Daily Archives: 06/16/2020
CU football players lead peaceful protest
By Eric Sprott
Courtesy The Journal
eric@upstatetoday.com
CLEMSON — On Saturday evening, approximately 3,000 people — nearly all of them dressed in 
black — gathered on Bowman Field and later took to the streets in
the name of change.
For Darien Rencher — one of four members of the Clemson football team who helped organize the Clemson Community Peaceful Demonstration — the moment overwhelmed him when he
Name changes a sure sign of tipping point?
I was somewhat stunned when I heard last Friday that Clemson University’s trustees had just decided to abandon their stubborn reluctance to taking “Pitchfork” Ben Tillman’s name off the most 
prominent building on campus.
This is a sure sign that we have reached some kind of a tipping point in race relations as a nation.
The issue had been a thorn in the trustees’ side ever since groups of students, many of them African-Americans, began raising the obvious point that it seemed wrong to have the landmark of an institution dedicated to 21st-century values named after an avowed advocate of lynching of black South Carolinians.
I admit, my first reaction when people began to call for the name change a few years ago was that it just wouldn’t seem right for that
Roper: ‘The threat is still out there’
County administrator discusses rising number of COVID-19 cases
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
COUNTY — Pickens County has passed the threshold of 109 active COVID-19 cases, acting 
administrator Ken Roper announced last week.
During a Facebook Live video on Friday, Roper said he wanted to talk to residents for two reasons — test results seen over the past week or so and information from the governor’s office and state epidemiologist Dr. Linda Bell.
“Those two things taken together are kind of concerning,” he said. “We added 14 new cases in Pickens County, new positive cases for COVID-19, (Thursday). We now have a total of 242 cases that have been tested positive since March 20 in Pickens County.
Roper said as of Friday, Pickens County was listed as having 109 active cases — which correlates with positive tests in the past 14 days. After Roper’s video, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control reported 20 new cases in the
Runoffs set for next Tuesday
COUNTY — Pickens County voters will head to the polls one more time next Tuesday, June 23, for a pair of 2020 Republican primary runoff elections.
Two S.C. State House seats will be up for grabs, as Districts 3 and 5 each have two candidates facing off to be on the ballot in November.
All registered voters are eligible to vote, even if they did not vote in last week’s Republican primary.
In the S.C. State House District 3 runoff, current Pickens County School Board trustee Phillip Bowers
Old Gettys building abandoned to make way for apartments
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — The former Gettys Middle School site has officially been declared an abandoned 
property.
During its June 8 meeting, Easley City Council passed a resolution certifying that the property located at 105 Stewart Drive is an abandoned building site.
“We have somebody that’s submitted site plans to turn this property into apartments,” city administrator Stephen Steese said.
The South Carolina Abandoned Buildings Revitalization Act was created to “incentivize
July 4th event to be only fireworks
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the city of Easley’s Fourth of July celebration 
will feature only fireworks.
The impact of the pandemic on Independence Day activities was discussed at city council’s June 8 meeting. Council’s regular July meeting will not take place until after the holiday.
City public information officer and marketing director Chase Campbell said “the Fourth of July event this year will just be the fireworks.”
“After meeting in our staff meetings and seeing what other municipalities are doing about their usual Fourth of July events, we’re only going to do the fireworks display,” he said. “We’re not going to have any type of food trucks. We’re not
Clemson changes college name, asks legislators to alter Tillman
By Riley Morningstar
Courtesy The Journal
rmorningstar@upstatetoday.com
CLEMSON — Clemson University has changed the name of its honors college and requested the S.C. 
General Assembly change the name of Tillman Hall.
Clemson’s board of trustees unanimously approved dropping Calhoun from the school’s Honors College, named after former U.S. Vice President John C. Calhoun. Calhoun defended the institution of slavery. Clemson’s campus is built on Calhoun’s Fort Hill Plantation.
Provost Bob Jones recommended the school rebrand and rename the honors college to the Clemson University Honors College. The
Resuming curbside recycling ‘almost unattainable’ for Easley
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — Easley officials hope to one day resume the city’s curbside recycling program.
City officials recently announced that curbside recycling would be suspended beginning this week.
During discussion of the fiscal year ’20-’21 budget during council’s June 8 meeting, Councilman Brian Garrison asked city administrator Stephen Steese to discuss what the city’s plans are for recycling.
The decision to suspend curbside recycling “mostly has to do with the recycling market in general,” Steese said.
The city currently partners with Pickens County to recycle, he said.
“We take all of our recycling to Pickens County,” Steese said. “They sort
Fall volleyball and soccer registration open at Pickens Rec
PICKENS — Fall soccer and volleyball registration are being taken now through July 24 at the Pickens Recreation Center on Sangamo Road in Pickens.
For soccer, the following coed age divisions are offered: 5-6, 7-8, 9-10, 11-12 and 13-15.
Volleyball age divisions are 7-9, 10-12, 13-14 and 15-17.
Following registration, a skills/evaluation day will be held for each age division. The registration fee
You have the right to catch coronavirus
How do you sanitize a bowling ball? There is no implied criticism in asking this question. I’m just 
asking because there is a sincere need here to understand.
I don’t bowl. My husband used to and was on a championship bowling team at one time in his life. But that was then. As Grandmama used to ask my brother, “If Vince Nelson jumps off the roof of a building, does that mean you have to do it, too?”
It’s possible to have drive-in church services, but if drive-in bowling is available, it hasn’t come to my ears.
Coronavirus has not gone away, and although there is ample
