Daily Archives: 02/04/2025
ECU’s Ellenburg receives districtwide honor
EASLEY — Easley Combined Utilities (ECU) announced that Water and Sewer Assistant 
Superintendent Brent Ellenburg has been recognized as the Blue Ridge Foothills District Operator of the Year by the Water Environment Association of South Carolina (WEASC) and the South Carolina Section of the American Water Works (SCAWWA) last week.
The award was presented during the WEASC Blue Ridge
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Understanding is not necessary to appreciate
The vast complexity of the human mind has fascinated mankind since the beginning.
As our divine book of instruction, the Bible says that as a man or woman thinks, so are they. Since we 
are the accumulation of our thoughts, we cannot overly stress the importance of believing what is true in order to live in God’s favor. This sounds easy and I guess it could be if we lived in a
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Courier Letters to the Editor 2-5-25
MLK and Pickens County
Dear Editor,
I saw the recent front-page articles on Martin Luther King Day in Pickens. I salute the participants, but Pickens County has work to do.
There is no way King would be pleased with the rot in the MAGA GOP presently. The public school system, trustees and others of influence are doing a miserable job, or the white male population
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Crush the old and embrace the new
In the Bible, John 3:5-6 says “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of 
water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
There probably aren’t many of us that haven’t wished we could start our lives or careers all over again. We could wipe our slates clean and have a new beginning. At times those thoughts are
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Calculating the price of eggs
Here we go again.
Because of the avian influenza, many hens have had to be culled, leaving fewer to produce eggs. Supply 
and demand being what it is, the price of eggs has jumped up again because there are fewer eggs.
A recent trip to the store was a shocker. In the space of less than 10 days, a dozen eggs at my local store had shot up over $2 … to a whopping $6.95 for large eggs. This wasn’t
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New benefits guide for 2025
The Department of Veterans Affairs has released a new publication that you’ll want to see. The “2025 VA Federal Benefits Guide for Veterans, Dependents, Survivors, and Caregivers” is now available.
Go online to va.gov and search for “pamphlet 80-25-1” for a link to the handbook.
This 120-page handbook is full of info you may need, if not now then later. Whether it’s education benefits, life
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Courier Obituaries 2-5-25
EARL REYNOLDS
PICKENS — Earl Reynolds, 76, loving husband of 57 years to Pat Nalley Reynolds, 
passed away on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, at Baptist Easley Hospital.
Born June 16, 1948, in Pickens County, Earl was the son of the late John F. Reynolds and Martha McJunkin Reynolds. Mr. Reynolds was a member and deacon at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church. He was employed and retired from BASF. He loved animals and enjoyed working in his yard with his azaleas. He was an avid Clemson Tiger fan, being an IPTAY member for many years, traveling to numerous bowl games with his wife and attending home games with his family. He loved his family dearly, especially his grandchildren and their beloved dog, Lacey.
Survivors include his wife, Pat Nalley Reynolds of the home; daughter, Melissa R. Hines (David) of Marietta; son, Rob Reynolds (Tracy) of Travelers Rest; grandchildren, Aaron, Blake, Noah, Anna and Jenna; and brother, Tom Reynolds.
In addition to his parents, Mr. Reynolds was predeceased by his sister, Clara Ann Reynolds.
A memorial service took place on Jan. 26 at the chapel of Mountain View Funeral Home in Pickens.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Earl’s honor may be made to St. Jude Children’s Hospital by stjude.org/donate/donate-to-st-jude.html.
Mountain View Funeral Home is serving the Reynolds family.
HILDRED NEWTON LEWIS
PICKENS — Hildred Newton Lewis, 85, loving husband of 42 years to Carol Victoria Hill Lewis, passed away on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, at his residence.
Born Jan. 5, 1940, in Pickens County, Hildred was the son of the late Virgil Lewis and
Herman to speak at SWU’s lecture series
CENTRAL — American painter and educator Bruce Herman will be on hand for Southern Wesleyan 
University’s first Faith and Learning Lecture Series of 2025 at 4 p.m. Feb. 12.
Herman will present a talk on the human capacity for creativity and the innate “itch” to make things. As he puts it, we are “made by a Maker to be makers, and our hearts are restless until we make something — something beautiful.”
“Herman possesses a unique ability to speak with clarity and beauty about what it means to worship and serve the Creator God who makes us in His image and calls us all to also be makers of beauty in our world. Your heart and mind will be filled and encouraged,” SWU vice provost for student success Trudy Summers said. “You’ll be so glad you came.”
Herman is an American painter and educator who resides in Gloucester, Mass., where he maintains his art studio. His paintings, prints, and drawings have been exhibited in more than 150 shows across major U.S. cities — including Washington, New York, Boston, Chicago, and Los Angeles — as well as internationally in Italy, England, Japan, Hong Kong, Canada, and Israel. His work is featured in numerous public and private collections, including Vatican Museum of Modern Religious Art, Rome, Cincinnati Museum of Fine Arts Print Collection, Grunewald Print Collection of the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, DeCordova Museum, Boston, Cape Ann Museum.
From 1984-2023, Herman was a professor and curator at Gordon College, where he was the founding chair of the art department and held the Lothlórien Distinguished Chair in Fine Arts, Gordon’s first endowed faculty appointment. Herman earned both his BFA and MFA from Boston University College of Fine Arts, where he studied under esteemed American artists Philip Guston, James Weeks, David Aronson, Reed Kay, and Arthur Polonsky. His artwork has been widely published in books and journals, and his latest book, Makers by Nature (IVP Academic Press), will be available for purchase after the lecture or online at ivpress.com/makers-by-nature.
The event will be at the Alive Chapel at SWU, located at 807 Wesleyan Drive in Central.
Grand opening
GG’s Embroidery is growing one stitch at a time. Owner Kathy Lum is shown cutting the ribbon of her new larger location. What started out as a hobby has grown into a full-time business and a success story for the city of Pickens. GG’s first location was at The Market at the Mill, then it moved to a small building on West Main Street in Pickens. The business now operates a larger location at 111 Railroad St. in Pickens. GG’s carries a wide variety of clothing and accessories that can be custom embroidered for babies, children, moms to be and brides to be, as well as housewares, candles, tableware, home decor and more. GG’s is open Tuesday 1-5 p.m., Wednesday-Friday 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Pictured are Bryan Owens, Patricia Morgan, Rachel Lum, baby James Lum, Kathy Lum, Gregory Lum, Brittany Chapman and Harold Alexander.
