Electrician Contractor in Pickens, SC

The Unpacking Future Packers Countdown is a countdown of 100 prospects that could be selected by the Green Bay Packers in the 2023 NFL draft.

Green Bay’s run defense yielded 2,372 yards on the ground, which ranked 26th overall. They gave up five yards per carry, which was tied for 29th in the league.

The Packers need to improve against the run next season and if past history is any indicator, Brian Gutekunst will pour resources into fixing the leaky run defense.

Last season the Packers needed to vastly improve on special teams. Gutekunst attacked the issue with great vigor. The Packers went out and hired one of the best special teams coordinators in the league. They signed players like Keisean Nixon and Dallin Leavitt. They drafted players with plenty of special teams experience like Tariq Carpenter.

It’s reasonable to expect that Gutekunst will add a player or two up front to help shore up the run defense.

A player that Green Bay’s general manager could target in the 2023 NFL Draft is Zacch Pickens. The South Carolina defensive tackle checks in at No. 60 in the Unpacking Future Packers countdown.

MATCHUP: Arkansas’ Ricky Stromberg, 4-year starter & one of top centers in CFB, will have his hands full w/ @GamecockFB DL Zacch Pickens (@ZP6DT). Here’s Week 1 showing Pickens overwhelm blocker with length & in-line power…then the “excuse me” step-over before making tackle. https://t.co/qIhoFBeZhK pic.twitter.com/LscIgvPW4I

— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) September 9, 2022

Pickens, a South Carolina native finished his career with 32 career starts for the Gamecocks. During his sophomore season in 2020, Pickens recorded 2.5 tackles for loss and one sack. In 2021, Pickens recorded five tackles for loss and four sacks. This past season, Pickens recorded 42 tackles, four tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, and three pass deflections.

“Pickens was the heart of a defensive line that went through several changes and lineups due to injury,” David Cloninger, a reporter for The Post and Courier said. “As the bedrock in the middle of the defensive line, he had his most productive and best season at USC. He was one of three players I picked as defensive MVPs.”

Pickens is well-built with long arms (34). He has a lot of power in those long limbs and when he plays with proper leverage he can bullrush with the best of them. He has good initial quickness off the snap to quickly get upfield.

The South Carolina defensive tackle really showcased his potential as an interior pass-rusher during the Gamecocks matchup against Kentucky this past season. Pickens recorded one sack and five pressures against the Wildcats.

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“He can really get his hands and arms up quickly, to either get above the offensive lineman’s hands or to get his hands up quickly in a quarterback’s field of vision,” Cloninger said. “He has a lot of just straight raw power.”

Against the run, Pickens controls his gap. He’s strong at the point of attack and is difficult to uproot. Pickens has strong, active hands to help him to poke through gaps. He has the short-area quickness and lateral agility to make plays up and down the line of scrimmage.

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The former five-star recruit finished his career with just 11.5 tackles for loss. While not eye-popping, Pickens clogged or blew up running lanes that allowed teammates to make plays behind the line of scrimmage.

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“The Gamecocks were bad against the run last year and he shares some blame,” Cloninger said. “I can’t say he was the cause of it, because that would be inaccurate. I can’t say the rest of the line held him back because that would be inaccurate, too. It was group blame. A lot of teams double-teamed him, as he seemed to be the guy they had to take care of first, and as a result, Pickens would easily get frustrated and perhaps give up too quickly. I don’t think it’s any kind of alarm bell, though; more of a “we’ll get that out of him” once he reaches the NFL.”

Fit with the Packers

Get Kenny Clark help. That’s probably what Gutekunst hears when he walks into Woodman’s Food Market.

Dean Lowry and Jarran Reed are both set to hit the open market this offseason. That leaves Clark, Devonte Wyatt, and TJ Slaton as the notable defensive lineman on the roster.

With those two veterans on their way out, Gutekunst could look to add a defensive lineman or two in the upcoming NFL Draft.

Pickens could be a potential day two or early day three target for the Packers. The South Carolina defensive tackle has the size, power, and pass-rush upside to develop into a potential interior force for the Packers.

A particular South Carolina “fan” called-out DT Zacch Pickens on here last week after @seniorbowl included him in our Matchup of Week and @ZP6DT then clapped him w/ a team-high 12 tackles against Arkansas. He certainly passes the eye test. Body type .#TheDraftStartsInMOBILE™? pic.twitter.com/w7cpFNRpAg

— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) September 17, 2022

“He was plenty effective with what he had, and the potential is limitless,” Cloninger said. “It’s often said that Pickens hasn’t yet reached his full potential, and if he’s doing this now at half or 75 percent of what he could be, imagine what he could do when he doesn’t have to worry about school and such. Just football all the time. He could be a starter in year one.”

Clark has needed help upfront for quite some time. Wyatt played limited snaps during his rookie season and has the tools to develop into a dominant defensive lineman for the Packers.

Pickens isn’t as twitchy as the former Georgia Bulldogs. The South Carolina defensive tackle wins with his power. Adding him to the mix with Clark and Wyatt could give Green Bay a potentially strong group up front for Joe Barry.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - A bill filed at the South Carolina State House would crack down on stores that illegally sell tobacco and nicotine products to kids and teens.

Supporters of the legislation say it would impose similar restrictions to keep tobacco away from minors as the state already does for alcohol.

“[Stores are] out there doing this because kids are getting cigarettes, they’re getting the vape products, and this is an attempt to stop it,” Senate Minority Leader Brad Hutto, D – Orangeburg, and the bill’s lead sponsor, said during a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing Thursday on the bill, S.514.

The first step this bill would take is banning minors from even entering stores that primarily sell tobacco and nicotine products, like smoke and vape shops.

This bill would not prohibit children from going into stores that sell tobacco and nicotine products but primarily sell other items, like grocery stores.

“If someone pulls up in front of one and they’ve got a two-year-old child in the car, they’ve got to leave that child in the car to walk in the store?” Sen. Rex Rice, R – Pickens, asked.

“I understand, but isn’t that sort of the same principle as going into a liquor store with your child in the car?” Hutto answered.

“I don’t know,” Rice responded. “I’ve never taken my child to the liquor store”.

“That’s because I don’t think you can,” Hutto said with a laugh.

The bill removes some of the current penalties for minors who illegally purchase these products, such as having their driving privileges restricted, but they could still face a $25 fine and court order to complete a tobacco-prevention program.

A representative for South Carolina’s convenience stores said they are on board with working to stop illegal sales to minors but aren’t totally on board with this bill.

“It looks to me like we’re taking the penalties away from the minor,” SC Convenience & Petroleum Marketers Association Executive Director Michael Fields told senators. “Current law says that the minor can’t purchase, attempt to purchase, possess, attempt to possess those products, and we’re deleting those.”

Hutto responded that minors cannot make legal decisions, like entering contracts, so the burden to stop these sales needs to be on the adults making them.

“Kids are going to ask. They ask for a lot of stuff, and they might ask for cigarettes,” he said. “It’s your employees on the other side of the counter, in my estimation, are the ones who are the adults in the room who need to say no”.

The biggest changes this bill would make are designed to crack down on those illegally selling.

It would create a new tobacco retail sales license and require stores that sell tobacco and nicotine products, including vape and e-cigarette products, have one. According to the CDC, South Carolina is one of 10 states that do not have such a license requirement currently in effect.

The state Department of Revenue, which would regulate these licenses, would make at least one unannounced visit annually to all of those retailers.

This bill also increases the penalties for retailers caught illegally selling to minors, including suspending their license for a week after two offenses within a three-year period.

If a retailer is in violation four or more times within a three-year period, they would face a minimum $1,200 fine and would not be allowed to sell tobacco and nicotine products for three years.

“I’m not going to tolerate adults giving nicotine to children, even if the kids sneak on a beard and pretend to be 84 and come in with a cane and say, ‘Please sell me some cigarettes’. You’ve got to ID those children just like you’ve got to do with alcohol and don’t sell it to them,” Hutto said.

The Senate subcommittee opted to carry this bill over Thursday — meaning they will wait to vote on advancing it to the committee level until a later meeting — to give the convenience stores some time to propose changes that might ease their concerns about the bill.

Another bill awaiting a debate in the Senate would prohibit local governments from enacting local rules to restrict the sale of nicotine products within their jurisdictions.

“I’m worried that we’re going to have some movement on the floor with that other bill,” Sen. Sandy Senn, R – Charleston, said. “And I’ve repeatedly asked that we wait for this bill”.

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Top 10 Conveyer Car Wash Company Expands South Carolina Footprint with 11th Location

THOMASTON, Ga., September 28, 2022 (Newswire.com) - Tidal Wave Auto Spa, one of the fastest-growing express car wash companies in the country, opened their new Pickens, SC, location on Wednesday, Sept. 28 at 2641 Gentry Memorial Hwy.

To celebrate their grand opening and introduce themselves to the community, Tidal Wave will be offering free washes at their new location anytime 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. through Sunday, October 2. They will also be offering new members any monthly unlimited membership plan for just $9.99 for the first month - now through November.

"We have been operating in South Carolina since 2014," said founder and CEO Scott Blackstock. "Pickens is our 11th location in the state, and we are excited to continue growing our footprint in the coming months. For the past nine years, we've been committed to bringing clean car happiness to our customers in South Carolina, and we are excited to continue that commitment at our new Pickens location."

Stop by for a single wash or join our Unlimited Wash Club for the best value and car wash experience. Members enjoy 30 days of unlimited washes for just one low monthly payment. Wash once a day, every day! Plus, unlimited wash plans can be used at any Tidal Wave location in the country. Tidal Wave also offers monthly family plans and fleet plans - perfect for businesses with multiple company cars. For more information about their discounted programs for fleets, visit www.tidalwaveautospa.com/fleet-plan.

Tidal Wave is committed to giving back to the communities they serve - and making it easy to raise funds for schools, churches, civic groups, sports teams and more through their fundraising program. For more information about how to partner with Tidal Wave Auto Spa for your next fundraiser, visit http://www.tidalwaveautospa.com/fundraising.

About Tidal Wave Auto Spa

Tidal Wave Auto Spa is an industry-leading conveyor car wash company founded in 1999 by Scott and Hope Blackstock in Thomaston, Georgia. Tidal Wave is committed to providing cutting-edge car care technology, pristine customer service and attractive locations that are welcomed into their communities. In 2020, Tidal Wave partnered with Golden Gate Capital to facilitate their accelerated growth across the country. The company currently has 115 locations across 17 states. Tidal Wave has been recognized as one of the top 10 conveyor car washes and was included in the 2020 Inc. 5000 list for America's Fastest Growing Companies. The company has a strong commitment to environmental stewardship and since its founding has given more than $1 million to organizations serving children and individuals with special needs.

For more information, contact media@tidalwaveautospa.com

Source: Tidal Wave Auto Spa

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PICKENS, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - Pickens County Council voted 5-1 on Monday to pass an ordinance that establishes standards and limitations on future developments along Highway 11.

This has been a topic of interest over the last several months, regarding one of the natural gems in the county.

The ordinance creates a 150-foot buffer, allows no heavy industrial, says Commercial Design Standards must fall within the view shed, and more. To read the full draft of the ordinance, click here.

A point of disagreement for many is the balance of keeping the natural beauty without infringing on people’s personal property rights.

“I’ve lived there for 45 years, it’s a beautiful area. I’d hate to see any of the picturesque views marred with any kind of development. But what I hate more is seeing that so many people are willing to give up other people’s rights to save that view,” said one neighbor.

“I believe people wanting to make commercial money on their strip of land on 11 and the big money interest looking to build up there will not put respect for the area or the residents above the dollar,” said another neighbor.

The ordinance passed by a vote of 5 to 1.

Councilman Alex Saitta was the lone ‘no’ vote, saying he believes the ordinance did not do enough to protect the area around Highway 11 and leaves the door open for development.

“People will say and have said tonight that it’s never going to happen up there but I’m looking out over the next 25 years and you really don’t know what’s going to happen. Water systems are built, sewer systems are built, things will change,” he said.

Other councilmembers said they believe there was a need to put some sort of restrictions in place for the future.

“It took 40 years to get this combination of courage and we’re not going to get perfection, but we’re going to take an action that’s going to be meaningful in the lives of our children and our grandchildren and we’re going to do it by again holding the line against stepping on people’s property rights,” said Councilman Henry Wilson.

Before this ordinance, there were no standards or limitations for the land along Highway 11.

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PICKENS COUNTY, SC (WSPA) – The Pickens County Sheriff’s Office continues to look for a man who has been missing for almost four months.

Investigators said they searched hundreds of acres on Thursday for Boyce Morris Jr, who was last seen on February 13th.

Captain Chuck James with the sheriff’s office said there aren’t many outstanding missing persons cases in the county. Now they’re working with family to put this case to rest.

“Our concerns are to account for his well-being. You know we searched that area today and there was no evidence that he was found,” Captain James said.

“We will continue to do over time. We just want to find him. If he ran away from home and he doesn’t want to be contacted by his family members, we would ask at the very least, contact us and let us verify his well-being–so that we can put this case to rest, and at the very least, give his family a peace of mind,” James said.

Morris’ aunt, Deborah Andrews, said he was sick prior to disappearing.

“He had been real bad sick. He had ear infection, bronchitis and stuff and he was delirious that morning. Delirious talking out of his head a little bit,” said Andrews.

Andrews said that when Morris’ mother talked about calling EMS, he took off.

“He just flipped out and took off out the door. Nothing but his socked feet, pajama buttons and a t-shirt.

Investigators said Morris ran into the woods by their home on Reece Mill Road and never returned.

“His mother had called EMS, requesting EMS respond to the house due to the fact he wasn’t feeling well. It’s our understanding based on what we were told, that he did not want to leave with EMS and that he fled the home immediately prior to the arrival of EMS,” Captain James said.

James said there have been a number of searches since Morris’ disappearance.

“Since that time, we’ve continued to search for him, but the leads have been limited primarily due to the fact that he didn’t leave with a wallet. He didn’t leave with a cell phone. There’s no evidence that there was an intent to leave,” Captain James said.

Thursday, the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office resumed and expanded their hunt, searching roughly 1,600 acres with more manpower, including five human remains detection dogs.

“We have just continued to search for him and then, ultimately today, we went back out there primarily due to kind of the change in season and things like that, to go back out and see if we could locate any other evidence that maybe we didn’t see the first several times that we went through there,” Captain James said.

“And then we wanted to expand the search out a little further, and utilize in this case, numerous cadaver dogs, just in case it’s a worst case scenario,” he said.

“They done that big search today, they covered a lot of acres, I was there with my sister Lynn when they come up and told her they did not find anything today,” Andrews said. “My heart dropped to my feet.”

Now the family is holding on to hope.

“We’ve always been close. He’s just a wonderful person. He’s always fun to be around. If I needed something–if I needed help with something, all I had to do is call him,” Andrews said.

“It’s got me off balance here,” she said. “I just wish that he would come home or they could give us closure, and if there’s somebody out there knows anything, could they please come forth.”

The family hopes that the community continues to keep searching for Morris until he is found.

“My hope is that we can find him alive, but I know in my heart somehow that, that’s not going to be possible,” Andrews said.

“And if there is anyway that we can get closure and they could find where he’s at, for the healing process–especially for my sister,” said Andrews. “She’s taking it so hard, and I just don’t think she’ll make it.”

Captain James said there are no additional searches planned at this time. However, they will be looking over satellite imagery and maps of the area, to see if there are other ways Morris could’ve gone.

“Well, every missing person we investigate from a suspicious standpoint. Right now, there’s no evidence to suggest there’s any foul play or suspicious activity,” James said. “However, that’s not something that we’re ever prepared to rule out either. So, it’s something that we investigate from the most serious standpoint, but at this point, there’s no evidence in that.”

Anyone with information about Morris Jr.’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office at (864) 898-5500.