The Lexington County Mental Health Center recently announced a partnership with the West Columbia and Cayce Police Department to have a mental health professional from the center work alongside police officers in the two departments.

Having a mental health professional on the scene with officers responding to someone having a mental health crisis can have many benefits.

A mental health professional on the scene can provide immediate services which can result in crisis de-escalation, diversion from jail and connecting the person to needed mental-health services, as noted in the press release.

Lexington Mental Health Center Executive Director Sarah Main said in the press release that this new initiative will help better connect the center with more clients.

We are excited to expand our collaboration by embedding a mental health professional, who will allow us to respond faster to crises in the community and provide proactive interventions to prevent crises from occurring,” Main said in the press release. “This new initiative will enable us to better serve our patients and community.”

The Chief of the Cayce Police Department, Chris Cowan, said the new partnership will help improve the community for its citizens.

“The Cayce Police Department and West Columbia Police Department continue to work together; the addition of this clinician to our teams will bring direct mental health services to our communities, help our patrol officers assist our citizens, and improve the quality of life for our cities,” Cowan said in the press release.

Lexington Police Department to offer free Stop the Bleed and C.R.A.S.E classes

The Lexington Police Department is offering free Stop the Bleed and C.R.A.S.E classes for the third year in a row.

Both of these classes provide instruction on what to do in the event of an active shooter situation.

Stop the Bleed teaches actions those can take to save someone’s life through proper tourniquet and wound packing. C.R.A.S.E educates those on the Avoid, Deny and Defend strategy to help provide guidance and develop a plan for surviving an active shooter situation, the press release read.

The Stop the Bleed classes are May 28 at the Lexington Police Department and June 12 at the Lexington Chamber and Visitors Center.

C.R.A.S.E classes are on April 11 and May 29 at the Lexington Police Department and June 13 at the Lexington Chamber and Visitors Center.

The classes start at 6 p.m. and are approximately two hours long. The courses are created for those who are age 16 and above.

Contact Officer Todd Zeigler at 803-359-6260 or tzeigler@lexsc.com with any questions you have as well as your class registration details.

Budweiser Clydesdales coming to Lexington

The iconic Budweiser Clydesdales will make their first appearance in Lexington on April 25, 2024.

These horses will parade down Main Street, starting at 11:30 a.m.

According to the press releases, the horses will also be distributing beer to businesses along their route.

The route that is currently planned will take the horses down Main Street to Butler Lake Drive and North Church Street before circling back to Main Street.

The Clydesdales will be staged in the parking lot of the Icehouse Amphitheater.