Daily Archives: 10/20/2020
At long last
After readers cast thousands of ballots and the COVID-19 pandemic caused months of delays, the time has finally come to officially unveil the businesses who were honored as the best at what they do in Pickens County in the annual Readers’ Choice Awards. Get this week’s Courier for a special keepsake section listing the winners and honorable mentions across more than 100 categories.
The Courier is available at most grocery or convenient stores near you in Pickens County.
Winner will be posted later in the week on our FB page.
Festival fun, finally
Months after it was originally scheduled to be held in April, the annual Central Railroad Festival 
finally took place on Saturday, becoming the first major festival in Pickens County since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in the spring. Although attendees wore masks and maintained proper social distance, the event maintained the look and feel of a traditional festival, with hallmarks including food, crafts, caboose tours, live music and fun for the whole family, along with one new addition for this year — a Halloween costume contest. Photos by Ed Welch
300-plus students quarantined
COUNTY — As 2.5 percent of all staff members and students participating in in-person instruction across the district were quarantined, more than 40 people in the School District of Pickens County 
tested positive for COVID-19 last week.
In its weekly update, the district said 25 students and 17 staff members tested positive for COVID-19 over the week, with 312 students and 50 staff members quarantined.
Daniel High School led the district in confirmed cases, with six students and two
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COUNTY NUMBERS STILL ON THE RISE
COUNTY — South Carolina officials reported three new COVID-19 deaths in Pickens County over three days to start this week, as well as one probable death last week.
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control reported the confirmed death of three elderly people and one probable elderly death over the course of a one-week period from last Tuesday to this Tuesday.
The county added 327 confirmed cases over the same time frame, a 29 percent increase from last week’s numbers. Pickens County also continues to trend downward in the
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Doodle Trail cart program opens
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — The city of Easley has released more information about a pilot program it and the city of Pickens are undertaking to allow a limited number of golf carts on the Doodle Trail.
Mayor Butch Womack discussed the pilot program during the Greater Easley Chamber of Commerce’s State of the City virtual event Friday morning. He said officials had received a lot of questions about the program in recent days.
“I think once people find out what
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Local businessman calling it a career
By Ron Barnett
Staff Reporter
rbarnett@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — From his dry cleaning business on Main Street, Tom O’Shields has watched life in downtown Easley unfold for the past 40 years.
He’s watched new businesses come in, particularly during recent years. And he’s watched many of
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Pickens woman honored during SC AG victim ceremony
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
STATE — A Pickens woman was remembered in a ceremony held in memory of 42 South Carolina residents who lost their lives as a result of domestic violence last year.
Tracey Nix was one of 36 women and six men whose names Attorney General Alan Wilson called during the 23rd annual Silent Witness Ceremony, held Oct. 6 on the south steps of the State House in Columbia.
Deputies responded to a home on Allgood Bridge Road at 8:07 a.m. June 11, 2019, in response to a
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Courier earns several SC Press Association awards
PICKENS — The Pickens County Courier was again named one of the top newspapers in its class by the South Carolina Press Association recently, and several of the Courier’s staff members were also honored for their work in 2019.
After delaying its annual meeting in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the SCPA held the
National Prescription Drug Take Back Day planned this weekend
COUNTY — When prescription medication is disposed of improperly, or simply forgotten about, those drugs can end up in the wrong hands.
The American Medical Association’s Opioid Task Force reports that more than 70 percent of people using opioid analgesics for non-medical reasons get them from family or friends.
Simply throwing prescriptions drugs out in the trash or flushing them down the toilet doesn’t completely eliminate the
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Clemson hires new police chief
By Greg Oliver
Courtesy The Journal
goliver@upstatetoday.com
CLEMSON — The Clemson Police Department will have a new leader come November, as city 
council Monday night unanimously approved Jorge Campos as police chief.
Council voted on the recommendation made by acting city administrator Andy Blondeau after reconvening from the executive session portion of the meeting.
Campos, a 28-year law enforcement veteran, is currently serving as chief inspector for the Gainesville (Fla.) Police Department. During his tenure there, he
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