Category Archives: Opinions
Is resilience the answer to climate change?
Maryland unveiled an agricultural climate plan for the state on Jan. 15. The plan was 
initiated by a senator who sponsored a grant for $500,000 to the University of Maryland to develop the plan to provide for food security for the state and the nation and help Maryland farmers to adapt to and mitigate climate change.
The study found springs have been wetter, more false springs, summers drier, storms more extreme, droughts longer, and more pests and invasive species moving into the state associated with changing USDA growth zones. All of the above impact both animal and crop producers. Further saltwater intrusion is destroying crop land in Maryland and in the Carolinas with rising sea levels.
Maryland documents 19,000 acres lost. Study has developed programs to teach farmers resilience and regenerative methods of farming, increasing productivity and incomes.
So … what is resilience? It is being the ability to adapt, recover and return to where the
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Courier Letters to the Editor 2-11-26
When ‘blame’ is a good word
Dear Editor,
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately. Why is it I speak against this administration? Why does my skin crawl when I read about the Epstein files? Why does my heart drop when I hear about shootings of innocent protesters and mistreatment of immigrants?
Why is my heart so heavy with grief and disbelief? Why am I willing to lose friends for my beliefs?
I blame the church where I grew up.
I blame Joe and Eleanor, who led our youth group and kept us safe on our retreats, and day trips. I blame them for letting me ride with them in their RV when I felt too shy to be part of the young people. I felt like royalty
I blame them for never calling on me to pray out loud til I was ready.
I blame Jolly and Sue for their kindness and faithfulness to the young people, for their
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Persevering through the storm
My friends, my neighbors, my brothers and sisters of Pickens —
This past week, extreme weather tested us.
Winter Storm Fern and the bitter ice that followed placed many of our neighbors in real danger. The cold was fierce. The darkness was real. The road was hard.
But let me tell you something:
Pickens did not bend. Pickens did not break. Pickens rose.
Because when the storm came, the people came.
Our police officers came.
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SC DOT Updates
Dear Editor,
The SCDOT has updated its highway paving list for the next year or two.
US 178 from the Anderson line to Liberty (to the Spinx), has been patched and an intermediate layer has been put down. The final layer of asphalt will be added when it get much warmer.
US 178 from Mauldin Lake Road north to Main Street, Pickens, the SCDOT has begun to patch it. More patching needs to be done as that section is in poor condition in many
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The spiritual battle for our attention
Let’s consider tracking how we spend our time in a typical 24-day period. Sleeping and working naturally take up most of it, followed by household tasks and hobbies, and 
finally, entertainment. Recently, I heard someone point out a troubling contrast: for Christians, spending more time on television or social media than on Bible study, prayer, or ministry seems out of balance. We often hear about the spiritual battle for our minds, but do our choices reflect the seriousness of this struggle? Though I’m involved with ministries and
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Growing concern with data centers
As of December16, 2025 there were 4300 data centers and that number increased by 200 in the last three months. I think Pickens County council needs to be prepared for them too approach our area. Here is why.
Data centers like large, relatively flat areas, near population
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Exploring courses on AARP
Are you a member of AARP? Even with the recent price increase (from $15 to $20 per year), there is still a lot to recommend it.
The AARP Skills Builder for Work section is a valuable benefit, even if we’re not still working, because the skills can be helpful to us now for our cognitive health, memory and
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Clunky Phones & Party Lines
In rural Georgia the party line was our lot back in the early 1950s. When the phone 
rang, we counted. Our phone rang two times. Three for another and so forth. Today’s younger set sure missed out on some fun times. Well, that’s okay. Cell phones will teach them a few lessons.
Back in the day, calls didn’t drop, folks dropped; eavesdropped, that is. Phone privacy didn’t exist. Sarah, the switchboard operator on the Andy Griffith
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