Daily Archives: 03/12/2019
Police search for escaped inmate
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — Pickens County Sheriff’s Office deputies continued to 
search Tuesday for an inmate who escaped from the county prison Sunday afternoon.
Steven Leroy Aiken, 45, of Pickens, escaped from the prison at 4:05 p.m. Sunday, according to a news release from Chief Deputy Creed Hashe.
Aiken escaped when a perimeter door was opened to bring laundry into the facility, Hashe said.
“The escape did not involve any type of assault on any prison
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Stealing the show
Senior pitcher shines as Green Wave coach opens season with win over son
ANDERSON — Entering the Easley High School baseball team’s matchup at Westside on March 5, much of the focus was on the head 
coaches — Gill Payne of Easley and Jarrod Payne of Westside, a father and son duo facing off for the first time on the diamond.
However, it was Easley pitcher Devyn Bond who stole the show, striking out 16 as the Green Wave left Anderson with a 6-1 victory in the teams’ regular-season opener
“Talk about having a veteran guy that wants the baseball and who’s
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Upstate Forever, customers oppose Duke rate increase
UPSTATE — As customers get their chance to speak at public hearings this week on a proposed double-digit percentage rate increase from Duke Energy, an Upstate conservation organization has already announced its opposition, saying the new fees would discourage energy efficiency and clean energy innovation.
After commissioners heard directly from Duke Energy Carolinas customers at a meeting in Spartanburg on Tuesday, meetings are also
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Liberty seeking grant to pay for sewer repairs
By Ron Barnett
Staff Reporter
rbarnett@thepccourier.com
LIBERTY — The city of Liberty is asking the state for help in paying to fix a sewer line on Main Street that’s clogged with sand.
The request comes after the city was cited for three sewage overflows in two locations during recent rains.
“We’re at the point of dire need there,” Mayor Brian Peterson said of the Main Street line.
During its regular monthly meeting Monday, city council approved a resolution supporting the application for a $315,000 grant from the
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Researchers look for help with meth study
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — There’s still time for methamphetamine users to take part in a research study that could lead to new treatment methods.
Behavioral Health Services of Pickens County is one of eight sites nationwide participating in the National Institute of Drug Abuse-funded study, according to BHSPC director of research Elizabeth Chapman.
“We’re looking for participants who are currently using methamphetamine, who have a desire to stop or cut back their use, who are not involved in formal addiction treatment counseling,” she said. “They can go to counseling for other reasons, but not for the addiction part. The reason for that is we need to see if this medicine
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County, municipalities moving closer to new roads agreement
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — Pickens County officials are moving closer to an agreement with municipalities on future road maintenance.
Earlier this year, county council began discussing an intergovernmental agreement in which municipalities taken over the county’s roads.
County administrator Gerald Wilson gave council an update on progress with the agreement during its recent Committee of the
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The issue of sagging britches
It happens every year around this time.
Thousands — or more likely, billions — of tiny grains of pollen have been building up inside of me for days, until finally grain number one trillion and one piles on, and the whole thing comes crashing down.
It feels like I’ve been clobbered by a ton of bricks. My head hurts, my whole body aches, and of course, my sinuses are stopped up. It feels like I have the flu, but it’s not the flu.
I know this isn’t the way pollen affects most people, and for the first 30 years of my life, it didn’t seem to affect me at all. But for the past
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Easley officials predict continued growth
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — Easley’s residential growth shows no signs of stopping, 
and commercial growth is picking up as well.
“Easley’s on the move,” Mayor Larry Bagwell said during his annual State of the City address last month at South & West. “We have averaged over $30 million in permitted construction over the last five years. We are anticipating that trend will continue in 2019.”
He said officials want to have “quality services, quality places and a quality community.”
“Having been here all my 82 years, I don’t think you can find a better place in this state or any other state that gives you those three things
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‘Call me Grandma’ set for community center
PICKENS — “Call Me Grandma,” a play written by local resident Carol Baker and originally performed in July 2018 at the Hagood Community Center in Pickens, will be back by popular demand for a one-time-only performance later this month.
Scheduled for 7 p.m. March 23 at the community center, the play is set in Pumpkintown in the 1940s and tells the story of a wayward boy and his journey to find a family. Tickets will be $5 per person, and all
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Courier Obituaries 3-13-19
CHARLES DOUGLAS
“DOUG” MCCOLLUM
PICKENS — Charles Douglas “Doug” McCollum, 82, of Pickens, went home to be with the Lord on Thursday March 7, 2019.
Born on Dec. 7, 1936, in Pickens County, he was the son of the late Ralph McCollum Sr. and Essie Freeman McCollum. Doug was retired from Singer and a member of Mountain View Baptist Church. He was a member of the Mason Lodge and the Hejaz Shriners. He was also an entrepreneur, having successfully operated a local car wash, a barbershop and rental properties. He started a tradition of being the first to give all of the grandchildren in the family their first haircut. Doug was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed fishing, hunting, camping and gardening. He was also a classic car enthusiast, who enjoyed listening to bluegrass music. Above all things, he loved his family and his wife of 63 years, Lucille
