McManus, Wilson win Pickens runoffs
By Bru Nimmons Staff Reporter bnimmons@thepccourier.com PICKENS — Voters in the city of Pickens returned to the polls one final More »
Blue Flame win 17th volleyball state title
By Bru Nimmons Sports Editor bnimmons@thepccourier.com COLUMBIA — Down 24-19 in the third set of Saturday’s Class 4A state More »
County volleyball players named all-state
By Bru Nimmons Sports Editor bnimmons@thepccourier.com COUNTY — The S.C. Coaches Association for Women’s Sports (SCCAWS) announced its 2024 All-State More »
This week in FOOTBALL FRENZY only in PICKENES COUNTY COURIER
DANIEL OVERCOMES SLOW START IN FIRST-ROUND WIN OVER DREHER; LIBERTY FALLS IN PLAYOFF OPENER; FLAME COME UP SHORT AT CAMDEN; More »
Hagood-Mauldin House gets major renovations
PICKENS — The major restoration work at the Hagood-Mauldin House and Irma Morris Museum of Fine Arts in uptown Pickens More »
Signups open for 2023 SC New and Beginner Farmer Program
CLEMSON — South Carolinians looking to launch or grow a farm business have access to comprehensive entrepreneurial education and business training, thanks in part to a $600,000 federal grant.
The grant was awarded in 2022 from the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) and supports Clemson University’s South Carolina New and Beginning Farmer Program (SCNBFP) through 2024.
SCNBFP is a Clemson Extension Agribusiness public education program focused on enabling new and beginning farmers to be
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Blue Flame girls take region lead with first win over Easley since ‘19
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — Trailing 26-22 at the half, the fifth-ranked Pickens Blue Flame girls’ basketball team was in dire need of a spark with first place in the region at stake on Friday against rival Easley.
“We knew we were down and we had to find a way to fight,” Pickens guard Ava Owens said.
And in the second half, nobody fought harder than Owens, as the freshman scored 16 points over the final two quarters to will the Blue Flame ahead and help them pull out their first win over Easley since 2019 by a 54-47 final score.
On the night, Owens finished with 23 points, 12 rebounds and three assists as she steadied the Blue Flame offense from
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Liberty survives Chesnee
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
LIBERTY — After leading for almost 18 minutes of game time, the Liberty High School girls’ basketball team was on the verge of collapse in the fourth quarter of last 
week’s game against the Chesnee Eagles.
The Red Devils led by as many as six points early in the quarter before the Eagles stormed back, and after trading baskets, Chesnee led 27-26 with just less than four minutes left.
With a crucial region win in the balance, the Red Devils went down the court passing the ball around
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Green Wave top Pickens for first region win
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — For struggling boys’ basketball county rivals Easley and Pickens, Friday night’s contest was an opportunity for both sides to pick up a first region win and 
get back into the playoff hunt.
With such crucial stakes, both teams struggled on the offensive end, but some sharpshooting on the Easley side made the difference in a 40-30 Green Wave win.
“It’s therapeutic,” interim Easley head coach Brian Smith said of the win. Smith, who has served as an assistant under Easley coach Michael Jones, led the team while Jones was out for undisclosed reasons. “We’ve had a lot of noise around us and we lost some focus in our first couple of games, but we got it back in this one. We grew up tonight.”
The Green Wave were forced to grow up quick as Pickens started strong, with Coley Gillian, C.J. Martin
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Undermanned Red Devils blown out by Eagles at home
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
LIBERTY — 2023 has been a year to forget for the Liberty High School boys’ basketball team, but the Red Devils still had to like their chances last week against a 
Chesnee team that also struggled to start off region play.
However, playing with only six players for much of night, Liberty just couldn’t keep up with the Eagles from the start in a 73-45 loss.
“We knew tonight was big one for playoff implications,” Liberty head coach Jonathan Dilworth said. “They just got out to a great start in the first half and they shot the ball really well, while we just got off to a slow start offensively. Still, I thought the boys battled in the second half and really played hard.”
Without starting guards Dre Paul and Weston Cobb for the Jan. 17 game, the Red Devils managed to score
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Deliberating details amid the drama
What kind of person would steal a multimillion-dollar wrongful death settlement from the grieving family of one of his own longtime employees?
The same kind of person who would shoot and kill his own wife and son and stage it to look like a random attack, prosecutors are likely to argue in a murder trial starting this week in Colleton County.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably know that I’m talking about Alex Murdaugh, whose trial will likely produce the most intensely watched courtroom drama in South Carolina since 1994, when Susan Smith rolled her car into a lake with her two young sons strapped inside.
My only connection to this twisted tale, other than knowing some of the reporters who’ve been covering it, is a certain lawyer who’s involved. He happens to be the one who “broke the dam” that spilled forth numerous other cases of fraud and embezzlement, setting in motion the downfall of the prominent attorney whose family name had been esteemed for more than a century in that neck of the Lowcountry.
My source is a lawyer named Eric Bland. I became acquainted with him when I covered the story of Zachary Hammond, a teenager who was shot and killed in 2015 by a Seneca police officer who claimed he believed the young man was trying
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Courier Letters to the Editor 1-25-23
Sugar-sweetened beverage tax
Dear Editor,
South Carolina ranks 42nd in the country when it comes to health outcomes. However, affording healthier options can be a barrier to one’s longevity since eating a healthier diet is more expensive and inconvenient.
A possible solution is reducing the cost of whole foods and broadening sin taxes from alcohol and cigarettes to include some junk foods. For example, in 2014, San Francisco taxed sugar-sweetened beverages an average of 47 percent. Soon, San Francisco saw a 21 percent reduction in the consumption of sodas.
As for various junk foods, Hungary imposed a 4 cent tax on packaged foods and drinks high in sugar, fat or salt, such as fruit jams and candies. According to WHO,
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Maybe we should let someone hold our mule
“Hold my mule” is a figurative expression from the American South that means when a person is leading a mule and they need to go somewhere or do something 
very important, they will ask someone to hold their mule.
Sometimes it meant they were going to enter into a confrontation, be it a verbal or physical one, but in church settings where the members were not embarrassed to express their emotions, the phrase meant they were getting happy and praising the Lord or spending time at the altar crying out to God. Do churches still use altars? Do people still get happy?
When it comes to people expressing their worship, I’ve been in a lot of assemblies over the years and witnessed several
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Courier Obituaries 1-25-23
Rev. Dr. Trenton L. Connelly
Williamston — Rev. Dr. Trenton Lavern Connelly, 81, passed away Jan. 22, 2023.
A native of Pickens, son of the late Ivy Lee and Addie Simmons Connelly, Mr. Connelly attended North Greenville College, where he received his associate degree in 1963, Furman University, receiving his bachelor’s degree in 1965, New Orleans Baptist Seminary, receiving his Th.M. degree in 1969, and Luther Rice Seminary. receiving his D.Min. degree in 1981.
He ministered at West Union Baptist in West Union, Poe Baptist Church in Greenville, Clearview Baptist Church in Travelers Rest, Cashiers Baptist Church in Cashiers, N.C., Northwood Baptist Church in Greer, Westside Baptist Church in Union and Praters Creek Baptist Church in Pickens. He was a retired Baptist minister and a member of Cedar Grove Baptist Church. It is his greatest desire that everyone who reads this obituary will also know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior so that we can all be united together in Heaven eternally.
Surviving are his wife, Kay Cox Connelly of the home; two sons, Michael Lee Connelly (Joy) of Spartanburg and Steven Mark Connelly (Tamara) of Taylors; a daughter, Linda Connelly Matthews (Mark) of Lyman; a stepson, Daniel Fowler (Taylor) of Williamston; a stepdaughter, Dana Crawford of Pelzer; a brother, Rev. Randall Jack Connelly (Violet) of
Local nonprofit collecting Valentines for area seniors
COUNTY — A local nonprofit is seeking Valentine’s Day cards for area senior citizens.
Members of Warmth and Comfort for the Elderly in Upstate SC use their crochet skills to provide warm items for nursing home patients, hospice groups, home health patients and elderly people who live at home and can’t afford them.
They also hold regular donation drives.
“Our next drive is Valentine cards for each resident and our shut-ins,” said Tammy Ferguson, the group’s CEO. “Last year, we
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