According to The State, a lawsuit filed Dec. 22 accuses Lexington County Councilwoman Beth Carrigg of moving out of her district. Lloyd Higbe — a resident of District 7, which Carrigg represents — contends that she no longer lives in the district and is thus no longer eligible for her seat.

Higbe challenged Carrigg for her seat in a 2018 Republican primary election.

“The lawsuit also alleges that Carrigg has pushed to have county council districts redrawn so that a property her husband purchased last year will be moved into her current district,” the paper reports.

The State writes that the councilwoman confirmed that she and her husband have moved out of their former residence but are currently staying in a rented townhouse off Lake Murray Boulevard, still within District 7. As for the home outside the district on Pilgrim Road north of Lexington, which the lawsuit alleges the Carriggs are moving into, the paper reports that Carrigg said the property was bought with the intention of being “flipped, and it is currently undergoing renovations that make it uninhabitable.

The State also reports that Carrigg denied the lawsuit’s claim that she pushed for the proposed district lines presented to council in November, which pull the Pilgrim Road house into District 7, to include the home.

“There’s a venue for challenging redistricting,” the councilwoman is quoted. “All the numbers have been out there since November, and not one single person showed up to a public hearing to voice opposition, nobody has emailed or called about it, no one showed up to say a word about it.“

Lake Murray Coast Guard Auxiliary Member Recognized for Service

On Dec. 18, Lake Murray Coast Guard Auxiliary member Kenny Uschelbec was honored for 40 years of service, during which he’s helped in a variety of situations.

“Notable accomplishments during his volunteer service included providing lift zone security and vessel traffic control in 2000 for the historic recovery of the confederate submarine HUNLEY in Charleston Harbor,” reads a news release from U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Public Affairs, “the 2005 recovery of a WWII B-25 Bomber that crash landed in Lake Murray on April 4, 1943, and the 30th G8 summit in Sea Island, GA in 2004 that required vigilant 24 hour patrols for 2 weeks.”

“During his 673 underway hours, Uschelbec and members of the Lake Murray Flotilla responded to and provided safety zones for a fuel spill of nearly 1,000 gallons of gasoline at a local marina in 1999,” the release adds, “and in 2009 provided Auxiliary vessels for the recovery and transport to land of Army paratroopers who conducted jumps from C-130 aircraft into Lake Murray.”

Nephron Adds 1,500 Part-Time Jobs

The Post and Courier Columbia reported on Dec. 22 that Nephron Pharmaceuticals hired 1,500 new parttime workers in the past month, part of a ramp up in production of new product lines. The additions bring the West Columbia company up to 1,200 fulltime employees and 2,500 part-time workers.

“The hiring spree comes as Nephron produced 30 million doses of reagent for Abbott Laboratories’ at-home COVID-19 test kits last month and assembled about 1 million kits,” the paper writes. “Kennedy hopes to increase kit production to 2 million per month in January as demand for them has skyrocketed amid new variants of the deadly virus.”

“As we see that the new variants seem to be spreading and are very, very contagious, we know that we need to have more testing going on,” Nephron CEO Lou Kennedy is quoted.

Earthquake Felt in Lexington County

Were you convinced you felt the ground shake on Dec. 27?

If you were in northwestern Lexington County, it’s quite likely you did.

The U.S. Geological Survey reports registering a 3.3. magnitude earthquake centered in Kershaw County near Elgin at 2:18 p.m. There were two aftershocks (one with a magnitude of 2.5 at 5:38 p.m. and another with a magnitude of 2.1 at 6:22 p.m.).

The “Did You Feel It” section on the Geological Survey site shows reports of shaking stretching out as far as the areas surrounding Lexington and Irmo.