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 »
Candidate town hall planned this week
CLEMSON — Clemson University’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) will be sponsoring a candidate town hall at 5 p.m. this Thursday, Sept. 24.
The candidates for Clemson mayor, South Carolina State House District 3 and Clemson City Council will speak to the public and answer a few questions about their campaigns. The League of Women Voters will also be present to help register voters and
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COVID Task Force plans virtual town hall meeting
PICKENS — The city of Pickens COVID Task Force will be hosting a virtual town hall meeting at 5 p.m. Sept. 30 with a panel made up of local school officials.
Dr. Geanice Holton will serve as the moderator for the event.
The meeting will be livestreamed via Facebook by Around Pickens and the city of Pickens.
Citizens are encouraged to submit questions that they may have about the virus and local schools on the city of Pickens website under the Pickens COVID Response tab.
Pickens downs cross-county rival Easley in first volleyball match as region foes
PICKENS — The Pickens High School Lady Blue Flame volleyball team traveled to Easley for its second contest of the season and defeated the Lady Green Wave in an exciting match that went to four sets. This year the teams are in the same 4A Region 1, making the contest especially significant.
The Lady Blue Flame also defeated region foe Travelers Rest and played on Saturday in the Tournament of Champions at Dorman High School in Spartanburg.
The Easley match was played Sept. 15 at Easley High School, and a large contingent of fans was on hand from both sides. The Lady Blue Flame won the first set 25-19, but the Lady Green Wave stormed back and took the set second 19-25. The third set was a thriller, won by Pickens 26-24, and the Lady Blue Flame closed out the match in the fourth set 25-17.
“These girls put their words into action against Easley when we discussed the difference between hard work and competition,” said Lady Blue Flame Coach Rikki Owens. “They showed up ready to compete, and each one reached their goals they had written out in the practice before the match.”
In the Easley match, Pickens junior Caroline Lucas led her team with 11 kills, followed by junior Calie Covey with nine. Sophomores Faith Clarkson and Lauren Dow were tied with five kills apiece. Junior Bailee Earnhardt was the team leader in digs with 20, and
PRA announces new Pickens Revitalization Challenge
PICKENS — The Pickens Revitalization Association has announced the Pickens Revitalization Challenge — a new take on the Main Street Challenge of past years.
The challenge represents an entrepreneurial start-up competition for the purpose of generating 
additional retail occupancy in Pickens. At the same time, it provides a means by which local, area and regional entrepreneurs can advance their desire to expand or open a new business.
Pickens Revitalization Association will award a cash incentive up to $10,000 for start-up
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Vaccines — how do they work?
When a bacteria or virus enters our body, it attacks and multiplies. This invasion is an infection that causes us to become ill. Do we have a mechanism to fight this intrusion? Yes, it is called our immune 
system. It is a system that recognizes this invasion and sets off a response from a variety of white cells in our body that seek out and destroy the enemy. An analogy would be likened to a missile defense system in military terms. Such as, if a missile was fired at us from an enemy source, our defense system would recognize it and unleash our own missile that would intercept and destroy it, keeping us safe.
So in turn, what can a vaccine do for us? If
We can always hope for better things to come
This is 2020. Things have changed. Young women today who have children may have never been told that the reason they will not be hired for a job is because they have children.
But it used to happen. And I do speak from experience.
When our youngest child started school, a “help wanted” ad ran for a position at the radio station. They were looking for an advertising copy writer. I applied for the job and was called for an interview. Great!
When I went in for the interview, everything went well. Until I was asked if I had children. The answer was yes. And then I was told that I would have gotten the job if I didn’t have children. The station owner told me having
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Making a choice to rearrange priorities
Praying to God in faith is one of the most important deeds we can do. Why? Because prayer is the foundation of our relationship with Jesus and reveals how serious we are about obeying Him.
It seems very likely that our sincerity and love are measured by our prayer life. Someone asked, if praying were our full-time job, would we still be employed? The Lord is not impressed with our words or even our works as much as He is with our devotion to the secret place of meditation and intercession. Have you been sensing the Holy Spirit speaking to you lately about
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Quilt of Valor awarded to Bob Nash
By By Lynda Abegg
For the Courier
news@thepccourier.com
CENTRAL — The Fort Prince George Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) awarded the Quilt of Valor to Robert Nash, Ph.D., for his military service.
The ceremony was held outdoors on the Nash porch, with chapter regent Carolyn Nations presiding, and seven members present, all properly masked. The registered Quilt of Valor was machine-sewn
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Pickens High’s Trouten wins Young Miss Teen Upstate title
PICKENS — Elisabeth “Beth” Trouten of Easley won the LMSC Young Miss Teen Upstate title on 
Sept. 12 at Walhalla Middle School.
Trouten is the daughter of Jennifer Mason and Daniel Trouten. She is a 14-year-old freshman at Pickens High School, where she is a member of the Pickens High School “Rockstars” Marching Band. She is a member of the Color Guard team and also plays the oboe in the concert band.
The Little Miss South Carolina (LMSC) Pageant is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. It is one of South Carolina’s oldest pageant systems for children
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Pickens Chamber Member of the Month
Pit Stop Auto Shop, located at 116 Hampton Ave. in Pickens, was named the Greater Pickens Chamber of Commerce’s September Member of the Month. Pit Stop Auto Shop is a full-service preventive maintenance and automotive repair center. The shop performs high-quality, guaranteed service you can trust at a fair price. They repair domestic and foreign vehicles and offer scheduled maintenance of cars, SUVs, trucks and fleet vehicles. Pit Stop Auto Shop is family owned and operated and guarantees your vehicle is serviced correctly while maintaining your manufacturer’s warranty. The shop only uses quality replacement parts, and the Pit Stop Auto Shop technicians are ASE-certified. Call (864) 507-3404 to schedule an appointment or stop by the shop. Pictured are Stetson Owen of Bee Well Honey, Dawn Acuff, Tome Bryant, Jeremy Bryant, Steve Hood, Cameron Wyatt, Jerry Tucker, Billy Cannon and Lisa Turnick of the chamber.
