middle School.
“This is a great day in Pickens County,” Gettys principal Mike Cory said. “Today is the most exciting announcement and business partnership that I have ever seen.”
Work has been going on behind the scenes for the last several years to secure the partnership, officials said.
“It took a lot of folks on the ground level to make this happen,” said Ted Creech, director of external affairs for AT&T South Carolina. “A lot of people have been working toward this day for a long time.”
The school district’s mission is to provide “a quality, 21st-century education for all of you,” Cory told his students. “We are taking a great step forward toward that vision today.”
Valued at more than $5 million over three years, the contribution is part of AT&T’s national commitment to the White House ConnectED initiative.
Creech had some questions for the students gathered at the announcement assembly.
“Are you ready to be the best sixth-grade class to ever be at Gettys, ever?” he asked. “Seventh graders, are you ready to show the eighth-graders who’s boss?”
“AT&T is excited about the future because we are excited about you as students,” Creech said. “And we are committed to you as students. More now than at any time in history, it is critical that we invest in young people to develop a diverse talent pipeline of young people with the skills to help our society prosper.”
It has been estimated that by 2020, there will be a “global shortage of approximately 40 million high-skilled workers and 45 million medium-skilled workers,” Creech said.
“To me, that says to all of you students, the stronger, the better the education you receive, the greater the opportunities for you going forward into the future,” he said, adding technologies are “fundamentally altering education.”
“Especially where and when learning happens,” Creech said. “AT&T decided that we want to be a part of that change, to leverage technology, relationships, social innovation, to help all students make their biggest dreams become reality.”
In 2008, AT&T Aspire, the company’s signature philanthropic initiative, was launched. AT&T Aspire’s focus is “helping students succeed in school and beyond,” Creech said.
“Through Aspire, we have passed the $250 million dollar mark on our plan to invest $350 million in education between 2008 and 2017,” he said. “We’ve impacted more than one million students across all 50 states.”
Mobile internet needs to be utilized more effectively to help teachers and students learn “wherever they are,” Creech said.
In 2014, AT&T committed, as part of the national ConnectED initiative, to provide connectivity for more than 50,000 students across the country.
“Proposals came from schools and school districts all over the country, including Pickens County” Creech said. “The competition was fierce — but I am here today with very, very good news. We’re thrilled to be able to make the announcement.”
Ted Brodheim, vice president of vertical business at Samsung Electronics America, ran technology for New York City Public Schools, one of the first school districts in the nation to put tablets in the classrooms.
“I’ve seen firsthand how much of a positive impact those tablets can have, in terms of the teaching and learning environment,” he said. “I’m sure in Pickens County you’re going to see the same results, and I can’t wait to see they look like.”
He said Samsung was very excited to be working with AT&T as part of the ConnectED initiative. Brodheim said his company is committed to education. Samsung runs a program called Hope for Children, which focuses on education, healthcare and sustainability for children.
“We believe that success goes hand-in-hand with good corporate citizenship,” Brodheim said.
He told the audience that the tablets will “completely change the game.”
He asked the students if they liked to use the latest technology — a question that was met with a resounding “Yes!”
“These are going to open up a whole new world of opportunity to you,” Brodheim told teachers and students. “You’re going to have access to all kinds of new information. And no matter where your careers take you, you’re going to be able to use these things to explore all kinds of new opportunities, to learn about the world, to make decisions going forward.”
School District of Pickens County superintendent Danny Merck thanked everyone who worked to secure the grant that makes the new tech in the classrooms possible.
“It is appreciated more than you will ever know,” he said. “Today is a great day in Pickens County.”
After a quick starter lesson on digital citizenship, the students began receiving their new tablets.
“I feel like Santa Claus,” Gettys teacher Christie Vaughn said as she handed out the new tech to her students.
Officials hailed the partnership and what it will do for Pickens County schools.
“This project will help students set goals and pursue dreams which may be far beyond any they previously imagined,” U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham said. “It is truly an investment in our students and in South Carolina’s future.”
Merck read from a letter from Gov. Nikki Haley, congratulating the district for being selected for the national award.
“Our state is competing in the 21st-century economy, and investing in technology both in and outside the classroom will play a vital role in ensuring we’re teaching children for the future and not the past,” Haley wrote.
In addition to providing the internet access and tablets, the partner companies have also committed to provide the schools with tech support, device management, filtering software and professional development training for teachers.
“We’re looking forward to the great things teachers will be able to do with this connectivity, that students will be able to do with the connectivity, to enhance learning in the classroom, and to extend that experience well beyond the schoolhouse walls,” Creech said.
Officials with both companies said they look forward to coming back to Pickens County in about a year to see firsthand the progress that’s been made.
“We’re excited about how this project is going to impact students and their families in the classroom, in the school and beyond the school walls,” Creech said.
“It will be so much more than a device,” Cory said.
on the farm
Huge crowds flocked to Dacusville over the weekend for the fourth annual Dacusville Farm Days celebration Saturday and Sunday at Tom Turner’s farm on Earls Bridge Road. The event featured arts and crafts, live music, food, antique tractors and farm equipment and the ever-popular parade of power. Left, Turner interviews Jacob Medlin during the parade. Rocky Nimmons/Courier
School board tables prayer motion
By Greg Oliver
Courtesy The Journal
goliver@upstatetoday.com
PICKENS — The issue of prayer at Pickens County School Board meetings has been discussed and debated a number of times in recent years, and that continued again during its Aug. 22 regular monthly meeting.
Recently, trustee Alex Saitta said he disagrees with the school board’s prayer policy, as well as the opinion rendered by the school board attorney.
“The school board’s prayer policy says prayers given by board members must be non-sectarian, such as God, Father and Lord, and cannot be sectarian, such as to Jesus or Moses or whomever, and the district’s lawyer stands by the policy,” Saitta said. “But I have argued since the Supreme Court ruling in Galloway vs. Greece, N.Y., the non-sectarian requirement of the board policy is unconstitutional.
“The Supreme Court said in its opinion, over and over, that the government doesn’t have the right to judge or edit prayers. That’s exactly what the school board policy requires, though. That is, the collective board requires the individual board member whose turn it is to give the prayers, his prayer must be non-sectarian. I believe that violates the free exercise clause in the First Amendment.”
Saitta said because most board members heed the advice of school board attorney Bic Halligan “without question,” the sentiment for striking the non-sectarian requirement from the policy “is lacking.”
For a number of years, the school board meetings were led in prayer by students. However, after receiving a letter in 2012 from the Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation threatening legal action, the board ended that practice.
In March 2015, the board deadlocked 3-3 on a motion made by Saitta that would have allowed religious congregations in the county to give sectarian prayers — with the tie vote being basically the same as a “no” vote as far as passage is concerned.
The prayer is now led before each meeting by various board members, from the chaplain’s prayer book used for the South Carolina General Assembly.
The public is still allowed to and has participated in offering prayers that are Christian during the public comment portion of the meeting.
But Saitta continues to say that the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in May 2014 to uphold the practice of public prayer before local government meetings was “a game changer.” In addition, Saitta said the state senate modified the state prayer law, and Gov. Nikki Haley signed it into law in June.
“It is siding with my interpretation — that is, the law clearly states government bodies can’t require prayers to be non-sectarian,” Saitta said.
As a result, Saitta said he is renewing efforts to strike the nonsectarian requirement from the school board’s public prayer policy.
Trustee Henry Wilson said he chooses not to participate in board prayers rather than adhere to the nonsectarian requirement.
“I will pray the way I want to,” Wilson said. “If you decide you want to fight the law, that’s your own personal decision. I don’t think we have to have a fistfight over this.”
Board chairperson Judy Edwards said the board has given the chair the right to contact an attorney and spend the money involved in dealing with the issue. But Halligan has requested to wait until after the November general election to advise the board.
The board voted 4-1 to table Saitta’s motion to take up the issue at its Sept. 26 meeting and will instead await advice from Halligan regarding the issue.
