Preserving the Music
The Winter Bluegrass Jubilee, currently the only annual fundraising event for Preserving Our Southern Appalachian Music (POSAM) is set for More »
Hillcrest weathervane honors annual tradition in Clemson-Carolina rivalry
PICKENS — When the new Hillcrest office was being built in 1993, Andy Cone convinced the architects to design a More »
Public safety startup PursuitAlert appoints new CEO
PICKENS — PursuitAlert, a leading innovator in public safety technology founded by former Pickens County Undersheriff Tim Morgan, announced today More »
SC Waffle Fest ’25 set for downtown Liberty
LIBERTY — The city of Liberty will host a brand-new festival in 2025. The event is the first-ever Waffle Fest More »
Old Pickens Middle set for renovations
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
COUNTY — Local residents will soon see some changes going on at the former site of Pickens Middle School.
Pickens County School Board vice chair Karla Kelley gave an update on the district during the Dec. 30 meeting of Pickens United, held at the Easley YMCA.
“We’re taking the former Pickens Middle School and we’re renovating that,” she said. “We’re going to add some new life to the Pickens area, hopefully put in some
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Preserving the Music
The Winter Bluegrass Jubilee, currently the only annual fundraising event for Preserving Our Southern Appalachian Music (POSAM) is set for Saturday, Jan. 18 at Pickens High School from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. This year, the jubilee will highlight award winning IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) artists, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out and the Grammy nominee Darren Nicholson, and Band. Other local bands, made up of previous Young Appalachian Musicians alumni (YAM) will be performing. POSAM serves over 350 students each year in the elementary schools of Pickens and Oconee County. The students are introduced to the instruments of traditional bluegrass (guitar, banjo, mandolin, and fiddle).
Wall That Heals event in search of volunteers
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
COUNTY — Volunteers are needed for an event this spring honoring those who gave their lives in Vietnam.
Nearly 30 years ago, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) unveiled a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial designed to tour communities throughout the United States.
Since then, the three-quarter-scale replica and its companion mobile education center have been displayed in nearly 700
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Election saw ‘astronomical’ voting turnout
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
COUNTY — Nearly half of the registered voters in Pickens County took part in two weeks of early voting for the November 2024 election, according to the county’s top election official.
Pickens County Department of Voter Registration and Elections director Amy Sams spoke at the Dec. 30 meeting of the Pickens United group, saying that she wanted to “brag on Pickens County really
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Biden commutes Ponzi schemer Wilson’s sentence
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
UPSTATE — Former Anderson County Councilman and Easley business owner Ronnie Gene Wilson was among the hundreds of people who had their prison sentences commuted by President Joe Biden last month.
In 2012, Wilson pleaded guilty to two counts of mail fraud filed against him in what investigators said was a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme he operated for more than a decade.
Investigators said Wilson bilked his silver investors of about $60 million in fraudulent investments, telling investors he’d
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Child development, senior project in works for Easley YMCA
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — Pickens County YMCA president and CEO Sid Collins recently welcomed elected officials and others to the 
Easley facility and shared some of the organization’s future plans with the group.
The Easley YMCA location hosted a recent meeting of the Pickens United group, which gathers the area’s elected officials to share updates.
The Easley YMCA at the McKissick
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DEW: County unemployment rate falls
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
COLUMBIA — The unemployment rate in Pickens County saw a decrease during in the latest jobs report released in late December.
The S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW) reported that unemployment went down from 4.9 percent in October to 4.8 percent in November.
The fall in unemployment comes just one month after Pickens
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Hillcrest weathervane honors annual tradition in Clemson-Carolina rivalry
PICKENS — When the new Hillcrest office was being built in 1993, Andy Cone convinced the architects to design a weathervane featuring interchangeable Clemson University and University of South Carolina mascots.
Cone was the President of Hillcrest and a lifelong Clemson fan. Hillcrest founder Dwight Holder was at the other end of the spectrum as a Gamecock fan.
Cone remembered growing up in Clemson and watching the six o’clock
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Public safety startup PursuitAlert appoints new CEO
PICKENS — PursuitAlert, a leading innovator in public safety technology founded by former Pickens County Undersheriff Tim Morgan, announced today the appointment of Joe Cameron as its new Chief Executive Officer.
Morgan founded the company to alert citizens of nearby high-speed police pursuits, after having been at the forefront of addressing such challenges as a law enforcement officer until his retirement in 2012. PursuitAlert is part of Upstate Upstarts, a group of technology startups based in Pickens, Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson, Seneca, Union, and Cherokee counties.
Under Morgan’s leadership, PursuitAlert has developed innovative solutions to enhance public safety and expanded the service to six states across the nation.
The company’s technology provides real-time alerts, similar to Amber Alerts and weather alerts, about nearby emergency vehicle operations, giving users a 30-45 second notice of potential dangers, such as a police chase, approaching emergency
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Letters to the Editor 1-8-25
A civic resolution for the New Year
Dear Editor,
Would you consider a totally different kind of New Year’s resolution? One that increases your ability to affect your local government?
Would you resolve to attend a single meeting of local elected government body? You have many to choose from — county
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