The delegation consists of Pickens County Senators .. Rex Rice & Thomas Alexander, and Representatives ... Neal Collins, Gary Clary, Davey Hiott, and Joshua Putnam
COTU MEETINGS ARE HELD MONTHLY
* SEE SPECIAL MEETING NOTES & LOCATIONS IN POSTS BELOW *
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*You can scroll beyond the COTU Twtter feed to read more in depth articles and see a decade + of COTU archived posts in the right side column
Tuesday, December 26, 2017
2018 Legislative Delegation Meeting ...
The delegation consists of Pickens County Senators .. Rex Rice & Thomas Alexander, and Representatives ... Neal Collins, Gary Clary, Davey Hiott, and Joshua Putnam
Sunday, December 24, 2017
Saturday, December 23, 2017
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
Attendance Zone Hearings ...
Pickens County Schools said Tuesday that the Pickens County School Board is considering making changes to the attendance lines for elementary schools in the Easley area.
The proposed changes were drawn based on 10-year enrollment projections created by an independent firm.
The changes, officials said, will aim to meet the following goals:
- to use school facilities more efficiently based on projected attendance and available space (East End Elementary is above recommended capacity, and its student population is projected to grow over the next five years, while Crosswell Elementary, Forest Acres Elementary, and West End Elementary all have capacity for greater enrollment);
- to improve car and bus transportation routes within school zones;
- to improve attendance
- and to increase space for students to choice in to the upcoming McKissick Academy of Science & Technology from outside the McKissick attendance zone.
Middle school and high school attendance patterns would not be changed by any of the proposals, the school district stated.
The school district will be holding informational meetings on January 9 and January 16 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Easley High School cafeteria. District administrators and board members will answer questions and listen to feedback during the meetings
That’s life!
Thursday, December 14, 2017
Why you should(n't) care about Net Neutrality ...
“How can you be against socialism, yet for socialistic internet?”
“Socialism aims to make the playing field level for all people in regards to _______________.”
Friday, December 8, 2017
2018 Pickens County Legislative Delegation Meeting
The delegation consists of Pickens County Senators .. Rex Rice & Thomas Alexander, and Representatives ... Neal Collins, Gary Clary, Davey Hiott, and Joshua Putnam
Wednesday, November 29, 2017
Pickens County Media Relations Claims Taxpayers Can’t See New Ordinance On Social Media Due To Copyright ...
Yet another way that Agenda 21 affects taxpayers - not subject to FOIA because of some ridiculous copyright claim.
The government CANNOT under any circumstances copyright a document- but these Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) can.
The main problem with the claim in this screenshot is though, no one was asking for any of the documents listed - only the affected document specifically as it relates to Pickens County.
Tuesday, November 28, 2017
COTU Concerns About New County “Building Ordinance” ...
Conservatives Of The Upstate members share these concerns with the updated building codes ordinance that is before the Pickens County Council ...
Monday, November 27, 2017
Building Codes Ordinance ...
Saturday, November 18, 2017
For your enrichment & understanding...
In South Carolina private property can be seized by a practice known as “eminent domain.” State law allows government to take private land for “public use”: for example, to build a road or government building. But the state constitution doesn’t define “public use,” which means government could ostensibly take land for almost any reason at all. Further, a state constitutional provision permits seizure under eminent domain if the property is “blighted” – in which case the land could be applied to private use. The General Assembly introduced legislation in both 2015 and 2016 that would have given eminent domain powers to a private company – an unprecedented step with enormous potential for abuse.
The past several years have seen an increasing number of similarly framed bills empowering the state to seize the property of private citizens in the name of rehabilitating run-down buildings. In these bills, typically, the owner of the property would be billed for the repairs or be forced to sell it. Absent in this legislation is any assumption that the owner of property has a right to it. The governor vetoed one such bill that passed in the 2017 session, although the General Assembly may override that veto when they reconvene in January.Many other topics are covered ...
Tuesday, November 14, 2017
2018 Pickens County Legislative Delegation Meeting
The delegation consists of Pickens County Senators .. Rex Rice & Thomas Alexander, and Representatives ... Neal Collins, Gary Clary, Davey Hiott, and Joshua Putnam
Saturday, November 11, 2017
Wednesday, November 8, 2017
Understanding Tax Reform ...
Tuesday, November 7, 2017
Thursday, October 26, 2017
What part do you disagree with?
Thursday, October 19, 2017
Movement to end Fed Ed ...
Wednesday, October 18, 2017
Friday, October 13, 2017
Tuesday, October 10, 2017
October 2017 COTU Meeting ...

Monday, October 9, 2017
The Gun Conundrum ...
Sunday, October 8, 2017
South Carolina Should Tighten Up Like Tennessee GOP
So basically what you have here is someone like Neal Collins of Easley proving that he can’t win with his true loyalty to the “Democrat Party” - so in order to get votes, he runs as Republican in name only.
Friday, October 6, 2017
When considering who to vote for ...
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Taken For A Ride: To Jail
I have long supported building a new and bigger jail. However, I do not support the way the new council is funding it by borrowing a ton and raising taxes the end of next year to pay for it.
The old council saved about $25 million. It decided to build the new jail, put down about $17 million cash and borrow $8 million over 10 years. It was going to keep about $8 million cash in savings.
That would have been the prudent thing to do. The rating agencies and financial auditors require cash balances of 17% and the $8 million cash savings left over would been about 19% of the annual budget.
Additionally, putting that much cash down would have minimized interest charges. If you are swimming in cash and decide to buy a house, you go with a big down payment to keep your borrowing and interest charges low.
The new council immediately scrapped that plan and decided to put nothing down on the jail, to borrow $25 million over 20 to 30 years, and keep all the cash to spend on a long list of other projects. Not only will their new plan will nearly quadruple the general obligation debt, but it will lead to an unnecessary tax hike the end of 2018. Additionally, the new council’s plan incurs an extra $7 million in interest costs over the life of the loan. Paying that $7 million in extra interest yields no benefit, not one repaved road nor one new sheriff’s deputy.
Reading the latest article, the estimate for the jail is now $30 million and they plan to borrow $26.5 million, making all the numbers worse.
And think about this. The school district is paying about $25 million a year on average for the school building bonds over 25 years. That money goes to bondholders, most who live outside our county or outside our state. So every year about this time, there is this loud sucking sound when we in Pickens County dig deep, make that $25 million payment and that money is sucked out of our county.
And now the county council wants to do the same, so there will be less of our money that will be spent at local stores or invested in local businesses. And we wonder why there is so little job growth in our county.
Finally, the county expected and the public was told the jail would cost $25 million or less. One of the councilmen said he thought we could see $20 million bids. The true cost is going to be $30 million. This tells me the councilmen and those advising them don’t know the construction market and pricing, and I worry they could be taken for a ride by these contractors.
In sum this new crop of councilmen know how to spend our money, not manage it, and that is quite apparent to those looking closely at this situation.
Alex Saitta
Pickens, SC
Monday, October 2, 2017
What’s a million and a half to someone with an infinite bank account?
Wednesday, September 13, 2017
September 2017 COTU Meeting ...
