Daily Archives: 02/09/2021
Clemson fraternity members help with Soapstone cleanup
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — Members of two Clemson University fraternities did some spring cleaning on the grounds of Soapstone Baptist Church on Saturday morning.
Jamison Taylor is the president of the Pi Alpha Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha.
“We’re rebuilding the grounds of Soapstone Church,” Taylor said. “That includes moving logs
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4 running for Pickens seat
PICKENS — Four men are vying to become the newest member of Pickens City Council in a special election next month to fill the remainder of the term for the seat recently vacated by Donna Owen.
Jonathan Baker, Allen Brewer, Ed Leese and Robert Nealy will appear on the ballot for the March 23 election. The winner of the election will fill the remaining months of Owen’s term, which is set to expire later this year. Owen announced in December that she was resigning the seat.
Baker, who is married with three daughters, has served as an account executive for Halcyon Hospice of Greenville and recently accepted a position as admissions coordinator at Easley Place skilled nursing and rehabilitation center in Easley. He said he regularly takes part in a “very large team effort” to deliver for Meals on Wheels in addition to volunteering at the Gleaning House food pantry.
Baker said he would bring a “fresh eye with true concern for the community” if elected.
“While I am newer to the city of Pickens, I bring a
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Official: COVID-19 numbers give reason for optimism
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
COUNTY — Pickens County’s COVID-19 numbers continue to be “sobering, although we see a little bit of reason for optimism,” county administrator Ken Roper told county council during its meeting 
last week.
“It looks like, for the time being, our peak has passed and we hope that trend continues,” he
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SCHOOL DISTRICT NUMBERS DROP
COUNTY — The number of quarantines and confirmed COVID-19 cases in the School District of Pickens County dropped significantly last week from the previous week, though the district still had 
more than 60 positive cases and more than 600 in quarantine.
In its weekly update, the district said Friday that 46 students and 15 staff members were positive for the virus last week, a drop from 77 and 21, respectively, the previous week. The district had 581 students and 33 staff members in quarantine last week, down from 629 students and 54 staff members a
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Prisma exhausts vaccine supply as more eligible
PICKENS — Although more South Carolinians are now eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccines, officials announced Monday that Prisma Health vaccine sites will not be offering any walk-in 
vaccinations for the rest of this week.
Dr. Saria Saccocio, co-lead of the Prisma Health Vaccine Task Force, announced the change in an email Monday afternoon.
“There are two factors that led to this
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Easley police seeking shooting suspect
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — Anyone with information about a shooting in Easley on Friday night is asked to contact the Easley Police Department.
According to an Easley Police Department news release, officers responded to a reported shooting incident on Davis Street on Friday night.
Upon arrival, officers found a man who had sustained a single gunshot wound, the release said.
The victim was taken to a local hospital by emergency
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County coal ash saga not dead yet
Lo and behold, another year has passed and Pickens County is still not safe from the possibility of becoming home to a toxic coal ash dump.
A Court of Appeals ruling issued in January 2020 had seemed to put a nail in the coffin of a company’s hopes to pull off a lucrative switcheroo and dispose of waste from coal-fired power plants instead of construction and demolition waste as the county had approved.
Although the Legislature changed state law to ban coal ash from the type of landfills allowed in Pickens County, MRR has continued to press its lawsuit against the county, filed in 2016, claiming breach of contract. Coal ash contains toxic substances such as mercury,
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West End Elementary earns national honor
EASLEY — West End Elementary School in Easley recently became one of only 67 schools across the 
country — and the only one in South Carolina — to receive recognition from a national association for exceptional student achievement in 2020.
The National Association of ESEA State Program Administrators (NAESPA) announced last week that the South Carolina Department of Education selected West End as a National ESEA Distinguished School.
West End was honored for excellence in serving special
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County athletes sign with colleges
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
COUNTY — After years of hard work and dedication, 12 Pickens County athletes saw the fruits of 
their labors on Wednesday as they signed to compete at the next level during national signing day.
The first ceremony of the day was held at Pickens High School, where Drew Campbell and Zander Gravely signed to continue their football careers at Lenoir-Rhyne and Erskine, respectively.
Campbell is coming off a career year with the Blue Flame where he accumulated more than 1,300 total yards of offense and 12 touchdowns. While Campbell was an all-region quarterback for the Blue Flame, he’ll play defensive
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County baseball teams ranked in preseason top 10
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
COUNTY — The South Carolina Baseball Coaches Association released its preseason high school 
baseball ranking last week, and Pickens County was well represented, with two county teams amongst the top 10.
In Class 3A, the Daniel Lions are ranked 10th in the state, but face a tough road ahead with region foes BHP and Wren ranked ahead of them.
The Lions, who were 2-1 in the shortened 2020 season, will also have to deal with losing Hovey Herd, Jacob
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