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Monthly Archives: June 2020

Primary set for Tuesday

Some polling places moved

By Bru Nimmons

Staff Reporter

bnimmons@thepccourier.com

COUNTY — As South Carolina inches closer to its statewide primary on Tuesday, Pickens County

Remember to VOTE April 1

voters must soon choose who will represent them in November’s general election, and with six contested county races, competition is expected to be fierce on Election Night.

Pickens County Council has two seats up for election this November, and both are hotly contested between multiple candidates.

In District 3, longtime Pickens resident Debbie Gravely, Tim Robinson and former Pickens County

Clemson student government issues statement on police brutality, racism

By Riley Morningstar
Courtesy The Journal

rmorningstar@upstatetoday.com

CLEMSON — Clemson University’s Undergraduate Student Government published a letter Monday condemning police brutality, systemic racism and the “senseless murder of Black people” as protests and riots over the death of George Floyd roil the nation.

Referred to as CUSG, the group released a letter on social media to the “Clemson Community” sending condolences to Floyd’s family and “countless others who have been murdered due to the color of their skin.”

“We acknowledge that our university is not exempt from the systemic racism in society. Racism permeates several aspects of Clemson’s campus and community,” the letter said. “From the ground of John C. Calhoun’s plantation, buildings that we inhabit like Tillman Hall, overtly racist incidents in the town of Clemson, to covert

Motorcycle crash kills 2

By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter

jevans@thepccourier.com

PICKENS — Two Upstate residents died in a motorcycle accident early Sunday morning.

The accident happened at 263 Old Liberty Pickens Road in Pickens, Pickens County Coroner Kandy Kelley said.

Kelley identified the victims as 30-year-old Thomas Cody Bowen of Old Bethlehem School Road in Pickens and 39-year-old Amanda Faye Neely of Youth Center Road in Belton.

Bowen was driving the motorcycle, according to Kelley.

The coroner said both victims were pronounced dead at the scene of blunt force trauma.

Bowen and Neely were not wearing helmets, Kelley said.

The South Carolina Highway Patrol is investigating.

 

Easley man faces child porn charges

By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter

jevans@thepccourier.com

EASLEY — An Easley man faces multiple charges of sexually exploiting a minor after being arrested last week.

Billy Edgar Reynolds, 41, of Easley, was arrested on May 26, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said in a news release.

Reynolds is charged with six counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, Wilson said.

The Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force with the

School board OKs final budget

By Greg Oliver
Courtesy The Journal

goliver@upstatetoday.com

EASLEY — The Pickens County School Board approved the third and final reading of a proposed $128.1 million general fund budget for fiscal year ‘21 last week despite a plea from one trustee to delay the vote until its next meeting.

In making the motion to table, trustee Phillip Bowers argued that waiting until this month’s board meeting would still allow time to approve the new budget prior to it going into effect when the new fiscal year begins July 1. At the same time, Bowers said the district could be in line for additional

Courier Obituaries 6-3-20

DOROTHY FOLGER PENCE

PICKENS — Dorothy Folger Pence passed away on Sunday, May 31, 2020.

Known as “Dot,” she was the wife of Jay Pence for 66 years. She was born the daughter of Jack and Dorothy Folger in Columbia in 1931.

As a child, Dot lived in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, where her father was assistant manager, and later in Baltimore, where her father was manager of the Belvedere. After WWII, the family moved to Pickens to settle in the old family home place “12 Mile.” She attended Pickens High School one year before enrolling in Queens College (now University) in Charlotte, graduating in 1952. She worked for one year in the Clemson Extension Service

Letters to the Editor

Examining Clary stance on Trump

Dear Editor:

I am writing in response to the article that appeared on the Courier’s front page on May 27, titled “Rep. Clary joins GOP effort to beat Trump.” I know Mr. Clary served as a judge and in the State House. I would think he would have a better grasp of facts.

Rep. Clary, where have you been and where do you get your news? Mr. Clary said he “doesn’t like Trump’s method of simply bullying, criticizing, ridiculing, attack mode.” That begs the question … then why doesn’t Mr. Clary oppose the bullying, criticizing, ridiculing, attack mode that has been directed at the president since day one?

The mainstream media produces the “fake news” Clary has attributed to the president. Mr. Clary complained about the president’s use of Twitter to communicate. What choice has the media given him? He doesn’t get a front-page story to defend himself. The New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, MSNBC have all done a great injustice to the American people by false reporting or negligent coverage of his accomplishments.

The corruption, such as Russia collusion, the fake dossier, lies to the FISA court and an impeachment attempt all amount to an attempted coup to unseat our elected president. All of this has been proven untrue at great expense to the American taxpayer.

The president has been working night and day, yet there remains no effort by the Democrats and RINOs to help govern the country. Instead, they continue to obstruct his administration at every turn. A list of the president’s accomplishments shows that he has done more for minorities, women, veterans and the disabled than any president before him (Google it.).

Mr. Clary seems proud to be on a committee of “fellow Republicans looking to defeat President Donald Trump this year.” Noteworthy that he was “encouraged to join the committee” by Bob Orr, a former associate justice on the North Carolina Supreme Court and gubernatorial candidate. Dallas Woodhouse, executive director of the N.C. state GOP, stated in the Charlotte Observer on June 25, 2018, that “Bob Orr’s largely detested within our party. He used Republican money to get elected to the Supreme Court. … He’s as revolting of a political figure as you can have.”

Mr. Clary falsely stated that “over the past three and a half years, we’ve alienated allies and cozied up to dictators and communists and folks like that.” Actually, Trump stopped cozying up to Iran, stopped sending money to our enemies, reversed unfair trade practices and got tough with North Korea. Other presidents let it go. Nothing was done — until Trump got tough.

Since my research turned up all the above, I wonder about Mr. Clary’s perceptions. Has he signed on to the resistance to Republican Trump based on these perceptions? My goal is to expose fake Republicans (RINO), fake news and money-grabbing politicians. MAGA!

Dennis L. Bauknight

Easley

 

Rolling the dice

Dear Editor,

Although I don’t gamble, there are games that use dice to play. I was cleaning house not long ago when I found a couple of dice.

I realized something about dice that had never dawned on me. Each opposite side adds up to be the same number. Seven. If it’s four, the opposite side will be three. If it’s two, the opposite side will be five. One, it will be six. Doubt it? Look for yourself.

Trivia about dice. When thrown and the top numbers are five on both, it’s called box cars. It looks like the doors on a box car.

When thrown and it’s one on both dice, it’s known as snake eyes. People over the years have figured out ways to mess with dice. There’s shaved dice. One side is sanded down to make the weight uneven.

Then there are what is known as loaded or trick dice.

The black dots are drilled out on one side and lead is poured in. Then the dots are painted over to cover up. In both cases it gives the user the advantage. Yes, it is illegal, but some do it anyway.

I’ve heard of gamblers who would use hair tonic to stick the dice together so they could mess with their landing on the numbers they wanted. What they’d do is pretend to smooth their hair out, only to get grease on the dice. I once heard about a man who would put a wrinkle in the blanket he was on the floor throwing dice on. He’d bounce the dice off the wrinkle to get the number he wanted.

No end to what people will do, is there? No one knows just who or even when dice were invented.

In the Bible, it tells about the soldiers who crucified Jesus shooting dice for his coat. Casting lots, as it was called then, was nothing new. They had a cylinder-shaped jar which they put the dice in and shook up then poured out. Seven dice were used instead of two like today.

Archeologists have found dice as old as 6,000 B.C. Back then, they were carved from bone. Animal, I hope. Actually, sheep knuckles were said to be the start, followed by wood, stone and even brass. Just something to think about.

Eddie Boggs

Westminster

 

Rising food costs

Have your food expenses gone up recently? Even if your local grocery isn’t spiking the prices, it’s now costing more to get what we need.

Grocery delivery: Delivery prices are running to $10 and more in most places. Usually those involve a personal shopper who selects your items from your list and delivers them to your door. Sometimes they’ll call while shopping

Blue Ridge holds annual meeting with social distance

PICKENS — Because of South Carolina’s current coronavirus mandates, any gathering of large crowds has been forbidden.

Consequently, Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative took a decidedly different path than had been the norm in the planning and conducting of its 2020 Annual Meeting of Members.

During the three consecutive days of May 19-21, members participated in a drive-thru registration

DAR Good Citizen Award winners

The Fort Prince George Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) awarded its annual High School Good Citizenship Awards via mail tihs year. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, the annual awards meeting had to be canceled. The chapter had to mail the award certificates, pins and gift cards to the three winners. This year’s winners were Liberty High School’s Anna-Marie Bright, Easley High School’s Lauren Brown and Pickens High School’s Maleah Kelley.