New book ‘a love letter to Pickens and Pickens County’

By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
COUNTY — Author Charles Hood has written many books but he says his newest publication “is the first one I’ve done that’s about me.”
“Looking For Space: My Pickens Journey” came out last week.
“I grew up in Pickens but I wasn’t born in Pickens,” Hood said.
The youngest of six kids, he was born in Indiana in 1961.
“My father passed away when I was 10 from cancer,” Hood said.
A brother, trained as a nuclear engineer, landing a job at the
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Pickens County honors war hero
By Evan Smoak
Courtesy The Journal
evan@upstatetoday.com
CLEMSON — Dozens of people packed into a room at the Madren Center of Clemson University on Friday to remember the sacrifice of one of South Carolina’s most forgotten war heroes.
His name: Francis Salvador.
Salvador was known as the “Southern Paul Revere” for his 30-plus mile trip through
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Easley woman dies following dog attack
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
EASLEY – An Easley woman died on July 21, more than a week after being attacked by a dog in her home.
In a release issued July 29, Anderson County Coroner Greg Shore identified the victim
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Searcy announces candidacy for Easley City Council – Ward 2
EASLEY — April Searcy, a lifelong resident of Easley, is proud to officially announce her candidacy for Easley City Council, representing Ward 2. A dedicated community volunteer and advocate, April is stepping forward to serve the city she loves by bringing hands-on experience, a passion for service, and a deep commitment to the people of Easley.
“For years, my family and I have poured our hearts into
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Do we really want spiritual maturity?
As a messenger who presents the word of God, it’s an honor to serve. My goal in communicating is to ask the Lord what He wants me to say and to use me to do His will. For those of you who are dedicated Christians that love Jesus and follow Him, I’m sure you also pray for this every day. I believe that we should be a lighthouse filled with God’s love and all the fruits of His Spirit,
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Has the future changed?
Leviticus 26: 14-16a “The LORD said, “If you will not obey my commands, you will be punished. If you refuse to obey my laws and commands and break the covenant I have made with you, I will punish you.”
We have long realized the Biblical perspective of Israel being God’s designated nation and the Jewish people as beig God’s chosen (Deuteronomy 7: 6).
God established Israel and the people to provide the
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Weighing in on parental leave
Dear Editor,
I want to respond to the article, “County Council Discusses Paid Parental Leave.”
Years ago the county government was having trouble recruiting new employees and retaining existing employees because our pay was too low (e.g., truck drivers, EMS personnel, prison guards, many others). The 2023-24 round of inflation made it worse.
As a result, the previous council leadership and the administration decided to channel available employee funds into boosting pay. Last year the county did a salary study and boosted employee pay an average of 14%. A good idea and the new council continued
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The Dole Act: Benefits and improvements
Have you wondered what exactly is included in the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act? There’s one way to find out: Scroll through it. There’s more to the Act than you might imagine, and all of it is to benefit you.
Sec. 301 calls for burial benefits for veterans who were under hospice care at the time of their death. It concerns those veterans who
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A good reason to smile
With all the negative, questionable and just plain bad news out there lately, I’ll take good news anywhere I can find it.
And one place is the website Good News Network (www.goodnewsnetwork.org). GNN, started in 1997, currently has 21,000 good news stories from around
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Courier Obituaries 8-6-25
DORIS K. CHILDS
PICKENS — Doris K. Childs, wife of the late Jake D. Childs, passed away on July 29, 2025, at the age of 92.
Born in Pickens County, she was a daughter of the late Earlie C. Simmons and the late Ollie Hudson Simmons and was the last member of her immediate family. Mrs. Childs retired from Swirl, Inc., where she worked for 43 years.
She was a member of Bethany Church of God. Doris loved to cook and sew and had a special talent for both. Later in life when she could no longer cook and sew, she became interested in coloring and delighted in sharing her beautiful pictures with family and friends.
She will be missed by many nieces, nephews and friends.In addition to her husband and parents, she