Category Archives: News
Pickens looking to build after disappointing finish in 2020
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — After Pickens’ thrilling win over Easley last season, the first for the Blue Flame against their county rival in a decade, Chad Smith’s squad seemed poised to be a contender in Region I-4A.
However, a disappointing stretch run kept the Blue Flame out of the playoffs for the second year in a row. One year later, Smith is hoping his team can learn from the mistakes of the 2020 squad.
“We just have to continue to be consistent,” Smith said. “In our postseason interviews, our upperclassmen said after they beat Easley, they pretty much relaxed
because their season was made, and you can’t do that. You have to keep plowing ahead. I think we kind of got that monkey off
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Devils hoping to bounce back in Sutherland’s first year
By Ryan Davenport
Special to the Courier
news@thepccourier.com
LIBERTY — A preseason scrimmage against Carolina High last week may have provided a solid snapshot of things to come for the Liberty High School Football program.
The Trojans were in control early, physically and statistically, but the young Red Devils kept plugging away. Not only did Liberty’s defense recover to pitch a
shutout, the offense eventually reached the end zone three times. Freshmen scored all three touchdowns.
The scrimmage exemplified the building blocks first-year head coach Paul Sutherland’s staff seek to make cornerstones of the program. The Red Devils showed fortitude that eventually allowed them to get the job done.
“We’re day by day right now — trying to get that culture that you show up to work every day on time and put in a good, hard, honest day’s work,” Sutherland
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Easley hoping to build on late-season momentum in year two under Durrah
By Eugene Jolley
Courier Sports
ejolley@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — The Easley football team will play the 2021 season with heavy hearts.
Junior defensive back Jordan Jenkins was killed in a car wreck early in the summer. Jenkins started two games as a sophomore and would have likely started
somewhere in the secondary.
“It’s been tough,” second-year Easley head coach Jordan Durrah said. “The biggest thing is the kids just want
to make him happy — to play hard on and off the field. They want to represent him on the field.”
Durrah said Jenkins was a likely starter.
Easley went 1-7 in the uncertain year that COVID-19 brought last season. The Green Wave beat Seneca convincingly in the season finale.
The Green Wave
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Lions begin title defense behind Pearman’s arm and stout defense
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
CENTRAL — While last year’s run to the Class 3A state championship represented the apex of a five-year climb to the top of the proverbial mountain, the 2021 Daniel Lions will have to deal with
all the added pressures that come with championship glory.
Luckily, the Lions don’t appear to be fazed by the added expectations, and just a year removed from its first state title since 1998, Daniel is not going to change the way that it approaches the game, according to sixth-year head coach Jeff Fruster.
“For us, it’s about starting over,” Fruster said. “What happened last year was great for the program and great for those seniors. They’ll always be remembered, but every team has its own identity, and right now we’re on a quest to figure out what our team identity is going to be this season. We want to build on the success we’ve built here and try to take it to the next step.”
The expectation remains the same this year, as it has for every year of Fruster’s tenure, and that sentiment is echoed by senior quarterback Trent Pearman.
“Always the same goal,” Pearman said. “We have to start by winning the first one, then keep going game by game all the way to the end.”
The Lions are also still dealing with the effects of COVID-19, as
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Medicaid funding troubling local assisted living facilities
MasterCare may close by end of 2021; legislator agrees to look at issue next year
By Ron Barnett
Staff Reporter
rbarnett@thepccourier.com
COUNTY — Pickens County is likely to lose another assisted living facility unless the state increases its Medicaid reimbursement formula, the owner of MasterCare Assisted Living in Liberty told the Courier.
“The way it looks, I’m probably going to have to close up at the end of the year,” Jimmy Masters said. “I hate to do it, but I can’t afford to keep putting money in it and taking care of them.”
Already this year, 12 community residential care facilities statewide have stopped accepting Medicaid residents, including Easley Place Assisted Living, which forced out about 20 residents last month.
There were just five such facilities in Pickens County as of July, according to the state
Department of Health and Human Services, which administers Medicaid in South Carolina.
DHHS told the Courier the agency can’t raise the funding level without action by the
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Back in Action
High school football is finally back in Pickens County, with each of the county’s four teams taking the field for hard-hitting practices and scrimmages this past week. The defending Class 3A state champion Daniel Lions, pictured above practicing on Friday, Easley Green Wave, Liberty Red Devils, pictured scrimmaging against Carolina Academy on Monday, and Pickens Blue Flame will all take the field for one final tune-up this Friday at the Easley Jamboree, set to kick off at 6 p.m. To learn more about each team heading into their season-opening contests on Aug. 20 and 21, check back next week for the Courier’s Football Frenzy preseason preview edition.
Photos by Bru Nimmons/Courier
Suspects wanted in carjacking incident
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — The Pickens County Sheriff’s Office is seeking suspects in a carjacking that took place Friday afternoon.
According to a release issued Friday by Chief Deputy Chad Brooks, the incident took place around 2:30 p.m. at a car wash located at 2304 Farrs Bridge Road.
A person was stopped at the car wash when two people pulled into the car wash in what is believed to be a dark-colored 1990s model Chevrolet pickup truck, Brooks said.
A suspect got out of the passenger side of the truck and took the victim’s white 1999
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SDPC announces new principal at PHS, district operations director
COUNTY — The School of District of Pickens County announced a pair of leadership changes on Tuesday afternoon.
In a pair of news releases, the district announced Jeff Duncan as the new principal of Pickens High School, and Travis Smith as the district’s new executive director of operations.
PICKENS HIGH PRINCIPAL
The principal at Edwards Middle School in Central since 2014, Duncan will take over at Pickens High on Monday, Aug. 23. The move follows the departure of former principal Corey Willimon, who has been named new director of secondary education for School District Five of Lexington and Richland counties.
“This is a great opportunity for Dr. Willimon, and today’s announcement is bittersweet due to his growth and the direction of Pickens High School,” SDPC superintendent Dr. Danny Merck said. “We have been very impressed with Mr. Duncan as principal at Edwards Middle over the past seven years. Having
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Easley releases more information on roll carts
EASLEY — The city of Easley has released more information on its new roll cart program for trash collection.
Roll carts began being delivered to residents last month.
“As of August 5, 2021, all City residents should have received their carts,” a release posted to the city’s website said.
Residents who have not received a cart should call the Public Works Department at (864) 855-7916, the release said.
Collection of bagged trash using the new roll carts will begin soon.
Garbage placed in standalone garbage bags will not be collected after
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Sweet Potato Pie Kids alumni, YAM instructors gaining recognition
Kids on Bluegrass” is a unique group of 25 young talented bluegrass musicians meticulously selected from all over the country who are assigned into bands 
and are given the opportunity to perform at the International Bluegrass Music Associations’ (IBMA) World of Bluegrass in Raleigh, N.C., at the end of September.
The IBMA program’s goal is to provide guidance and to present an enjoyable experience in performing, as well as producing and emceeing a professional
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