Daily Archives: 03/11/2026
PC libraries to resume kid’s programs
COUNTY — Weeks after firing director Stephanie Howard, the Pickens County Library Board convened for a special-called meeting voting to resume previously cancelled 
children’s programs, while also pausing its controversial collection policy and recommending an interim director.
According to library officials last month, the cancellations were necessary due to the need to reallocate staff time to implement recent changes to the system’s collection development policy adopted
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Speedway development voted down by planning commission
By Mike Pulley
Special to the Courier
news@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — The Pickens County Planning Commission unanimously voted down a huge development project Monday night that would potentially replace the historic 
Greenville-Pickens Racetrack.
The “no” vote gave hope to racetrack supporters who are negotiating a $4 million purchase deal with RealtyLink, the developer, that transfers ownership of the Speedway portion of the project and allows it to reopen for racing.
The vote allows the developer to resubmit the last three phases of its five-phase project, the Speedway Business & Technology Park, at a future date with a more comprehensive traffic study and project terms more in line with the county’s land-use plan. Before the vote, several Commissioners cited an insufficient traffic study and failure of project plans to align with the county’s land-use plan as reasoning for their decision.
RealtyLink vowed to come back with the required changes for a project that would encompass more than 200 acres of the huge 500-acre speedway site at the intersection of Highway 123 and Highway 124. At full buildout in the next few years, the five phases of the Park would include about 4 million square feet of industrial and retail uses and employ about 4,000 workers, according to RealtyLink.
Jackie Manley, a former local driver and leader of the group trying to buy and reopen the 26-acre speedway along more than two dozen supporters, loudly applauded after
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Easley man to serve one day in jail after plea
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — An Easley man was sentenced to just one day in jail after pleading guilty to 
assault.
Emmanuel Jahu Gilstrap was initially charged in 2023 with committing or attempting lewd act upon a child under 16, a charge stemming from incidents alleged to have occurred between Jan 1, 1991 and Dec 31, 1993, according to an Easley Police Department warrant.
The case was disposed last month.
Gilstrap pleaded guilty to assault and battery second degree. He entered an Alford plea. According to the
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Woman found guilty in 2022 Easley shooting
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
COUNTY — A Greenville woman has been sentenced to two decades behind bars after 
being convicted last month in connection with a 2022 shooting near Easley.
On Feb. 26, a Pickens County jury convicted 58-year-old Renee Lavonne Simon of attempted murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, 13th Circuit Solicitor
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