Monthly Archives: November 2019
The joy of getting old, part 1
As the little pills rolled into my open palm the other morning, I stared at them for a moment and thought, “are these things keeping me alive?”
It was then I realized I had finally gotten old. No, I don’t mean the grandfatherly, humped-shoulder, carry-the-prodding-cane-type old. I had reached the mythical, elusive middle-aged years that all my older friends had been telling me about.
Older friends … wait a moment, I don’t have that many older friends left. Much to my chagrin, when I find myself in a group, I am noticeably the oldest one. Could this be just a coincidence? Have I somehow missed the
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Courier Letters to the Editor 11-13-19
Nasty local elections
Dear Editor,
I have lived in Pickens 20 years, and I think last week’s election was nastier and more chaotic than most.
Elections have always had their dose of inaccurate, false and outright slanderous statements. And don’t be fooled, much of it comes from the opposition campaign. The oldest trick in the book is the candidate stays positive aiming to look like Mr. Nice Guy to the voters, but his volunteers sling the mud at the opposition. We saw too much of that in the Easley election. Average voters do not care enough about who wins a local election to get on social media and smear a candidate with baseless statements and lies. Most of the time that person is a friend, relative or volunteer of
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Happy 60th anniversary
The Rev. Franklin and Evelyn Lesley will be celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2019. They have been blessed with three children, 12 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren, along with a lifetime of memories together.
District, Easley join forces to alleviate traffic at 2 schools
Forest Acres, West End to have traffic loops extended
EASLEY — The School District of Pickens County and the city of Easley have reached an agreement to lengthen the traffic loops at Forest Acres Elementary and West End Elementary.
SDPC’s board of trustees approved the district’s Capital Improvement Plan for the coming year last week, which 
included funds for extended traffic loops at Forest Acres and West End.
With the inclusion of the traffic loops, the district’s Capital Improvement Plan was underfunded by $207,646, but Easley City Council offered to fund the difference.
“The traffic situation at these schools has been getting worse for several years, and it’s been a high priority for the district and the city to find a solution,” SDPC superintendent Danny Merck said.
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Courier Community Calendar 11-13-19
• Six Mile Christmas parade is Dec. 7
The 49th annual Six Mile Christmas parade will be held on Saturday, Dec. 7, at 10:30 a.m. There is no fee for entry, but all entries must submit an entry form. Call or visit Six Mile Town Hall to complete an entry form. All entries must have a holiday theme. No go-carts or four-wheelers will be allowed to enter the parade. Horses will not be allowed on Main Street prior the parade unless approved to do so. All entries have to be walking in order to hand out candy. Rain date is set for Sunday, Dec. 8. For more information, contact Kayla Holtzclaw by email at kayla@hwmorrislaw.com.
• Clusters for Kids Oyster Roast Nov. 23
Presented by Acker Lambert Hinton PA and SeaLevel Systems, the sixth annual Clusters for Kids Oyster Roast will be on Saturday, Nov. 23.
Community sponsors, supporters and the Friends of Pickens County Guardian ad Litem Program will gather for the roast beginning at 5 p.m. at Arran Farm, located at 820 Lenhardt Road in Easley. The evening will feature an oyster roast and Southern lowcountry buffet, including chicken bog and more, beverages and music. The evening will be highlighted by great music entertainment provided by the band Hot Notes, plus a large silent auction. Ticket prices are $50 individually and $90 per couple. Tickets may be purchased until Nov. 23 online at
Courier Obituaries 11-13-19
KATHY REOME PATTEN
PICKENS — Alice Katherine “Kathy” Reome Patten, 82, wife of the late James Hervin Patten Jr., and resident of 
Pickens since January 1961, passed away on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2019, at Rainey Hospice House.
Born on Dec. 23, 1936, in Beekmantown, N.Y., she was the daughter of the late Edward and Audrey Larabee Reome. She attended public school in West Chazy, N.Y., and Tri-County Technical College in Pendleton. Kathy was a member of Crescent Hill Baptist Church, and she enjoyed flower gardening, bird watching, reading and genealogy research.
Although Kathy lived most of her life in Pickens, she always considered Plattsburgh and West Chazy, N.Y., to be her home, with many treasured friends from that area. Along with her husband and parents, Kathy was also preceded in death by one brother, Olen Reome.
Surviving are her son, Jimmy Patten (Paula); two daughters, Joni Lathem (Jerome) and Judi Reeves Wyatt (Scott); one brother, Richard H. Reome (Shirley); three sisters-in-law, Fairley Reome, Maxi Stancil and Dorothy Patten; six grandchildren, Jeremy Lathem, Kelli Teat (Clark), Jamie Patten (May May), Kadron Waugh (Anthony), Kamila Reeves (Evan Allen) and Jared Patten; five great-grandchildren, Peyton Waugh, Julian Lathem, Zachary Waugh, James Waugh and Colton Teat, and many nieces and nephews. She is also survived by her furry friend, Boog.
Funeral services were held on Nov. 9 in the Dillard Funeral Home chapel, with the Rev. Scott Allen officiating. Entombment followed at Hillcrest Memorial Park.
Memorials may be made to Crescent Hill Baptist Church, 115 Crescent Hill Drive, Pickens, SC 29671, and/or to the Dream Center, 5991 Calhoun Memorial Highway, Easley SC 29640.
Online condolences may be expressed to the Patten family by visiting dillardfunerals.com.
CRAIG S. SNIDER
EASLEY — Craig Stephen Snider was born into this life on Aug. 18, 1951, and passed into the next on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2019.
Craig was a lifelong resident of Easley. He attended East End Elementary and graduated from Easley High School’s
Lions take easy win over Lancaster in first round of playoffs
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
CENTRAL — The Daniel Lions had become accustomed to close games entering their first-round playoff matchup 
against Lancaster on Friday night, but they made sure they didn’t have to put up with
another one as they pummeled the Bruins 38-6 to stay undefeated.
“I’m happy to move from the round of 32 to the round of 16,” Daniel coach Jeff Fruster said. “We told these kids all week that this is the time of new life and second chances. To be able to come out of here with a victory is a very good start for us.”
“It’s a great experience to win in the postseason,” Lions quarterback Tyler Venables added. “I’m really thankful for the effort our guys put in this week and the focus that we had.”
Venables sailed a few passes early before settling into a groove and throwing four touchdown passes on the way to the victory.
“I just calmed down and trusted my receivers,” Venables said. “I knew that they could make plays, so I stopped trying to do too much.”
The Lions got off to the perfect start in the game, as Brenton Benson took the opening kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown.
“It’s going to get harder and harder to scheme against people trying to kick it away from our playmakers,” Fruster said.
The Lions had some trouble on the ensuing kickoff, though, allowing Lancaster’s Will Burton to get a big return all the way to the Daniel 34-yard line. The Bruins pounded it from there, with quarterback Sean Truesdale scoring a three-yard touchdown to cap the short drive. The Bruins missed the PAT to keep them behind 7-6 with 8:33 left in the first quarter.
Daniel moved the ball well on their next possession, with Josiah Benson hauling in a big 48-yard snag to get the Lions into Bruin territory. The drive didn’t go much further, though, as Billy Bruce fumbled the ball away to Lancaster.
The Daniel defense came on strong following the turnover, holding the Bruins to minimal gains on first and second down before a sack by Jared Kirksey ended the drive.
The Lions couldn’t be stopped following the stand, driving down the field before adding a 40-yard touchdown pass from Venables to Hack Hamilton.
Daniel easily forced another Bruin punt to get the ball back late in the first. The Lions started off on a tear with Jordan Grayden breaking through for a 30-yard run down to the Lancaster 43. Disaster struck, though, as standout wide receiver Javares Hamilton went down with a serious lower leg injury.
“There’s no update on Javares right now,” Fruster said. “Hopefully we’ll know more a little down the line.”
Despite the loss of Hamilton, the Lions were able to finish the drive following a 29-yard pass from Venables to Benson, leading to a 30-yard Shane Forrester field goal to give Daniel a 17-6 lead going into the second quarter.
The second quarter was all Daniel, starting with an incredible one-handed interception by De’Andre Bradley. Venables went to work, hooking up twice with Brenton Benson, including an 18-yard touchdown pass to increase the Daniel lead to 24-6 with 10:17 left in the second quarter.
After trading punts, the Lions got back on the Bruin side of the field on a 41-yard return by Hack Hamilton. Now on the Lancaster 19, the Lions took just three plays to score on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Venables to Jackson Crosby to give them a 31-6 lead with 3:33 left in the half.
Lancaster was once again forced off the field after a Kirksey and Griffin Batt sack put them behind the chains to give Daniel one more scoring opportunity before the half. The Lions got a big pickup early in the drive on a 21-yard pass from Venables to Josiah Benson. Venables then rifled a 19-yard pass to Crosby for yet another score to give Daniel a 38-6 lead going into halftime.
“Brenton and Jackson did a great job tonight stepping up when we needed them,” Venables said in the wake of the injury to Javares Hamilton. “Javares is a great player and he makes a huge impact on this team. Hopefully we can get him back soon.”
Following the big quarter, a running clock was imposed in the second half and neither team got much movement until the fourth period. There, in the game’s waning minutes, Daniel third-string quarterback Trent Pearman made some big plays.
Pearman connected with Clay Swinney for 21 yards on third and nine as the Lions were trying to run out the clock. Then, facing a fourth and 12, Pearman had a nice pass down the field to Cameron Spadafina for a 28-yard gain and a first down. The Lions kneeled out the ball from there to cement a 38-6 first-round victory.
The Lions will now advance to the second round against a very stout Westwood team that beat higher-seeded Eastside 70-52 last week.
“They’re a really solid team,” Venables said. “We gotta bring our A-game if we want to move on.”
“They’re going to try to come in here and take our future away from us,” Fruster added. “We’re going to need the fans to pack it out for that one.”
Chapman puts end to Devils’ season with dominant victory
By Zachary Arms
Special to The Courier
zacharyarms@pickens.k12.sc.us
INMAN — Despite a strong fourth-quarter performance, the Liberty Red Devils saw their season come to an end as 
they came up short at unbeaten Chapman, 54-7, in the first round of the Class 3A state playoffs on Friday night.
The Devils faced a daunting task against the Panthers, who are now 11-0 on the season as they move on to host Newberry in the second round of the playoffs this Friday night.
Chapman scored early and often in the first two quarters, building a 41-point lead before halftime before eventually running the advantage up to 54-0 midway through the fourth quarter.
The Panthers kicked off the scoring with a 43-yard pass from Mikele Colasurdo to Dashun Mitchell just more than a minute and a half into the game.
Chapman scored twice more in the first quarter, on a 10-yard pass from Colasurdo to Walt Waddell and a 27-yard run from Brandon Jones.
The Panthers added in three more touchdowns in the second quarter — an eight-yard Dante Smith run, a 39-yard pass from Colasurdo to Ben Rollins and a 23-yard pass from Drew Settle to Mitchell.
Chapman’s Carlos Parks had the only score in the third quarter, with a three-yard rushing
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Wave head into offseason with focus on improving
By Eugene Jolley
Courier Sports
news@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — It wasn’t the season the Easley Green Wave wanted, as they finished 3-7 and missing the Class 5A playoffs.
For those who were watching, they know that Easley had several close calls and
got better week to week. As first-year head coach Caleb King has said, it’s not going to happen overnight. There is no magical fairy dust. Region I-5A is as balanced a region as there is. Laurens didn’t make the playoffs last season and won the region this year.
“Any time you can get better and better, you hope it comes out more on the scoreboard than it did,” King said. “These guys kept getting better each week and kept fighting. They are doing a really good
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Tigers secure spot in ACC championship
Courtesy ClemsonTigers.com
news@thepccourier.com
RALEIGH, N.C. — Notified just before kick of the opportunity to clinch the Atlantic Division, Clemson secured its spot in the ACC Championship Game with a 55-10 win at N.C. State on Saturday night.
Clemson raced out to a 28-0 lead in the first quarter behind two defensive takeaways and stretched the lead to 42-0 at half in cruising to an eighth consecutive win over the Wolfpack.
The Tigers will represent the division in the ACC Championship Game, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Dec. 7 in Charlotte, N.C., for a fifth straight season. It is the seventh time Clemson will represent the Atlantic Division, which sets an ACC
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