Yearly Archives: 2020
Courier Letters to the Editor 12-9-20
Horror and heartbreak of COVID-19
Dear Editor,
This came from the daughter of my brother with COVID on Nov. 4: “Daddy is now intubated, sedated, paralyzed, prone on his stomach. No visitation.”
He had been hospitalized for two weeks. Six days later, the phone call: “No hope. Lungs hardening. Family can come in for his last moments.”
This is the horror and heartbreak of COVID. No people anywhere would choose this for themselves. No caring people anywhere would choose this for anyone else.
Pickens County people are better than this. And you are plenty smart. I know. I taught about 3,000 of you back in the day, and you did very well in school.
For the sake of all, I plead with you to wear your masks and follow the other protocols. Your own life may depend upon it.
Bert Allison
Pickens
Jesus is the reason for the season
Dear Editor,
Two thousand years ago, a child was born into this evil world that would give hope to all who will believe on him.
I’ve heard it said of Him that although He never had an army, kings feared Him. Had no servants, yet He was called master. Had no degree, yet they called Him teacher. Had no medicine, yet they called Him healer. Won no battles, yet conquered the world. Committed no crime, yet He was
Daniel coaching legend Sitterle joins Pickens High School staff
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — After a season of highs and lows for the Pickens High School football team, the program is getting a major shot in the arm with the addition of S.C. Football Coaches Hall of Famer 
Allen Sitterle to the staff as offensive coordinator and offensive line coach.
Sitterle made waves in the county as the coach of the Daniel Lions from 1990-2006, winning four state titles, and most recently led the Andrew Jackson Academy eight-man football team to state championships in 2015 and 2016.
The move to Pickens may come as a
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Virus forces county to raise restrictions
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
COUNTY — While the county government and county facilities are not shutting down, steps are being taken as COVID-19 cases continue to rise in both Pickens County and South Carolina as a whole.
County administrator Ken Roper and emergency services director Billy Gibson discussed those steps, which went into effect Monday, during a Facebook livestream last week.
After the county shut down suddenly in March due to the pandemic, it took a three-phase approach to reopening in May and June.
“We are reverting back to Phase 2 as a county,” Roper said Friday. “It does not mean that the county is shutting down. It does not mean that the county facilities are shutting down. It means that we’re taking some measured responses, some measured actions, to try and help what we anticipate will be a
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Assisted living home asks for aid in COVID battle
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
LIBERTY — Jimmy Masters has operated MasterCare Assisted Living in Liberty for 36 years.
“This year has been the hardest we’ve been hit, with keeping everything going,” he said.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has placed financial burdens on the home, and Masters is asking the public to donate items to help keep his residents and employees safe.
Throughout the pandemic, MasterCare has been lucky — until recently.
“Until Friday of last week, I’ve had no cases here since it started,” Masters said last week. “Since Friday of last
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County numbers continue to climb
COLUMBIA — With nine confirmed COVID-19 deaths in the past week, Pickens County continues to see worsening numbers in the fight against the deadly virus, and if county transmission and 
incidence rates are any indicator, numbers may continue to spike in the coming weeks.
According to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, eight of the county residents who died in the eight-day period from last Tuesday to this Tuesday were elderly, while one was
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Official: School nurses feeling burden of virus
By Greg Oliver
Courtesy The Journal
goliver@upstatetoday.com
EASLEY — School District of Pickens County nursing director Angela Watson said the role of school nurses has changed dramatically in recent years.
School shootings nationwide have led to an increased focus on school nurses meeting the mental health needs of students. Laws now require individual health plans for students who take medication during the day or have urgent medical needs, such as asthma, diabetes and seizures. There has also been a transition
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Merck updates parents on virus in SDPC
EASLEY — School District of Pickens County superintendent Danny Merck said a rising number of COVID-19 cases in the county and schools is making it imperative that parents do their part to help 
stop the spread of the virus.
“In Pickens County, the incidence rate and positivity rate of COVID-19 is higher than ever and the highest of any county in South Carolina,” Merck wrote in a letter sent to parents Sunday. “As we work to preserve our schools as safe environments for learning and working, it is extremely
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Man charged in fatal wreck
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — An Easley man was charged with failure to yield at an intersection after a fatal accident Saturday afternoon.
Pickens County Coroner Kandy Kelley identified the victim as 27-year-old Jonathan Ray Jefferson-Neal.
The collision occurred at 12:35 p.m. Saturday on S.C. Highway 183 near Cannery Road, two miles
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‘Why would you turn them away?’
Hammond a part of BHSPC story for 40 years
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — Dr. Mary Hammond remembers when Behavioral Health Services of Pickens County was “just a little building on the side of the road.”
That building is still there, but the agency has grown to include several offices in Pickens, offering a
variety of services to residents.
Hammond has been involved in helping to steer the agency for many years — this year marks her 40th year on the agency’s board. She’s been helping others for far longer than that.
“I was born in the Pickens area and have lived here all my life, except when I was
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Looming large
There’s a
new piece of outdoor art in downtown Pickens, as Twelve Mile Defense owner David Harned hosted a four-year anniversary celebration for his business on Friday including free food and a live chainsaw carving demonstration by Rick Travers, who turned a tree outside the shop into a larger-than-life bear sculpture. It took Travers, who has been sculpting for 30 years, several days to complete the bear.
