The Sentinel-Progress

PICKENS COUNTY — The Liberty Community Exchange, a local 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to serving our community, is proud to announce our upcoming Back to School Shop Days for Pickens County students in grades 6–12. The event will take place on July 25 and July 26 and is designed to help local students start the school year with confidence by providing free clothing and personal hygiene items to families in need.

PICKENS COUNTY — U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a fixture of Republican politics and a leading voice on American foreign policy for over two decades, died Saturday night at his home in Washington. He was 71. The South Carolina Republican died from a sudden aortic dissection, according to a preliminary report from the D.C. medical examiner. The condition was a result of arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

PICKENS COUNTY — United Way of Pickens County and Pickens County Emergency Management are proud to celebrate the graduation of a new Community Emergency Response Team, or CERT, cohort in Pickens County. Over the past several weeks, participants completed Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training designed to prepare community volunteers for emergencies and to support local response efforts when needed.

WASHINGTON — The prime time for ticks is here in the United States, and after an especially active start to the season, experts are urging the public to stay alert and take preventive measures. Monthly emergency department visits for tick bites in April spiked to their highest level since 2017 and continued to remain high throughout May and June, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s tick bite tracker.

SOUTH CAROLINA — The South Carolina Drought Response Committee (DRC) met on July 8, 2026, to evaluate drought conditions statewide. The DRC is the state’s major drought decision making entity and determines drought severity as defined by the S.C. Drought Response Act to protect the state’s natural resources. The act establishes four levels of drought: incipient, moderate, severe, and extreme.

Veterans with severe PTSD and depression are increasingly traveling overseas for treatments they cannot legally access in the United States. After exhausting medications and conventional treatments, many are traveling to clinics in countries like Mexico to pursue psychedelic-assisted treatments. Others are seeking underground providers outside any regulated medical system.

SOUTH CAROLINA — The S.C. Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) is now accepting applications for deer lottery hunts (adult and youth) on public lands through August 15 at 11:59 p.m. EDT. The Multi-site, Unrestricted Multi-site, Webb Gun, Webb Antlerless Only*, Webb Archery, and South Fenwick Archery lotteries operate independently and maintain separate preference points. Youth deer lotteries do not utilize preference points.

Nearly 1 in 8 Americans have turned to GLP-1s to shed pounds. For many, these drugs offer a powerful starting point to trimming their waistlines — but not a complete path to long-term health. Lasting health isn’t defined by the scale. Sustainable improvements come from building healthier lifestyles over time — especially regular physical activity — which no pill or injection can replace. And not all exercise is equally effective.

EASLEY — On paper, the final score said Easley Post 52 defeated Greenwood Post 20 by the score of 8-4. But it’s how they won that was even more impressive. Powdersville product Henry Hernandez came on in relief to throw to solid innings to the tune of only 1 walk, 5 strikeouts and no runs. Seneca’s Joey McGovern (3-for-4) and Daniel’s Quint Cumbie (2-for-3) continued their solid hitting for Post 52. But arguably the play of the game goes to recent Daniel High School graduate Liam Purcell.

ATLANTA, GA — It was a South Carolina women’s basketball reunion at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia this past weekend. Dawn Staley took her current players to the Atlanta Dream and Indiana Fever game on Saturday, June 20 to see seven of her former plays go head-to-head in a primetime WNBA matchup. The Dream defeated the Fever by the score of 113-96, but that wasn’t the biggest story to come out of the game.