Daily Archives: 07/20/2016
County museum in need of repairs
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — The Pickens County Museum of Art and History is in need of some costly repairs.
Interim county administrator Tom Hendricks briefed council about the situation during Monday’s Pickens County Council meeting.
The problem was uncovered when shelving at the museum was moved several weeks ago, he said.
“We found that the interior wall had buckled six inches,” Hendricks said.
The building’s “elevator pit” is causing water to enter the building’s facade, Hendricks said.
“That entire foundation is eroding way,” he said. “The entire front along that building is seeping water.”
The “big-ticket item” would be digging the whole front of the museum up and installing a French drain “to try and carry that water around the building,” Hendricks said.
The problems include missing mortar, loose bricks and water entering the foundation.
“That brick is collapsing,” Hendricks said as he walked council through a slideshow concerning the issue.
The total work is estimated to cost around $120,000
“This is a preliminary number, that $120,000,” Hendricks said.
He requested $130,000 in one-time funding be provided from the county’s accommodations tax fund to fund the repairs at the museum. He urged council to move quickly, before the problem grew much worse.
“That decision needs to happen within the next month,” Hendricks said.
Council unanimously approved the administrator’s request for funding the repairs but encouraged staff to seek other options.
“I don’t think a French drain is the right answer for this from a standpoint of cost-effectiveness and actually doing what you want to do,” councilman Trey Whitehurst said. “I think there may be better, easier ways that may be more cost-effective. I understand we’ve got a situation. Before we jump in spending 120 grand, maybe we can actually fix it for less.”
Councilwoman Jennifer Willis agreed.
“I think we have a very serious situation, and we appreciate you bringing it to us, and it needs to be treated urgently,” she said. “A French drain is usually not your best choice or even your third-best choice. The best choice is to move the water around, divert it in other ways, from the street level, from everything else. We’ve still got to get the water out of there, we’ve got to waterproof the front of that building and we’ve got to restore that foundation. All of those things are going to be expensive.
Councilman Neil Smith said he believed the project’s larger costs would come from repairing the brickwork and fixing the sidewalks.
“We will look at everything,” Hendricks said.
Taxpayers group supports action on county jail
Administrator signs contract with architecture firm
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — Setting aside funding so it’s available if a new jail is built was a wise move on the part of county officials, members of the Pickens County Taxpayers Association agree.
Dan Winchester, representing the PCTA, spoke before county council Monday night.
The PCTA “endorses the construction of a new and/or an addition to the current jail complex,” he said.
“The fact that you set aside or encumbered around $23 million recently is tangible evidence of your wise and thoughtful recognition of a serious need of this county facility,” Winchester told council.
The current facility has “serious issues” including overcrowding, safety, sanitation and “concerns of justice and concerns of decency,” Winchester said.
“There are serious issues all around,” he said. “We are cognizant of other relevant issues surrounding this matter.”
The jail situation impacts a number of other issues, Winchester said.
“In addition to more space, you have included in your ‘16-’17 budget the addition of more attorneys to prosecute cases and move those people through,” Winchester said. “That is a good move. We also know that our resident judge is giving more time to the county to process the cases — and that is a good move.”
The management of the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office has been positive, Winchester said
“They have to precisely execute 24/7 the jail system under trying conditions and bad facilities and overcrowding,” he said.
“We are a law-and-order county,” Winchester said. “Further, we endorse the wise and thoughtful planning and the deliberate actions to move forward with this jail. It’s a viable issue in this county.
“I say we are a better people than we have been concerning our jail,” he continued. “We’re better than this. So let’s lay aside any pride of authorship of this matter and let’s get it done.”
County councilman Neil Smith said a jail expansion “is not going to fix all the problems that we have in the jail system.”
“The fact that Pickens County had to fund the two legal positions — one in the solicitor’s office and one in the county defender’s — that’s not a county function,” Smith said. “That’s a state function. The worst part that we have in all this, the state is trying to transfer the prison population into a jail population. If you start watching the sentences, you’ll see that more and more of these defendants are being released based on time served, which basically means the county taxpayers paid for that internment versus the state doing that. That’s not just a Pickens County issue. Counties throughout this state are building jails right and left. You also have the problem with mental health patients being put into the jail system.”
The county is going forward on the jail overcrowding issue, Smith said.
“But even after you build the jail, all of these issues are still state issues which need to be addressed by our delegation and our state house, which they haven’t done,” he said. “We appreciate you seeing the position that we’re in. We’re just happy we were able to set aside the money for the jail.”
“I said here there are other issues impacting this entire matter,” Winchester replied. “It’s not just building a building. They’re going to fill it up if we don’t correct the other issues. But I think we need to do our part. When you go through that jail, it’s not a pretty sight.”
During his report to council, interim county administrator Tom Hendricks said he has signed a contract with Moseley Architects for a 67,000-square-foot jail.
The first coordination meeting with the firm was set for Thursday, he said.
Escaped prisoner caught in Six Mile
PICKENS — The search for a Pickens County prison escapee came to a successful conclusion Thursday morning as Casey William Gillespie was recaptured by authorities.
Creed Hashe, chief deputy of the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office, said Gillespie was discovered at approximately 7 a.m. when deputies initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle that had been under surveillance. Hashe said Gillespie was found inside the vehicle operated by a female driver on Main Street in Six Mile.
Gillespie was then taken into custody without incident and is being held at the Pickens County Detention Center on a $15,000 cash bond for an escape charge.
The apprehension of Gillespie brings to a close a search that lasted nearly three days. The sheriff’s office reported last Monday that Gillespie had walked off the job site that afternoon while cutting grass at a recycling center near Love and Care Road in Six Mile. Gillespie was serving a 90-day sentence for a DUI, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving under a suspended license.
Hashe said last week that Gillespie had served nearly a month of his sentence and was scheduled for release July 26.
Following Gillespie’s disappearance, the Pickens County Stockade immediately initiated an investigation. Stockade officials then notified the sheriff’s office and requested assistance in locating the escapee. Gillespie was entered into the National Crime Information Center as a wanted person, and authorities sought assistance from the public to help find him.
No word was given as to how much additional prison time Gillespie will face as a result of his escape effort, but state code says that unlawful escape or attempted escape from “a prison or local detention facility or while in the custody of an officer or another employee” is a felony and, upon conviction, punishable by imprisonment of not less than one year nor more than 15 years.
Wilson is new county administrator
Rocky Nimmons/Courier
After more than two decades of service to Pickens County, public works director Gerald Wilson was hired as the new county administrator on Monday night.
PICKENS — Two and a half years after Chappell Hurst retired following more than seven years as Pickens County administrator, county council members are hopeful they have finally found a permanent replacement for the position.
During their regular monthly meeting on Monday, council members voted unanimously to hire longtime county employee Gerald Wilson to take over as administrator beginning in August.
Wilson, who will have a two-year contract, will take over the position from interim administrator Tom Hendricks, who was appointed to the role in February.
Since Hurst’s departure in January 2014, four men have been named to the administrator position at different times, with Hendricks and county finance director Ralph Guarino serving on an interim basis. County council unanimously approved the hiring of Union County, N.C., city manager Matthew Delk for the job in July 2014, but the two sides parted ways the following February, after Delk served less than six months on the job.
Delk’s departure eventually led to a S.C. Law Enforcement investigation after allegations were made by councilman Neil Smith via email to clerk to council Donna Owen that Delk had used county resources illegally. However, no charges were filed.
Several months later, county council voted to hire Transylvania County, N.C., operations manager David McNeill for the job, only to see McNeill decide a short time later that he would stay at his current job.
According to a news release issued Tuesday by Pickens County officials, Wilson “brings a wealth of experience to the position of county administrator, not only in the details of county government, but also in the people and places within Pickens County,” as he began his career with the county as a motor equipment operator in 1992.
Wilson worked his way up the ranks beginning with a 1997 promotion to transportation supervisor for the county’s recycling department, ultimately becoming Pickens County public works director in 2012, with oversight for the county’s roads and bridges, solid waste, recycling, vehicle maintenance, building maintenance, animal control, the county stockade and the engineering department.
Wilson “has proved his loyalty, leadership abilities and dedication to Pickens County throughout his last 23 years of service,” the release said.
County council vice chairman Trey Whitehurst expressed confidence in Wilson’s abilities to handle the position.
“Gerald Wilson has proved time and time again that he has the knowledge and understanding of what it takes to run Pickens County,” Whitehurst said. “We are very confident that he will do a fantastic job and are happy to give him that opportunity.”
Councilman Ensley Feemster said Wilson’s experience over the last two decades of service to the county put him in position to be successful.
“In the one and a half years that I have been on Pickens County Council, I have been impressed with Gerald’s professionalism,” Feemster said. ” He understands technical issues that have to be dealt with, as well as dealing with staff and the public.”
With last month’s primary elections leading to three new faces on county council come January, Wilson expressed excitement about the direction the county is heading.
“I am proud to further serve Pickens County and look forward to working with the new county council,” he said. “I want to thank county council for having faith in me to do the job. I’ll try my best to not disappoint them.
“During the next two years, it will give new council members 18 months to get adjusted to their roles and determine where they want to go with the administrator position after my contract expires.”
Easley hosts BLWS
Kerry Gilstrap/Courier
In anticipation of the return of the Big League World Series next week,
the city of Easley served as host of the Big League Southeast Regional Tournament over the weekend at Alice Mill Park, where Florida earned its BLWS berth with a 4-0 sweep through the tournament, including beating Virginia 4-1 in Monday’s championship game. To read more about next week’s Big League World Series in Easley, turn to page B1.
New council member
South Carolina House Rep. Gary Clary administered the oath of office to Karen Bedenbaugh as the newest member of the Six Mile Town Council on Tuesday, July 5. Holding the Bible for Bedenbaugh was her son, Carson, and she was also joined by her husband, Toby, and son, Nolan.
Blue Ridge presents funds
Blue Ridge presents beneficiaries with annual Blue Ridge Fest funds
Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative employees Cindy Leslie and Zach Hinton present Samaritan Health Clinic of Pickens County a check totaling $16,000 from the 19th annual Blue Ridge Fest. Accepting on behalf of the organization was Executive Director Tobias Vogel. Craig Ragsdale and Will Ragsdale, representatives of Blue Ridge Fest sponsor Martin Printing Co., were also in attendance. Pictured from left: Tobias Vogel, Craig Ragsdale, Will Ragsdale, Cindy Leslie and Zach Hinton.
Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative employees Kandy Brooks, Kathy Ellenburg and Alan Stephens (far left) presented Feed a Hungry Child of Pickens County a check totaling $16,000 from the 19th annual Blue Ridge Fest. Accepting the check on behalf of the organization were Rebecca Warlick, Mike Parrot and Millage Cassell (far right). Also in attendance were Blue Ridge Fest sponsors Bart Turner of South State Bank; Tommy Bearden of Bearden Landscaping; and Davey Hiott of Hiott for House. Pictured from left: Kandy Brooks, Kathy Ellenburg, Alan Stephens, Bart Turner, Tommy Bearden, Davey Hiott, Rebecca Warlick, Mike Parrot and Millage Cassell.
Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative and Blue Ridge Security Solutions presented Emerson Rose Heart Foundation a check totaling $17,000 from the 19th annual Blue Ridge Fest. Accepting the check on behalf of the organization were co-founders Susan and Jason Smith. Also present were Blue Ridge Fest sponsors, Trehel Corporation and RSCT Architecture and Design. Pictured from left: Jason Smith, Susan Smith, Terry Ballenger, Sen. Thomas Alexander, Neal Workman, Will Huss, Christina Tedesco, Jessica Stone, Gabe Bolding and Robby Merck.
Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative employees Tony Kelley and Mark McCall (far left) recently presented The Dream Center of Pickens County a check totaling $17,000 from the 19th annual Blue Ridge Fest. Accepting on behalf of The Dream Center, from left, were Michael Barnes, Joey Turner, Ashley Cox, Amanda Taylor, Chris and Jim Wilson, co-founders, Aimee White and Shannon Leatherwood. Since the inception of Blue Ridge Fest, the event has raised more than $2.2 million for Upstate charitable organizations.
Blue Ridge Security Solutions employees Dusty Reeves and Gabe Bolding recently presented the Cancer Association of Anderson a check totaling $17,000 from the 19th annual Blue Ridge Fest. Pictured from left: Lynn Buchanan, Connie Pickens, Carrie Binnicker, Angie Stringer and Stanley Cole of Cancer Association of Anderson; Rick Steele of Fairway Outdoor Advertising, Blue Ridge Fest Sponsor; Dusty Reeves of Blue Ridge Security Solutions; Shane Bowers of McCall Thomas Engineering, Blue Ridge Fest Sponsor; Becky Busby-Maiello of Systems Distributors Inc., Blue Ridge Fest Sponsor; and Gabe Bolding of Blue Ridge Security Solutions.
