Monthly Archives: April 2019
The results are in
After readers cast thousands of ballots and members of the Courier family spent many hours hand-counting and tabulating the results, the time has finally come to officially unveil the businesses who were honored as the best at what they do in Pickens County in the first-ever Readers’ Choice Awards. Get this week’s printed copy of the Courier for a special keepsake section listing the winners and honorable mentions across more than 100 categories.
Aerospace manufacturer planning to invest $19M in Pickens County facility
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
LIBERTY — IPSUM Technologies announced plans to invest $19.2 million to build what one company official calls a “factory 
of the future” at the Pickens County Commerce Park.
The announcement was made Wednesday morning at the Alliance Pickens office. It is expected to create 55 new jobs.
“We are really, really excited for the future that we are going to share with one another,” Alliance Pickens executive director Ray Farley said.
Co-chairman and president C. Ashley Heaton said his company focuses on advanced manufacturing for “aerospace, space, defense and the high-technology sectors.”
“We are dedicated to bringing the next generation of manufacturing, and Pickens (County) is our first location for
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250 jobs leaving
Central plant announces plan to close in June
By Greg Oliver
Courtesy The Journal
goliver@upstatetoday.com
CENTRAL — A plant that has spent nearly a half-century in Central is set to close its doors by the end of June — affecting 250 employees.
Shaw Industries Group Inc. announced Thursday it plans to shift production from its extension yarn facility on S.C. Highway 93 in Pickens County to other Shaw facilities throughout the Southeast. Plant officials said the consolidation process would begin immediately, with operations at what is
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PCSO hopes to get help with sex offenders
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — With the number of registered sex offenders in Pickens County at an all-time high, the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office is requesting more funding for its sex offender unit.
Chief Deputy Creed Hashe said the agency is requesting $42,000 from county council in next year’s budget to upgrade a part-time civilian position in the unit to a full-time detective position.
Hashe, Capt. Chad Brooks and detective Lee Clark recently discussed monitoring and investigating offenders.
“Somebody’s got to be the watchdog for that,” Hashe said. “Otherwise we’re just merely reacting to crime. We’re reacting
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The growth of hemp
Some Easley residents — myself included — were a bit taken aback when a store called Upstate Hemp popped up downtown 
a few months ago.
Its logo, which looks, for all the world, like a marijuana leaf, called to mind visions of black lights, psychedelic posters and multi-flavored rolling papers of the “head shops” of the late 1960s.
But this is no head shop. It’s a store dedicated to the dispensing of the oil of marijuana’s non-psychoactive cousin, industrial hemp, which users say eases their pain and anxiety but doesn’t get them high.
Now, I’m not taking a position on whether the stuff works or not, although there’s plenty of anecdotal evidence that it does. The research hasn’t been done yet.
But I thought it was worth noting that not only is such a store in operation in downtown Easley, but there’s also a facility in
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Official: County has high child sex abuse rate
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
LIBERTY — Pickens County has a high number of child sexual 
abuse cases, according to 13th Judicial Circuit assistant solicitor Brandi Hinton.
Hinton spoke at Monday’s Pickens United meeting in Liberty.
When Hinton began working in the 13th Judicial Circuit around eight years ago, Pickens County had one of the highest levels of child sexual abuse cases in the state per capita, she said.
The circuit, which includes both Pickens and Greenville
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Doing their part
Members of a Rock Springs Baptist Church youth group pause for a photo after taking part in Easley Clean Up Day Saturday. City Councilman Terry Moore said the group covered Easley’s half of the Doodle Trail, Doodle Park, East North Street, North A Street and Fleetwood Drive and picked up enough litter to fill his truck. “What hard work, and they made it so exciting,” he said.
Courtesy photo
Countywide litter blitz postponed
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
LIBERTY — Predicted rain caused county officials to postpone a countywide cleanup that had been planned for April 26.
County community relations manager Jamie Burns said May 24 is the new date for the next Team Up and Clean Up Anti-Litter Blitz.
Sen. Rex Rice and county council chairman Roy Costner both
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Community to sleep in boxes to help homeless
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
CLEMSON — A new neighborhood will be constructed on Friday night.
Its residents will sleep in cardboard boxes to learn firsthand what it’s like to be homeless.
Family Promise of Pickens County’s fourth annual Cardboard Box City event will begin at 6 p.m. Friday at First Baptist Church of Clemson.
Executive director Armilla Moore said Cardboard Box City events are one of the signature fundraisers for the national Family Promise organization.
“The idea is for people to get a feel for how it feels to sleep in a cardboard box,” she said. “I’ve done it, and it’s not easy. It seems a lot easier than it really is. I did it where I knew I was
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Holly Springs Center to host first-ever Appalachian Arts and Culture festival
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — Holly Springs Center is throwing a party Saturday.
The Appalachian Arts and Culture Festival will be held from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday at the center, located at 120 Holly Springs School Road north of Pickens.
Holly Springs Center chair Abby Baker said the event is rain or shine.
“We can move it inside if there’s an issue,” she said.
Admission is free.
A BBQ food truck will be at the center during the festival.
“We’re going to have vendors of handmade items,” Baker said.
The Upstate Heritage Quilt Trail is celebrating its 10th
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