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Monthly Archives: August 2016

PCSO: Man stabbed roommate to death

By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter

jevans@thepccourier.com

EASLEY — An Easley man is accused of stabbing his roommate to death Friday evening.

Richard Andrew Hagins, 58, is charged with murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, according to a release from the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office.

8-31 Page 1A.inddHagins is being held at the Pickens County Detention Center without bond.

The sheriff’s office received a call at 8:40 p.m. Friday regarding a man who had been stabbed at a residence at 135 Quiet Lane in Easley, the release said.

Upon arriving at the home eight minutes later, deputies found a man dead inside.

Pickens County coroner Kandy Kelley identified the victim as 53-year-old Jeff Chandler of the same address.

He died from a stab wound to the chest, Kelley said.

The stabbing is believed to have occurred after a verbal dispute between Hagins and Chandler over money, the release said. Two witnesses were in the home when the altercation occurred.

A knife believed to be the murder weapon was located inside the home, according to the release.

 

Boy’s body found after search

PICKENS — The search for a missing child in Pickens Monday came to a tragic end when the boy’s body was discovered.

Pickens County Coroner Kandy Kelley said the body of Benjamin Jacob Jones, 6, was found in a body of water after a search.

He was pronounced dead at the scene, she said.

The Pickens County Sheriff’s Office alerted the community Monday evening that the search for the boy had been underway since 5:30 p.m. after Jones went missing from his Midway Road home.

In addition to the sheriff’s office, Pickens County Emergency Management, rescue squads and local fire departments took part in the search.

In a social media post Tuesday morning, the sheriff’s office thanked the community for their response in the search for the boy.

An autopsy was scheduled to be held Tuesday.

The disappearance is being investigated by the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office.

Jones was a student at Ambler Elementary School.

“We are very sad to hear about the tragic loss of our precious K5 student, Benjamin Jones,” Ambler principal Carlton Lewis said in a statement released Tuesday. “He was a sweet, happy child who seemed excited about the start of the new school year. We will miss him tremendously. Our thoughts and prayers are with his entire family and friends.”

 

Arrests made in Central shooting

By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter

jevans@thepccourier.com

CENTRAL — A man suspected of shooting a Tri-County Technical College student at a party in Central on Saturday night was arrested Monday afternoon in Lexington County.

Jackson Quaid Rowland, 21, [cointent_lockedcontent]is charged with attempted murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. Rowland was transported back to Pickens County late Monday night and is being held there with no bond.

Rowland’s arrest came a day after another man was charged with helping clean and hide the gun allegedly used in the shooting, which happened at The Cottages at Clemson, an apartment complex on Smoke Rise Drive.

    Daniel Heath Dixon, 21, is charged with felony accessory after the fact. Dixon was arrested on Sunday and was still being held Tuesday afternoon at the Pickens County Detention Center on a $15,000 bond.

According to a release from the Sheriff’s Office, the shooting occurred just after midnight on Saturday.

Deputies were dispatched after reports of gunfire within the complex.

Deputies found the streets within the complex “locked down” with “numerous pedestrians standing in the streets,” according to a release from the sheriff’s office

The victim, identified as 21-year-old Jaye Andrew Stuck of Pomaria, was found with what was determined to be a gunshot wound to the neck or head area. He was taken to a local hospital, where he underwent surgery, but he is expected to survive the shooting, police said.

Witnesses told investigators both the victim and the suspected shooter were attending a party held at 102 Sunrise Lane within the complex.

A crowd of between 500-1,000 people is believed to have been present when a physical confrontation erupted between several men, including the victim, the release said.

“During the encounter, one round was discharged at the victim, striking him while he was on the ground in the struggle,” the release said.

A 9 mm pistol was recovered from the scene.

The apartment complex, formerly known as Chimney Ridge, was also the scene of the December 2012 shooting death of Clemson University student Steven Grich during a robbery gone wrong. Three men accepted plea deals and sentenced to 20 years in Grich’s killing, while the accused trigger man was sentenced to 50 years in prison after he was found guilty of multiple charges in the shooting.

Pickens County Sheriff Rick Clark said he spoke directly with a representative of the complex’s management oversight team on Monday.

“I am very encouraged by their commitment to the safety and security of their tenants and their desire to partner with local law enforcement as we identify and implement additional security measures to minimize any opportunities for violence,” Clark said.

A meeting with management and other local law enforcement officials will be held as soon as possible, according to the sheriff’s office.

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Outdoor adventures

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The city of Pickens hosted its first [cointent_lockedcontent]Venture Outdoors festival on Saturday, with activities around the city highlighting all the area has to offer when it comes to outdoor sports. Above, children take off for a bike race at the Town Creek Bike Park behind the Pickens Recreation Department. Other activities included a trail run, fly-fishing demonstrations, a beekeeping workshop and much more. Rocky Nimmons/Courier

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Cancer Association of Pickens County now at Baptist Easley

By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter

jevans@thepccourier.com

EASLEY — Pickens County residents who are battling cancer have a new helping hand in the fight.

Last week, a celebration was held to welcome the new Cancer Association of Pickens County to Baptist Easley Hospital.

The association is a division of the Cancer Society of Greenville County, which was founded 51 years ago as a local nonprofit. The society is not affiliated with the American Cancer Society or any other cancer entity.

Lisa Green is the executive director of the Cancer Society of Greenville County.

“We were founded to provide direct service to people in Greenville County with cancer,” Green said. “We improve 8-31 Page 2A.inddthe lives of cancer patients and we create new hope by helping them financially, by helping emotionally and by helping them physically.”

The society provides free nutritional supplements such as Ensure or PediaSure.

“Sometimes when you go through treatment, your body changes and you need these nutrients so you can fight that cancer,” Green said.

Supplements and other supplies can be very expensive, she said.

“Couple that with being diagnosed with a very expensive disease, and a lot of people are in need and need this help,” Green said. “Cancer care is very expensive.”

The society also helps by providing supplies such as diapers, wipes, lymphedema supplies, wigs, hats, turbans, ostomy supplies and equipment such as walkers and wheelchairs.

“Really anything that you can possibly imagine a cancer patient may need, we’ll get it for them, free of charge,” Green said.

Financially, the society helps by paying $200 a month in prescriptions costs, she said.

“Any cancer-related medication that someone is given, we will cover up to $200 a month,” she said. “We’ll work with local pharmacies and discount cards to make sure that’s plenty and will cover.”

The organization also helps with emergency assistance.

“So if cancer patients need help paying a power bill or they need help with a rent payment, we’ll do that as well,” Green said.

The society also provides transportation assistance, helping cover costs to and from treatment for patients.

“If someone needs to go outside of county, say to MUSC or M.D. Anderson or Sloan-Kettering, we will find a way to get them there,” Green said.

Green said the emotional assistance is also key. She believeS many oncologists would say that’s half the battle — maintaining hope.

“We have a licensed social worker on staff that leads 11 free support groups and does free one-on-one counseling,” she said.

The society serves 4,000 patients in Greenville every year.

Around 700 people in Pickens County are diagnosed with cancer each year, Green said.

A lot of Pickens County patients receive treatment in Greenville County and learn about the group through their doctors, Green said.

“So they walk through our doors and we have to turn them away because of funding and the way we were founded,” she said. “We have to turn people away who have the same disease and the same side effects and the same needs as the people who live in our community.

“That’s the kind of thing that keeps you up at night,” Green continued.

An effort began to provide services to those Pickens County residents. That led the society’s board of directors to community leader Tom Strange, who works with St. Jude and is a member of Manufacturers Caring for Pickens County.

“Tom Strange is our hero,” Green said. “That group is a phenomenal resource in your neighborhood. What a great group.”

That led to a meeting with the administration of Baptist Easley Hospital.

“I am honored that the Cancer Society of Greenville is working with Pickens County to do something for our patients here” said Brian Finley, Baptist Easley’s chief operating officer.

Several months ago, Finley was approached about helping to bring the help that the Cancer Association of Greenville provides to Greenville-area residents to Pickens County.

He didn’t have to think about it for long.

“Just like patients, I said yes,” Finley said. “Because when patients get diagnosed with cancer, they don’t say, ‘Hey, give me a couple of weeks and I’ll come back and we’ll figure out how we’re going to do our treatment. At that moment, their life changes and they have to figure it out.”

Finley assembled a team.

“I said, ‘We’re going to figure it out,’ because that’s what our cancer patients have to do — they have to figure it out,” he said.

Jan Childress knows firsthand the struggles cancer patients go through. In 2008, her husband, Ed, passed away after a long battle with carcinoma.

After Ed’s death, Childress said she and her family began looking for ways “to give back and try and make a difference.”

When the Cancer Society of Greenville asked her to join their board “I immediately said yes,” Childress said.

“Now those same services are available here in Pickens County,” she said.

So far, more than $74,000 has been raised toward the Cancer Association of Pickens County, Childress said.

“That should fund us for over a year,” she said.

Money raised for the group in Pickens County will stay in Pickens County, she said.

She encouraged the community to help sustain those efforts and thanked Baptist Easley for its role in bringing the association to the area.

“They’ve been so gracious and so generous in giving us a place, without any cost, that they’re going to staff,” Childress said. “I think we owe them a great debt.”

Tom O’Hanlan is the chairman of Manufacturers Caring for Pickens County and the chairman of the board of directors of Baptist Easley.

MCPC helped raised the funds to get the association started, he said. He recognized many of the donors who helped with contributions.

On behalf of Manufacturers Caring for Pickens County, O’Hanlan presented the association with an additional $2,000 donation.

He said the day was a very special one for him. It would have been his mother’s 90th birthday. She passed away after battling cancer, O’Hanlan said.

“Thank you all again,” he said. “I’m proud to be a part of this hospital.”

The Cancer Association of Pickens County is located at Baptist Easley Hospital. Its hours are 10 a.m.-1 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Learn more at cancersocietygc.org

Learn more about Manufacturers Caring for Pickens County by visiting manufacturerscaringforpickens.com.

 

Couple killed in fire

By Greg Oliver
Courtesy The Journal

goliver@upstatetoday.com

PICKENS — A mobile home fire Friday near Pickens killed an elderly couple.

Pickens County coroner Kandy Kelley said Robert Leon “R.L.” Talley, 70, and Louise E. Talley, 83, of Mt. Bethel Road in Sunset, were pronounced dead at the scene due to smoke inhalation.

Pickens County Rural Fire Chief Billy Gibson said Monday the autopsies were performed Saturday morning. Gibson said firefighters from Pickens City and Pickens County Rural Fire departments, along with the sheriff’s office, responded to the scene after receiving a call just before 9:30 p.m.

“When we arrived, we had bystanders who said Mr. Talley had gotten out (of the mobile home), and we tried to get his wife out,” Gibson said. “However, we were unable to do so.”

Although the man was able to exit the mobile home, Gibson said neither he nor his wife survived.

The chief added that the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division was called in to assist.

“Due to the amount of damage, we were unable to determine an exact cause,” Gibson said. “But we do believe it to be accidental.”

SLED spokesperson Kathryn Richardson said Monday the investigation is continuing, and there was no further information to release.

Although the cause of the fire is still unknown, the chief said he believes it originated in the living room area. Gibson said the mobile home was totaled, and that has made it virtually impossible to find any smoke detectors.

“We remind people with the change in seasons that they have smoke detectors, that they be changed regularly and suggest it be done with the time changes and for any questions to be directed to their local fire department,” Gibson said.

Gibson added that the American Red Cross is assisting family members with grief support.

 

SLED: Man blackmailed parole officer after sexual relationship

By Greg Oliver
Courtesy The Journal

goliver@upstatetoday.com

COLUMBIA — A 33-year-old Pickens County man and a former law enforcement officer have been arrested by agents of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and face multiple charges, including sexual misconduct and obstruction of justice.

Christopher Ryan Merck, of Shiloh Circle in Easley, was charged with blackmail and obstruction of justice.

The blackmail charge constitutes a felony that carries a penalty upon conviction of a fine of up to $5,000, up to 10 years in prison, or both. The obstruction of justice charge carries a penalty upon conviction of up to 10 years in prison.

Heather Simpson Griffith, 30, was charged with obstruction of justice, as well as first-degree sexual misconduct with an inmate, patient or offender. The latter charge is a felony upon conviction that carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.

Griffith was also charged with misconduct in office, which also has a penalty upon conviction of up to 10 years in prison.

The case was investigated by SLED at the request of the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services.

SLED spokesman Thom Berry said the arrests were in connection with actions leading to false information given to a circuit court judge about the man’s probation status.

Warrants claim Griffith, as an appointed and a commissioned agent for the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon services, “knowingly and voluntarily engaged in acts of sexual intercourse with an offender she supervised on probation for the purpose of sexual gratification.”

The warrants also claim that Griffith provided alcohol to the offender she supervised.

Investigators believe Griffith, according to arrest warrants, between March 3-14 “did knowingly and willfully impede, obstruct, interfere with and influence the proper administration of the criminal justice function by enacting a scheme along with an offender she supervised as a probation agent.”

The warrants claim the scheme “entailed presenting falsehoods to a circuit court judge that would allow the offender to have his probation terminated early.”

Arrest warrants allege that between March 14 and April 27 of this year, Merck used verbal and electronic communication to compel his victim “to engage in sexual intercourse against her will” and also extorted items of value that included jewelry, a television, clothing and gift cards from the victim by “threatening to expose her personal failings to her spouse, her employer and the news media.”

Both Merck and Griffith were booked at the Anderson County Detention Center. Neither was still being held there Tuesday, according to inmate records.

 

Greenville man dies of injuries week after accident in Easley

By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter

jevans@thepccourier.com

EASLEY — A 77-year-old Greenville man died Thursday, one week after being injured in an accident in Easley.

Pickens County coroner Kandy Kelley said that Ted Yonce, of Brooks Avenue, was pronounced dead Thursday afternoon at Greenville Memorial Hospital.

The accident occurred at 11:40 a.m. Aug. 18 on South Mulberry Road, half a mile west of Easley, according to Trooper Joe Hovis with the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

The accident occurred as Yonce’s 1997 GMC pickup truck was traveling south on Mulberry Road. The pickup struck a 2017 International truck as it was crossing Mulberry Road from Enon Church Road, Hovis said.

Yonce was not wearing a seatbelt, Kelley said. He was ejected from the vehicle. He was transported by EMS to Greenville Memorial Hospital, where he died a week later.

The other driver, a 30-year-old man from Spartanburg, was not injured in the collision. He was wearing a seatbelt, Hovis said.

The South Carolina High Patrol is still investigating.

 

Dacusville Farm Days planned this week

DACUSVILLE — Dacusville Heritage Association will present the fourth annual Dacuville Farm Days this Saturday and Sunday.

Admission to the event will be [cointent_lockedcontent]$5, with free parking.

Gates will open at 8 a.m. each day.

The parade of power will start at noon and 4 p.m. on Saturday, and then again at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

There will be tractor rides for kids, along with a kid zone that will feature arts and crafts, live music and shows. The event will also offer evening karaoke, food, homemade ice cream, plowing demonstrations, live antique demonstrations, classic cars, trucks, Jeeps, antique tractors and farm equipment.

Dacuville Farm Days will be held at 3147 Earls Bridge Road in Easley.

For more information, call (864) 423-3239 or (864) 380-3337, email dacusvilleheritageassociation@gmail.com or visit dacusvilleheritageassociation.org.[/cointent_lockedcontent]

 

Cannon CEO set to retire Nov. 1

PICKENS — Norm Rentz, the long-time CEO of Cannon Memorial Hospital, has announced that he will retire from the hospital’s top post, effective Nov. 1. At that time, in an effort to continue his leadership and support in fulfilling Cannon’s mission, he will transition to a consultant role for the Cannon Memorial Foundation. Rentz has served as Cannon’s chief executive officer since 1992.

8-31 Page 3A.inddUnder Rentz’s leadership, Cannon has seen many changes, including the construction of a new emergency department with 24-hour staffing, opening of the Eastside and Liberty family practices, and the hiring of physicians and staff for the three Cannon family practices, Cannon Orthopedics and Cannon Surgical. The hospital also has implemented an electronic health record system and became the first hospital in South Carolina to be ISO certified.

In recent years, during a turbulent period for community hospitals, Rentz helped the hospital gain new efficiencies and opportunities for delivery of care through an affiliation with AnMed Health and its parent affiliate, Carolinas HealthCare System.

“I leave Cannon knowing that a wonderful management team is in place,” Rentz said. “I also feel that our partnership with AnMed Health allows Cannon strong support and major growth opportunities in the future. Having been a part of the leadership team at both Cannon and AnMed Health, I am comfortable retiring at this time, knowing Cannon is better positioned for the future.”

Rentz said he looks forward to continued engagement with the hospital and he has agreed to serve as a consultant in a role that will allow him to concentrate on growing the fundraising potential of the Cannon Memorial Foundation.

“Our foundation has been instrumental in helping achieve many of our goals since its establishment in 1992,” he said. “To keep up with the advances in healthcare, the foundation has helped purchase new equipment and added services to meet our community’s needs. Changes, especially in new technology, will require funding that small community hospitals cannot generate from normal operations. The Pickens community has always stepped up to help keep Cannon meet or exceed the high standards, and we know they will continue to support us.”

AnMed Health announced that Brandon Clary will succeed Rentz as CEO of Cannon, while maintaining his current duties as CEO of Elbert Memorial Hospital in Georgia. Clary has more than 14 years of experience in the health care industry, and his successes include an operational and financial turnaround of Edgefield County Hospital, where he served as CEO.

A native of Anderson, Clary is working on his Executive Master of Health Administration degree from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. He has a double Bachelor of Business Administration in marketing and human resources from the University of South Carolina.