By Ben Robinson, Courier Staff

COUNTY — Three local seats in the State House will be up for grabs in the June 10 primary election.

The only local seats on the ballot will be in the Republican primary.

Incumbent Davey Hiott will face opposition from challenger Michelle Wiles in the State House District 4 race, while the other two seats will feature new representatives.

 In the District 3 race for the seat currently held by B.R. Skelton, who has decided not to seek re-election, Ed Harris will battle Gary E. Clary. The winner of the primary race will face opposition in the November general election from Travis McCurry, who has filed as a Libertarian.

Three men will compete for the District 5 seat currently held by Phil Owens, who will not run again. Neal Collins, Harley Staton and Rick Tate will be on the ballot in the primary.

The only other local seat up for grabs in the primary will be probate judge, which will be a battle between incumbent Kathy Patterson Zorn and challenger H. Mark Durham.

By Ben Robinson, Courier Staff

COUNTY — Voters will get a chance to weigh in on the issues of abortion, medical marijuana and gambling, among others, during the upcoming June 10 primary elections.

There will be a handful of advisory questions on the ballots for the primaries, asking voters for their opinions on issues that could be debated during the upcoming legislative session.

Two questions will appear on the Republican primary ballot, while the Democratic ballot will feature three questions.

The first question on the Republican ballot involves the issue of abortion, asking voters if the state constitution should be amended to include the following language: “The privileges and immunities of citizens of South Carolina and the United States shall not be abridged, so that no person shall be

CLEMSON — Hundreds of Pickens County high school seniors will close a chapter in their lives as they walk across the stage at Littlejohn Coliseum for graduation this Saturday.

Students from all four Pickens County high schools will receive their diplomas in separate ceremonies.

Liberty High School will open the day with a 9 a.m. commencement ceremony, followed by Daniel at noon, Pickens at 3 p.m. and Easley at 6 p.m.

Pictured is a coverage map of the City of Pickens’ free wireless Internet. The yellow pins indicate the locations of the radio transmitters.

PICKENS — Over the past few months, the City of Pickens and Globalvision Inc. have worked closely together to improve wireless Internet coverage in the downtown area.

The “wi-fi cloud” was installed in early 2012, with the goal of providing street-level wireless access at no charge to patrons and visitors. Mayor David Owens and City Council members believe the service is a valuable one to local residents and visitors and is becoming an expected standard on Main Streets across the country.

It not only provides access for those who may not have the service at their home, but also encourages businesses to come that benefit from sidewalk cafes such as restaurants.

The wireless radios have been installed at the Village Inn, Carquest, Michael’s and Garren’s and receive

COUNTY — The Pickens County YMCA recently received a $3,000 grant from the YMCA of the USA to help fund individual swim lessons for summer 2014.

The grant will provide 50 additional swim lessons to children in Pickens County free of charge. The grant will focus more specifically on supporting traditional individual, scholarships for children to be placed in already existing and ongoing Y Swim lessons. The scholarships are to go to children from vulnerable and low-income households, who might otherwise not have such opportunities. The Pickens County YMCA is one of 110 YMCAs across America to receive the funds and will collectively serve 5,500 children.

“Every child deserves a chance to learn how to swim, and we look forward to impacting more lives