Monthly Archives: July 2019
Tate announces bid for Easley City Council seat
EASLEY — Rick Tate has filed as a candidate for the the Easley City Council Ward 3 seat.
Ward 3 stretches south beyond West End Elementary, north to the Easley water tower, and east down U.S. 
Highway 123 to Pete’s Restaurant.
Tate, 63, is a graduate of Greenville Tech. He has spent his life working in logistics and transportation, from owning his own small trucking company to currently providing logistics support to BMW with Benore Logistic Systems Inc.
Tate said as he nears retirement, he wants to turn his focus to working for the people of Easley. Tate is a lifelong resident of the Easley-Powdersville area, with family roots in Easley going back to the mid-1800s.
Tate is also the chairman of the Pickens County Republican Party, winning re-election in April 2019, and was named County Chairman
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Knits by Bucky now open in Pickens
Bucky Williams-Hooker, the owner of Wool Over Your Eyes Knits by Bucky, cuts the ribbon at the grand opening of Pickens’ newest yarn, knitting and crochet shop. Williams-Hooker began knitting at age 11 as part of a physical therapy program to regain fine motor control of his left hand after a trauma. Since then, he paid part of his tuition for both his master’s degree and his Ph.D. degree by selling Icelandic sweaters made from pure Lopi wool, harvested from sheep found only in Iceland. Joining him in the picture, from left, are Ellen Wesson, Jessica and Joe Suggs. The shop, which also offers classes, is located at 502 Wolf Creek Road, just off Jameson Road, which is located next to BJ’s Gas and Food Market on S.C. Highway 183.
A pair of Pauls, short and tall
If my deteriorating memory serves me correctly, I think it was in 1974 that first I met Paul Kitchen. At the time, I had little reason to suspect that our lives would intertwine so closely and that we would remain 
friends over the next 36 years of our lives.
Paul was a fireman. A fireman’s fireman, no less. He wore his uniform with pride, dignity and with sincere adoration for the fireman’s code of honor that he spoke about with such humility. His face was always adorned with a great solemn smile, as if he was glad to just be there and offer what help he could render. Although short in stature, he was one of the largest men in heart and soul that I have known.
I met Paul when he stopped by to chat with his brother, who was a draftsman with the Gwinnett County Engineering Department. I had recently begun work there after my first
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SC WINS makes technical colleges more affordable
I have never noticed billboards along our highways advertising open positions at local manufacturing plants. Until now. Their presence speaks volumes about what is happening in our local economy.
Unemployment is low. Competition for good workers is high. Local companies are expanding and creating new jobs throughout Anderson, Oconee and Pickens counties. New industries are moving into the area and creating even more highly skilled, well-paying positions.
The majority of these new jobs require education and training beyond a high school diploma, but less than a four-year degree — the type of education available at Tri-County Technical College. Our challenge is to recruit people to enroll
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Courier Letters to the Editor 7-31-19
Collins’ talk on STIB funding
Dear Editor,
When S.C. House Rep. Neal Collins began his town hall meeting on July 25, he talked about state-level issues, then transitioned to roads in Pickens County. He talked about a local sales tax as a way to pay for road maintenance, using Horry County as an example.
Horry County has more than double the population of Pickens County, and they have tourism at Myrtle Beach. Of course their local tax brings in impressive amounts of revenue, especially from tourists visiting that county. One might ask why we should want to pay an extra tax locally when we are now experiencing automatic biannual gas tax increases that are supposed to be fixing our roads.
Collins emphasized that never in the history of the State Transportation Infrastructure Bank (STIB) had
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Social isolation linked to bone loss
If you ever wanted a compelling reason to join a group or get out more, here it is: A new study shows that poor social relationships contribute to bone loss in senior women.
This wasn’t a small, brief study. In this Women’s Health Initiative, researchers studied the bone health of 11,000 women over six years and included information about social support and social functioning.
The bottom line: Over those six years, high social stress equated to lowered bone mineral density in the femoral neck (where most hip fractures occur), the lumbar spine and the whole hip. They assigned a rating to levels of “social strain,” and found that each additional point added to the lowered bone density.
There’s more to this than how many groups we meet with each week. It turns out it’s the quality of our
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Courier Obituaries 7-31-19
DAVID PRESTON ALEXANDER
PICKENS — David Preston Alexander, 75, passed away on Monday, July 22, 2019.
David was born Dec. 27, 1943, in Pickens, to the late David Edward and Ruth (Cooper) Alexander.
Preston loved people, as he never met a stranger. He will always be remembered for his kind heart, sense of humor, generosity and exceptional work ethic.
Preston and his father owned a grading/trucking company for many years. He drove a truck for C&S Wholesale Grocers until his retirement.
Preston is survived by his wife, Judy Alexander; one sister, Susan Grant; two sons, Daniel Christopher Alexander (Elizabeth) and Preston Scott Alexander (Sandra); one daughter, Presley Arlene Lewis (Kevin); six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
The funeral service was held at Dillard Funeral Home chapel on July 25, with the Rev. Tommy Hayes officiating. Entombment followed the service at Hillcrest Memorial Park.
The family welcomes visitors at the home of Chris Alexander.
Flowers are welcomed or donations may be made to Cottingham House, 390 Keowee School Road, Seneca,
Local squad 1-1 after first days of Senior League World Series
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — The 2019 Senior League World Series is off and running, and for the local S.C. District 1 team it has been an emotional roller coaster thus far.
District 1 opened up play Saturday against Naamans Little League from Wilmington, Del., representing the Eastern U.S. Naamans opened up play in the top of the first, picking up one run following a number of errors by the home team. Things continued to go wrong for District 1 in the second, as Deuce Rzucidlo 
drove in two more runs on a double to put Naamans up 3-0.
Just when things seemed as if they couldn’t get any worse, the
Eastern champs added five more runs in the third to give them a seemingly insurmountable 8-0 lead. The teams traded outs through the top of the fifth until the host team finally got things going in the bottom of the inning.
Andrew Dent opened the inning with a double before being driven home by the next batter, Chip Jenkins, to get District 1 its first run of
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SWU, Tri-County Tech sign connect agreement
CENTRAL — Southern Wesleyan University and Tri-County Technical College have formed a partnership designed to enhance the transfer of students from TCTC to SWU.
The collaboration is intended to serve students by providing program support and services which facilitate the transfer process and prepare and acclimate students desiring to matriculate at SWU.
Students who complete any associate degree at TCTC will be guaranteed admission to SWU upon successfully completing all steps for enrollment. Students will have the option of completing their bachelor’s degree program at SWU by taking courses fully online, on-campus or a combination of online
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National Hot Dog Day
Reagan Turner was all decked out for National Hot Dog Day recently at Heidi’s in Pickens. Heidi’s owner Tammy Anthony, pictured with Turner, had specials all day in observance of the event. Turner took part as a community service project for the Pickens High School Beta Club. The hot dogs at Heidi’s were selected as the best in the county by the readers of the Pickens County Courier earlier this year.
