Daily Archives: 09/05/2017
If only fire ants could drown
Did anybody notice the island of floating fire ants shown in the flood waters of Hurricane Harvey? Well I did, and it gave me the heebie jeebies.
And that’s no exaggeration. I literally can’t tell you how deeply my dislike of and aversion to fire ants runs. We all know they’re virtually impossible to get rid of. Yes, there is poison available, and you do have to use it. But that doesn’t really rid your property of this predator. A few always survive and then relocate. The summer after you distribute the poison, usually just a few
You must be logged in to view this content.
Subscribe Today or Login
High praise for our caregivers
Life is wonderful. We have our friends, lots of activities and we’re enjoying retirement to the fullest.
Then a health crisis arises. We need help. We turn to our loved ones. If they can help they certainly do, but they may need relief from another family member or a professional
You must be logged in to view this content.
Subscribe Today or Login
Medicare adds new tool to compare hospice agencies
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services already has tools to help seniors make informed decisions about health care: Physician Compare, 
Hospital Compare, Home Health Compare and Nursing Home Compare. Now it’s taken the next step with Hospice Compare.
The website www.medicare.gov/hospicecompare just recently launched online. Right from the front page it’s helpful: You can search for a hospice agency
You must be logged in to view this content.
Subscribe Today or Login
Laughing at our demons: VetTV streaming along
A year ago, the Veteran Television Network was a Kickstarter project hoping to bring veteran-related television to life. The creators were looking for $250,000 to produce four months of weekly shows, with their target 
audience being post-9/11 veterans. At this writing, 3,609 backers have pledged $296,331, and VetTV is streaming along.
Have you seen it yet? Take a look. The content is made by us, veterans, who’ve been there, done that. Look
You must be logged in to view this content.
Subscribe Today or Login
SWU professor ‘going the distance’ to benefit school
CENTRAL — Avid hiker and Southern Wesleyan University business professor Jonathan Young is ready to “go the distance” to benefit business majors.
To date, Young has hiked major portions of the Appalachian Trail, a 2,180-mile-long public footpath that extends from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine. He didn’t even know the AT existed until he attended Bates College in Maine as an
You must be logged in to view this content.
Subscribe Today or Login
Courier Calander of Events 9-6-17
• Gilstrap family reunion is Saturday
The Gilstrap family reunion will be held Sept. 9 at the Antioch Baptist Church fellowship building on Highway 11. All attending are asked to bring a well-filled basket. Plates and cups will be provided. Lunch will be at noon.
• Pickens High Class of 1972 to reunite
The Pickens High School class of 1972 is planning a 45-year reunion. The event will be held on Saturday, Oct. 14, from 4-8 p.m. at Looper’s Barn, located at 101 Laurenwood Drive in Pickens.
Prime rib with accompaniments will be served for $21 per person. Entertainment will also be provided. Mail check or money order in th
SWU on a growth trend
CENTRAL — For the fourth consecutive year, Southern Wesleyan University has experienced enrollment growth within its traditional program.
Enrollment of traditional students has been consistently climbing since Fall Semester 2013. Southern Wesleyan’s headcount is 46 percent higher going into the 2017-’18 academic year than it was four years ago. After welcoming 
273 new students this fall, Southern Wesleyan’s headcount currently stands at 872. This includes new freshmen, new transfer students and students enrolled in OneLife, a gap year program in its first year.
The university’s Full Time Equivalent (FTE) enrollment currently stands at 789, which
You must be logged in to view this content.
Subscribe Today or Login
Liberty Lions Club and Southern Eye team up
LIBERTY — The Liberty Lions Club recently surprised Southern Eye Associates with an assortment of treats in appreciation of the doctors and staff for their participation in providing eye exams and glasses to low-income families from the Liberty area.
Applications are available at Liberty Family Pharmacy in Liberty. Southern Eye Associates, located in Greenville and Greer, is comprised of ophthalmologists and
You must be logged in to view this content.
Subscribe Today or Login
CU eclipse experiment a clear success
CLEMSON — While tens of thousands were experiencing the Aug. 21 total solar eclipse on the expansive grounds of Clemson University, professor Sean Brittain and several students from the department of physics and astronomy were collecting scientific data on the roof of the Watt Family Innovation Center.
Using a telescope and computer software, Brittain and his team gathered images of the sun’s outer atmosphere — the corona — during the 2 minutes and 37 seconds of totality. These images will be compiled with thousands of others taken by 68 identical telescopes placed along the 2,500-mile path of totality, in an effort dubbed the Citizen CATE (Continental-America Telescopic Eclipse) Experiment. They will provide 90 minutes of unprecedented, continuous footage to better understand the details of the sun’s corona.
All 68 telescopes were manned by volunteer citizens, including retirees, school kids, teachers, astronomers and college students. Fifty-eight of those sites had clear weather on Aug. 21 and were able to collect data for
You must be logged in to view this content.
Subscribe Today or Login
Courier Obits 9-6-17
Sidney F. “Skip” Acker
Easley — Mr. Sidney Francis “Skip” Acker Jr., 66, passed away Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017.
Born in Pickens County, a son of the late Sidney Francis Acker Sr. and the late Emily Smith Acker, Mr. Acker was a 1968 graduate of Easley High School, received his bachelor’s degree from Clemson University and retired from the pharmaceutical industry. He was raised in Easley First Baptist
