Liberty unveils 150th anniversary logo, announces art exhibition
LIBERTY — The city of Liberty celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2026, and officials unveiled a sesquicentennial logo for the More »
Prisma staff encourage early testing for flu
By Jason Evans Staff Reporter jevans@thepccourier.com STATE — Prisma Health staff encourage the public to get tested for the flu More »
Daniel boys beat Pickens for region lead
PICKENS — With leading scorers Jackson Conley and Will Swann forced out of action early due to foul trouble and More »
Ballenger reflects on his career, legacy at Blue Ridge Electric
By Riley Morningstar Special to The Courier PICKENS — After 55 years of dedicated service, Terry Ballenger retired as the More »
Sunset Ceremony honors departed veterans
SIX MILE — As light winter rain fell at 5 p.m. on December 28, families, veterans, and community members gathered More »
More about South Carolina’s five public natural gas authorities
When they were created in the 1950s, the state’s five natural gas authorities by law were supposed to turn over profits to municipalities they served.
Have they?
Two did. Clinton Newberry distributed $9.4 million over the past 10 years, equally split between the cities of Clinton and Newberry. (The authority’s contribution
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Accountability suffers as newspaper closures grow across state and nation
By Glenn Smith and Tony Bartelme
The Post and Courier
news@thepccourier.com
Corruption is flourishing in the rural corners of South Carolina as newspapers fold or shrink coverage amid a financially crippling pandemic.
Seven of our state’s newspapers closed their doors in the past year, joining more than 60 that shuttered across the nation as the coronavirus strangled an industry already battered by shrinking revenue and draining job cuts. This only exacerbated a trend that has created so-called “news deserts” in hundreds of U.S. communities, depriving them of vital watchdogs of
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Easley could start fining for no mask
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — Easley City Council members made no changes to the city’s mask requirement ordinance 
at a recent meeting, but some are concerned the ordinance isn’t strict enough.
Council members discussed the face covering ordinance issue during their
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17 more COVID deaths reported across county
COLUMBIA — Although the number of new cases reported daily has been dropping relatively steadily since the beginning of the year, Pickens County is still fighting an uphill battle against 
COVID-19, with 17 deaths related to the virus over the past week.
According to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, the county reported 16 confirmed
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More face-to-face learning included in SDPC schedule
By Greg Oliver
Courtesy The Journal
goliver@upstatetoday.com
EASLEY — Students in the School District of Pickens County will attend school in person for 27 of the 29 days of instruction included in the district’s next six-week schedule, covering Feb. 22-April 2.
In a letter sent to parents last week, superintendent Danny Merck said the district will have two asynchronous remote learning days on Feb. 26 and March 19. On those days, students will have videos to watch and assignments to complete, but students in all grades will not be required to log in to classes at specific times on those days.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and positive cases in
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District’s virus numbers drop slightly again
COUNTY — The total number of quarantines and positive COVID-19 cases in the School District of Pickens County dropped slightly again last week, according to the district’s weekly update.
Although the number of staff members quarantined and testing positive for the virus climbed from the previous week, from 33 to 38 and 15 to 17, respectively, the drop in the numbers for students more than made up for that increase.
After 581 students were quarantined and 46 tested positive the previous week, 445 were
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Man faces trafficking and other charges
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
EASLEY — An Easley man faces multiple charges, including trafficking methamphetamine, after being arrested Thursday.
Ryan Christoper Ballard is charged with a third offense of trafficking between 28 and 100 grams of methamphetamine, a first offense of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, two counts of second or subsequent offense possession of controlled substance and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, the release said.
According to a Pickens County Sheriff’s Office news release, deputies with the PCSO Community Action Team responded to 130 Beaver Pond Court in Easley in reference to suspicious
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College students’ input needed for awareness program
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
COUNTY — The input of local college students is needed for an effort to protect them and others from drug-facilitated sexual assault.
Kaitlyn Looper is a community educator with the Pickens County Advocacy Center. She is a part of 
the newly-created Community Coordinated Prevention Team (CCPT), which is comprised of community leaders and members who want to end drug-facilitated sexual
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Wilson: Human trafficking continues through pandemic
By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com
STATE — Anderson and Greenville counties were among the top five counties in the state for reports of suspected human trafficking last year.
“Human trafficking is a horrible, horrible blight on this state,”
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said last month during a news conference on the release of the South Carolina Human Trafficking Task Force’s 2020 Annual Report. “We continue to see cases of both labor and sex trafficking, even through the pandemic.”
January was Human Trafficking Awareness Month in South Carolina.
“Human trafficking is a complex crime that infiltrates
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Pickens sweeps Red Devils in finale
By Bru Nimmons
Staff Reporter
bnimmons@thepccourier.com
PICKENS — The Pickens High School basketball squads hosted senior night against Liberty on Friday, and for both the girls and the boys, there were plenty of positives.
For the Pickens boys, it was a night to remember following a long season. The Blue Flame hadn’t won since a December matchup with the Red Devils, but that didn’t stop them from putting together an almost perfect game en route to a 60-57 victory.
“I’m just proud of our guys,” Pickens coach Jeff Harrelson said. “They kept believing and kept
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