Category Archives: News
Police search for escaped inmate
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — Pickens County Sheriff’s Office deputies continued to search Tuesday for an inmate who escaped from the county prison Sunday afternoon.
Steven Leroy Aiken, 45, of Pickens, escaped from the prison at 4:05 p.m. Sunday, according to a news release from Chief Deputy Creed Hashe.
Aiken escaped when a perimeter door was opened to bring laundry into the facility, Hashe said.
“The escape did not involve any type of assault on any prison
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Stealing the show
Senior pitcher shines as Green Wave coach opens season with win over son
ANDERSON — Entering the Easley High School baseball team’s matchup at Westside on March 5, much of the focus was on the head 
coaches — Gill Payne of Easley and Jarrod Payne of Westside, a father and son duo facing off for the first time on the diamond.
However, it was Easley pitcher Devyn Bond who stole the show, striking out 16 as the Green Wave left Anderson with a 6-1 victory in the teams’ regular-season opener
“Talk about having a veteran guy that wants the baseball and who’s
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Easley officials predict continued growth
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — Easley’s residential growth shows no signs of stopping, and commercial growth is picking up as well.
“Easley’s on the move,” Mayor Larry Bagwell said during his annual State of the City address last month at South & West. “We have averaged over $30 million in permitted construction over the last five years. We are anticipating that trend will continue in 2019.”
He said officials want to have “quality services, quality places and a quality community.”
“Having been here all my 82 years, I don’t think you can find a better place in this state or any other state that gives you those three things
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An eclipse of SC’s Sunshine laws
Remember the August 2017 solar eclipse that carved a path through South Carolina? Bright daylight gave way to shadows, which then gave way to total darkness. Within minutes, of course, a summer day 
was again put into the sun’s bright light.
Another eclipse seems to be taking place in the Palmetto State. In this case, it is what the public should be privy to that is being eclipsed. Private organizations that have received public funds, such as chambers of commerce, have been given a free
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PCPAC to host ‘Storm in the Holler’
New Dixie Storm and Tugalo Holler team up for a night of bluegrass, gospel and country
LIBERTY — Are you ready for some down-home gospel music, along with some of the best bluegrass you will ever hear, all in one show?
If the answer is yes, then make plans to travel to Liberty this Saturday.
All are invited to the Pickens County Performing Arts Center to see
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JOURNEY OF HOPE
By Nicole Chisari
Winthrop University
ROCK HILL — B
randon Dill is trying to get comfortable with biking next to trucks on the open road.
“I’ve been riding on the road when I can,” said the Winthrop University senior, a 2015 Pickens High School graduate. “It’s still hard to get used to a semi-truck passing within five feet of me, but I’m a lot calmer now. … I’m about 70 percent prepared. The rest, I’m winging it.”
He’ll need that calm this June, when he’ll bike approximately 3,500
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Scones for morning, noon or night
By Olivia Fowler
For the Courier
ofowler@thepccourier.com
Scones have been around forever in many parts of the world, but they 
just became popular in our region fairly recently.
Once encountered, they are never to be forgotten. There are many variations of this delicacy, from sweet to savory, but one of our most favorite is the cranberry orange scone.
Remember to keep a light hand. You do not want to overwork the dough. Make a batch, cool and pop into the freezer, then take out, thaw and reheat in the microwave for breakfast.
Bradford pear’s beautiful flowers belie bad news
Three years ago, Upstate nurseryman Durant Ashmore sat down at his computer and poured out his heart on the evils of the Bradford 
pear tree with such outrageous eloquence that he has become the world’s foremost prophet of doom in the fight to stamp out these seemingly innocent and beautiful ornamentals.
“All those white blooming trees you see everywhere … do you think they are pretty?” he began a column titled “The curse of the Bradford pear” first published in the Greenville News and picked up by USA Today in March 2016. “If you knew what they actually represent, you would choke on your morning coffee and gag on your scrambled eggs.
“All those white blooming trees you see now are an environmental
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Rain washes out Doodle Trail bridge
By Ron Barnett
Staff Reporter
rbarnett@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — If you’re itching to make your first Doodle Trail ride of the spring between Easley and Pickens, you might have to hold off for just a bit longer.
You can’t get there from here — whichever direction you’re going — on the four-year-old recreational trail that connects the two cities along an old railroad bed.
That’s because last week’s heavy rains
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Pickens’ Wierzbicki named top 4A player
PICKENS — On Feb. 24, Pickens High School senior Lexi Wierzbicki was presented the S.C. State 4A Volleyball Player of the Year award. The award was presented by the South Carolina Coaches Association 
of Women’s Sports. The ceremony was held at the S.C. Museum in Columbia.
Wierzbicki, a senior middle hitter, led Pickens to a 32-2 record and a second straight state runner-up finish in Class 4A. A Jacksonville University signee, she led the Blue Flame with 327 kills, 386 digs and 46 solo blocks, and was second on the team with 74 total blocks.
In September, Wierzbicki was named to the all-tournament team at
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