Category Archives: Opinions
Focusing on roadside safety
It has been some time since a column has been submitted, and frankly, all I can say about that is, “I do not want to be in the newspaper business; too many constant deadlines that are 
always pressing.”
Despite my inability of coming up with articles in a timely manner, many ideas float through my mind that would be excellent columns; however, getting myself to let them take root into typed words is a challenge. Today, though, I find myself with an issue that is too important not to make the effort — roadway emergency scene safety.
In the first two weeks of 2020, seven roadway responders have been struck by vehicles and killed while assisting the public. This is a disturbing way
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Still making music together
My twin brother Paul and I were reminiscing the other day about our respective musical 
careers and how we had gone our separate ways in the mid-1970s, and it occurred to me that 1980 was 40 years ago!
Now, 1980 might sound like ancient times, if you, like most people, are younger than I am. But to me … well, I hadn’t thought about it being 40 years ago.
So this month rings out as a milestone to me, because it was in January 1980 that I met Kathy, the love of my life, the woman who would become my wife.
Let me back up just a little and tell you how it
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Uncle Walter and the highway patrol
Mama used to claim that Uncle Walter would argue with a signpost. This was a pretty accurate 
summing up of one of his well-known tendencies. I don’t know if he actually believed he was always right, but he certainly put up a very convincing defense of his position on any issue.
He was canny in business. Some thought him an operator. Regardless of that, it’s true he knew how to make a trade to his advantage. I don’t believe anyone ever bested him on a business deal, and he could talk his way through almost any negotiation and come out on the winning side. He was a man who took advantage of every opportunity that came his way.
Now one of his boon companions was an old friend, Smith Purcell. Smith would drive out on
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Courier letters to the editor 1-22-20
Sitting on the fence
Dear Editor,
I am thinking that closing our primaries in South Carolina still won’t fix the problem of RINOs in the Republican Party. These RINOs have a huge following of what they prefer to be called “moderates” or “centrists.”
These people are abundantly found in Greenville, Easley and Clemson and are showing up in Pickens, Six Mile, Central and Liberty as well. Why is that? I will tell you why — the failure of our church leaders and our public schools who refuse to stand up for conservative Christian
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The cure for what ails you?
When I found out that a study released last month showed that people who eat chili peppers at least four times a week are 40 percent less likely to die from heart attack and 60 percent less likely to die from a stroke, it brought to mind a subject I’ve been wanting to write about for quite a while.
If food is medicine — and the truth is, it really is — there’s a place in Easley where you can get your prescription filled with locally grown, unadulterated fruits and veggies just about any time of year, and it’s called the Farmacy.
I had been wondering about this little store at the fork in the road between South B Street and East 3rd Avenue ever since it opened about two and a half years ago. Of course the name is what caught my eye.
It was pretty obvious that they were selling a lot of good fresh produce, but being a creature of habit and always in a hurry, I never took the time to stop in and check it out until a
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The case of the missing polecat
Does anybody out there remember Pepé Le Pew? He was a fascinating cartoon skunk who was passionately in love with a kitty cat.
Sometimes, love is blind. Poor Pepé didn’t realize that his feline darling couldn’t bear to be around him because of his unfortunate scent.
Anyone who has ever encountered a skunk who has sprayed knows how she felt.
A mystery has developed on Fowler Farm. Upon reaching home rather late in the evening, I was surprised to see what looked like a
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Courier Letters to the Editor 1-15-20
Don’t lose sight or we all lose
Dear Editor,
I saw a Facebook post about people “celebrating” our military actions in Iraq, and it made me think. It reminded me of the apocryphal pictures of Muslims dancing in the streets on 9/11.
Remember, regardless of your politics, the military actions occurring in Iraq are costing real people their lives. Unlike video games, there is no reset button when it’s game over for these young men and women.
Remember that they are operating in harm’s way under direction of people who are safely thousands of miles away.
Before you start cheering about the latest bombing raid or missile strike, imagine being the mother or father of
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What is your vision for Liberty’s future?
Imagine this, if you will: Developers, recognizing that Easley has reached the maximum level of residential growth it can handle under the existing infrastructure, cast their eyes to the west.
They begin putting up new subdivisions in Liberty, a town that has become newly attractive by turning its abandoned textile mill sites into parks and affordable housing lots, and connecting them with recreational trails.
Meanwhile, industrial growth continues in the Pickens County Commerce Park, just outside Liberty’s city limits, and a multi-use trail connects it with the quaint downtown, which has gained regional attention for its replica of the Liberty Bell and the numerous festivals and events it offers celebrating South Carolina’s patriotic heritage, offering Revolutionary War era re-
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County council has 2020 vision
While many of us were immersed in the holiday spirit — focused on our families and Christmas festivities — Pickens County Council has been hard at work in formulating a vision for the coming year.
At their annual workshop at the Capt. Kimberly Hampton Memorial Library in Easley on Nov. 11, council members set six goals and objectives for 2020. These goals represent council at the peak of its authority, providing specific work directives to county staff for the coming year. My role as acting administrator is to take these directives from council and develop implementation strategies for the coming months. To a large extent, my effectiveness and performance as administrator should be judged on how well
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Don’t miss out on the wonders of the world
We all heard about people who’ve lived in New York all their lives but have never been to see the Statue of Liberty, and we’ll comment about how amazing that is.
But I have no room to talk.
There are interesting and unique places throughout the region that I’ve said I want to go see and yet have never done so.
When the subject comes up, we always comment, “Oh, we’ll go and see that or do that one of these days.”
But we don’t act on that statement.
This year we finally did it. We drove the few miles up the road to Sassafras Mountain to see the observation deck built on top of the mountain.
We went on Christmas Eve, an unusually beautiful day this year. It
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