Daily Archives: 05/05/2020
Easley’s Senior League World Series canceled
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — Easley’s J.B. “Red” Owens Complex will not host an international tournament this 
summer for the first time in nearly 20 years after the 2020 Senior League Baseball World Series was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Little League International President and CEO Stephen Keener announced the cancellation Thursday during a Facebook Live video.
“The devastating impact of this COVID-19 pandemic has reached every corner of our society and has
County’s reopening plan underway
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — County officials held a virtual briefing Friday morning on the plan to “Kickstart Pickens County.”
“The purpose of this morning’s conversation and briefing is to give 
you some ideas about the way that Pickens County is going to come out of the COVID-19 situation here over the next few weeks,” acting county administrator Ken Roper said.
Reopening in “measured, incremental steps” allows the county to respond “if situations change,” he said.
“The idea here is that we are adaptable to circumstances,” Roper said. “It gives us some adaptability in a situation that we know is changing.”
The county’s parks, recreation and tourism department created the “Kickstart Pickens County” concept, and it was developed further “at the department head level,” Roper said.
“The idea is we’re keeping a wary eye on the circumstances, but we all
Residents urged to wear masks
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — As the county looks to open up more of its facilities to the public, residents are still 
encouraged to wear masks to prevent the further spread of COVID-19.
One of the questions fielded by county officials during a virtual briefing Friday morning on the “Kickstart Pickens County” plan to reopen the county concerned the need for masks.
“Will masks be required, or should we assume that it is now safe to go into public without one since more things are opening up?” a resident asked.
County emergency management deputy director Pierce Womack emphasized the importance of wearing masks.
“We do want to encourage folks to wear masks,” Womack said. “Wear masks if you can. If you’re in an outdoor, open setting, you’re not as at risk as you are inside of a closed business or some type of facility. So please work with us and
Teen killed at Twin Falls
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
SUNSET — A Greenville teen died Sunday after falling from Twin Falls.
Pickens County Coroner Kandy Kelley identified the victim as Nathalie Ann Ospina, 18, of Dellwood Drive.
The accident occurred around 12:45 p.m. Sunday afternoon when Ospina fell off the falls, Kelley said.
She died from blunt force trauma and was pronounced dead at the scene, Kelley said.
The Pickens County Sheriff’s Office is investigating.
During his daily update video on Facebook Live Monday morning, acting county administrator
Four new election board members sworn into office
By Greg Oliver
Courtesy The Journal
goliver@upstatetoday.com
PICKENS — Four new members of the Pickens County Board of Voter Registrations and Elections have formally been sworn in.
Lillian Boatwright of Clemson, Robert Rauton Jr. of Six Mile, Richard Reece of Pickens and James Liddle of Easley will be tasked with finding a new director and preparing for the June 9 primaries that will be unlike any ever seen due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But acting Pickens County administrator Ken Roper isn’t concerned.
“The board is already hard at work,” he said. “I had the pleasure of meeting with them and showing them around the election office, tabulation room and election machine storage areas. I’m impressed
Mom, I.O.U.
I imagine Mother’s Day is a very sad occasion when it comes around for the first time after you’ve lost your mother. For a mother who loses a son, it must be that much more sorrowful to face the day without him for the first time.
So my heart goes out to Maud Bryant, Browning Bryant’s mom, who lost the bright shining star in her life late last year.
She told me, though, that as she approaches this holiday, she has found solace in a letter he wrote to her for her 90th birthday in 2016. I later found out that the letter was adapted from a Jimmy Dean song called “I.O.U.” that reached the country top 10 in 1976.
Browning intended to read it to her at her birthday party, but it was so noisy, he didn’t get to. But she came across it the other day and offered to share it.
“Let me tell you, this letter that he wrote to me, every mother would certainly appreciate what he had to say to me,” she said.
I agree with her on that. Pretty much everything he said would apply to my mom, too.
Browning, in case you don’t know, was a Pickens native who rose to national fame as a singer in his
County receives disaster declaration
PICKENS — Oconee and Pickens counties were among seven South Carolina counties to receive disaster declarations from President Donald Trump as a result of tornado and storm damage April 12-13.
The declaration allows residents affected by the storms to get help with eligible storm-related costs not covered by insurance.
The president also approved federal aid to supplement state and local agency recovery efforts in
No details released on elderly victim
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — Pickens County’s first COVID-19-related death happened on April 17, according to officials.
“We didn’t know it because the person that was involved apparently wasn’t admitted or being treated for COVID-19,” acting county administrator Ken Roper said Monday morning during a Facebook Live video update. “It was discovered after the person passed that COVID-19 was a
School district official: No policy on minimum grades
By Greg Oliver
Courtesy The Journal
goliver@upstatetoday.com
EASLEY — School District of Pickens County spokesman John Eby said last week there is no district 
policy or recommendation for whether teachers set a floor for minimum grades based on class assignments and exams.
However, Eby added that doesn’t mean individual schools can’t have their own policy for minimum grades.
“Students can still earn down to zero on individual assignments and exams, but principals may set floors on grading for their schools,” he said. “But if principals set no schoolwide expectations, teachers have discretion on how low they may grade assignments and exams.”
When it comes to quarterly grades and report cards, Eby said
Pickens Rec holding signups for football, cheerleading season
PICKENS — The city of Pickens Recreation Department and Pickens Youth Athletic Corporation are currently registering youth for the fall 2020 cheerleading and football season.
The deadline for registration is June 10. Parents can register their children at the Pickens Recreation Center on Sangamo Road in Pickens or find the registration form online at cityofpickens.com.
The following age divisions are offered: 6 years old/100 pounds; 7-8 years old/120 pounds; 9-10
