The Town of Lexington held an event Oct. 8 to mark the honorary renaming of a local street for a woman who coached championship Double Dutch teams for decades.

A sign now proclaims that Hendrix Street is Joy Holman Boulevard, named for “a Lexington native whose legacy is the Double Dutch Forces, a World Championship Team,” the town says in a Facebook post.

Double Dutch is a jump rope game in which two long ropes are turned in opposite directions, while one or more players jump.

Mayor Steve MacDougall, members of Town Council and others gathered to commemorate the renaming.

“Today, she was described as someone who lived her life with pride, joy and meaning and remembered as a great mentor and coach,” the post recounts.

Prisma Opens New Lexington Practice

Prisma Health has opened a new multi-specialty practice in Lexington.

The new location at 5336 Sunset Blvd. is the newest addition to a shopping complex that includes an Ulta Beauty, a Hobby Lobby and a MOD Pizza, among other businesses.

“The new 24,000-square-foot office building will have 36 exam rooms and will provide a variety of service lines including internal medicine, cardiology and obstetrics/gynecology,” a news release notes.

The first practice in the building, Prisma Health Internal Medicine, began seeing patients Oct. 10, with “internal medicine physicians who can treat both common and complex illnesses in adults and adolescents.”

 A cardiology practice is set to follow on Oct. 31, and an OB/GYN practice is anticipated to be open by early 2023.

 “We are deeply committed to providing quality care to our patients across the Midlands, and this is a huge step in expanding our services to the growing Lexington community,” Dr. Jamee Steen, interim vice president of the Prisma Health Medical Group in the Midlands and the Family and Preventive Medicine chair at USC School of Medicine Columbia, is quoted. “We look forward to serving patients at this new, accessible location.”

Interim Head of COMET Bus System Dies

The temporary head of the Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority (The COMET) died Oct. 7.

Derrick Huggins, 56, had served as interim CEO and executive director of the transit authority since November.

“The COMET board of directors extends our condolences and sympathy to the family of Derrick Huggins. We are saddened at this very unexpected loss, as so many of us just had conversations with him in recent days and were making future plans together. Derrick was not only the CEO of the COMET. He had been a Board member and Board Chair, and we all knew him not only professionally but also personally. He will be missed.” COMET Board Chair Allison Terracio is quoted.

The COMET’s previous director, John Andoh, resigned after three years in April 2021. He currently works for the County of Hawai’i, where he is mass transit administrator and general manager.

The system’s buses serve many communities in the Midlands, including West Columbia, Cayce and Springdale.

 According to the release, LeRoy DesChamps, the transit authority’s chief operating officer, “will assume oversight of the organization at this time as the Board of Directors makes plans for the future.”

3rd Lexington 1 School Board Forum Announced

A third forum will be held to help voters determine their selection in a crowded race for Lexington County School District 1’s Board of Trustees.

In addition to the one the Chronicle and the Lexington Chamber and Visitors Center will host next week (find more info on page A3) and the one the League of Women Voters held last month, a third will be hosted by students from the Center for Law and Global Policy Development at River Bluff High School.

At this forum, set for 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 27 at the River Cafe at River Bluff, students will submit and put questions to the candidates directly, as nine of the 11 hopefuls for three open seats on the board participate in “round-robin small group discussions,” according to a press release.

Seats are free, but reservations are requested via Eventbrite (search for “Your Vote. Your Democracy. A Night with Lex 1 School Board Candidates”).