Daily Archives: 08/23/2016
Easley man sentenced in NC church murder
Hill pleaded guilty in April
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — An Easley man has been sentenced to 16 years in federal prison in connection with a 2015 murder on federal land.
Forrest Dakota Hill, 23, must also serve five years of supervised release upon completion of the 200-month sentence. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
Jill Westmoreland Rose, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, announced the sentence in a news release last week.
On March 29, 2015, the Cherokee Indian Police Department received a 911 call about a a stabbing that had taken place inside Oconaluftee Baptist Church, also known as the Smokemont Baptist Church, according to court documents. The church is located inside the boundaries of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Paramedics responding to the scene determined the victim, Tyler Gaddis, 25, of Whittier, N.C., had been stabbed to death, court records show. He had been stabbed at least 16 times in the back, neck, chest and elsewhere.
According to court records, Hill, another person and the victim drove to the church together. Over the course of their visit, Hill stabbed Gaddis “during an unprovoked attack, causing the victim’s death,” the release said. Hill and his companion then left the church, returning to Harrah’s Cherokee Casino. There, they picked up another companion and left for another local hotel.
Hill pleaded guilty to a second-degree murder charge in April 2016. He is currently in federal custody.
Officials applauded the sentence handed down by U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger.
“It takes a depraved person to kill another human being, but an evil one to carry out the murder inside a religious institution founded upon the belief in the sanctity of human life,” Rose said. “While we can never replace their loved one, we hope that Hill’s lengthy prison term will bring closure to the victim’s family and friends.”
The investigation was handled by the FBI, National Park Service and the CIPD.
“Today’s sentence ensures that a killer has been taken off our streets,” Charlotte Division FBI Special Agent in Charge John A. Strong said last week. “I want to thank NPS and CIPD for their invaluable assistance with this investigation. This case is an example of federal and tribal law enforcement working together to bring justice to the citizens of western North Carolina.”
“The National Park Service appreciates the coordination and cooperation of all involved agencies to bring this case to a successful prosecution,” said Steven Kloster, Chief Ranger of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John Pritchard of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville prosecuted the case.
Company unveils $3.4M expansion
Jason Evans/Courier
Alliance Pickens executive director Ray Farley talks about the “world-class neighborhood” JR Automation Technologies will be joining at the Pickens County Commerce Park.
Move to commerce park set to create 56 new jobs
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
LIBERTY — An automation manufacturer is expanding, fulfilling a pledge made when it first moved to Pickens County in 2011.
JR Automation Technologies LLC will move to the Pickens County Commerce Park.
Officials announced the company’s expansion Monday at the Alliance Pickens office.
“This is another wonderful day in Pickens County,” county council chair Jennifer Willis said.
JR Automations designs, engineers and manufactures automation machinery and equipment for the manufacturing sector. The company serves a variety of industries, including fire protection, pharmaceutical, automotive and aerospace.
Its new facility in the Pickens County Commerce Park will be a 50,000-square-foot phase I facility, with room to grow up to 150,000 square feet.
The expansion represents a $3.4 million capital investment, according to the South Carolina Department of Commerce.
“This is a big win for our entire Upstate community,” said Mandy Brawley, deputy director of the S.C. Department of Commerce.
Construction will begin in late 2016.
Willis said a special group of achievers led to JR Automation officials deciding to take a chance on Pickens County. She said Alliance Pickens officials were celebrating the success of Pickens County students, especially the successes of students at the Pickens County Career and Technology Center.
“These students compete annually on a local level, on a state level, on a regional level, on a national level and an international level,” Willis said. “And folks, they don’t just compete. They play to win. They come home with awards, often. We are very proud of them.”
Those students are winning national and international competitions, particularly in robotics, welding and mechatronics, she said.
“Those kids … caught the attention of JR Automation Technologies in Michigan,” Willis said. “They were looking for an expansion. They decided to come here to Pickens County, to test the waters, because of our students.”
That led to the company leasing a 21,000-square-foot facility in Pickens for the company’s first-ever facility outside of Michigan in 2011.
Once here, the company began establishing a relationship with the Career and Technology Center.
“Those kids are actually doing internships and some partnership experiences while they’re still completing their high school program,” Willis said. “When they walk out, they already have a job, they have some money in their pocket and they have a career and future that’s going to give them the ability to live here in Pickens County, raise a family and have a great quality of life.”
Five years later, officials are celebrating a permanent location for the company in the Commerce Park, she said.
“When we began the conversations in 2011, we said ‘We would love to have you here in the park,’” Willis said. “But they wanted to be cautious. They are business owners — they needed to be good stewards of their resources. They need to evaluate, to make sure this partnership was going to work for them and for us. We are here to celebrate the fact that it is working and that is is going to continue to work. We are going to continue to watch them grow and thrive and succeed for many, many more years to come.”
In addition to retaining the 32 jobs at its current facility in Pickens, the expansion will create 56 new jobs. All 88 jobs will pay $20 to $48 per hour.
“These are fantastic jobs,” Willis said. “Jobs that will give people the ability to have a great quality of life.”
The company is grateful for the partnerships it’s been able to develop in this area, CEO Bryan Jones said.
“It is a pleasure to work with them,” he said. “I can’t say enough good things about South Carolina.”
He said he’s very excited about the company’s existing Pickens County workforce and those who will be joining the team in the future, including Pickens County students at Clemson University and Tri-County Technical College, who are “well-positioned to do great things.”
“Great focus on education,” Jones said.
He praised the career center’s Scholar Technician program.
“It’s really neat to see the focus that the community has put on that, that the high school has put on it,” he said. “It’s amazing. If we can get more young adults interested in this, I think there’s a phenomenal opportunity to, instead of graduating college with all kinds of debt, to be able to graduate college and technical programs with straight opportunities in front of them. We like being able to offer those kinds of opportunities.”
Agricel will develop the project. Brian Nash, vice-president of development at Agricel, said the project will be completed in April.
“We have a Class A industrial park,” Nash said. “We plan on building a Class A product.”
Alliance Pickens executive director Ray Farley thanked the many people whose behind-the-scenes work made the announcement possible. He emphasized the work of both the current county council and previous councils regarding the Pickens County Commerce Park.
When the property was purchased, it was just a pine thicket, Farley said.
“All you had was a vision and some courage and some energy,” he said. “Look what you’ve done in the course of 10 or 11 years.”
JR Automation will be joining the neighborhood of world-class, state-of-the-art companies that call the park home, he said.
“That portfolio of private industrial companies, I can tell you, is the envy of a lot of communities in the Southeast,” Farley said. “Kudos to you all for the work that you’ve done here.”
Farley recalled “sealing the deal” with Jones in 2011 over a box of South Carolina peaches. At the end of Monday’s announcement, Farley presented Jones with a fresh box of peaches.
“I’m really excited now,” Jones said.
For more information on the company, visit jrauto.com.
Six Mile exploring historic house project
By Greg Oliver
Courtesy The Journal
goliver@upstatetoday.com
SIX MILE — Six Mile recently acquired a historic home downtown and approximately 8.5 adjoining acres, and town council already has plans for both.
“Both the park project and the house restoration project fall within the objectives of the formal town comprehensive plan, which references greenspace and historic preservation in our downtown area — a very important concept tying town planning back to the town comprehensive plan,” council member James Atkinson said.
Atkinson said the Dillard House, originally built by John L. Dillard, the town’s third mayor, was purchased along with the 8.5 acres prior to a recent auction of some downtown properties.
Built around the turn of the last century, during which Atkinson said was the time of the construction of Six Mile Academy, the house is located directly across from the historic bank property now housing Our Bank on Main Street.
Atkinson said the park project features some preliminary drawings submitted by zoning administrator Jimmy Hayes.
Both projects were recently presented for public input at a town council meeting, and council approved second and final reading of an ordinance permanently designating as historic landmarks the properties known as the Dillard House as well as the original site of the Bank of Six Mile.
“The house has an ornate design metal roof and restored, along with an adjacent park, could indeed contribute to the overall charm and appeal of our downtown, as has the recent restoration of the bank property across the street,” Atkinson said. “The park and the house are two distinct projects, both occupying the same tract, but these two ambitious and separate and distinct multi-year projects will both be pulled together step by step.”
As far as the Dillard House is concerned, Atkinson said plans call for the house to be restored to its early 20th-century appearance to the extent possible.
At least a portion of the house would be devoted for use as a town museum in recognition of the history and heritage of Six Mile and its residents.
Atkinson said several steps for the house project have been undertaken, that, in addition to council’s approval of second and final reading of an ordinance earlier this month to designate the house itself and bank building and property as historic sites, include a special charitable contribution and state exemption granted the town, requiring annual renewal with the South Carolina secretary of state for charitable contribution status for donations made to house restoration and first reading of an ordinance establishing as a non-reverting fund the house restoration project to ensure the integrity of donations and other funding so that unused funding under governmental accounting standards does not revert to the general fund at the end of any one budget year.
But Atkinson emphasized that all plans are currently in the preliminary stages and subject to further input.
“Be it the house or the park, these are step-by-step processes — the conclusion of which will bring a positive atmosphere to our downtown in line with our town comprehensive plan,” Atkinson said. “I can’t wait to see the final results of both one day, and I’m so glad that our planning commission, acting within the town’s comprehensive plan and with citizen input, had the vision of both historic preservation and greenspace for our town that ties in so well with these two projects.”
Six Mile Mayor Roy C. Stoddard said he is excited about the potential both projects bring to the town.
“The Dillard House is the only structure left in town from days long ago, and it would be a shame not to attempt to renovate it for posterity,” Stoddard said. “We realize it will take thousands of dollars to do so but are confident we can raise the necessary funds.
“The park will add another dimension to the quality of life in this town. We envision that it will take us several years to complete the project, and we are ready to start now.”
Woman suing Pickens, city police department for alleged sex assault
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — The city of Pickens, the Pickens Police Department and a former Pickens police officer have been named in a lawsuit by a woman who alleges the officer molested her in 2014.
The lawsuit, filed in June, stems from an incident at a laundromat in Pickens in June 2014. The victim alleges that Officer Robert L. Sapp threatened to arrest her if she did not walk to the side of the laundromat with him. He then fondled her, the lawsuit claims.
“Defendant Sapp’s physical contact with Plaintiff was not consensual and constituted a harmful and offensive touching,” the lawsuit states.
Sapp denied any and all physical contact with the plaintiff, the lawsuit states.
According to the lawsuit documents, a subsequent South Carolina Law Enforcement Division investigation determined that Sapp “did in fact inappropriately and unlawfully touch and assault Plaintiff while on duty as a police officer.”
Records show DNA evidence secured from the plaintiff matched Sapp’s DNA profile, the lawsuit claims. GPS records from his police cruiser showed that it had been at the laundromat longer than Sapp had claimed, according to the suit.
Sapp resigned from the Pickens Police Department in July 2014. He was arrested in October 2014 and charged with first-degree assault, misconduct in office and malfeasance or nonfeasance.
The lawsuit accuses him of battery, assault and violating the victim’s civil rights.
The lawsuit claims the city and its police department bear responsibility for hiring Sapp. The suit claims that “these defendants knew or reasonably should have known that Defendant Sapp had a marked history of abusing his authority as a police officer while on the job as a police officer, particularly as it pertains to his interactions with female citizens.”
The lawsuit alleges that Sapp had a “documented history of employing excessive and unreasonable force and engaging in police misconduct that violated the civil rights of individuals — particularly female citizens — while he was employed as a law enforcement officer.”
Through legal representation, Pickens officials have denied the lawsuit’s allegations.
Fun, success and adventure
Charles Gill was born Oct. 1, 1947, in Pittsfield, Mass. He moved with his mother to Kingsport, Tenn., when he was 5 years old. He grew up in East Tennessee and attended school there. He calls himself a hillbilly from the Tennessee hills.[cointent_lockedcontent]
He graduated from Tennessee Military Institute in Sweetwater, Tenn., in 1965. He was enrolled at Tennessee Tech, but in the fall of 1966, he was drafted into the U.S. Army. He served on the military base at Fort Campbell, Ky., and at Fort Gordon, Ga. He was stationed for 13 months in South Korea.
After his discharge from the military in 1968, he enrolled at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tenn. He graduated in 1973 with a degree in industrial techn
ology.
During the time Charles was working in graduate studies, he worked at Sperry Univac, located in Bristol, Tenn. While he was employed there, he got the opportunity to be interviewed for employment at the Milliken Company, headquartered in Spartanburg.
He was hired by Milliken, and in 1974, he came to South Carolina and started working at the Gayley plant in Marietta. He started in the plant engineering area. His job was to maintain the building and the equipment. He worked there for three and a half years before being transferred to the Gerrish Milliken plant in Anderson County. As plant engineer, his job there was to modernize the building and replace the old equipment. In 1979, he was transferred to the Valway plant in La Grange, Ga. In 1980, he went to the Milliken corporate headquarters in Spartanburg. In 1985, he was assigned to a special project. He was asked to start up a new manufacturing process at the Cotton Blossom Plant. In 1987, he was transferred to the Magnolia plant in Blacksburg. In September 1987, he came back to the corporate headquarters in the purchasing department. He remained there until he retired in January 2009 after 35 years of service.
Charles and his wife, Debbie, were married June 7, 1975. They have two daughters, Ashley and Laura, and three grandsons. They have lived in Easley since 1976. He said it is their home now.
He visits the Pickens Senior Center almost every Tuesday morning. He says he enjoys visiting with friends there and listening to the music the band plays. He is on the renovation committee at the center. The auditorium there is in the process of being remodeled and is scheduled to be completed by November.
Charles is the current chairman of the Pickens County Beautification and Environments Advisory Committee. Pickens County and this committee present the annual Traveling Trash Bash Program to all third graders in the School District of Pickens County.
Charles said he has five hobbies. No. 1 is snow skiing. When asked where he skis, he said anywhere in the world he can find snow. He has skied in the Rocky Mountains, Europe and Switzerland. No. 2 on his list in golf. He thoroughly enjoys playing at Rolling Green Golf Course in Dacusville. No. 3 on the list is helping out with any work that needs to be done at his church, St. Matthias Lutheran in Easley. No. 4 is doing volunteer work. He is a member of the volunteer group Roundtowners, which does volunteer work in Greenville and Pickens counties. He says they offer help to anyone in need. Last, but certainly not least, is No. 5, which he says is to stay happy by doing what he enjoys. He says by doing Nos. 1 through 4, it makes No. 5 work well for him. He has experienced fun, success and adventure.
Charles has musical talents. He took piano lessons at an early age, and he sings in the choir at his church.
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]
Pickens’ Venture Outdoors festival planned Saturday
Pickens — On Saturday, the city of Pickens will host an outdoor festival that will highlight all the Pickens area has to offer residents and visitors alike when it comes to outdoor sports.
The festival will begin at 8:30 a.m. at Town Creek Bike Park behind the Pickens Recreation Department on Sangamo Road with an all-day mountain bike event. With the help of Upstate SORBA, the city will host mountain bike workshops, ride time and timed races for all ages.
Throughout the day at various locations around town, free workshops will be held covering topics from fly-fishing from Southern Appalachian Outdoors and a beekeeping workshop with the 2016 South Carolina Farmer of the Year of Bee Well Honey to hiking, kayaking, backpacking, rock climbing and much more.
As the mountain bike event concludes, be sure to stick around for the 5K Trail Run at the recreation department, which should finish around 6 p.m. All participants are encouraged to make their way to the amphitheater on Main Street for the announcement of the race finishers.
Attendees are also invited to stop off at the Pickens Farmers Market from 4-7 p.m. on Court Street.
The 4×4 Cruise-in, where all Jeeps, Broncos, trucks and off-road vehicles are encouraged to attend, will begin around 5 p.m., with part of Main Street closing. Visitors can fill their bellies with dinner from the Meat’n in the Middle food truck, Ray’s Mobile Food Truck parked at the amphitheater, or one of the many establishments downtown as The Hired Help rock all night long at the amphitheater stage from 7-10 p.m.
All funds raised from the Venture Outdoors Day will be split between the Pickens Police Dog Fund and the Pickens Youth Athletic Corporation. The PYAC is a local nonprofit organization that provides financial assistance to children who want to participate in recreational sports but whose families might not have the financial means by covering the registration costs and some uniform costs. The Pickens Police Department has started fundraising efforts to procure a human- and drug-tracking dog to better serve the community.
All registration forms for all events held during the Venture Outdoors event can be found at www.cityofpickens.com/outdoors.
Six Mile seeks items for community sale
SIX MILE — Clean out your garage and storage buildings — The town of Six Mile is sponsoring a community sale Sept. 3 in the Six Mile Farmers Market building.
The town is taking donations to sell to raise money for the proposed town park and Dillard House renovation.
Modern Woodmen-Fraternal Financial will match the funds raised up to $2,500.
Local residents are encouraged to start gathering stuff — whether it be furniture, clothes, books, household items or anything else they are willing to donate. Items will be accepted from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 2, at the Farmers Market building, which is the former fire station.
Central supports proposed trail
Green Crescent would link points of interest in Central, Clemson
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
CENTRAL — Central officials are throwing their support behind the proposed Green Crescent Trail.
The Green Crescent Trail is a multi-use trail that will connect many points in Central and Clemson, including Southern Wesleyan University, downtown Central, the Clemson Experimental Forest, Daniel High School and downtown Clemson.
The project will be completed in phases as funding becomes available.
If fully realized, the project could place more than 35 miles of trail in the Clemson and Central areas.
On Aug. 3, Central Town Council passed a resolution in support of the project.
The resolution states the town’s formal support of both the feasibility study undertaken by the Friends of the Green Crescent Trail group and “the efforts of the Friends of the Green Crescent to build the Green Crescent Trail.”
“The Green Crescent Trail will connect residents and visitors to important local sites that showcase our community’s natural, historic and cultural richness,” the resolution reads in part. “The Green Crescent Trail … will bring economic and quality-of-life benefits to the town of Central and other communities along the trail.”
“The Friends of the Green Crescent could not be more excited to have the formal support of the town of Central for the Green Crescent Trail,” said Chad Carson, president of the Friends of the Green Crescent Trail board of directors. “We applaud the leaders of Central for their vision and their foresight to not only support, but to take the lead in this effort as the first municipality to officially support the Green Crescent Trail.”
The resolution outlines Central officials’ desire to have the trail’s feasibility study accepted and incorporated into the town’s comprehensive plan.
Town officials also wish to partner with the Friends of the Green Crescent to make the trail a reality.
Under the resolution, council will assign a member of council, and possibly a member of staff, to the Green Crescent advisory board.
The town agrees to support, both financially and otherwise, efforts to plan, build and maintain the trail within town limits and to place wayfinding signage related to the trail, the resolution states.
The town also agrees to work with neighboring municipalities and institutions to promote and market the trail as “an important recreational, natural and cultural resource,” the resolution states.
Planners believe the trail will attract more small businesses to the area, as the Swamp Rabbit Trail as done for Greenville and Travelers Rest.
“Like the Swamp Rabbit has done for Travelers Rest, the Green Crescent Trail could help the small businesses and wonderful cultural destinations in downtown Central to flourish,” Carson said. “It will also improve the quality of life for all of the residents, students and visitors of Central as they will have a safe place to walk, run, push strollers, bike, walk dogs and get from one place to another without a car.”
A similar resolution in support of the Green Crescent Trail project is slated to go before Clemson City Council on Oct. 3.
WeatherSTEM donates weather station for use at Clemson Memorial Stadium
CLEMSON — Real-time weather data and images from the top of Clemson University’s Memorial Stadium now are available online from a new weather station.
Florida-based WeatherSTEM donated the weather station to Clemson and 10 other Atlantic Coast Conference universities.
“The goal is to create an interesting intersection between education and health and safety,” WeatherSTEM founder Ed Mansouri said.
Mansouri said WeatherSTEM started two-and-a-half years ago when he was working with the Florida Virtual School, an online k-12 school. He installed a weather station to bring meteorology and agriculture curriculum to the school and make data available to teachers of math and science.
An emergency manager at Florida State University saw a story about it and realized it had potential uses at his school. Another was installed at the University of Miami after a presentation about WeatherSTEM at an ACC emergency managers conference. “We agreed to bring this program, in the spirit of philanthropy, to all Atlantic Coast institutions,” Mansouri said.
The tiger paw-painted weather station at Memorial Stadium has live streaming cameras, radar and data it displays online at http://pickens.weatherstem.com/clemson
and on iPhone and Android apps, Facebook and Twitter.
Images captured during a 24-hour period are stitched together every day to form a time-lapse view of the sky as weather changes. Data, such as rainfall, barometric pressure and wind speed, are collected and can be downloaded for specific periods.
Mansouri said teachers can pull data from the weather station to use in their classrooms. “Our main focus at the end of the day is we’re an education and health and safety company,” he said.
Happy 102nd birthday
On Aug. 21, Mrs. Lillian Cook Stewart celebrated her 102nd birthday. Family and friends from near and as far as Washington, D.C., gathered for a family reunion and the celebration. Festivities were held at Norris Baptist Church and The Willows in Easley. Pictured with Lillian are her daughters, Nancy and Doris.
