Daily Archives: 12/23/2019
Path to better SC schools only starts with teacher pay raise
It’s one of those “duh” comments that seems painfully obvious once it’s said, but that holds a truth that we too often forget until it is said.
Great teachers, Gov. Henry McMaster said Tuesday in announcing his plan to raise S.C. teacher pay by $3,000 
next year, “don’t want to do it for the money.” But, he continued, “they can’t do it without the money.”
It’s essentially the same idea that too many people forget
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Wired or wireless?
Much of the time we want to embrace technology and whatever is the latest and greatest. When it comes to our electronic gadgets, sometimes the newest isn’t necessarily the best.
I suspected I was in trouble when my cable provider insisted on installing a new, fancy modem. Within hours, my computer, hooked up via Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity), was dragging and cutting out. After multiple phone calls over
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Get a solid start on civilian life
Some of us had a hard time when we left the military. The civilian world is a different place, and we probably could have used some help. The Department of Veterans Affairs has hooked up with the Department of Defense 
and Homeland Security in a program called VA Solid Start. They intend to contact 200,000 of us three times during the first year we’re out.
Too many of us struggle with mental health concerns that first year, and newly separated veterans have a suicide rate that’s twice
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Womack retiring as fire chief to prepare for new role as mayor
EASLEY — In anticipation of his swearing-in as the city’s new mayor, Easley Fire Chief Butch Womack will 
retire Dec. 31 after more than 30 years of service to the department.
Womack joined the Easley Fire Department in 1985. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1989 and became fire chief in 1993. As chief, he has involved the fire department in many community activities, such as Safe Kids Upstate, the Augusta Burn Center Boot Drive and city events, according to a city news release. He has worked to modernize and expand coverage of the department
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Easley chiropractor Boren set to retire
EASLEY — Dr. Ed Boren will be retiring as a chiropractor after serving Pickens County for more than 30 years.
Dr. Jack Newsome will be the continuing chiropractor at 6335 C Calhoun Memorial Highway in Easley.
Boren will continue to see patients by request until Feb. 28. Records will be stored at 6335 C Calhoun Memorial
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Courier Obituaries 12-25-19
DEVIN WADE ELDRIDGE
EASLEY — Mr. Devin Wade Eldridge, 24, passed away on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2019.
Born in Greenville County, a son of Matthew Dennis Eldridge and the late Deborah Michelle Eldridge, Mr. Eldridge was a welder and of the Christian faith.
Devin was a hard-working man who loved life and was very outgoing. He never met a stranger and will be dearly missed by all who loved and knew him.
Surviving, in addition to his father, are a brother, Zachary Chase Eldridge of Anderson: two sisters, Haley Elizabeth Eldridge and Gracey Michelle Eldridge, both of Easley; his grandparents, Jack and Lorrie Yeager of Greenville, and Elaine T. Moore of Piedmont; his aunt and uncle, Julie Eldridge and David Eldridge, both of
The evolution and many faces of Christmas
Many people prepare for the arrival of Christmas months in advance. The first traces of wrapping paper and decorations arrive in stores as early as September, transforming the holiday into a much more secular celebration than its modest Christian beginnings.
Despite Christmas being an important date in the lives of today’s Christians, the holiday failed to gain prominent status until relatively recently. Research indicates that as late as the 19th century, Christmas was not even a legal holiday requiring a day off from work. That’s why 19th century readers of the classic Christmas tale, “A Christmas Carol,” were not shocked at Bob Cratchit having to work on Christmas Day. The United States
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Tidbits to put you in the holiday spirit
The holiday season has arrived, and millions of people across the globe will be celebrating Christmas with their families and friends. The following are some interesting tidbits to share with your loved ones this holiday season.
• Each year, more than three billion Christmas cards are sent in the United States alone.
• In 350 AD, Pope Julius I, bishop of Rome, proclaimed December 25 the official celebration date for the birth of
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Yes Virginia there is a Santa Claus
In 1897, Manhattan 8-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon wrote a letter to The Sun, a prominent New York City newspaper, asking a question that was on the minds of curious youngsters of her day, just as it continues to be today: “Is there a Santa Claus?”
One of the paper’s editors, Francis Pharcellus Church, took the opportunity to craft an eloquent and moving response that still inspires hope and faith more than a century later. The editorial — originally printed in the Sept. 21, 1897 edition of The Sun — is known as the most reprinted editorial ever to run in any English-language newspaper. It appears in its entirety below.
We take pleasure in answering at once and thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same
time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:
“Dear Editor—
“I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, ‘If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.’ Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?
“Virginia O’Hanlon
“115 West Ninety Fifth Street”
Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think
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A time to reminisce
Singer/Ryobi coworkers reunite
PICKENS — The Singer/Ryobi reunion held on Dec. 14 at the site of the building that employed so many Pickens County residents was a chance to bring friends and family together to reminisce about a bygone era when so many workers became friends as each hammered out a living.
The event brought together hundreds of former employees to celebrate Christmas and to enjoy memories of the time spent at the facility. The site’s new owner, David Hosea, and his facility manager, Barry Crawford, wanted
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