Category Archives: News
Pickens sweeps Bishop England for 18th volleyball championship
By Bru Nimmons
Sports Editor
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
COLUMBIA — Having dropped just one set on its way to the Class 4A volleyball state championship, the Pickens High School volleyball team prepared for possibly its biggest challenge yet with the title on the line against the Bishop England Battling Bishops on 
Saturday.
The Bishops, the national leader in volleyball state championships according to the South Carolina High School League, failed to provide much of a challenge for Pickens as the Blue Flame swept the Bishops 3-0 in straight sets to secure Pickens’ 18th volleyball state championship in school history.
“I’m just trying to let this soak in and realize what just happened,” Pickens head coach Mellie Crumpton said after the win. “We are a solid all-around team and we have grit. Our word for tonight was relentless. I told them to be relentless, and that’s what we came out and did.”
The championship win was the second straight for the Blue Flame — their first back-to-back titles since 2013-14.
“Honestly, I’ve just been praying the whole season that we would make it back,” Pickens senior setter Lily Clarkson said. “We just had to believe and trust in God’s plan, and
Balance key for state champs
Last season, when the Pickens High School volleyball team overcame a year of adversity to secure the 17th state championship in school history, I wrote that if 2024 was a
“down” year for Pickens volleyball, I hoped teams would be ready for what was to come from arguably the state’s top volleyball program.
However, it seemed nobody was ready for the Blue Flame in 2025 as they took down the competition with ease on their way to another state championship on Saturday against Bishop England. The win was
Pickens runoff set for Tuesday
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — Voters from Pickens will return to the polls one final time this week to 
decide who will take the final Pickens City Council in a runoff election on Tuesday.
Jonathan “Baldo” Baker and Jessica Merrill are set to face off for the final open seat on council in the election. Baker finished with 229 votes in the municipal
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TD Bank closing one Easley branch
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — A TD Bank branch in Easley is among the more than 50 locations 
nationwide that the company announced it will be closing.
According to a letter sent to account holders on Oct. 30, the TD Bank located at 5041 Calhoun Memorial Highway in Easley will close on Jan. 29.
The letter said all customers’ banking information will remain the
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This week in the PICKENS COUNTY COURIER’s FOOTBALL FRENZY Sponsored by MOUNTAIN VIEW FUNERALS AND CREMATIONS
DROUGHT ENDED
Red Devils take down Pelion for first playoff win since 2016
Lions survive Dreher to advance; Easley season in review; Flame fall to westside in round one; Clemson finds footing against FSU all this and more in this week’s FOOTBALL FRENZY, sponsored by Mountain View Funerals and Cremations available only in the Pickens County Courier.
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Remembering the past, looking to the future
By Steve Townsend
Special to the Courier
news@thepccourier.com
CENTRAL — As the late summer sun set at the at the Semper Fi Barn, thirty-seven fallen veterans were honored in a ceremony that was brief, but profound.
One by one, dog tags bearing their names were hung—a simple act carrying immense
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Lawsuit claims Easley PD wrongfully arrested man
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — A lawsuit against the City of Easley and the Easley Police Department 
mistreated and wrongfully arrested a former law enforcement officer last year.
The lawsuit, filed Oct. 3 in the Pickens County Court of Common Pleas, alleges that Roger Stewart, a retired law enforcement officer whose roles included Deputy Sheriff, Detective and Coroner, observed a suspicious individual parked near his Easley home, close to a children’s bus stop, on Feb. 8, 2024.
The lawsuit states Stewart, “concerned for neighborhood safety and recent vehicle break-ins,” drove next to that individual and “briefly asked about his purpose.”
While still in his vehicle, Stewart contact the Easley Police Department to report the
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Courier Obituaries 11-12-25
CONNIE ANN BRANHAM COX
EASLEY — Connie Ann Branham Cox, 75, of Easley, passed away on Oct. 30, 2025 at 
Greenville Memorial Hospital after a brief illness.
She was born in Rock Hill, on May 10, 1950, to the late Morris and Edith Branham.
She is survived by her son, Jerry Cox (Becky Robinson) of Altoona, Pa.; her sister Marsha Bowers (Phillip) of Six Mile; and niece, Payton Bowers.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her sister, Beverly Dee Everett.
The family would like to thank Connie’s “sister-cousins”, Janice Baldwin, Barbara Jean Allen and Brenda Martin for their care and support.
A graveside service was held on Nov. 10, at Woodlawn Memorial Park.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Brain Tumor Association, at
Easley infant’s death under investigation
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — Local and state agencies are investigating the death of an infant in Easley.
In a news release issued Sunday, Nov. 9, Pickens County Coroner Andrew Wilson said he and chief deputy coroner Tommy Page responded to a home on Hummingbird Lane in Easley at 4:30 a.m. that day “in reference to an infant death.”
“At this time there are no signs of foul play,” Wilson said.
An autopsy was scheduled for a later date, he said.
