Category Archives: Local News
Graduations this weekend
CLEMSON — More than 1,000 Pickens County high school seniors will cross a stage into their future at graduation ceremonies at Clemson’s Littlejohn Coliseum on Saturday.
The 255 members of Pickens High School’s Class of 2022 will open the day with their commencement at 9 a.m. Led by valedictorian Anna Elizabeth Duncan
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Man arrested near elementary school
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — Several Pickens schools were placed in lockdown Thursday afternoon after a man was seen near Hagood Elementary School with what was 
originally believed to be a gun.
The incident occurred at 1:04 p.m., according to a release from the Pickens Police Department.
Pickens Police Chief Randal Beach said an elementary school student spotted the man in the woodline near Hagood Elementary School and “did the right thing.”
“They saw something,” he said. “They believed that they saw a firearm in the person’s hand. The student did the
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AG: Pickens man distributed child sexual abuse material
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — A Pickens man is facing multiple charges connected to the sexual exploitation of a minor, according to South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson.
Matthew Leon Arotin, 62, was arrested on May 13 and is charged with six counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, Wilson said in a release.
Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigators with the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office made
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Man arrested on multiple drug charges
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — A man is facing multiple charges, including trafficking methamphetamine, following his arrest last week at an Easley hotel, according to a release 
from the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office.
Gregory Paul Simon Jr. was arrested at the Days Inn Hotel in Easley on May 18 after members of the PCSO’s Community Action Team and agents with the S.C. Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services found
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Easley CEO indicted
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
SCRANTON, Pa. — An Easley man and renewable energy company CEO was indicted by a federal grand jury in Pennsylvania last week after being accused of fraudulently convincing people to invest more than $1 million in his company.
James Abrams, 39, was indicted May 17 on charges of wire and mail fraud, identity theft, money laundering, unlawful transactions, obstruction of justice and false statements, according to John C. Gurganus, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
The indictment alleges that Abrams, the owner and CEO of renewable energy company EthosGen LLC, provided forged documents and false information to
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Decision 2022
The Questions
1. What qualifications do you have for the office you are campaigning for?
2. What made you decide to seek election/re-election to the office?
3. What changes and improvements do you plan to make in office should you win the election?
County Council District 2
With veteran councilman Trey Whitehurst not seeking re-election, Pickens County School Board member Phillip Bowers will go head to head with local businessman Chris Lollis for Whitehurst’s District 2 seat on Pickens County Council.
Phillip Bowers
1. I’m a lifelong Six Mile resident and a graduate of Daniel High, Southern Wesleyan University and Clemson University. I care about our community and
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DHEC approves change for controversial landfill
LIBERTY — The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control has approved a major change to the permit for a landfill project near Liberty that has been the subject of a six-year legal dispute.
Courtesy Photo
Local legislators and manufacturers have expressed their opposition to a project that could bring a coal ash dump to Pickens County.
The change will allow the disposal of 175,339 tons of waste material per year at the site at S.C. Highway 93 and Cartee Road — more than twice the amount originally approved 14 years ago.
The additional tonnage will allow the landfill to accept waste from Greenville, Anderson and Oconee counties
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Man arrested after collision with SDPC bus
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — A man faces charges following a collision between a school bus and a pickup truck in Easley on Thursday afternoon.
Easley Police Department public information officer Sgt. Ashley Anderson said Drake Lesley is charged with driving under the influence and simple possession 
of marijuana. He was being held at the Pickens County Detention Center at press time Tuesday.
Lesley was driving a pickup on U.S. Highway 123 at 4:45 p.m. Thursday when he attempted to make the exit onto South Pendleton Street, cutting off the school bus, she said.
The truck clipped the front of the bus, causing the small pickup to overturn, Anderson said.
The school bus was carrying the driver, an aide and one student, according to School District of Pickens County spokesman Darian Byrd.
“They were getting ready to go to their last stop of the day,” he said.
No one on the bus was injured, Byrd said.
“They did get checked out as a precaution, but they were fine,” he said.
Lesley was not injured in the collision, Anderson said.
“He was very lucky he didn’t get hurt,” Byrd said.
The collision occurred near Silver Bay restaurant in the outbound lanes of Highway 123, he said.
“The bus was in the right lane right there at the exit,” Byrd said. “The truck wanted to make that exit and pulled right over in front of the bus. The truck was going very slow. It was almost like one of those police maneuvers. The bus hit it in just the right spot to cause it to overturn.
“We are very thankful for the way this driver and the aide handled this situation, staying very calm throughout the entire incident,” he continued.
The bus sustained little damage in the collision “other than popping the hood up and a few dents on the hood,” he said.
This week, the school district is celebrating Bus Driver Appreciation Week, Byrd said.
“We continue to be very appreciative of the hard work that our entire bus fleet does every day to safely transport students to and from school,” he said.
Varisian wins chair
The winner of American Legion Post 11’s Azalea Festival Adirondack glider chair fundraiser raffle was Jon Varisian of Marietta. Post 11 would like to thank all the people who stopped by the booth and took a chance to win the chair. All the funds raised will go to support the many activities of Post 11. This year, the post sent five boys to Boys State and six girls to Girls State. The post also sent one young man to Law Cadet Academy. Post 11 is a key supporter of the Pickens High School JROTC program.
