***ONLINE EXCLUSIVE *** Blue Flame head to Columbia in quest for 17th State Championship
By Bru Nimmons Sports Editor bnimmons@thepccourier.com PICKENS — For the first time since 2021, the Pickens High School volleyball team More »
Prisma to build hospital in Easley
By Jason Evans Staff Reporter jevans@thepccourier.com EASLEY — Prisma Health plans to build a new $138 million inpatient behavioral health More »
Blue Flame roll past rival Daniel to advance in Class 4A playoffs
By Bru Nimmons Sports Editor bnimmons@thepccourier.com CENTRAL — After dropping two five set battles to rival Daniel in the regular More »
Swearing in
Members of the Pickens County’s Legislative Delegation take the oath of office on the Pickens County Courthouse steps in Pickens More »
This week in FOOTBALL FRENZY only in PICKENES COUNTY COURIER
LIONS OVERCOME SLOW START AGAINST SENECA TO WIN SIXTH STRAIGHT REGION TITLE; EASLEY DROPS FINALE TO GREENVILLE; RED DEVILS FALL More »
Selugadu set for this weekend at mill
PICKENS — Every November, the Hagood Mill Historic Site observes Native American Heritage Month by holding the Native American Celebration. More »
Scammers claiming to be Easley police
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — The city of Easley is warning residents to beware of scam artists posing as members of 
the Easley Police Department during “aggressive” telephone calls.
Public information officer Chase Campbell issued a release Saturday about the scams.
Residents from inside and outside the city limits received calls Saturday, the release said.
The callers told residents they have violations or active warrants
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Clements: Clemson furloughs, pay cuts ‘difficult but necessary’
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
CLEMSON — The furloughs announced by Clemson University last week aim to help the university 
recover from the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Clemson University president Jim Clements addressed the “difficult but necessary” cost reductions, which include furloughs and voluntary pay cuts, in an update issued Friday.
“I remain confident that Clemson will emerge from the pandemic strong, but this unprecedented situation continues to take a financial toll on our university — and all of higher education,” he said.
Current projects place the economic impact of the pandemic on Clemson at between $120 million
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SC Botanical Garden Fall Plant Sale online this year
By Denise Attaway
Clemson University
news@thepccourier.com
CLEMSON — For the first time ever, the South Carolina Botanical Garden is holding its fall plant
sale completely online this year.
Nursery manager Misty Shealy said orders can be placed Sept. 7-25 online.
“We want to keep everyone safe from COVID-19,” Shealy said. “The only way people can buy plants this year is to order from the website and then schedule a contact-free curbside pickup.”
Links to the online plant sale catalog are available on the Plant Sale webpage at the Botanical Garden’s website, clemson.edu/public/scbg/. A link to the online store will be posted on the website and the
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Easley’s Pete’s No. 6 set to move
EASLEY — There will be a lot of tears shed when Pete’s No. 6 on U.S. Highway 123 in Easley closes the doors at its 56-year location for the last time on Saturday.
However, there will be lots of cheers when Pete’s No. 6 opens up at 7 a.m. next Monday in its new state-of-the-art venue, located half a mile east of its old location in the totally remodeled facility that once housed Ruby Tuesday.
Pete’s No. 6 is the oldest sustaining restaurant in Easley, opening its doors in 1958 on East Main Street. Six years later, the restaurant moved to its current location.
In making the announcement, Pete’s owner Costas Petromichelis said, “I have always had a dream of having a very nice dining place where the family can go and enjoy a nice evening without breaking
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COVID-19 myths and misinformation
A myth is a broadly held but false ideation that is frequently spread through our various media in relation to an illness or other phenomenon. COVID-19 is no exception to that hype.
Many of these are simply anecdotal references to chemical, physical or environmental propositions that might alter the course of an illness. Homeopathic or holistic approaches to any malady are, however, very important concepts to promote our physical, mental, emotional and even spiritual modalities that can be beneficial in our healing. Rumors and misinformation can be dangerous, and as of today, the best cure for COVID-19 is prevention of spread of the virus. In an effort to root out some of the myths associated with
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Should the US bring back the Pony Express?
The removal of many mail sorting machines from our post offices is a worrisome state of affairs. Each machine can sort up to 36,000 pieces of mail per hour. The machines sort letters, postcards 
and other mail by bar code.
One person sorting mail can’t come close to sorting that number of pieces of mail.
There must be information somewhere as to how many pieces of mail a lone person can sort in one hour, but so far I haven’t been able to find it.
Now, if we compare mail sorting to cotton picking, we can say, according to Wikipedia, that one cotton picking machine replaces 50 human cotton pickers. So 50 human cotton pickers would have to be hired to replace one cotton picking machine.
I don’t know a lot about sorting mail quickly, but I’m on solid ground with information about cotton harvesting, as we grew up on a cotton and tobacco
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My glory, the lifter of my head
Sometimes the dark side tries to bring us down and discourage us, and if we continue down this dreary path, we will agree that our life is not worth much and no one really cares. However, there is 
some incredibly good news — the Bible as the highest standard of absolute truth clearly establishes that God sees you as the most valuable treasure ever created.
Since He is perfect and what He makes is without mistakes, all that is needed for us to be a victorious overcomer is to believe it! “I will praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are your works; and that, my soul knows well” Psalm 139:14.
Living with low self-esteem is like driving with your foot on the brake, and this has everything to do with how a person views themselves. Ralph Waldo
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Women in the military
Dear Editor,
Twenty-six of our U.S. presidents served in the military before they were commander-in-chief of America. None of the presidents’ daughters have ever served in the military.
The military shows your love of your country. The military can provide educational grants to cover the cost of college for you and your children. The military develops leadership traits. The military improves skills for jobs that are needed to support our labor force. The military helps your personal growth. Lastly, serving in the military is a gesture of respect for our country.
Women face several challenges that are different from men in the military. Women face sexual abuse. Women come up against gender discrimination. Women have a deficiency in gender-specific
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Ex-county council, school board member Trotter dies
PICKENS — Former Pickens County Councilman Ben Trotter passed away peacefully at his home on 
Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020.
Born in Pickens County to the late Ben Hagood Trotter and the late Frances Rowland Trotter, Ben proudly served on Pickens County Council and the Pickens County School Board. He was of the Baptist faith.
Surviving are his children, Bobby Trotter (Lisa), Carol Kitchens (Jeff) and Brandie Outz (Rick); grandchildren, Adam Kitchens, Wesley Kitchens, Kevin Payton, Thomas Payton, Aryana Outz and Kadence Outz; and one great-grandchild, Iyanna Hill; sisters, Jere Chappell (Calvin), Patsy Cannon and Jo Holcombe; and several nieces and nephews who were like his own children.
Ben was predeceased by his wife of 50 years, Wilma Trotter; a brother, Red Trotter; and a sister, Martha McCall. A memorial service was held on Aug. 31 at Freedom Biker Church.
Courier Obituaries 9-2-20
BILLY ‘WAYNE’ BURNS
EASLEY — Billy “Wayne” Burns, 75, of W.T. Wyatt Road, passed away on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2020, at his home.
Born on July 18, 1945, in Pickens County, he was a son of the late Stiles Dendy Burns and Phoebe Owens Burns.
Mr. Burns worked in the textile industry for 43 years and retired from Wal-Mart in Easley. He was a member of Corinth Baptist Church, enjoyed gardening and was an expert mechanic.
Surviving are his beloved wife of 56 years, Ann Limbaugh Burns; daughters, Laurie Ann James (Steven) and Becki Gilstrap (Mitchell); a son, Josh Burns (Brandi); grandsons, Holland Gilstrap
