Daily Archives: 03/09/2016
Annual Banquet Held
Rocky Nimmons
rnimmons@thepccourier.com
The Greater Pickens Chamber of Commerce and the Pickens Revitalization Association joined forces on Friday night to celebrate the chamber’s 2016 annual banquet at the Lighthouse Restaurant on Lake Keowee. The banquet featured a meal, dancing and live music from the Jake Bartley Band and the recognition of community award winners. The banquet was also the last for chamber director Mike Parrott who is headed for retirement to spend more time with family. Above, Chamber and PRA board members salute Parrott, center, for his service and time leading the chamber, presenting him with a plaque and a monetary gift.
Here are some pictures from the event.
From left, Pickens Revitalization Association president Patrick Lark and executive director Allison Fowler present the PRA’s Outstanding New Business of the Year award to Lauren Willis and Kimberly Smagala of the Appalachian Ale House at Friday’s chamber banquet.
From left, Pickens Revitalization Association president Patrick Lark and executive director Allison Fowler present the PRA’s Community Business of the Year award to Robin and Dr. Paul Giddings of Great Oaks Dental.
From left, Pickens Revitalization Association president Patrick Lark and executive director Allison Fowler present the PRA’s Community Volunteer of the Year award to Wilson Perkins at Friday’s chamber banquet.
From left, Pickens Revitalization Association president Patrick Lark and executive director Allison Fowler present the PRA’s Best Interior/Exterior Rehabilitation award to Quint Brown of Q & Co. Salon.
From left, Kerry Owen, Donna Owen and Marty Sentell enjoy Friday night’s chamber banquet at the Lighthouse Restaurant.
From left, Pickens City Council member Carlton Holley, mayor David Owens and S.C. Rep. Davey Hiott were among those in attendance at Friday’s banquet.
David Fleming, right, accepts The Reserve at Lake Keowee’s Chamber Member of the Year award from chamber director Mike Parrott at Friday’s banquet.
From left, Don Marler, Elizabeth Armstrong and David Armstrong take a break from socializing to pose for a photo at Friday’s chamber banquet.
Guests ate, danced and mingled throughout the night at Friday’s annual chamber banquet.
Future of ‘mountain schools’ still up in air
Date of final vote unclear
By Rocky Nimmons
Publisher
rnimmons@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — The date and time for a vote to decide the fate of three Pickens-area elementary schools is up in the air.
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Pickens County School Board members were told during a meeting Monday night that a vote will be taken at a meeting next Monday, March 14. However, School District of Pickens County spokesman John Eby said Tuesday the vote will not take place until a later, undetermined date.
Facilities committee chairman Phillip Bowers on Monday gave fellow board members an update on progress made in meetings with stakeholders from Ambler, A.R. Lewis and Holly Springs elementary schools in light of the proposed closure of the three schools.
Bowers said “the working group met on Feb. 23 and started with an overview of the stakeholders study that was done in 2014 that kind of started the whole ball rolling about the efficiencies.”
He added that the group reviewed the suggestions from the input sessions that were held on Feb. 10 and said there had been about seven or eight of them.
He said that in the community input meeting, the issue of tax options came up, and the working group took that to study and returned their information last week.
According to Bowers, stakeholders suggested that the district put off the decision until after this year’s elections.
“We did not put a subcommittee on that, because that is something that boards don’t have to evaluate,” he said.
Bowers told the board there was a suggestion to evaluate budget cuts in other areas. That was taken into study and was reported back. There was discussion about various approaches to the merger, including closing three schools and possibly merging two, and another group worked on that.
Bowers said the last meeting was scheduled to be held on Tuesday night, and he would get more information once the meeting takes place.
“There was some discussion about charter school options,” he said.
Bowers said a representative from the Charter School Alliance was planning to attend the Tuesday night meeting.
Bowers added that a couple of options were taken off the list — one being a phased-in approach to the merger, and the other being redrawing attendance lines because he said, “that was of no interest to the committee.”
According to Bowers and school board chair Judy Edwards, the working timetable would include a meeting of the facilities committee later this week so it could bring a recommendation to the board on March 14.
Board member Alex Saitta questioned Edwards if a vote would be taken at the March 14 meeting, and she said yes.
“When (Bowers) was setting up these meetings, that was the timeline that was set up,” Edwards said.
“So a week from today, we will make a decision on whether these schools would be closed?” Saitta asked once more.
Edwards replied, “Yes, a week from today.”
Bowers then chimed in.
“Somehow that March 14 date got in the newspaper, so I don’t think we should change that,” he said. “It would suit me to move it to the following week, but it has already been published.”
Edwards then confirmed once again that on March 14 a recommendation and the vote would come from the facilities committee.
On Tuesday morning, however, Eby responded to a question about the facilities committee’s planned meeting later this week by contradicting Edwards’ statement from Monday’s meeting.
“The March 14 meeting is supposed to be the recommendation meeting,” he said via email. “The actual vote would be sometime later — the date for it has not been set.”
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Motorcyclist killed in wreck with backhoe on Sunday
EASLEY — One person is dead after an accident involving a backhoe and a motorcycle Sunday near Easley.
According to Cpl. Bill Rhyne of the S.C. Highway Patrol, a 41-year-old Easley man was driving a 1992 Ford backhoe west on Old Easley Bridge Road when he turned in front of a 2007 Suzuki motorcycle.
The driver of the motorcycle, who was not wearing a helmet, was ejected from the motorcycle when it struck the backhoe and was pronounced dead at the scene, Rhyne said.
The accident occurred at 5:50 p.m. about a mile east of Easley.
Pickens County coroner Kandy Kelley had not released the name of the person killed at press time Tuesday.
Governor’s signature quashes coal ash saga
After weeks of outrage from local residents, all it took was one signature to bring the controversy surrounding a proposed coal ash dump in Pickens County to an end once and for all. Gov. Nikki Haley signed H. 4857, a bill requiring electric utility-generated coal ash to be disposed of in a Class III landfill, last Wednesday, putting an end to North Carolina-based MRR Pickens LLC’s attempts to establish a coal ash dump near Liberty. The bill, introduced in the State Senate by Sen. Larry Martin and the State House by Rep. Davey Hiott, received overwhelming support from state legislators. “Sen. Martin, Rep. Hiott and the other members of the Pickens Delegation are to be commended for getting this done,” Haley said. “It is absolutely essential that we protect our environment from out-of-state waste, and I’m proud to help bring these much-needed protections into law.” Martin said not only will the bill benefit Pickens County, but each of the state’s 46 counties. “It provides some important environmental protections for all of our citizens,” he said. Hiott called the bill “a team effort.” “This legislation is vitally important to Pickens County, South Carolina and for protecting our environment,” he said. Pictured, from left, are delegation members Rep. Neal Collins, Rep. Gary Clary, Hiott, Haley, Sen. Thomas Alexander and Martin.
Man arrested in burglary at Dacusville business
DACUSVILLE — A 24-year-old Pickens man has been arrested and charged in connection with breaking into a Dacusville business in January and stealing a vehicle left overnight for repairs.
[cointent_lockedcontent]Edward Gary Akridge, of Chesapeake Trail, was being held Friday in the Pickens County Detention Center on charges of second-degree burglary, grand larceny, unlawful possession of a pistol, possession of a stolen pistol, failure to stop for a blue light, removing/affixing license plate, first-degree assault and battery, a probation violation and four general sessions bench warrants.
A combined $31,000 in surety bonds has been set for unlawful possession of a pistol, possession of a stolen pistol, failure to stop for a blue light, removing/affixing license plate, first-degree assault and battery and probation violation, while the burglary and grand larceny bond is pending, and no bond has been set for the four general sessions bench warrant violations.
Pickens County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Creed Hashe said Friday that Dacusville Tire was forcibly entered after glass was broken out of the door. The business, located on Farrs Bridge Road, was among many locations without power on the day of the break-in due to widespread outages blamed on the ice and snow.
Hashe said the burglary was detected by a passing motorist later that morning after observing the busted glass and a bay door that was raised and left open.
Sheriff’s deputies soon learned that assorted tools and a 1978 jeep belonging to a Dacusville resident had been stolen during the incident. Deputies recovered the jeep the same day after it was found abandoned on Holly Bush Road.
The chief deputy said evidence found at the scene led detectives to identify Akridge after deputies from the community action team attempted to stop him Feb. 9.
Akridge fled on foot during the traffic stop to avoid capture, but the vehicle he was observed to be driving contained several of the stolen items from the tire company. Deputies found several pieces of evidence that confirmed Akridge was responsible for the break-in.
On Feb. 26, Akridge was arrested at a home in Pickens County on charges stemming from the previous traffic stop.
Arrest warrants charging him with the burglary and grand larceny of the jeep at Dacusville Tire were issued by a Pickens County magistrate Thursday morning and served that afternoon.
Arrest warrants claim Akridge entered the business by forcing open the front door and stealing numerous items and keys belonging to the business in addition to the customer’s 1978 CJ-7 jeep. The handgun allegedly used by Akridge was reported stolen from Spartanburg County, and he allegedly displayed a license plate for a 2004 Toyota Sienna when in fact he was driving a 1995 Honda Accord.
The assault charge against Akridge and co-defendant Jessie Crooks involved an incident where they pulled a man from a vehicle, threw him to the ground and threw a cement block at his head. The victim sustained lacerations to his eye and head from the assault that required medical treatment.
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Woman charged as accessory to murder
EASLEY — Just 10 days after a man was charged with murder in the shooting death of a woman at a boat ramp near Easley, police arrested another woman for her alleged role in the aftermath of the crime.
Mary Joann Kelley, 30, of 134 Latham St. in Easley, is charged with two counts of accessory after the fact — one for murder and one for grand larceny — after police allege she helped paint a car stolen from the murder victim to help the suspected shooter “avoid the consequences of his crime,” according to warrants.
Kelley, who is being held on a combined $25,000 surety bond at the Pickens County Detention Center, was arrested last Thursday, a little more than a week after Pickens County sheriff Rick Clark announced the arrest of Kasey Clayton Waldrop, 22, on murder and weapons charges in the death of 35-year-old Reza Farah Kahn.
The body of Kahn, a mother of four from Townville, was discovered by two men who had gone to launch a boat at a Salude Lake ramp on Buckskin Road shortly before 9 a.m. on Feb. 21, according to police.
Sheriff’s office detectives received information the followign day that Kahn’s 2014 Dodge Charger was parked at an apartment complex in West Greenville on Monday evening, and when officers traveled to recover the vehicle, Waldrop was arrested after a short foot pursuit at around 7:30 p.m.
Clark said a gun that matched the caliber of the weapon used to kill Kahn was found in the vehicle, which was partially spray painted to try to cover up evidence, the sheriff said.
Chief deputy Creed Hashe said in a news release announcing Kelley’s arrest that the investigation surrounding the events before and after Kahn’s death determined that she had helped Waldrop try to conceal evidence knowing he had murdered Kahn.
Police said a motive had not been determined in the killing through the early stages of the investigation, although Clark said Waldrop and Kahn knew each other and were friends.
“It is hard to believe that a life can be taken by some of the evil we see today in our society,” Clark said.
Oconee Nuclear Station fire raises alert
Courtesy photo
A fire at the Oconee Nuclear Station on Sunday afternoon caused an elevated emergency notification protocol.
By Steven Bradley
Courtesy The Journal
sbradley@upstatetoday.com
SENECA — After a transformer fire at the Oconee Nuclear Station caused one unit to be shut down and an elevated emergency protocol declared, Duke Energy exited the alert classification at 8:16 p.m. Sunday.
[cointent_lockedcontent]Spokesperson Mikayla Kreuzberger said Monday morning that Duke was in the process of conducting an investigation into the cause of the fire.
“The safe, reliable operation of Oconee Nuclear Station is always our top priority — we take the reliability of all plant equipment seriously and will work to fully understand the events of Sunday,” she said.
Residents in the area reported hearing a loud explosion from the nuclear station on Sunday afternoon, and at 3:20 p.m., Duke declared an “unusual event,” the lowest level of classification in its emergency notification protocol.
Unit 1 at ONS was shut down, and firefighters needed more than 30 minutes to bring the transformer fire under control.
Oconee County Fire Chief Charlie King said there was no damage to the building or containment area, and the unit — one of three at the nuclear site — was shut down only as a precaution.
Scott Batson, site vice president at Oconee Nuclear Station, told media at a news conference on Monday the fire was caused by an equipment issue, but the actual cause had not yet been identified.
In dealing with the fire, Batson said it was also discovered that there was a downed power line running from the plant into Duke’s switchyard.
“Because of the impact to that equipment that goes beyond the transformer, we also declared an alert, which is the second level of notification,” he said.
Batson said Unit 1 “is stable,” and Duke would begin moving into its recovery efforts and working to determine what caused the fire, then begin restoring service to equipment that will allow the plant to exit those notification levels.
The other two units at ONS were not impacted and continued to operate.
ONS personnel reported the fire to Oconee County fire officials at 3:19 p.m., and the Keowee Fire Department arrived on scene within 10 minutes to find a large transformer outside the building engulfed in flames.
King said approximately 40 firefighters from the onsite fire brigade and Oconee and Pickens counties brought the fire under control.
The original unit at ONS, Unit 1 began commercial operation in 1973, followed by units 2 and 3 in 1974.
Unit 1 remained safely shut down Monday, Kreuzberger said, while units 2 and 3 continue to operate safely.
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Pickens Innovation Center applies for $90K ARC grant
Courtesy photo
Owned and operated by Mark Burgess, right, the Burgess General Store was one of Pickens’ newest businesses who had a booth set up at the Pickens Innovation Center’s Commercialization Day “Launch” on Monday.
By Pamela Dodson
Staff Reporter
pdodson@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — The city of Pickens is growing, and with this new growth comes opportunity.
At Monday night’s city council meeting, officials said the Pickens Innovation Center, which has helped start 13 new businesses within the city, applied for an Appalachian Regional Commission grant of $90,000 to help sustain the center in making plans for future growth.
[cointent_lockedcontent]The ARC is a regional economic development agency that represents a partnership of federal, state and local government. Established by an act of Congress in 1965, ARC is composed of the governors of the 13 Appalachian states and a federal co-chair, who is appointed by the president. Local participation is provided through multi-county local development districts. ARC invests in activities that address the five goals identified in the commission’s strategic plan, which are economic opportunities, ready workforce, critical infrastructure, natural and cultural assets and leadership and community capacity.
The Innovation Center and its corporate sponsors held a Commercialization Day “Launch” to introduce the 13 new businesses to the community on Monday. During the launch, new technology developed for high-speed police pursuits was introduced in a “go-live” event in preparation to enter the market, as well as showing the potential for future growth in Pickens.
It was also announced during the meeting that the Pickens Azalea Festival Committee plans to offer a free booth to the 13 new businesses from the center.
In other business, council members approved a 20-year lease agreement with Allco in partnership with the City of Easley for the Rotary Doodle Park and passed the second reading that will allow a fourth supplemental water and sewer revenue bond to allow for issuance, sales and refunding of bonds and to amend the general bond ordinance on 2010-13.
Councilman Donnie McKinney was recognized by mayor David Owens and the rest of council for graduating on Feb. 2 from Municipal Elected Officials Institute. The Municipal Elected Officials Institute consists of both in-person and online courses. Elected officials who complete all of the required coursework receive a certificate and graduate from the institute.
“With the exception of our new council member, Lois Porter (who has started the program), all other council members and the mayor have graduated from the Elected Officials Institute,” city administrator Bruce Evilsizor said.
Pickens City Council will meet again for a work session on March 21 before its next regular monthly meeting April 4.
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SWU Concert Choir sings at Mother Emanuel
The Southern Wesleyan University Concert Choir, directed by Dr. Don Campbell, professor of music, performed gospel selections during Sunday morning services Feb. 28 at Mother Emanuel AME Church in downtown Charleston. This was the first of several performances for the choir as they tour during Spring Break at places including Charleston, Summerville and Aiken.
Teens charged in string of damages
DACUSVILLE — Pickens County Sheriff’s Office investigators announced last week that three teenagers had been arrested in a string of property damages, mostly involving mailboxes, last month.
Three Dacusville boys, two age 14 and one age 16, were charged in the rash of incidents, in which “multiple mailboxes were damaged or stolen, along with other incidents of damage” in the Dacusville and Easley areas in February.
Because the teens are under the age of 17, their names will not be released, and they will be tried in Family Court.
Chief deputy Creed Hashe said the incidents occurred during the nighttime hours, and most of the activity was accomplished as the suspects were walking through the area.
Hashe also said the investigation is still ongoing and may lead to additional charges or additional suspects as it continues.
“We encourage victims to call the sheriff’s office to report incidents when they occur so that they can be properly investigated,” sheriff Rick Clark said. “Too often, we see the trend for people to post comments on Facebook about what they believe to be criminal behavior when the local jurisdiction has never been notified about the activity. Please remember that Facebook, which is sometimes great entertainment, will not investigate crimes in your neighborhood.
“As you can see from our recent arrests stemming from investigations into incidents of mail theft and in the above cases where personal property has been damaged, we take these problems seriously and make every effort to identify and solve cases where the community has been victimized.”
Investigators were able to clear more than 15 cases of damage with the teens’ arrests, Hashe said.
“Unfortunately, we are not able to prevent nor do we solve every crime, but the proper reporting of criminal activity is key in the mission to getting it stopped,” Clark said. “I want to personally thank our communities in the partnerships that have been formed with the sheriff’s office. Strengthening the relationship between law enforcement and our neighborhoods has allowed us to work together as we continue to make Pickens County a safer place to work and raise our families.”
