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Daily Archives: 03/22/2022

Courier Obituaries 3-23-22

TED ARNOLD ‘PA’ GILLESPIE

EASLEY — Ted Arnold “Pa” Gillespie, 77, passed away on Wednesday, March 16, 2022, at Greenville Memorial Hospital.

A native of Pickens County, Ted was born on May 30, 1944, the only child of the late Joe Gillespie and Helen Adcox Gillespie. He enjoyed spending time with his family and watching the Atlanta Braves and Clemson football. Mr. Gillespie was of the Baptist faith and was a member of Blue Ridge View Baptist Church in Pickens.

Survivors include his children, Randy Gillespie (Heidi), Joey Gillespie (April) and Lori Chandler (Richard), all of Easley; stepsons, James Moore and John Moore, both of Liberty; grandchildren, Dena Gillespie, Allison Kiser

Paying tribute to the first ladies of the past

My book club meets monthly to review books. Each member picks one book a year, and every time we end up with an assortment of good books. This is good for all of us, as we can fall into a rut and stay with the same kinds of books we’d normally seek out.

This month, our book was “Upstairs at the White House; My Years with the First Ladies,” by J. B. West, who was a head honcho in the White House for 30 years. The book covered six administrations, from Franklin D. and Eleanor Roosevelt to Richard and Pat Nixon.

It isn’t a tell-all scandal-laden account of their private lives, but a record of their time in the White House, while

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Browsing the World Book

When I was about 9 years old, one of my favorite things was flipping through the colorful and informative pages of the World Book Encyclopedia. Actually, I still love to do that.

In fact, I have the complete 1963 edition of World Book, the same ones my dad bought for us when I was a student at Calhoun-Clemson Elementary School.

The thing that intrigues me is that whenever I go to look something up, I always come across a lot of other interesting stuff before I find what I was looking for. I usually end up reading two or three articles that I would

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The dangers of drugs and alcohol

We are in the middle of National Drug and Alcohol Week, an initiative launched by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to stimulate educational events in communities so teens can learn what science has taught us about drug use and addiction.

Underage drinking can cause many negative consequences, both in the short and long term.

The following facts are from NIDA.

Research shows that young people’s brains keep developing well into their 20s. Alcohol can alter this

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In God we trust for every situation

Have you known someone who was even-tempered and composed even when circumstances seemed to be falling apart all around them? In times of a serious crisis, somehow these individuals have the type of personality to remain calm and collected. In fact, it’s not unusual to see them comforting the very ones who came to help them.

So, what is the secret to living in a peaceful and tranquil state of mind? For those who trust in God, I believe we come to a point in our spiritual journey where we simply begin to realize that Jesus is the Prince of Peace, and it

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Courier Letters to the Editor 3-23-22

On Lillian Boatwright

Dear Editor,

Lillian Boatwright was not reappointed by four of the six state legislators on the Pickens Election Board. She took the opportunity to whine profusely on social media and in the newspaper.

Lillian lost this position because her social media posts describe her perfectly: She is in favor of destruction of society — either through the anarchistic and anti-human BLM organization, woke ideologies of rampant racism, the breathtaking position that people should not think for themselves or erasing history by tearing down statues. She has promoted the lie that absentee voting is the same as vote by mail. Her posts are frequently filled with sickening wokeness and never retracted: whether she is promoting the mask policy, which has been well known since it was introduced to be almost completely ineffective, or, for the BLM. She may have been part of the roughly 75 percent of the people that polls show rooted for this organization as of July 2021. People were duped without ever checking the BLM website, which said they were trying to eliminate the nuclear family — the fundamental cornerstone to society on the planet. Within five months after witnessing the anarchy and destruction that BLM produced, it fell out of favor to less than 10 percent.

According to woke individuals, believing they are gods and in charge of truth, I am a hater, a bigot, deplorable, Islamophobic, homophobic, neanderthal and transphobic.  While none of this has anything to do with reality, those pushing these divisive labels are in fact minions of evil — they are not “social justice warriors” or any other contrived name. America is not rife with racism — as all data shows. Media can find a racist and run that up the flagpole, or a bigot or a hater or a killer or a thief — but these headlines do not define America. America’s problems will end only when we get back to its roots — based in God — and recognize that absolute truth exists, and it comes only from God.  I have and will continue to pray for Lillian — and others — that the Holy Spirit might infect them to change their ways.

While the facts and truth of this may seem harsh, they are far less harsh than the derisive, condescending, prideful and discriminatory words in print and social media by Lillian … and she should be a nonpartisan person on the elections board! No. Period.

 

Luke Campbell

Pickens

 

 

T-Mobile is now open

T-Mobile opened its new store at 2829 Gentry Memorial Highway in Pickens on Friday, March 4. Pictured at the ribbon-cutting event are chamber president Bryan Owens and Pickens Mayor Fletcher Perry, who joined store manager Cory Nesbitt and his family and staff during the ceremony.

Pickens Chamber March Member of the Month

The Greater Pickens Chamber of Commerce March Member of the Month is Southern Home Liquidators, located at 305 E. Main St. in Pickens. Southern Home Liquidators is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Southern Home Liquidators provides quality products for customers’ homes at a fraction of the cost. Pictured are Mayor Fletcher Perry, Stephen Bobby, owner Melisa Sedler, Frank and Donna Bobby, chamber president, Bryan Owens, Amber Finley and Moose.

60 years of marriage

Calvin and Ruth (Hudson) Gilstrap of Liberty celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on Thursday, March 17.  They were married on March 17, 1962, at the home of the Rev. Lester Collins in Easley. They have two children, Angela (Gilstrap) Bowers and Greg Gilstrap (Joni).  Mr. and Mrs. Gilstrap retired from Pickens County government in 2008 and are enjoying their time by traveling, camping and boating.

Issaqueena Festival scheduled in May

SIX MILE ­— Organizers of the annual Issaqueena Festival expect mild weather with lots of tasty food, craft vendors, kids’ games and activities, along with live music at this year’s family-oriented event on Saturday, May 21.

Approximately 50 vendors will line Main Street in Six Mile as the festival gets underway at 10 a.m., providing food and handmade and locally sourced items of all descriptions. Other activities include a car show, appearances by the PAIA Lower Eastern Cherokees with dance and Cherokee storytelling, train rides for kids and continuous live music from two

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