Category Archives: News
County library director fired
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
COUNTY — Just four months before her firing last week, Pickens County Library 
System director Stephanie Howard was honored by a statewide library group for her “leadership and commitment to protecting the right of all individuals to read, learn and think freely.”
The South Carolina Library Association (SCLA) awarded Howard with the Intellectual Freedom Award, which “honors those who have advanced awareness and defense of the right to seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction through advocacy, education
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Hinton to succeed Lovinggood as Blue Ridge President, CEO
PICKENS — The Blue Ridge Electric Co-op announced last week that President and 
CEO Jim Lovinggood is set to retire at the end of 2026 after more than four decades of distinguished service, but a familiar, local face is set to succeed the respected CEO.
The Blue Ridge Board of Trustees unanimously named Zachary Hinton as Lovinggood’s successor — only the fourth in the cooperative’s history, a testament to the organization’s long-standing stability. Hinton will step into his new role in January 2027.
“This is the right time for my family and me to enter into this next phase of life, and it’s hard to put into words just how thankful I am to have had the opportunity to work with so many great people,” Lovinggood said. “I will have more
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Hagood Mill Foundation asks county to continue support
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
COUNTY — Members of the Hagood Mill Foundation are asking Pickens County Council to continue to fund the Hagood Mill Historic Site, but the council’s chairman says such funding to private organizations is based on need.
In a press release issued Feb. 27, the foundation urged continued funding for the site, “a County-owned historic property and public asset managed by the Hagood Mill
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Liberty wrestlers win state titles
By Bru Nimmons
Sports Editor
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
FLORENCE — Nearly two dozen wrestlers from around Pickens County descended upon on the Florence Center looking to make their mark at the South Carolina High School League individual state wrestling championships on Feb. 20 and 21.
Liberty High School had the most successful day on the mat of the local schools with six
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Daniel boys ousted by Lancaster in round 3
By Bru Nimmons
Sports Editor
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
CENTRAL — Having watched a double-digit second half lead slip away, the Daniel High 
School boys basketball was in dire straits down 65-57 with three minutes remaining in their third-round matchup with Lancaster on Tuesday night.
With the season on the line, junior guard James Epting caught fire for Daniel hitting a pair of threes and a putback to cut the deficit down to
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Library youth programs canceled for book review
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
COUNTY — Users of the Pickens County Library System will experience changes in services offered going forward for a time, including the cancellation of many of its youth programs as library staff begin to review more than 86,000 books after a change in the librarie’s collection policy.
The changes are necessary due to the need to reallocate staff time to implement recent
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County plans new ambulance facility in Pickens
By Mike Pulley
Special to the Courier
news@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — Pickens County is planning to build a new ambulance staging facility in the city of Pickens.
At its Feb. 17 meeting, council discussed one of two locations for the new facility, known 
as EMS Medic 1. The new facility will replace a temporary home for Medic 1 that operates out of a manufactured building adjacent to the Rescue Squad 7 station at 121 Ann St. in
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Daniel girls see season end with third round loss to South Pointe
By Bru Nimmons
Sports Editor
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
CENTRAL — With a trip to the Upper State championship on the line, the Daniel High School girls basketball team hosted South Pointe on Monday night.
Early turnovers mounted for the Lions and they were unable to stop the Stallions’ all-state tandem of Kaleigh Lucas and JaNyia Cunningham throughout the game, falling 77-52.
“Not taking care of the basketball really hurt us,” Daniel head coach Cosandar Griffin said. “When we went into halftime we were only down by 12, I thought we had a chance. 
It was just so hard to take care of the ball and try to guard those posts.”
The undersized Lions put an emphasis trying to stop Cunningham down low, but even with everything Daniel threw at her at the 6’1” junior she still found a way to put up 27 points, 14 rebounds and five assists.
“She’s just a dominant player,” Griffin said. “She can play small, she can play big and she just knows how to get position down low in the paint.”
With Cunningham’s gravity down low, the floor open up for Lucas as well as she scored a game-high 28 points with four made three-pointers.
“(Cunningham and Lucas) really stepped up and played,” South Pointe head coach Stephanie Butler-Graham said. “They sealed the deal for us.”
The Lions were hot to start the night with Lila Mann, Janiyah Wilson and Braelin Cumbie all hitting three-pointers to keep things tight midway through the first quarter. Cunningham proved to be too much though with 10 of her 27 points in the opening quarter.
Trailing 23-15, the Lions tried to match the Stallions with Cumbie and Shala Williams stepping up on offense. However, the South Pointe continued to get easy buckets in transition because Daniel’s 18 first half turnovers, giving the Stallions a 37-25 lead at the half.
Lucas scored eight straight to open the half for South Pointe but the Stallions were unable to pull away as Williams and Campbell Epting hit big shots for Daniel to make it a 54-40 game after three quarters.
Lucas and Chamberlain continued to roll combining for 55 total points in the contest as the Stallions put the game out of reach in the final quarter for a 77-52 win.
The loss was final game for the Lions three-member senior class of Braelin Cumbie, Madeline McAlister and Carly Webb. Griffin was effusive when talking about her senior class especially Cumbie, a four-year player who saw the Lions go from missing the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons as a freshman to winning 66 games over the next three years.
“She improved so much from freshman year to senior year,” Griffin said. “She’s basically the backbone of our program. She keeps everybody together.”
While the Lions will miss their graduating class, expectations remain high with the return three all-state players in Campbell Epting, Lila Mann and Shala Williams as Daniel returns to Class 3A next season.
“We have a great core coming back and we look forward to going back down to 3A,” Griffin said. “It’s still going to be tough with teams like Walhalla but we’re just ready to get back in the gym.”
South Pointe 77, Daniel 52
SPHS 23 14 17 23 — 77
DWD 15 10 15 12 — 52
Daniel (52) — Williams 15, Mann 14, Cumbie 13, Wilson 7, Epting 3.
South Pointe — Lucas 28, Cunningham 27, Rowan 14, Coleman 3, Phillips 2, Young 2, Hardy 1.
3-point goals — Daniel 11 (Williams 4), South Pointe 6 (Lucas 4). Rebounds — Daniel 20 (Mann 5), South Pointe 36 (Cunningham 14). Assists — Daniel 9 (Epting 3, Wilson 3), South Pointe 15 (Cunningham 5).
