Daily Archives: 07/17/2018
4-ton boulder placed outside chamber office
By Rocky Nimmons
Publisher
rnimmons@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — The Greater Pickens Chamber of Commerce started a heavy-duty project Tuesday that has been more than a year in the making.
Emphasis on the “heavy.”
A 4.11-ton granite boulder was placed on the front lawn of the chamber office, located at the corner of West Main and Florence streets.
With about two weeks of work, the boulder will become a sign marking the building as the new Pickens Visitors Center.
Director Kim Smagala and the chamber’s board of directors have been working with the lake Hartwell Tourism District, which covers Pickens, Oconee and Anderson counties, to help bring some state tourism funding to
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Pigskin Prep
The Daniel and Liberty high school football teams got together for a 7-on-7 
competition along with J.L. Mann at Singleton Field in Central last Friday, two weeks to the day ahead of the start of full practice, set for July 27. The Lions and Red Devils will face off again in the 2018 season opener in Week 0 on Aug. 17 at Singleton Field. Pickens and Easley are also wrapping up their summer in anticipation of the start of practice next week, and the archrival Blue Flame and Green Wave will open the season against each other Aug. 17 in Pickens. Rex Brown/Courtesy The Journal
Woman charged in wreck
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — A Greenville woman is charged with leaving the scene of an accident with great bodily injury after a wreck that injured a Six Mile man on July 4.
South Carolina Highway Patrol Trooper Justin Sutherland said the collision occurred at the intersection of S.C. Highway 183/West Main Street and Durham Mill Road at 10:10 p.m. on July 4.
The collision occurred as a 2004 Yamaha motorcycle driven by 50-year-old Ronald Duncan of Six Mile was traveling west on S.C. 183, Sutherland said.
A 1999 Ford pickup driven by Trista Sanders of Greenville was stopped on Durham Mill Road, he said.
The pickup attempted a left turn onto West Main Street, and the motorcycle attempted to avoid the truck but the two vehicles collided, Sutherland said.
The pickup truck then left the scene, he said.
Duncan, who was not wearing a helmet, was ejected from his motorcycle and
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Statewide bridge program making strides
By Greg Oliver
Courtesy The Journal
goliver@upstatetoday.com
CLEMSON — The 10-year plan the South Carolina Department of Transportation has for replacing 465 restricted or deficient bridges statewide is making strides, as SCDOT officials say they have met their targets for the first year.
“Our roads and bridges have been neglected for three decades due to a shortfall in funding,” SCDOT Secretary of Transportation Christy Hall said in a prepared statement. “Our 10-year plan is the guide we will use to recover and restore the state’s highway system to good levels.”
The 10-year project is the result of what SCDOT officials say is “an increased and sustainable revenue stream” resulting from the South Carolina General Assembly’s passage of the Roads Bill that went into effect July 1, 2017. The bill
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Clinic to offer help clearing criminal records
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
CLEMSON — SC Works and South Carolina Legal Services are teaming up to provide information to residents seeking to clear their criminal records.
A free clinic about the expungement process will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at the SC Works Clemson Center, located at 1367 Tiger Blvd. Suite 102.
“Expungement is a big deal all the time, but it’s especially a big deal now that we have such a great economy and such great investment going on in all three counties that we serve,” Worklink workforce development board executive director Trent Acker said.
For those who have something in their background that they’re not proud of,
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Central bank branch closing
CENTRAL — First Citizens Bank officials have announced the closing of the bank’s longtime Central branch in less than two months.
Spokesman Frank Smith said Monday the last business day for the Central site will be Sept. 12, with the bank scheduled to close at 2 p.m.
“We regularly assess the operations of all our branches, and the decision to close this branch was a business decision based on the ongoing assessment of our branch network,” Smith said.
Smith said the bank, located at 100 Church St. beside the old Central Town Hall, has been in operation at the site since the early 1990s. The four
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Clemson bridge project to wrap up next month
CLEMSON — An official with the South Carolina Department of Transportation said the long-running project to improve the intersection of 
U.S. Highway 123 and S.C. Highway 133 and replace the nearby railroad bridge is on schedule to be completed Aug. 12.
“This project is coming along well,” SCDOT resident construction engineer Joe Laws said. “The bridge has been completed with the exception of a few minor items, such as painting, waterproofing and a closure pour. The contractor is still working on a new platform for the Amtrak station.”
Since it was first announced in 2009, numerous delays have kept the project from advancing as quickly as SCDOT, Clemson city officials and the public would have liked. However, the past couple of years have seen significant advancement in the way of demolition of the center pier of the old bridge and
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Central officials urge couple to sue over construction
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
CENTRAL — Central officials advised a Brock Street couple to sue over damages they claim a home building company has caused in their neighborhood.
Elizabeth Finley spoke to town council Monday night about a planned subdivision called Hidden Valley near her home.
“My objective is to voice concerns over the new construction from Great Southern Homes in my neighborhood,” Finley said.
Finley and her husband, Dean, have lived at their Brock Street home for more than 23 years, she said.
She said work on a new sewer system near her home caused extensive tree
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Southern Wesleyan welcomes Moore as new CTO
CENTRAL — Southern Wesleyan University has named Dan Moore as its new chief technology officer (CTO).
Southern Wesleyan President Dr. Todd Voss said, “Dan Moore brings a wealth of specific experience to SWU that will serve our campus and online students so wonderfully. He is a collaborator, an innovator, and is excited about SWU’s mission and impact. An amazing combination!”
Moore brings to Southern Wesleyan his more than 20 years of experience in higher education information technology, grant acquisitions, personnel management and vendor negotiations. He has also been an affiliate computer science faculty member and is active in the Army Reserve.
“With the emphasis on technology in our future, Moore will be joining the Cabinet to increase connectivity and strategic planning opportunities,” Voss
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County honored for litter cleanup efforts
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
COUNTY — Efforts to clean up Pickens County as part of its sesquicentennial celebration have been recognized nationally.
The National Association of Counties awarded Pickens County a 2018 Achievement Award in honor of the “Team Up and Clean Up” program.
Pickens County was recognized under the category “County Resilience: Infrastructure, Energy and Sustainability.”
County officials accepted the award Sunday in Nashville.
More than 300 county employees took part in the county’s first “litter blitz” on
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