Category Archives: News
County leaders eye CATbus expansion
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
COUNTY — Members of the Pickens United group discussed the possibility of seeing the Clemson Area Transit system, known as CATbus, expand to serve other areas of 
Pickens County.
Pickens United met in Easley on Sept. 29.
After her update to the group about council matters, Pickens County Councilman
You must be logged in to view this content.
Subscribe Today or Login
Soapstone Preservation Endowment reaches goal
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — An effort to build a $1 million endowment to protect and promote the legacy of Soapstone Baptist Church is officially a success.
For more than 150 years, the church has been a cornerstone of Pickens’ Liberia community, founded by freed slaves after the Civil War.
For years, the future of the church, the restored slave cemetery on its grounds and the soapstone outcropping that gave it its name were in doubt, as the deadline on the church’s mortgage was soon to come due.
That could have put the church, with its beautiful view of Table Rock, in danger of being purchased, razed and developed.
A fundraising campaign that went global allowed the mortgage to be paid off.
An additional layer of protection was laid over Soapstone with the placing of a
You must be logged in to view this content.
Subscribe Today or Login
This week in the PICKENS COUNTY COURIER’s FOOTBALL FRENZY Sponsored by MOUNTAIN VIEW FUNERALS AND CREMATIONS
TWO IN A ROW
Red Devils take down Landrum for second straight region win
Lions lash Blue Ridge; Yellow Jackets sting Easley; Flame falter against Seneca; Tigers set to host Duke all this and more in this week’s FOOTBALL FRENZY, sponsored by Mountain View Funerals and Cremations available only in the Pickens County Courier.
Do not miss a single issue by grabbing a copy at a convenience, grocery or drug store near you. You can also subscribe and have your Pickens County Courier delivered each week right to your mailbox for only $36 per year (in Pickens County).
Call us today at 864-878-6391 and get your subscription started and never miss any of the action in South Carolina’s best sports section!
You must be logged in to view this content.
Subscribe Today or Login
Liberty honors young holiday artists
LIBERTY — Christmas is in the air in Liberty. The fourth annual Create the Liberty Community Scholarship Board’s Christmas Card art contest is in full swing.
The LCS board and guest judges met to select the 2025 winners from among beautifully drawn entries provided by LHS art teacher Amanda Stokes — Molly Burgess, Bonnie
You must be logged in to view this content.
Subscribe Today or Login
Pickens approves annexation
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — Pickens city officials voted to approve second reading of the annexation of 
a large parcel of property at the intersection of Mauldin Lake Road Wolf Creek School Road, the execution and delivery of a development agreement between the city and BRD Land and Investment, the developer who will be turning that parcel into a new neighborhood development, and the classification of that property as a planned
You must be logged in to view this content.
Subscribe Today or Login
Blankenship discusses federal ties, crime tips
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
COUNTY — Positions within the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office have authority through 
federal agencies that assist them in reducing costs to taxpayers.
Sheriff Tommy Blankenship spoke about that and other matters at the Sept. 29 meeting of Pickens United.
He said he’s signed mutual aid agreements with the federal government regarding the 287(g) program, a law that allows Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to delegate immigration enforcement authority to state and local law enforcement officers.
“We have one task force officer and we have several warrant service officers,” Blankenship said. “Warrant service officers work within the detention center, and
You must be logged in to view this content.
Subscribe Today or Login
Body discovered behind vacant Clemson building
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
CLEMSON — Several agencies are investigating after a man’s body was found behind a former bingo hall in Clemson on Sunday.
In a release issued Monday, Pickens County chief deputy coroner Tommy Page said
You must be logged in to view this content.
Subscribe Today or Login
Upcountry Fiber Foundation raises $133,000 for area nonprofits in charity golf tournament
PICKENS — Upcountry Fiber Foundation, the charitable arm of Upcountry Fiber, raised $133,100 during its annual charity golf tournament on Sept. 29 at The Cliffs at Glassy Mountain.
Upcountry Fiber, an internet service provider focused on bridging the digital divide, was founded in 2020 through a partnership between Blue Ridge Electric Co-op (BREC) and West Carolina. The Upcountry Fiber Foundation, launched in September 2022,
You must be logged in to view this content.
Subscribe Today or Login
