Wedding & Event Venue Near Pickens, SC.

PICKENS CO., S.C. (FOX Carolina) - One of the last counties in South Carolina that doesn’t allow Sunday alcohol sales will soon leave the decision up to the voters.

On Monday, Pickens County Council approved an ordinance to put two referendums on the general election ballot regarding Sunday alcohol sales in the entire county.

It is allowed in four cities within the county according to the SC Department of Revenue, Central, Clemson, Easley, and Pickens, but businesses in towns like Liberty say it would be a positive for it to be approved everywhere.

“You can drive 10 minutes up the road and get it on Sunday’s and we can’t even open on Sunday’s, that’s our business,” said Diane Campbell, who works at Liberty Food Store.

At Liberty Food Store the store is closed on Sunday’s because they can’t sell beer or wine.

Just down the road at Pancho’s Mexican Restaurant the food is still served, but the alcohol is not on that day.

“Some people when they come here and when they know we do not sell alcohol, they leave. They don’t eat here,” said Pancho’s Mexican Restaurant Owner Maria Zambrano.

But that could soon change.

After a 4 to 1 vote by Pickens County Council, two referendums will be on the November ballot for voters in Pickens County.

Pancho’s Mexican Restaurant already serves alcohol on Sunday’s at their Central, SC location, but if the referendum passes they say they plan to do the same at their Liberty, SC restaurant.

Liberty Food Store says being able to sell beer and wine would allow them to stay open on Sunday’s, and allow their employees to work more hours.

“That’s going to be more money for us, more business for Liberty,” said Campbell.

“I’m happy if they allow us to serve alcohol on Sunday’s because it’s another opportunity to bring more clients and more people to the town,” added Zambrano.

Copyright 2022 WHNS. All rights reserved.

The last thing Allyson Mauney saw was a bear pick up Snuggie, her miniature schnauzer, by the neck and drag him into the woods.

It happened Monday night in Pickens County as she let Snuggie and Gracie, a lab mix, out before she went to work third shift at the U.S. Postal Service in Greenville.

She had seen the fur stand up on their backs as they ran out and charged a deer feeder, where in previous years bears would come to feed on corn.

She got a flashlight and ran toward the woods. She hoped the dogs would see the light and run back. She heard rustling in the leaves. Snuggie yelped, then screamed.

Mauney ran down the hill and saw a small bear holding Snuggie by the back of the neck. Mauney screamed. Loudly. The bear shook Snuggie violently.

Thoughts whirled through her head. Is it a baby? Is the mother around? How can she get to the dog she considers her son?

As she moved closer, the bear charged her.

“I wasn’t moving,” she said. “I wasn’t backing up. I was not leaving my son.”

The bear got so close, she could feel its breath. She prepared for attack. They stared each other down.

Then the bear picked up Snuggie and ran into the woods.

“That feeling was something I can’t describe and something I do not ever want to feel again,” she said.

Her sister’s boyfriend, Paul, convinced her not to go into the woods. There was no telling what or who was in there. She took Benadryl and went to sleep.

She woke Tuesday morning to Paul running into her room.

“He’s alive! He’s alive! I found him! Let’s go!”

He had been searching since sunrise.

They sped off to the vet.

Snuggie has come through the attack, but the vet said his back legs are paralyzed.

“God already worked a miracle and isn’t done,” she said.

Mauney said she hopes the story of Snuggie will be a reminder to people that they live in bear country not the other way around.

“This bear did nothing wrong,” she said. “It was protecting itself and the last thing in the world I want is for people to take any negative action towards any wildlife.”

Bears are leaving hibernation and roaming all over South Carolina, including one seen recently in Laurens.

Last year, Snuggie repeatedly chased a young bear.

She told Snuggie. “One day they are going to realize that they are bigger than you and that’s gonna be a bad day.”

This story was originally published May 5, 2022 1:15 PM.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on Monday announced thousands of dollars in tips recovered for workers at a Downtown Charleston restaurant who had been forced to participate in an illegal tip pool.

According to the DOL, management at 167 Raw on King Street “required tipped employees to share tips illegally,” splitting the funds between “management and other typically non-tipped employees.” The restaurant also “failed to pay tipped employees the difference between their direct wages and the federal minimum wage” and paid less than the federal requirement for overtime rates.

The investigation found 92 workers were shortchanged a total of $624,017 as a result of the illegal financial structure.

Wage and Hour Division District Director, Jamie Benefiel, explained that such violations “are common in the restaurant industry, and they can quickly add up to costly consequences.”

Benefiel went on to say “restaurant industry employers must know and comply with federal requirements to claim the tip credit,” and that “retaining and recruiting workers is more difficult when employers fail to respect workers’ rights and pay them their full wages.”

167 Raw issued the following statement in response:

“In 2021, 167 Raw King Street LLC entered into a voluntary agreement with the U.S. Department ofLabor regarding its tip-pooling procedure. The Department of Labor found the process to be in conflictwith provisions of certain regulations.

A tip pool was established to include and compensate our team members who are integral to a positivedining experience at our restaurant. Before establishing the pool, we sought advice from legal counseland were told that it was legal and appropriate to do so. Months later, however, the Department ofLabor concluded that these procedures were in direct violation of certain federal guidelines. TheDepartment began a full investigation and determined that while we had not intentionally violated anyregulation, we had instead relied upon incorrect legal advice. The full details of this were disclosed toour team members and compensation was handled accordingly. We fully cooperated with theDepartment of Labor to establish new procedures within the Department’s guidelines and took thenecessary steps to correct the misallocation of tips. It is important to note that the owners of 167 RawKing Street LLC never shared in or participated in the former tip pool.

We continue to prioritize our team members and choosing to enter this voluntary agreement with theDepartment last year ensured that our valued team members continue to be well-compensated withinthe framework of evolving federal guidelines.”

167 Raw King Street LLC

If you think you may be owed back wages, click here for more information on how to claim them.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) -A law that allows employers to pay people with disabilities less than the federal minimum wage could soon be taken off the books in South Carolina.

Legislation to abolish the subminimum wage has now passed both chambers of the State House, though changes made to it last week in the House of Representatives have put the bill back in the Senate’s hands with three days left in the regular legislative session.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, nearly 3,000 people with disabilities in South Carolina were being paid less than the minimum wage just before the pandemic began.

That number has since dropped to nearly 1,000 people, according to the department, but advocates hope it could soon be zero.

“As one of the largest minority groups in the whole entire country, we should no longer see people with disabilities as less than. We are citizens just like everybody else, and we deserve to be paid equally among our peers without disabilities,” Able SC President and CEO Kimberly Tissot said.

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, employers with a U.S. Department of Labor-approved waiver can legally pay less than the federal minimum wage — currently $7.25 an hour — to workers with disabilities, defined as those “whose earning or productive capacity is impaired by age, physical or mental deficiency, or injury.”

Currently 14 employers across South Carolina hold that certificate. Most of those are organizations that work to help people with disabilities gain employment skills and jobs, and some have said this practice allows them to employ people with severe disabilities who may not be able to competitively work otherwise.

“They’re still going to have to get somebody to do that job,” Sen. Katrina Shealy, R – Lexington and the bill’s primary sponsor, said. “So are they going to get somebody without a disability to work for 25 cents an hour?”

Shealy said people with disabilities should not be treated any differently than other workers.

“As long as they can do the same job, they should make the same pay, and I think they’ve been taken advantage of,” she said.

This legislation would create a 13-member task force to develop a plan to phase out the subminimum wage while still ensuring employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

If it becomes law, subminimum wages would no longer be legal by Aug. 1, 2024.

“South Carolina has some lack of services for people with disabilities as well, and so this will give us enough time to plan what’s next, how can we build skills, how can we engage in meaningful activities that really respects the rights of people with disabilities,” Tissot said.

The bill passed the Senate last year, the first year of a two-year legislative session, and passed the House last week with changes to it, adding on the “Employment First Initiative Act,” sponsored by Rep. Neal Collins, R – Pickens.

“It asks employers to look at the disability community when you hire. It’s not a mandate; it’s not saying you have to. It’s just sort of a resolution saying, ‘How about looking at the people with disabilities? Don’t just discard them and say just because you have a disability, you can’t do the job,’” Shealy explained.

Shealy called the amendment “a perfect fit” to add to her bill, saying she will ask her Senate colleagues to concur with that change but request another commission created by that part of the legislation be reduced from 17 members to nine.

House members would then be able to agree with the Senate’s change or opt for a smaller group of members from both chambers to work out a compromise to send to Gov. Henry McMaster.

If this does become law, South Carolina would become the 13th state overall and the third in the southeast to do away with the subminimum wage for people with disabilities.

“This has been a long time coming, and I think this will really change the perceptions that people have about people with disabilities,” Tissot said.

Copyright 2022 WIS. All rights reserved.

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Another South Carolina player is having his name thrown into the mix for the 2023 NFL Draft.

Gamecocks defensive tackle Zacch Pickens was projected as the No. 22 pick to the Cincinnati Bengals in The Athletic’s Dane Brugler’s way-too-early 2023 first round mock draft on Tuesday.

“An athletic big man, Pickens isn’t yet a finished product, but you don’t need to squint to see why NFL scouts are intrigued by his talent,” Brugler wrote. “South Carolina has a solid track record of producing defensive linemen, and Pickens is next up in the hopper.”

Pickens arrived at South Carolina in the class of 2019 as a five-star recruit and the No. 8 player in the class, per 247Sports. He’s since played in all 35 games of his USC career, including 20 starts.

The T.L. Hanna product is expected to anchor the Gamecocks defensive line again in 2022 with defensive ends Kingsley “JJ” Enagbare and Aaron Sterling now off to the NFL. Pickens finished last season with 38 tackles, five tackles for a loss and four sacks.

Pickens is one of four South Carolina players who could theoretically be in the mix for the 2023 first round along with cornerback Cam Smith, tight end/receiver Jaheim Bell and quarterback Spencer Rattler.

Smith (No. 12 overall) and Bell (No. 29 overall) were both listed in Pro Football Focus’ way-too-early first round mock draft on Tuesday, while Rattler is seen as a possible first rounder should he find his 2020 form that made him a Heisman Trophy front-runner at Oklahoma.

South Carolina had just three players taken in the 2022 NFL Draft in Enagbare, running back Kevin Harris and tight end Nick Muse. Defensive lineman Jabari Ellis (New York Giants) and running back ZaQuandre White (Miami Dolphins) both earned undrafted free agent deals.

Kicker Parker White (Kansas City Chiefs, Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and safety Jaylan Foster (Philadelphia Eagles, Jacksonville Jaguars) also received rookie mini-camp invites this week.

South Carolina has produced three first round picks in the last five seasons. Cornerback Jaycee Horn was the most recent when he was selected No. 8 overall by the Carolina Panthers in the 2021 NFL Draft.