Monthly Archives: March 2019
Spring’s arrival and promise of new life
It must have been around this time of year, some 400 years ago, that a fellow we know today as “Brother Lawrence” discovered the key to happiness.
In the spiritual classic, “The Practice of the Presence of God,” 
his biographer describes it like this: “In the winter, seeing a tree stripped of its leaves, and considering that within a little time, the leaves would be renewed, and after that the flowers and fruit appear, he received a high view of the Providence and Power of God, which has never since been effaced from his soul.
“This view had perfectly set him loose from the world, and kindled in him such a love for God, that he could not tell
Koster running for Easley mayor
EASLEY — Another candidate has thrown his name into the hat to replace longtime public servant Larry Bagwell as Easley’s 
mayor in the November election.
David W. Koster, a mechanical engineer who recently retired after a 30-plus-year career with the Central Intelligence Agency in Langley, Va., and moved to Easley in 2016, has announced his candidacy.
“I served as a senior program manager and was responsible for managing multi-million-dollar programs,” Koster said. “I was especially noted for establishing new programs in response to intelligence collection initiatives and
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County council lends support to nonprofit
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — Pickens County Council is throwing its support behind a local nonprofit in applying for grant funds that will allow it to continue to help homeless families.
During its March 11 meeting, council discussed a resolution in support of Family Promise of Pickens County.
Family Promise aims to “help families get back on their feet,” executive director Armilla Moore said.
The organization, in conjunction with local church congregations, provides “sheltering services to families who
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Start working on those taxes
Every year that rolls around brings with it the uneasy foreboding of February, when the financial records for the 
previous year are in file folders stacked on the dining room table calling for action.
The file folders are in plain sight on one end of the table, and at every meal I can see them and hear them demanding to be dealt with.
The W-2s and receipts and records are all there, and everything is ready to go.
Everything, that is, except for me. The only thing lacking is the
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Fixing vet suicide with a task force
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to create a task force to address veteran suicide. He’s bringing out the big 
guns: the secretaries for a dozen government agencies will be on it.
The task force has been given one year to do the following: develop strategies to lower the rate of veteran suicides, design and propose to Congress a program of local grants, and develop a research strategy to improve coordination and monitoring.
The Department of Veterans Affairs was allegedly already
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Courier Letters to the Editor
School issues not rocket science
Dear Editor,
I read the op-ed by superintendent Dr. Danny Merck, touting his trip to Finland. Merck “discovered” the way to improve academic performance in Pickens County is by better feeding students, having them use their hands to build things, testing them less and increasing recess time.
Good grief. I can picture our rubberstamping school board nodding their heads in agreement to all of this nonsense.
According to the most recent S.C. Ready results, in Pickens County only 45 percent of the students read at or above grade level. How about focusing on teaching the students to better read instead?
Examining the most recent figures in our school district, K-12
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Courier Obituaries 3-20-19
RUTH “MARIE” ATKINS
EASLEY — Marie Atkins, 70, wife of the late Carl Atkins, passed 
from this life on Thursday, March 14, 2019.
Born in Pickens County, she was a daughter of the late Aurthur Robert Kelley Sr. and Artie Mae Young Kelley.
Survivors include a daughter, Tammy Atkins (Terry Marcus) of Pickens; grandchildren, Scott Marcus (Stephanie) and Angel Atkins; great-grandchildren, Nicholas Atkins, Jase Cox, Matthew Pillon, Kinsley Pillon and Dakota Atkins; sisters, Diane Miller, Linda Scroggs and Sandra McCall (Gary); and a
Six Mile marks anniversary of devastating 1929 tornado
By Ron Barnett
Staff Reporter
rbarnett@thepccourier.com
SIX MILE —
In the evening of March 13, 1929, a tornado swept through the tiny town of Six Mile, killing nine people — all of them relatives 
— and leaving tragic second-hand memories that remain even today, 90 years later.
Descendants of the storm’s victims, the families of Benjamin Tillman Garrett, the town’s postmaster, and his brother, George Nelson Garrett, a deputy sheriff, gathered on the anniversary of the tragedy last Wednesday to call to mind
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Mariner’s Compass pattern now adorns Pickens Visitor Center
PICKENS — A Mariner’s Compass quilt block now adorns the Pickens Visitor Center.
Ellie Elzerman, a veteran quilter and Pickens County resident, lives in the rural Central area and has a long fiber arts history beginning with learning her sewing skills from her mother and aunt. Elzerman has also been a weaver and spinner who experiments with natural dyes. As a teacher working with children, she has shared her passion for fabric and design with her community.
The history of the Mariner’s Compass pattern dates back to 1726, when it was adapted from the ancient compass rose that Portuguese
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Community Calendar
• United in prayer for life event planned
On Thursday, March 21, Cornerstone Christian and Music Store will present a special service “Uniting in Prayer For Life” from 7-9 p.m. This will be a participatory program of worship, repentance, communion, scripture reading, silent and spoken prayers for our country and its unborn citizens, led by Erica Raeh. All are invited. Cornerstone Christian and Music Store is located at 1895 Gentry Memorial Highway, Easley (Solid Gold/Dalton Flats).
• Edify set to sing at Amazing Grace
Travelers Rest-based Edify is set to perform at Amazing Grace Fellowship, located at 229 Pearl St. in Pickens. The singing will be on Sunday, March 24, at 6 p.m. All are invited to join in for a time of
