EASLEY — For the ninth consecutive year, the world has turned its attention to Easley once again, as 11 teams from around the globe have convened at the J.B. “Red” Owens Complex to duke it out for the title of 2009 Big League World Series champion.
The tournament kicked off with a Fan Fest Tuesday night, including a home run derby and a free concert.
In addition to the host team from Easley, the series features five U.S. teams, from Florida, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Illinois and California. International teams include Canada, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Germany and Guam.
The teams will take part in a parade Saturday at 6 p.m. at the Owens Complex.
Games will be played every day from now until next Wednesday, Aug. 5, when the championship game will be televised live in prime time at 8 p.m. on ESPN.
For a full schedule of games, visit www.bigleagueworldseries.org.

NORRIS — Site work at a local subdivision came to a halt last week after damage to a nearby historic cemetery was discovered. The county permit for the work was suspended following an inspection of the damage.
The cemetery is reported to have been damaged while a lot was being cleared for construction for King Real Estate Holdings, a company owning 35 lots in the Robinson Bridge Road subdivision, located near Norris.
Wayne Kelly of the Pickens County Historical Society said fieldstone markers had been removed and at least one headstone had been broken in the Robinson-Clayton family Cemetery.
The Clayton and Robinson families are among the earliest and most prominent settlers of Pickens County whose contributions to the area are significant in the fields of medicine and education.
Among those buried in the cemetery whose graves were disturbed is Revolutionary War veteran, Captain William Clayton, who was born in 1761 and died in 1845. His wife, Elizabeth Clayton, is also buried there as are a number of other family members.
In a statement issued July 24 Kelly said American veterans’ graves are protected by state and federal law, including Revolutionary and Confederate veterans.
Kelly said, “The places where our families are buried are sacred ground and should be treated with respect and reverence.”
The destruction of graves and grave markers is a violation of state law.

CLEMSON — Two Clemson University students have confirmed cases of swine flue. A news release from the university said the students were diagnosed last week.
A Daniel High student was also reported to have a confirmed case of swine flu last week, according to information from the School District of Pickens County.
The high school student, a cheerleader, contracted the disease while on a mission trip to Boston with her church. The old gym at Daniel High was closed for one week and cleaned, according to a school district spokesperson.
There have been four reported cases in Pickens County since May 16, according to a report from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environment Control (DHEC).
Jim Beasley of DHEC said new cases in the state are reported by Regional Health Departments to the Columbia office on a weekly basis. The July 15 update was the last available at press time. Beasley said the department is not allowed to give out information about specific numbers of cases except through posted numbers on the DHEC website.
The H1N1 (Swine Flu) virus first surfaced in South Carolina in late April.
A report from the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) says the first confirmed case of swine flu in the United States was on April 15. The NCIRD is a unit of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
To date, there have been 244 confirmed cases of swine flu in South Carolina, but no fatalities. North Carolina has had 483 cases with five deaths and Georgia has 222 cases with one death.
Nationwide, at least 1 million people have contracted swine flu and 302 have died, according to information from the NCIRD, a unit of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The United States continues to report the largest number of novel H1N1 cases of any country worldwide, however, most people who have become ill have recovered without requiring medical treatment.
Health official say the form of swine flue virus currently in circulation has not changed significantly. However, officials say it is relatively easily for flu viruses to mutate into something more deadly.
DHEC has continued monitoring and identifying cases within the state since April.
Beasley said at this time it is believed that the mild form of swine most people in the state have had makes it likely that there have been many unreported and unconfirmed cases.

SIX MILE — Business owners and residents on Main Street in Six Mile were shocked on Saturday when a seemingly intoxicated woman came down the street riding a horse on the double yellow lines.
According to reports, pedestrians flagged down officers from the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office to inform them of the incident.
Officers found the horse tied to a bench at the gas pumps of a downtown convenience store.
Officers say they found the rider inside the store trying to use the pay phone. When asked for identification, the woman told officers she had none.
According to the report, after identifying herself, the woman told officers she was riding the horse to her boyfriend’s house. When asked why she was riding the horse down the middle of Main Street, officers say she told them she wasn’t drunk, but the horse was.
The report states that the woman then told officers that she had been drinking.
The woman was arrested and officers called the owner of the horse. When the owner of the animal arrived, he told officers that the horse had been taken without consent, but that he did not want to press charges.
Tracy Nadine Ellenburg, 40, of 102 Queenola Drive, Pickens, was charged with public disorderly conduct in the incident.

PICKENS — The court appointed receivers of the former Pickens Jaycee property on Main Street in Pickens known as the Bradley Boggs House, say they are preparing to sell the property at an absolute auction.
In a news release from Bob Lofink and Wade Greer Jaycee Alumni and appointed receivers for the property said that although there is no date set for the auction, it is anticipated that the auction will be held in September.
“Work will be completed to clean up the house, building, and grounds in preparation for the auction,” Lofink said.
“We are encouraged by the public’s interest in the historical home that dates back to the early 1800s. It would be great to see the home restored to grandeur that it probably had throughout the past century. It would surely be the jewel of Main Street again,” he added
“Local charities are set to benefit from the sale of the property. The proceeds will be given to charities that were supported by the Pickens Jaycees while it was an active civic group. Pickens Jaycee Park and Jaycee Camp Hope are the two that top the list,” the release states.
Several groups became active in determining the future of the Boggs/Bradley house after the building was condemned by the city last fall.
At that time the Pickens County Historical Society and other community groups worked together to have the condemnation notice revoked.
Until four years ago, Pickens Jaycees used the structure as a seasonal haunted house, which served as a fundraiser for the community service group, generating $10,000 to $15,000 a year.
The Palmetto Trust for Heritage Preservation Director Michael Bedenbaugh visited the site in September and dated the front portion of the house to the 1840s and the rear, a Victorian addition, to the turn of the century.
He said the basic structure of the house is sound and in very good shape.