The Catch-Up: Lexington County Has Some of the Cheapest Gas in the Midlands

Gas remains expensive, but it’s less expensive in Lexington County than it is a lot of places.

According to AAA South Carolina, the average price (as of May 10) for a gallon of gas in the county was $4.052, slightly less than the statewide average of $4.077. Both are significantly less than the national average of $4.374.

Lexington County has some of the cheapest gas in the Midlands. Bordering counties Richland ($4.071), Newberry ($4.111), Saluda ($4.069), Aiken ($4.071), Orangeburg ($4.121) and Calhoun ($4.115) all have higher average prices.

The only Midlands county (among the 13 listed in the region listed by sc.gov) with a lower average gas price than Lexington is York ($4.026).

The cheapest gas in South Carolina is in the Upstate, where Pickens County holds the lowest state average ($4.015).

The website gasbuddy.com maintains updated lists of the lowest gas prices reported by users in states, counties and cities. As of May 10, these were the cheapest spots listed in Lexington County:

Sam’s Club (350 Harbison Blvd. in Columbia) — $3.74

Pilot (3008 US-321 in Cayce) — $3.79

Marathon (4001 Platt Springs Rd. in West Columbia) — $3.79

Shell (441 Piney Grove Rd. in Columbia) — $3.79

Walmart (1019 Old Barnwell Rd. in West Columbia) — $3.83

Marathon (1400 Augusta Rd. in West Columbia) — $3.83

Shell (2884 Emanuel Church Rd. in West Columbia) — $3.86

Speedway (637 St. Andrews Rd. in Columbia) — $3.89

Exxon (418 Piney Grove Rd. in Columbia) — $3.89

Exxon (1910 South Lake Dr. in Red Bank) — $3.89

Lexington District 1 COO Resigns, 2022-23 Budget Process Ongoing

Following the announcement that Superintendent Greg Little will leave his post in June for a job with the S.C. Technical College System came news of another prominent departure from Lexington County School District 1.

The district announced May 4 that Chief Operations Officer Jeffrey Salters will retire effective Sept. 8.

Salters has been with the district since 1995, starting as assistant coordinator of information technology before being promoted to information and communication technologies director and then COO in 2010.

“For nearly three decades, Mr. Salters dedicated himself to our school district, working tirelessly to support our students, staff and schools,” Little is quoted in a release. “He’s managed countless projects, from the building of new schools to the implementation of technologies, which all advanced our schools and led us to become one of the best districts in the state.”

The district is also in the midst of the process for setting its 2022-23 budget, which will be the last set before Little and Salters depart, with the board having passed first reading April 26.

“In the first reading of the proposed budget, Lexington District One administrators recommended a 2022–23 $325,572,007 general fund budget — about a 3.5% increase from Lexington District One’s current amended operating budget for 2021–22 of $314,635,616,” the district said in a release.

The Chronicle will take a deeper dive into the budget in the coming weeks.

Coroner’s Office to Hold Memorial and Burial for Unclaimed Decedents

The Lexington County Coroner’s Office will hold an Indigent Decedent Memorial and Burial Service for 21 unclaimed Lexington County residents May 12 at 10 a.m. The Thursday service will be held at the County of Lexington Cemetery (729 S. Lee St.).

“[The] decedents will be honored and their cremated remains interred,” reads a Facebook post from the coroner’s office. “Many of these individuals had no known relatives or friends; therefore, we are requesting the attendance of anyone who would like to join the Lexington County Coroner’s Office in extending compassion as they are laid to rest.”

The names of those being interred: Barbara A. Compton, Clifton Marquis Hunter, Ronald Glenn Ross, Leslie Ernest Horton, Henry Zacharias Dehavilland, William Darrell Laforce, Lewis Nelson Edward Chaney, Irmgard L. Smith, Joan Strickland Maroney, Edgar Walter Ruhl, Lorraine Elizabeth Wallace, William D. Campbell, Donna Una Kuter Carolyn I. Lamb, Cheryl Ann Knotts, Joel E. Waters, Craig Frederick Macgregor, Jennifer Lynn Pearce, Edward Paul Linetty, Thomas Chester Mack, Michael Devoughn Ingle Sr.