Daily Archives: 12/08/2020
Coroner says suicide rate appears to be on decline
By Greg Oliver
Courtesy The Journal
goliver@upstatetoday.com
PICKENS — Pickens County Coroner Kandy Kelley said last week it appears there will be a decrease in the county’s suicide rate this year.
“We only have 15, and we usually have 30 to 35,” Kelley told municipal, county and state leaders and school board representatives gathered for a Pickens United meeting at Mile Creek Park.
Kelley said the normal 30 to 35 suicide cases the county experiences each year puts Pickens County
14U district champs
Due to statewide COVID-19 restrictions, there was no SCAP State Volleyball Tournament this year, but that didn’t stop the Western District SCAP agencies from participating. Adapting to precautionary safety protocols, three departments had teams vie for the 14U volleyball district title. Pickens started off the tournament by defeating Easley in Westminster on Nov. 7. Westminster had received the bye and was resting and waiting to see who it would face in the championship match. After losing several players to prior commitments, the Pickens team was ready and determined to prove its abilities and took the Western District championship. Coach Celia Bridges said she was elated at how well the girls gelled in such a short time. “They played like they had been together all season,” she said. Pictured are the members of the 14U volleyball all-star team. Back row, from left, are coach Celia Bridges, Hannah Hall, Lydia Hancox, Jessie Gillis, Kenslee Butler, Breeanna Adams, Emma Dowdal, Miriam Hudson and Holly Lee. In front are Hannah Kelley and Naomi Bridges.
9U district champs
Due to statewide COVID-19 restrictions, there was no SCAP State Volleyball Tournament this year, but that didn’t stop the Western District SCAP agencies from participating. Adapting to precautionary safety protocols, four departments had teams vie for the 9U volleyball district title. The Pickens all-star team started off the tournament by defeating Liberty on Nov. 14. Earlier in the day, Westminster defeated Clemson-Central. The wins by both teams set up the championship match. Both teams came out strong, but Pickens had a late surge to win the district title. Coach Kelly Perry said Pickens had a very supportive group of parents who traveled to Westminster to cheer on the girls. Pictured standing, from left, are assistant coach Angie Durham, Ellison Tolley, Bailey Perry, Addison Mitchum, Makenna Valdivia, Cadie Westbrook and head coach Kelly Perry. In front are Kolbi Wilson, Caroline Durham and Maycee Seder.
Pickens girls open with wins
PICKENS — The Pickens High School girls’ basketball team beat Landrum at home and downed Liberty on the road in its opening games of the 2020-21 season.
The Lady Blue Flame basketball team won its first game of the season Dec. 1 against the Landrum
Lady Cardinals, 62-30, in a non-region game played in the friendly confines of Coach Peggy Harden Anthony Gymnasium on the Pickens High campus. Pickens followed up that game on Dec. 4 with a 71-32 non-region road victory over Liberty. The Lady Blue Flame now stand at 2-0 on the season.
“This team is extremely young and so exciting to
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Ride like the wind with Smokey Joe
Smokey Joe will be 31 years old in March, if he lives that long. We’ve had him since he was a two year old. He was my horse first.
A gentle gelding with a good disposition, Smokey Joe is black with a white mark on his forehead. He’s a gaited horse, a racker and a smooth ride.
This is the first year of his life he is showing weight loss, something that often happens to older horses.
But although thinner, he can still run across the pasture with mane and tail flying and still enjoys harassing the mares when it’s time to eat. We don’t
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The essence of self-discipline
The attitude of our fallen human nature is not very nice — in fact, the word depraved is commonly used. Christians are required to honor God with self-discipline of their mind and to demonstrate His 
character, but sadly it’s rare to find any difference between God’s people and those who do not know Him at all.
I’m sure you have noticed and are disturbed by the hatred and animosity we are seeing in the realms of politics and religion. The refusal to forgive others and carry resentment is no laughing matter, and our good
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Lions finish perfect season with big win in state title game
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
COLUMBIA — The Daniel Lions hadn’t trailed in the second half all season long, and they seemed poised to 
keep up that dominant streak on South Carolina high school football’s
biggest stage with a 27-14 halftime lead over Camden in Saturday’s Class 3A state championship game at Spring Valley High School.
But the Bulldogs showed why they were the best the Lower State had to offer this season, scoring twice in the first five minutes of the second half to pull ahead 28-27 and put the pressure on Daniel.
The Lions responded to Camden’s blows the same way they had all season long — cool and collected, they swung back hard, outscoring the Bulldogs 25-3 the rest of the way to take a 52-31 win to bring home the program’s sixth state championship — and first since a
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Lions’ long-awaited return to glory ends dominating season
For the first time in 22 years, Pickens County and Daniel High School have a high school football state championship.
To put things into perspective, the last time that happened, I was just a little more than two months old,
Daniel head coach Jeff Fruster was playing linebacker for the Lions and head coach Allen Sitterle, and my dad, Courier publisher Rocky Nimmons, was on the sideline covering the Lions.
Daniel was on top of the world after that win in 1998. The Lions had played in five of the last nine state title games and won four — earning Daniel the moniker “Team of the ‘90s.” If you asked anyone who was there, they would have never guessed that the Lions would have to wait 22 years to
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Tigers cruise in second half at VT to secure ACC title game spot
Courtesy ClemsonTigers.com
news@thepccourier.com
BLACKSBURG, Va. — No. 3 Clemson (9-1, 8-1 ACC) defeated Virginia Tech 45-10 on Saturday to advance to its sixth consecutive ACC Championship Game.
With the win, Trevor Lawrence became the winningest starting quarterback in school-history (33),
surpassing Rodney Williams, Tajh Boyd and Deshaun Watson’s shared record of 32.
After a competitive first half, the Tigers pulled away from the Hokies (4-6, 4-5 ACC) with the help of
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Clemson’s Swinney reacts to Gamecocks’ Beamer hire
By Michael Crouchley
Courtesy The Journal
michael@upstatetoday.com
CLEMSON — The South Carolina football team has ended its three-week search for a new head coach after the Nov. 15 firing of Will Muschamp.
File photo
Shane Beamer — a former South Carolina assistant and the son of longtime Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer — was announced as the Gamecocks’ head coach on Sunday.
In a conference call on Monday, Clemson head coach
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