This WEEK in FOOTBALL FRENZY
Green Wave lose homecoming heartbreaker to Mauldin; Daniel shuts out Travelers Rest; Devils to open region play; Pickens to return More »
Soup kitchen celebrates two decades of service
By Jason Evans Staff Reporter jevans@thepccourier.com EASLEY — For more than two decades, an organization in Easley has provided hot More »
Lions win county golf tournament
By Bru Nimmons Sports Editor bnimmons@thepccourier.com PICKENS — For the first time in more than 10 years, The Rock Golf More »
Local residents, businesses provide aid to neighbors, WNC after Helene
By Jason Evans Staff Reporter jevans@thepccourier.com COUNTY — Following the destruction wrought by Hurricane Helene, many people in the Pickens More »
This WEEK in FOOTBALL FRENZY
Swinney becomes ACC’s winningest coach in road victory over FSU; Wave announce 2024 Hall of Fame class and Red Devils More »
Blue Flame take region series over Westside
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — A dominant day on the mound gave the Pickens Blue Flame their first region series win on the season on Friday as they took down Westside, 5-0.
Senior pitcher and Coker University commit Ryan Ford got the start for the Blue Flame and took down the Rams with ease, surrendering just two hits and adding eight strikeouts in five innings.
Even when Ford was taken out of the game after hurling a gem, the Blue Flame didn’t miss a step as Aidan Stewart closed out the rest of the game without surrendering a hit to the Rams.
Stewart proved to be too hard to handle for the Rams all week, with a win on Monday and the savc
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on Friday.
While getting a great day on the mound was essential to the Blue Flame effort, the win was made possible by the Pickens bats getting hot early.
C.J. Martin led the Flame off with a walk, and an error by the Rams shortstop allowed Kase Lewis to reach first base. With those two on base, Cooper O’Sullivan wasted no time bringing them home on a double to give Pickens a 2-0 lead.
Westside pitcher Elijah Grant settled down from there, striking out three straight Blue Flame batters to escape the inning.
A quick three-up, three-down inning by Ford put the Blue Flame right back in the batter’s box, and once again they were able to get on the scoreboard.
Tanner Tinsley picked up his first hit of the night and was quickly moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Brody Miller. Then, a Westside error not only allowed Tinsley to score, but also gave Martin a trip home as he rounded the bases in his second at-bat to bump the Pickens lead to 4-0.
Both offenses stalled out the rest of the way, with the lone exception coming in the sixth inning as Tinsley came to bat for the third time. For the second time on the night, Tinsley was able to get ahold of one of Grant’s pitches, picking up a hit and allowing eighth-grader Ayden Beeco to come home and score to give the Blue Flame the 5-0 advantage.
With the win over Westside, the Blue Flame turned their sights to region foe Walhalla. In game 1 of the series on Monday night, the Blue Flame fell 7-3 to drop to 4-2 on the season.
Pickens 5, Westside 0
WHS 000 000 0 0 2 4
PHS 220 001 X 5 5 0
WP: Ford 5 IP, 2H, 3BB, 8K
LP: Grant 6 IP, 5H, 5R, 2BB, 8K
PHS: O’Sullivan 3-3, 2 RBI, 2B; Tinsley 2-3, RBI, R.
WHS: Clark 1-3, 2B; Brownell 1-2, BB.
Lions survive Liberty on windy afternoon
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
CENTRAL — With winds reaching nearly 20 mph during Saturday afternoon’s Daniel-Liberty baseball game, nothing was made easy for either team.
Multiple times, time was called as infield dirt was scattered through the air and errors and wild pitches added up as wind altered the path of the baseball.
Despite the conditions, Daniel was able to withstand a late Liberty comeback for a 7-6 win behind a complete game from Luke McIntosh.
“We were in a bind,” Daniel head coach David Weathers said. “We didn’t have a ton of pitching left after the two games with Seneca, so Luke McIntosh came
out and competed his tail off and gave us a chance to win.”
While posting modest numbers on the mound, McIntosh excelled at controlling the damage for the Lions from atop the mound on a day where mistakes came in
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Green Wave outlast TR on diamond
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — After a controversial balk call in the fifth inning of Easley’s Monday night matchup with Travelers Rest allowed the Devildogs to pull within one run, Green Wave head coach Gill Payne challenged his team to fight to the finish.
The Green Wave did just that, working through two late-inning jams to get back on track in region play and win 4-3 to hand Travelers Rest its first region loss.
“I believe our guys got up and said ‘Enough is enough.’” Payne said. “They’re young and they make a lot of young mistakes, but they don’t give up.”
That lack of quit showed up twice in late innings, as starter Kaleb Owens delivered the Green Wave
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How to put a chicken in every pot
I always thought chickens were not very bright. And I still think that, based on personal experience.
I’ve seen chickens escape from a chicken pen, then run frantically around the outside perimeter clearly wanting to go back inside while I stand with the open door calling, “Here, chick, chick, chick,” to no avail.
I’ve seen hens choose to lay eggs in some other hen’s nest and then look befuddled when evening comes and another hen has settled down in the nest where the invader lay her eggs.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to determine that chickens are their own worst enemies.
However, there are exceptions to every rule. I have no idea what the average chicken’s IQ is. It has to be more
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Without a burden, we will not pray
The key to being a good soldier is listening carefully and being obedient. No one, especially God, wants a servant who decides to be absent without leave or who is rebellious and always wants to do things their way.
Every effective military has strict discipline for a purpose, and this is for making sure the soldier is focused on what the leader is saying. One reason for going through boot camp is to learn certain skills while training the individual to build strength so they are in excellent physical condition. Going into battle is very strenuous, and demands for each team member to be strong and confident.
But even more important than building physical endurance, their minds must be educated, transformed and
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A worthy effort
Imagine being one of the 50 or so people having lived in one community for most — if not all — of life. Now, imagine the future of the very place you call home is up for sale. You and your family are left not knowing what’s next, totally helpless and sitting on the sidelines.
There’s more to the story than just that for today’s coverage about ongoings in Central, but it’s a decent starting point.
The land on which a predominantly black neighborhood called “Head Town” sits is on the market at
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Living on Social Security benefits
We’ve now experienced our 2022 Social Security benefit amount for a couple of months, the 5.9 percent increase. How are you doing?
The problem is that the COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) is calculated from July to September the year before. Yes, prices were inching up then, but by December, we were seeing the writing on the wall when the annual Consumer Price Index was already up 7 percent.
Add to that the hefty Medicare Part B increase to cover the cost of Aduhelm, the Alzheimer’s drug most of us
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Pickens Mayor Fletcher Perry graduates from Advanced Municipal Elected Officials Institute
PICKENS — Pickens Mayor Fletcher Perry has graduated from the Advanced Municipal Elected Officials Institute of Government.
Graduates received their certificates during the Municipal Association of South Carolina’s Hometown Legislative Action Day in February.
The Municipal Association offers the Advanced Institute exclusively to graduates of the Municipal Elected Officials Institute of Government. Created in 2014, the Advanced Institute provides elected officials with continuing education through classroom instruction and interaction with experienced peers.
“The Advanced Institute allows mayors and councilmembers to explore in depth many governance topics that can make them more effective leaders for their cities and towns,” said Urica Floyd, staff associate for distance learning for the Municipal Association.
Graduating officials have participated in at least four of six courses to graduate from the Advanced Institute. Topics include public safety, budgeting, utilities, advocacy, economic development and governance.
The Advanced Institute draws its faculty from South Carolina and across the country, including recognized local government leaders, state officials, as well as college and university faculty.
Established in 1986, the Municipal Elected Officials Institute of Government is a program of the Municipal Association of South Carolina. It gives municipal officials a strong foundation in the operation of municipal government.
The Municipal Elected Officials Institute of Government is one of many educational and training opportunities that the Municipal Association offers for the elected officials and staff serving cities and towns. Learn more at masc.sc (keyword: education and training).
Member of the Month
The Greater Pickens Chamber of Commerce recently named Holly Springs Country Store and Cafe as its Member of the Month. The business is located at the corner of S.C. Scenic Highway 11 and U.S. Highway 178. The store is open Monday-Saturday from 6 a.m.-7:30 p.m. and on Sundays from 8 a.m.-7:30 p.m. The cafe offers a full country breakfast, lunch and more and is located inside the convenience store and gas station. Bill Rivers bought Holly Springs Country Store from Mendel Stewart in 1982 after retiring from the Air Force. In 2007, Cameron Rivers, Bill’s son, became the owner and operator of the store. Pictured are Paula Rivers, Cole Rivers, Marcell Harding, Cameron Rivers, Debbie Gravely and Bryan Owens.
Community Calendar 3-30-22
• Easley Museum to open on 1st Fridays
The Easley Area Museum has expanded hours of operation that will now include the first Friday of each month. Starting April 1, the museum will be open to the public from 1-5 p.m. Normal hours will continue for every Saturday and Sunday from 1-5 p m. or by appointment.
• Hagood Center to host gospel singing
Hagood Community Center will hold its first musical fundraising concert of the year next month.
Will Brothers and Friends will be performing at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 30, in the auditorium. The event is called the Early Spring Jam and is set to feature a
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