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Daily Archives: 08/16/2016

3 arrested after chase

COUNTY — Three people were arrested after a two-county chase that started in Pickens County and ended with a crash in Anderson County last week.

A South Carolina Highway Patrol trooper tried to initiate a stop on a car on S.C. Highway 93 around 1 a.m. on Thursday after he suspected the driver was under the influence.

The driver did not stop, according to troopers, and led the officer on a chase that eventually ended when the vehicle ran off the road and into a ditch on Martin Road in Anderson County.

The driver of the car, identified as 28-year-old Richard Edgar Thompson of Easley, was arrested and charged with failure to stop for blue lights, driving under the influence, driving under suspension, trafficking in cocaine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and simple possession of marijuana, according to Pickens County Detention Center records. He was also served with six bench warrants and is being held without bond.

Two passengers in the car, Wade Douglas Watkins, 37, of Greenville, and 25-year-old Mistie Stephanie Cole of Spartanburg, were also arrested after the chase, troopers said.

According to PCDC records, Watkins was charged with trafficking methamphetamine and Cole was charged with distribution of methamphetamine. The two were both being held Tuesday on $15,000 surety bonds.

 

Rivalry set to help kick off high school football season on Friday

PICKENS — High school football season has arrived, as the 2016 season will kick off this Friday when Pickens hosts Easley in the ninth annual Sam Wyche Meals on Wheels Food Fight Bowl.

Liberty will also open its season Friday night with a visit to Pendleton, while Daniel will kick things off as former Lions head coach Randy Robinson brings his new Berkeley team to Central.

To read previews for all four Pickens County high school teams’ seasons, check out the first edition of the Pickens County Courier’s Football Frenzy inside today’s issue.

In the first eight years of the Food Fight Bowl, Easley holds a 5-3 advantage on the field — winning the last five in a row.

The winner earns the coveted Food Fight Bowl trophy, made from the top of the trophy Wyche received in 1988 as NFL Coach of the Year.

Pickens County Meals is in desperate need of volunteers to help with deliveries for exiting routes in Pickens and Central, and a new route that is being formed in the Easley area.

In 2008, the Meals on Wheels Food Fight Bowl was designed to harness the rivalry between Easley and Pickens high schools into a signature fundraising event for Pickens County Meals on Wheels.

PCMOW has also been proud to have the support of Save-A-Lot of Pickens over the years.

 Dwayne Goodwin, president of Goodwin Holdings Group, which owns Save-A-Lot of Pickens, said Meals on Wheels and its team of volunteers “plays a critical role in feeding and caring for the elderly and disabled in Pickens County.”

“Volunteers and donations are always needed,” he said. “I am happy to support the important work Meals on Wheels does in our community every day.”

To make a donation, visit pcmow.org or mail a check to Pickens County Meals on Wheels 349 Edgemont Ave. Liberty, SC 29657. Call Meta Bowers at (864) 855-3770 ext. 303 or email meta@pcmow.org with any questions.

Pickens County Meals on Wheels is exclusively focused on addressing the needs of seniors in Pickens County. Its goal is to provide a continuum of care for active, aging and homebound seniors throughout Pickens County. By connecting individuals to the services they need, when they need it, they are able to help hundreds of seniors maintain their nutritional health, independence and quality of life each year.

 

Voters miss chance to have say on TCTC

By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter

jevans@thepccourier.com

PICKENS COUNTY —The longstanding argument about Tri-County Technical College facilities nearly took a new twist Monday night.

The debate has been over Pickens County’s responsibilities regarding funding facilities at the college. Officials with the college have repeatedly asked that Pickens County join in the funding efforts for a new student center and other improvements.

Pickens County Council members have maintained that the county’s responsibilities lie in operations and maintenance at the college — and that new facilities don’t fall under those categories.

During Monday night’s county council meeting, Councilman Neil Smith proposed putting the question to the voters. He made a motion that would have placed the question on November ballots in the form of a referendum.

“‘Do you support spending $6.75 million of the county’s funds for Tri-County’s student center?’” Smith asked.

Smith said the referendum would not be binding, but would be a way for council to determine the public’s desire for the Tri-County Tech project.

He said the issue was prioritization.

“We’ve had various requests on the jail, Tri-County and all this other,” Smith said.

There have been requests, including from the Conservatives of the Upstate organization, to have the jail funding issue placed on the ballot, after an earlier vote was made to ensure $23 million would be available for a jail facility if needed. But Smith said county officials’ hands are tied when it comes to the jail.

“If we don’t do the jail, then the state comes and fines us and says ‘You’ve got to do this,’” Smith said. “So there’s no way that we can get out of our obligation with the jail.”

Overcrowding at the current facility has become a pressing issue. The facility often holds far more inmates than it was designed to. The county and the sheriff’s office were named in a lawsuit filed by a former inmate who was attacked by fellow inmates in April. The lawsuit alleges that conditions, including overcrowding, at the facility allowed the attack to occur.

He said the county has “way too much stuff on our list of stuff that we’re supposed to fund” and not enough available funds to tackle them all.

He said the Tri-County issue factored in the recent primary elections.

“We’ve heard there’s a mandate — the community wants it,” Smith said. “This is an opportunity for them to show support or lack of support on the whole issue. That’s the reason I’m supporting this one, versus asking the same question on the jail. It doesn’t matter what we do on the jail — the state’s going to force us to do it.”

After Smith’s proposal, county attorney Ken Roper asked if the issue could be discussed in executive session, saying he had more information to give council on the matter.

That information was regarding timing — Smith’s motion came hours too late. The state election commission’s deadline for new ballot referendums was noon on Monday.

During the meeting, council voted unanimously to authorize going forward with the design, bid and building process for a new detention center. Councilman Tom Ponder was absent.

Council Chairman Jennifer Willis said the resolution authorizing the design process gives the council more information “to figure out what our alternatives are and how we move (forward)” regarding the new facility.

 

BLWS another success for Easley

By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter

jevans@thepccourier.com

EASLEY — The Big League Baseball World Series was another grand slam this year, exposing the city of Easley to a global audience.

Tournament director Jon Humphrey spoke before Easley City Council members last week, thanking the city and its employees for their continued support of the event.

“We couldn’t put it on without all of the support,” Humphrey said.

This year, the work of first responders in the area was recognized at the tournament, which held a First Responders Night.

“I thought that was wonderful,” Humphrey said. “It really had a good impact. It showed the community, those people that help and support each day, the fire (department), the first responders, the police. I think we’re going to see if we can grow that activity a little bit.”

He thanked the Easley Police Department for its work during the tournament.

“The support from the police department’s been wonderful,” Humphrey said.

This year, the EPD’s command center was moved near the press box.

“That was a great idea. It gave them a lot of visibility,” Humphrey said. “They were interacting with the fans.”

This year’s tournament went smoothly, with few issues, he said.

Humphrey echoed councilman Terry Moore’s earlier praise of the facilities.

“Tim Mobley and that group down there, they work miracles,” Humphrey said. “From growing grass when you don’t think the grass is going to grow to making things look good, they do a great job.”

“It showed well on ESPN,” he continued. “I’m thrilled with the work that those guys do — and everybody at the rec department, all the support we get from all the different departments.”

He said a crowd of 1,300 people were at the ballpark watching the championship game, which was broadcast live on ESPN once again.

“Some people might say that might not be a huge crowd.” Humphrey said. “But to not have a local team in there, for having two teams that are closer together than they are to Easley, because we had Hawaii and Chinese-Taipei in the final game, to have those two teams in there and to have that kind of support, we had some great support.”

Some fans came up in buses from Atlanta to help cheer on Chinese-Taipei.

Chinese-Taipei, representing Asia-Pacific, won the championship.

The exposure Easley gets from the tournament doesn’t stop with the championship game, Humphrey said.

Delaware Gov. Jack Markell recognized Easley in his tribute to the team and the coaches representing the East, which was presented to them upon their return to their home state.

“I think that’s kind of a unique thing,” Humphrey said. “It’s an unique way for us to get our name out, about our city, about community. The people that come here, they have great things to say about our facilities.”

He thanked the local volunteers and sponsors.

“Their support means the world to us,” Humphrey said.

Pat Wilson, Little League International vice president of operations, visited Easley for the first time since 2006 during this year’s tourney, Humphrey said.

“He was thrilled with the program, thrilled with the facilities,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of improvements, and he noted almost every one. He came back to me and ‘Hey, this looks good. You guys did a great job here — the fencing, the stands, the netting.’ All of those things he picked up on. I was really happy with that. It’s good to hear positive things come out of him.”

It won’t be long before the volunteers begin preparing for next year’s event.

“We’re resting a little bit now,” Humphrey said.

Mayor Larry Bagwell thanked Humphrey for his work as tournament director. He said he’d spoken with Wilson about Little League officials’ satisfaction with the tournament and its home in Easley.

“He said ‘As long as we’ve got this guy doing the show, we’re happy,’” Bagwell said. “So, Jon, I just want to tell people what kind of job you do. They realize it up there in Pennsylvania, so just keep on keeping on.”

 

Dream Center project to help ‘those ready to help themselves’

By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter

jevans@thepccourier.com

EASLEY — A project from The Dream Center of Pickens County aims to give a helping hand — and a place to stay — to those in need.

Last week, building official Tommy Holcombe presented to Easley City Council members a [cointent_lockedcontent]rezoning request related to the project, which would see a number of small housing units built at 111 Hillcrest Drive, across from the Dream Center’s offices.

The plan would see 8-10 units about 150 square feet in size and 8-10 240-square-foot units built, officials said.

Holcombe presented preliminary drawings to council, and Dream Center officials were on hand to answer questions during the council meeting.

The aim is to give a helping hand to area homeless people who are ready to help themselves, Dream Center officials said. There is currently no homeless shelter in Pickens County.

The units would provide temporary housing for either individuals or small families.

Those accepted into the housing program would have to meet and maintain certain criteria to remain in the units, Holcombe said.

“No alcohol, no drugs,” Holcombe said. “They’d have to participate in a plan that the Dream Center has come up with. The ultimate goal is to get these people back on their feet and get them back into a productive role in society.”

Councilman Terry Moore asked how long each participant would be living in the units.

Dream Center board president Jim Wilson said, while it wouldn’t be open-ended, that determination would be approached on a case-by-case basis

“There will be benchmarks along the way that they would have to meet so that they stay on the plan,” he said. “That is to create a sense of urgency so that they get a job and stay on their feet.”

Moore asked what would happen if those benchmarks were not met.

“There will be consequences,” Wilson said. “Ultimately, if they decide not to follow the program — the program is to get a job — if they decide that’s not something they want to do, then they can go and find a different solution. But that’s what we have to offer.”

The units would have a small kitchenette area, but residents’ meals would be prepared at the Dream Center by the Dream Center staff, Holcombe said.

“There will be no cooking in there,” he said.

Holcombe said the smaller housing units are “just one step.”

“(The Dream Center) has invested money, too,” he said.

The organization has invested in 10 houses on nearby Craig Street “which will be another step” in the program, Holcombe said.

“They’re not just coming to us, asking for something,” he said. “They’re investing, also. Hopefully that will spur others to fix up.”

The smaller units are “step one,” Wilson said. “That gets them in, gets them out of the cold or the heat, whatever the case may be, gets their basic needs met, whatever the case may be. Once they get a job and get income coming in, they’ll move over to the larger units.”

The houses on Craig Street are “step three,” he continued.

“Then, they’ll move out into the community (and) either buy or rent a house that will get them back into society,” he concluded.

Councilman Jim Robinson asked if any members of the community had been present at the planning commission meeting.

Holcombe said no community members had been present at the meeting but that his office has received no calls from community members regarding the project.

Councilman Thomas Wright said he’d received a couple of calls about the project from residents, but no one expressed outright disapproval of the idea.

“One was from a pastor who thought it was a good idea, that the Dream Center was a beacon for the community,” Wright said. “The other person said they’d have to think about it, pray over it.”

He asked staff to distribute some information about the project to the surrounding community, who often lack computers or do not read newspapers, to help educate them about its purpose.

“We need to think about how to better disseminate information to the community,” Wright said.

Chris Wilson, executive director of the Dream Center, said the project is designed so both participants and the surrounding community will be proud of it.

“It’s not going to look like a prison,” she said. “It’s going to be very nice to look at it.”

She said the area will be safer “with it there than it ever has been.”

She said she’d spoken to residents of a nearby street, and their main concerns was that the program would be taking in drug addicts.

“We will drug test and refer out people who are struggling with addiction,” Chris Wilson said. “Once they overcome that, we’d love to have them back, so we can get them back on their feet. (Residents) were very happy that we were drug testing and that we were helping people who were ready to help themselves.”

The Dream Center would be responsible for the upkeep of the property “100 percent,” Holcombe said.

“We’ve got Mr. Wilson’s phone number on speed-dial and we don’t mind calling him,” he said.

Changing the zoning from general residential to office/institutional was the best fit for the project, Holcombe and the city’s planning commission agreed. That zoning gives the project the most flexibility.

Planning commission members are in favor of the zoning change, Holcombe said.

“The planning commission was very impressed with it,” Holcombe said of the project.

Council members approved the zoning request, which is just a first step, Holcombe said. The project will go back to the planning commission for further approvals as it moves forward.[/cointent_lockedcontent]

 

Final move was to Pickens

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Reda McDaniel is not originally from Pickens, but she has lived there for 40 years. She was born in Pittsburgh, Pa., on Nov. 18, 1942. She lived there for 11 years before moving with her parents to Jacksonville, Fla. She attended Jacksonville High School.[cointent_lockedcontent]

On April 13, 1963, Reda married Lewis McDaniel of Pickens. He was serving in the Navy and stationed at Jacksonville Naval Air Station.

Reda and Lewis lived in Jacksonville for two and a half years before he was transferred to the Lemoore Naval Air Station in California. They were there for three years and then moved to Barbers Point Naval Air Station in Hawaii, where they lived for three years before being transferred back to California. From there, he was moved to Meridian Naval Air Station in Mississippi, where he served for three years.

The couple had four children, nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Their first child was born in Florida, the second child was born in California, and the third child was born in Hawaii. Their last child —and only son — was born in California.

Reda and the children relocated with Lewis every time he had to move. She said she is thankful to have had the opportunity to live in so many different states and meet so many nice people.

While she was living in Hawaii, she took ukulele lessons. She also took cake decorating classes.

Carol Baker/Courier Reda McDaniel volunteers at the Pickens Senior Center five days a week.

Carol Baker/Courier
Reda McDaniel volunteers at the Pickens Senior Center five days a week.

Reda was a stay-at-home mom, taking good care of her children. She did, however, work for about two years at retail sales in the sporting goods department at the Navy Exchange in Meridian, Miss.

After 20 years of service as an aviation electrician, Lewis retired from the Navy with the rank of E7 Chief Petty Officer. He and Reda came to Pickens and bought a house.

Their oldest child was enrolled in Pickens Middle School, and the other three were enrolled at Holly Springs Elementary, where Reda served as a substituted teacher from 1982-84. She was always involved in the children’s school work and attended PTA meetings. All four of her children graduated from Pickens High School.

Lewis passed away in 2007.

Reda said she thoroughly enjoys living in Pickens now, but she had to get used to the mountain roads and curves, because she had always lived where the land was flat.

She worked for a year and a half in Pickens at United Five and Ten Cent Store.

One of Reda’s favorite things to do is cook. She volunteers in the kitchen at the Pickens Senior Center every weekday morning and every Tuesday night. She has been helping prepare food there for four years. She said she is grateful for the opportunity to be able to give her time.

Reda is a very friendly and caring person. She is always willing to lend an ear and give a helping hand to anyone who needs her.

Easley resident Carol Baker highlights interesting local residents and helps us get to know more about the fascinating people who call Pickens County home. If you have someone somewhere who you think people should know about, contact us at news@thepccourier.com.[/cointent_lockedcontent]

 

Daniel football team hosts youth squad

By Eric Sprott
Courtesy The Journal

eric@upstatetoday.com

CENTRAL — When Tim Nix told his team it would be practicing with the Daniel High School football team, it didn’t come as a surprise the members of the 10-and-under Central Tigers were excited to mix it up with some of their football heroes.

What the coach didn’t expect was sleep deprivation over last Tuesday evening’s dual practice at the school.

The 10-and-under Central Tigers got the chance to hit the practice field with the Daniel High School football team in the shadow of Singleton Field last Tuesday evening.  Rocky Nimmons/Courier

The 10-and-under Central Tigers got the chance to hit the practice field with the Daniel High School football team in the shadow of Singleton Field last Tuesday evening.
Rocky Nimmons/Courier

“One of my kids, before we got here, said he couldn’t sleep last night because he was so excited about it,” said Nix, who was a member of the Lions’ back-to-back state championship teams in 1991 and 1992. “The kids loved it.”

In the shadow of Singleton Field, the young Tigers stretched out with the Lions and took part in various drills, working on fundamentals all the way through positional drills. Daniel coach Jeff Fruster said the practice was the start of a new tradition with youth teams in the Daniel attendance area, with no shortage of lessons to be learned by both his players and the younger kids.

“Any chance you have to get the young kids around the kids they look up to is mutually beneficial,” he said. “We’re teaching our kids how to be responsible around the young ones and how to model behavior, and we’re teaching the young kids how to work, what it means to be a good teammate and be productive on the field.

“We want to be a high school that promotes the community, and I think it’s imperative that people understand success involves everybody.”

When he was a Central Tiger, senior wide receiver Will Swinney said he looked up to the likes of DeAndre Hopkins at Daniel, and even his eventual teammates when he was a freshman on the 2013 Daniel team that advanced to the state championship game in Columbia.

And with that, he was excited to take part in Tuesday’s outing with the Tigers.

“I thought it was really neat, because I started out as a Central Tiger,” he said. “I know I would have loved to do that when I was their age, and it was a really great opportunity for them and us. It was good to put ourselves out there more … and it was really cool to show them what hard work looks like.

“I know they look at us the same way, so we just try to be good examples and role models. They seemed like they had a lot of fun, so it was really cool.”

This Friday, the Lions will go under the lights at home for the first time this fall when they host Berkeley, and as the Tigers’ season gets set to begin as well, they just might have a little leg up on the competition after their time with the big kids at Daniel.

“This is just great community support, and it was a really fun day for us,” Nix said.

 

Homecoming planned at Mile Creek Baptist

SIX MILE — Mile Creek Baptist Church will celebrate 138 years on Aug. 28 at 11 a.m..

There will be singing by the church choir and a special singing by the Brent Carr family. The morning message will be by Evangelist Brent Carr.

Pastor Kevin Kuykendall and the church family invites everyone to join the homecoming.

 

Hudson family plans reunion

EASLEY — The annual Hudson reunion will be held on Aug. 28 at the Moose Lodge on S.C. Highway 8 east of Easley.

Lunch will be around 1 p.m.

Paper goods and ice will be furnished. All friends and relatives are urged to attend.

 

Soapstone set to host fundraiser

PICKENS — Soapstone Church invites everyone to a special fundraiser at the church, located at 296 Liberia Road in Pickens, this Saturday, Aug. 20.

The event will feature fine cooking and will be held from noon-8 p.m.

Visitors will enjoy true Southern cooking, including a fish fry, barbecue and fried chicken with all the fixings right from Mrs. Mabel’s kitchen.

For more information, call (864) 414-8470.