Category Archives: News
Advocates urge SDPC to educate students involved in camp assault
By Bru Nimmons
Sports Editor
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
CENTRAL — In a news conference held on Friday afternoon, Pastor’s United for Action, 
the Pickens County NAACP, local pastors and other community leaders came out in support of the “Daniel 4,” requesting that the students involved in an alleged assault that happened at a
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Easley officer’s portrait now among other area fallen heroes
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
GREENVILLE — The portrait of a young Easley police officer who died while helping a 
woman in a mental health crisis now hangs among those of area other law enforcement members who died while serving the public.
A ceremony was held Thursday morning at the Rupert Huse Veterans Center in
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Exotic cat stolen from Liberty animal sanctuary
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
LIBERTY — Authorities are searching for an exotic cat they say was stolen from an area 
animal sanctuary by a former employee last month.
According to an Aug. 6 release from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, investigators with the agency’s Animal Control Unit charged Bennett Van Every, 20, a former employee of Izzie’s Pond Animal Rescue and Sanctuary, with grand larceny.
Investigators allege Van Every snatched an African serval cat
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Deputies lauded for lifesaving actions
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
COUNTY — Two members of the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office have been hailed for 
actions this summer that saved lives, including the life of a child.
Both men were recently recognized on the agency’s Facebook page.
On Aug. 4, Six Mile Elementary School resource officer Robert Timmons was performing his campus safety duties in the school cafeteria when a teacher told him a
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‘It is our history’: Family reunion honors legacy of strength, survival
By Lynda Abegg
Special to the Courier
news@thepccourier.com
CLEMSON — More than 100 members of the Pickens family traveled from ten states to attend the Pickens family reunion. They gather to reconnect, share memories, and create new bonds of fellowship. These family members are descendants of African Americans who were once enslaved by the Pickens’ family.
One of the highlights of the reunion is a visit to Hopewell Plantation in Clemson. Hopewell was built on land owned by Gen. Andrew Pickens. During the Revolutionary
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Doing the right thing
How many of us are continuing to do things we feel we should, even if we don’t want to?
A neighbor bemoaned the fact that her husband had signed them up for yet another line 
dancing class at the senior center. “And I don’t want to go,” she said. “I’m tired of learning new dances. I’d like to just enjoy the ones I already know.”
Like many of the people at the senior center, my
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The lower BANTAM CHEF… A Lasting Legacy
King reminisces on more than three decades serving Pickens
By Rocky Nimmons
Publisher
rnimmons@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — The city of Pickens has a rich history spanning nearly 250 years. From the 
intial settlement of the town to the era of sawmills and cotton mills, and later the manufacturing jobs provided by the Singer plant, later known as Ryobi, the community has evolved over time.
Cruising on Main Street and the exceptional Pickens Blue Flame football run of the 1970s are among the moments that defined what some consider a “golden era” for the city, and one common thread through many of those memoriesis the lower Bantam Chef.
Pickens’ two Bantam Chefs
A local institution owned and operated for more than 32 years by Riley King of Easley, 
the lower Bantam Chef was one of two restaurants bearing the Bantam Chef name in Pickens in the late 20th century.
Bantam Chefs were a staple in most towns in the area in the 1960s and 1970s but King said they were all independently owned.
“Most owners had more than one location,” he told the Courier. “The lower Bantam Chef was only one I owned,” he continued.
King said his father, JR King, Ralph Whitmire and Roy Campbell were originally in partnership and owned both the upper and lower Bantam Chefs and that they also owned Bantam Chefs in Easley, Piedmont and Belton.
“They leased them out on a percentage. After my
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Lewis family gather for 100th reunion
By Lynn Townes
Special to the Courier
news@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — The James and Mary Stewart Lewis Family celebrated their 100th family reunion on Sunday at Mountain Grove Baptist Church in Pickens. Many of your neighbors and acquaintances are in the lineage of this pioneering family, which has had untold influence on the communities across the country.
The Lewis Family have been a part of Upstate South Carolina since the mid-1700s when David Lewis and his bride, Ann Beeson Lewis, moved to the Pendleton District from Guilford County, NC. Ann, a member of the Society of Friends, was disowned by family and faith for marrying “out of unity.” Coming to Pendleton District they started a new
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Cannon auxiliary seeks new members
PICKENS — AnMed Cannon Hospital in Pickens is welcoming new members to its 
celebrated volunteer auxiliary.
The only requirements are a willingness to help the hospital and those it serves and four hours a week. Applications and more information are available by visiting the front desk of the hospital between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, or by visiting anmed.org/volunteer-auxiliary-opportunities-cannon.
