COLUMBIA — Pickens County GOP chairman Phillip Bowers and other party leaders were [cointent_lockedcontent]cleared of any wrongdoing in the fiasco surrounding the county convention earlier this year when state officials announced the results of the event would not be nullified on Saturday.

The South Carolina Republican Party executive committee determined the convention followed rules in accordance with state party regulations.

“The officers of the Pickens County Republican Party are extremely pleased we were vindicated by the overwhelming support of the State GOP executive committee Saturday,” said Bowers, who was re-elected as party chairman at the convention. “We followed the rules, and the decision of the state party reflects that.

“We also welcome the help of the state party to clean up the rules so everyone is clear on their meaning, and working with us during our next reorganization so that no one creates a situation like this again. We look forward to moving past this unfortunate chapter and working with the Legislative Delegation as effectively as possible.”

Following the April convention, which local lawmakers claimed was marred by political infighting, leaving dozens of potential delegates disenfranchised, Sen. Larry Martin, Rep. Neal Collins, Rep. Gary Clary and Rep. Davey Hiott sent a formal protest letter to the state party’s executive committee and chairman Matt Moore. The Pickens Legislative Delegation alleged the convention, held at Liberty High School, was marked by “misapplications of state party rules and gross errors of judgment” and asked that the convention be nullified.

Among the issues listed in the letter, “the most important error was disenfranchising 52 certified voters at the door of the convention,” the legislators claimed.

The convention issues apparently began in March, when the county party had its reorganization on March 19 — a meeting the lawmakers claim was improperly advertised. A little more than 70 delegates were in attendance at the meeting, and no more than 15 attended a makeup meeting, which was not advertised at all, according to the letter.

Lawmakers claimed Bowers was several days late in submitting a list of delegates to state party leaders, and the list submitted included 200 names — 128 more than were in attendance at the original meeting.

Delegates are allowed to vote on county officers at the annual convention, and Collins said Bowers’ delay in submitting the list of delegates “burned days the coalition could be adding names once the tactic (of adding names) was revealed.”

In response, according to the letter lawmakers submitted to state party leaders, state officials said anyone could sign up with the state party until five days before the convention.

“During the week of April 6-11, 52 forms were submitted to the state party,” the lawmakers wrote.

However, the additional delegates were denied entry into the convention, as Bowers claimed he did not receive the list until April 16 — the night of the convention.

Bowers said he had no way of verifying the delegates with such little notice.

“By the rules, this list of the voting members of the convention — or the delegates as we call them — should have been provided to the county five days before the convention,” he told The Courier.

Bowers said he not only has to verify if the delegates are registered voters, but which precinct they are registered in and whether they are Republicans.

When asked whether the state party would have verified the information before submitting the list to the county party, Bowers was unsure.

“I don’t know — it was all done behind our back,” he said. “That’s what’s so disturbing about it.”

Bowers said state party official Hope Walker told him she had received the applications before the five-day deadline but had not had time to send them to him.

Martin said he was surprised by the state committee’s decision, but added the way the committee handled it, in his opinion, “was fine.”

“I talked to Matt Moore, and he suggested an appeal would be well received, but he wasn’t the one who decided the outcome — it was the executive committee of the state party,” Martin said. “But I think it was worthwhile for the people of Pickens County to know there is a process to follow, and when it’s not followed, there’s recourse.”

Now that the decision has been made, Martin said Pickens County Republicans “need to put this behind us and not fight among ourselves.”

“Folks need to work together and be involved and not let this drive a wedge,” he said. “This is one of those times when the growth of the party and participation in the local party is resulting in some growing pains, and this goes along with it.”

But the Pickens County senator admits the county convention “wasn’t well run” — calling it “one of the worst I’ve ever been to.” Martin said he doesn’t feel that will be the case when the next county convention is held in the spring of 2017.

“I’m satisfied the rules will be followed better next time, because the state party will be here to ensure they are followed properly,” Martin said.

In a matter unrelated to Saturday’s S.C. GOP ruling, SLED spokesman Thom Berry confirmed to The Courier on Tuesday that the agency is conducting an investigation into allegations involving Bowers. Bowers said the investigation revolves around an issue related to filing problems during the 2012 Republican primary race between B.R. Skelton and Ed Harris for a S.C. House seat, a matter Bowers said was settled by a judge “years ago.”

The Journal’s Greg Oliver contributed to this story.

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COUNTY — The majority of the county’s municipal seats up for grabs in November’s elections — including four mayor seats — won’t appear on the ballot after no opposition filed for the race.

[cointent_lockedcontent]Easley mayor Larry Bagwell, Norris mayor Odell Williams, Pickens mayor David Owens and Six Mile mayor Roy Stoddard have all been automatically reelected in the Nov. 3 election after filing closed earlier this month with no other candidates running for the office.

The only contested races in the election will be for council seats in Easley, Liberty, Norris, Pickens and Six Mile.

In Easley, incumbent Ward 5 councilman Thomas Wright will be challenged by James Eller and Bob Fedder.

In Liberty, Ward 4 incumbent Brian Petersen’s name will appear on the ballot, although his only challenge is from write-in candidate Mac F. Gravley after Mark Rowland filed and later withdrew his candidacy.

With two seats up for grabs in Norris, incumbents Roy Bryant and Brian Cook will face a challenge from Kendall Shirley. Cook’s name will not appear on the ballot, however, as he filed as a write-in candidate.

The three seats to fill in Pickens’ election will be decided between incumbents Fletcher Perry and Patti Welborn, Lois Porter and write-in candidate Joel Leese. Incumbent Isaiah Scipio, who is battling health issues, filed originally but later withdrew his candidacy.

In Six Mile, newcomer Harriet A. Mitchell will be vying with incumbents Jeff Dennis and David Yongue for two open seats.

If necessary, a runoff election will be held Nov. 17.

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By Ben Robinson
Staff Reporter

brobinson@thepccourier.com

COUNTY — School District of Pickens County human resources director Dr. Stephanie Lackey went before the school board Monday night to renew a policy on unused leave days.

[cointent_lockedcontent]”This is part of the policy we’ve been ignoring due to economic conditions where people have earned over 135 days unused annual leave. Those people could cash in, or turn in, their days,” Lackey said. “In the past it’s been $10 a day, or $25 a day, to $50 a day.”

The recommendation for pay for unused leave days for people who leave the district for reasons other than for retirement is $50 a day.

Board member Dr. Henry Wilson asked Lackey what the cost of the policy would be.

Lackey said that since the district had not been using the policy for several years she had no figures on total cost.

“We would be paying employees for leaving the district other than retirement,” Wilson said. “Why would we pay money to employees to go to other districts?”

“I would rather not enforce a policy that encourages people to leave the district,” board member Alex Saitta said.

The policy was amended to make the bonus for unused annual leave above 135 days $0. The bonus for unused leave other than for retirement will be $0. The originally proposed $50 per day for unused leave was amended to $0 per day.

The board passed the new policy with a 6-0 vote.

Qualkinbush prays

for schools

The only speaker during the public input session was Central First Baptist Church pastor Rev. Tony Qualkinbush, who came forward to lead a prayer for the district.

“I just want to welcome you all back home I guess and offer a word of prayer,” Qualkinbush said. “A dedication for the entire school district.”

Qualkinbush offered praise to God for the leadership of the school district.

“Please allow all of our children from preschool to high school to experience a year free of turmoil,” Qualkinbush said.

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CENTRAL — Southern Wesleyan University will receive $1.1 million in federal funding over five years that will benefit the most needy groups of students, providing them with resources that will help them to [cointent_lockedcontent]realize their dream of a college degree.

The TRIO Student Support Services grant will provide Southern Wesleyan with $220,000 per year for the next five years to serve 140 students each year who are first-generation college students, students with disabilities and students from low-income families.

University administrators call this grant a “game changer” that will offer these students an array of resources to help them succeed academically and complete their degree programs.

According to University President Todd Voss, the grant “will change the fabric of how we serve our students,” noting that almost 50 percent of Southern Wesleyan’s students are first-generation students. Nationally, according to past research from the National Center for Education Statistics, on average, less than 30 percent of students in these groups graduate from college after attempting coursework.

“To acclimate to a college environment, these students simply need designed tutoring, testing support advising support, and study skill development to move them to a new level of comfort and success; this grant provides all of those things. Can you imagine the impact that can be made when a college has the support systems to move this group from a low retention rate to a high retention rate with this grant? Simply amazing.” Voss said.

According to Joe Brockinton, vice president for student life, the university will hire a director, two advisors and a part-time secretary to oversee the program. Students in the program will develop an Individual Student Success Plan that guides them in their effort to achieve success in their college experience. These students will also be exposed to financial counseling, career advising, study teams, mentoring and cultural experiences.

“We’re going to have people on deck who can help them survive and also thrive in this environment,” Brockinton said, adding that the federal grant has been successful at other institutions in improving the retention and graduation rates of students who participated in the program.

Brockinton noted that receiving the grant is a miracle that almost didn’t happen.

“After months of waiting, we received a letter that we were not funded. The DOE selected 978 colleges, most of whom were existing programs all over the United States,” Brockinton said. “But the letter indicated we were in a small ‘funding band’ of colleges who received enough points to be considered for a reserve of funds still available if we indicated our desire to be considered.

Southern Wesleyan responded to the DOE asking to be reconsidered. Earlier this month they were notified by U.S. Senator Lindsay Graham’s office and U.S. Representative Jeff Duncan’s office that SWU was selected in the “funding band” round for the grant.

Southern Wesleyan University is a Christ-centered, student-focused learning community devoted to transforming lives by challenging students to be dedicated scholars and servant-leaders who impact the world for Christ. For details about degree programs, go online to swu.edu.

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LIBERTY — Local resident John Booth was inducted into the U.S. Martial Arts Hall of Fame in[cointent_lockedcontent] Branson, Mo., on June 27.

John and Lynn Booth

Booth started training in the martial arts in 1972 and has attained the rank of sixth-degree Black Belt in U.S. Tai Karate and fourth-degree Black Belt in Kinami Ryu Aikibujutsu.

Booth is owner and operator of Cornerstone martial arts in Liberty where he resides with his wife, Lynn Thompson Booth.

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COUNTY — Pickens County 4-H and Modern Woodmen [cointent_lockedcontent]of America are working together to form a Youth Service Club.

The club will do at least eight community service activities each year around Pickens County.

The cost is $15 to join, and activities will begin in October. Youth must be ages 9-18 to join. Contact Janine Sutter at jsutter@clemson.edu for more information.[/cointent_lockedcontent]

CENTRAL — The National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) has granted renewal of accreditation for the Music Department of Southern Wesleyan University.

[cointent_lockedcontent]This approval brings to a close the comprehensive evaluation process that began in 2013, with the next review scheduled for the 2023-’24 academic year.

Jane Dill, chair of the Fine Arts Division, expressed appreciation, especially to Dr. Darryl Jachens, professor of music and coordinator of studies in music, for his work in preparing the self-study and responses for this evaluation process.

“The entire music faculty is to be commended for their efforts in achieving this goal,” Dill said, adding, “This is a proud moment for our music students and faculty. We also want to thank Dr. Todd Voss and the Southern Wesleyan administration for their faithful support of the music program. This was definitely a Team SWU effort.”

Southern Wesleyan University is a Christ-centered, student-focused learning community devoted to transforming lives by challenging students to be dedicated scholars and servant-leaders who impact the world for Christ. For details about degree programs, go online to swu.edu.[/cointent_lockedcontent]