COLUMBIA — Two Pickens County Courier staff members were honored with individual awards from the South Carolina Press Association earlier this month.

The SCPA presented the winners of the 2021 news contest at its annual meeting on March 11 in Columbia, recognizing last year’s best in newspaper journalism from around the Palmetto State, including awards for Courier staffers Ron Barnett and Bru Nimmons.

Barnett, a longtime newspaper veteran who serves as a columnist and reporter for the Courier, received a second-place award in the news feature writing category among weekly newspapers with a circulation between 3,500 and 6,500.

Barnett’s award-winning story — titled “The hand of God” — was about the day in February 1960 when a military plane crash landed in the city of Liberty, causing no major damage or injuries. The story, which ran in the Courier last April, featured interviews with witnesses who recounted the wreck and its aftermath on the day

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