PFC Barrett Lyle Austin, 20, of Easley, died April 21, 2013, in Landstuhl, Germany, from injuries sustained when the vehicle he was driving ran over an enemy improvised explosive device near Wardak Province, Afghanistan, on April 17.

PFC Austin was assigned to the 4th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, GA.

He was born in Easley on Nov. 10, 1992. His parents are Curt and Yolanda Buck Austin. He was a 2011 graduate of Pickens High School and was a member of Rock Springs Baptist Church in Easley.

The Heritage Foundation has just released its cost estimate for the Amnesty portion only of the Schumer-Rubio or "Gang-of-Eight" U.S. Senate  "comprehensive immigration  reform" bill, S.477.  The Heritage report's author, Robert Rector, believes $6.3 Trillion is a conservative minimal estimate.

Adding $6.3 Trillion to an already dangerous $16.5 Trillion debt is reason enough for public alarm or for any sane member of Congress to vote against it. However, the Schumer-Rubio Senate bill contains far more special interest goodies than amnesty, as disastrous as amnesty for 11 million illegal immigrants would be.

Greenville County Republican women at the Poinsett Club last Thursday remembered Jane Robelot from the Tiger Tailgate Show with Russ Cassell and CBS Morning programming from New York. Now Robelot is anchoring the morning news on WGTK FM 94.5 with Mike Gallagher opposite Cassell on WORD 106.3.

Single when she left the Upstate for the big city, Robelot is now happily married with a 14-year-old son. She has lost none of her southern charm and thrilled her audience with stories about interviews with well-known personalities including Bill and Hillary Clinton,

Robelot has strong family ties to Greenville. Her uncle was Major. Rudolf Anderson, the U-2 Pilot killed during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The Wade Hampton Camp No. 273 held it’s 11th annual celebration of the life and accomplishments of one of South Carolina’s most distinguished heroes on Sunday afternoon, April 7, at 2 o’clock.

More than one hundred people attended this event – besides the Wade Hampton Camp, SCV members, and interested people from different parts of South Carolina.

The Memorial service itself, was held in Keenan Chapel, which is part of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. Immediately prior to the program was a concert by the Maplewood band, led by CPA Don Jones. They played on string instruments, The Rebel Soldier, What A Friend We have in Jesus, and The Old Rugged Cross, and, of course, “Dixie.”

Ten finalists have been selected in the 2013-14 Greenville County Schools Teacher of the Year program.

They are, in alphabetical order:  Angie Cooley, music teacher at Mitchell Road Elementary; Anne Kelsey-Zibert, seventh grade social studies teacher at Northwest Middle; Adam Massey, business teacher at Greer High; Libba Mattison, science teacher at J. L. Mann High Academy; Clint Nalley, seventh grade science teacher at Bryson Middle; Alyson Nelson, anatomy and biology teacher at Mauldin High; Kim Phillips, special education teacher at Bethel Elementary; Tom Rogers, science and math teacher at Southside High Academy; Mandy Waters, first grade teacher at Westcliffe Elementary; and Jan Woodward, dance teacher at The Fine Arts Center.

Management Blames Pricing, Denies Impact of Boycott

The Associated Press has reported that J. C. Penney has experienced an unexpected slide in sales and a drop in stock prices. Management  is attributing the losses in business to a new pricing strategy that is unpopular with customers. The report printed in the local daily newspaper failed to mention the ongoing “One Million Mom” boycott of the retail chain.

J. C. Penney’s problems with customers began early this year when the retail chain hired openly lesbian Ellen DeGeneres as spokesperson and began portraying same-sex couples in their advertisements.