The look of Chapin’s police officers got an update recently.

Earlier this week, the town’s Police Department revealed its new logo/seal, the seventh emblem in the history of the department, which serves the town of nearly 2,000 people.

The new logo emphasizes Chapin’s nickname, “The Capital of Lake Murray,” placing the phrase at the pointed bottom of a shield-shaped seal below an outline of the State of South Carolina filled with the stars and stripes and an outline of the aforementioned reservoir with a star marking Chapin’s place along its shoreline.

Leading up to the reveal, the department took to Facebook to catalog its six previous seals, which date back to the inception of the Chapin Police in 1960.

The previous patch emphasized the Eagles, mascot of the in-town high school.

“Our new logo represents our commitment to modernization and progress,” the department posted to Facebook when it revealed the new visual. “It is a symbol of our dedication to continue serving the Chapin Community as a whole with professionalism and integrity!”

Lexington Police seek to curb uptick in collisions

Lexington Police are seeking to curb collisions, following a 7% increase in wrecks within the Town of Lexington in the last year, the department announced in a release.

“Traffic Safety Unit and Patrol Division officers will work together during November on a series of planned traffic enforcement operations in the Town of Lexington with a special focus on where collisions are happening and the reasons why,” the release states, noting that “many of those collisions [occurr] on the main thoroughfares of Sunset Boulevard/US-378, Augusta Road/US-1, and Lake Drive/SC-6 during weekday morning and evening commutes through town.”

The release details that some of the intersections identified to be prime to intersection include:

• Augusta Road at Dooley Road near I-20
• North Lake Drive at Northwood Road
• South Lake Drive at Glassmaster Road near I-20 Sunset Boulevard at Hope Ferry Road
• Sunset Boulevard at Northside Boulevard
• West Main Street at Old Chapin Road
• West Main Street at Park Road

“Officers working this enforcement detail will be looking for violations of the contributing factors that cause wrecks, which are disregarding stop lights and stop signs, failure to yield the right of way during turns across opposing traffic lanes, following too closely, distracted driving, and speeding,” the release states. 

The aggressive driving enforcement activities are set to continue through November, with the department noting that it wil post updates via its Twitter and Facebook pages.

 “One part of our department’s ongoing strategic plan is to improve traffic safety in the Town of Lexington and as we enter into the busy holiday season, our data shows that when traffic increases, collisions do too.” Chief Terrence Green is quoted. “Through focused enforcement on why crashes happen, our officers hope to see those numbers decrease. The reality is, wrecks slow everyone down.”

Lexington Medical center recieves ‘A’ for safety

Lexington Medical Center recently had another top certification renewed.

The hospital announced arlier this week that it has once more received an “A” Hospital Safety Grade from the Leapfrog Group.

A release notes that the group is “ the only hospital ratings program exclusively based on hospital prevention of medical errors, infections and injuries that kill more than 500 patients a day nationally” and that the grades are “peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public.” The grades are updated twice each year, in the fall and spring.

“Lexington Medical Center is constantly striving to provide the best possible outcomes for our patients,” Tod Augsburger, president and CEO of Lexington Medical Center, is quoted. “Hospital safety is a top priority and I’m glad that our doctors, nurses and staff can be recognized for their efforts as we work to meet the health care needs of our communities.”

A few months ago, the hospital, which has just over 600 beds at its main campus in West Columbia, was named the top hospital in the Midlands and the second best hospital in the state by U.S. News & World Report for the second year running.

 “Earning an ‘A’ Grade means Lexington Medical Center made a true commitment to put patients first,” Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, is quoted. “We congratulate the leadership, Board, clinicians, staff and volunteers that all had a role to play in this achievement.”

Irmo Hwy 55 closed for business

A local outpost of a popular burger chain has closed.

The Irmo outpost of Hwy 55 Burgers Shakes & Fries at 1180 Dutch Fork Rd. shuttered Oct. 29, Jay Webb, owner of the Lexington location confirmed in a Facebook post.

The Facebook page for the Irmo location lists it as “permanently closed.”

Webb indicated some confusion over which location was closing in his post, emphasizing that the spot in Lexingotn (located at 1795 S Lake Dr.) will remain open.

Per the Hwy 55 website, there are no Midlands locations outside of the Lexington and Irmo outposts. The site lists 10 locations, including Irmo, in South Carolina, along with numerous others in North Carolina and Tennessee.

The menu emphasizes the chain's titular burgers, shakes and fries, along with cheesesteaks and a variety of griddle- and fryer-focused fare.

In other Hwy 55 news, the Lexington location had its mobile food trailer stolen last month, and it has yet to be recovered. The location started a GoFundMe online fundraiser to help pay to replace it, having raised $365 toward its $15,000 goal as of Nov. 7.

River Bluff marching band makes state finals

Three Lexington County marching bandscompeted in the 5A State Championships Nov. 4 at Colleton County High School, with one making the finals.

River Bluff advanced past the prelims, ultimately finishing 11th out of the 12 finalists.

Lexington and White Knoll also competed in the State Championships.