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After the grass is mowed along Delree Street in West Columbia, residents say the clippings are not cleared from the road. Some are concerned about safety.

WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. — Lexington County residents are voicing their concerns on social media about grass clippings left on the road that make potentially dangerous conditions for motorists.

Those driving down Delree Street in West Columbia might see grass clippings on the roadside.

"If you come down through here on a motorcycle or something and the grass is out there, especially after we have a little damp rain, if you hit the brakes, the motorcycle is going to slide twice as far as it normally would," resident Glenn Derrick said.

Derrick has lived nearby for 24 years and said that after the grass is cut along Delree, it stays out on the road along with litter.

"When the lawnmower comes down through here, it cuts the side of the road, all the grass clippings go onto the road and all the trash," Derrick said. "All the trash is cut up like the grass, and it covers about half of the right side lane over there, and it will stay there for two to three days, really according to the weather and the rain."

It's causing problems for motorcyclists like Thomas Banks.

"If you ride on grass clippings, it's like sand. Anything gets up in that tire, especially if the tire has no grooves where anything can go at, it can also cause you to slip and fall or cause an accident," Banks said. "I don't really like it, especially you don't really know what's in that debris when they cut it, so it could be, like, something inside your tire or something like that. Also it's an eyesore for this community as well."

It's not just dangerous for motorcycles, though, Banks said.

"You can't really see the lines or anything like that," Banks said. "At nighttime, that grass is - the white line that normally would guide you; it's covered up, so you're not really gonna see anything, especially if it's raining or it's dark; so, pretty much you end up in the woods or in somebody's lane or something like that."

For residents like Alfred Covington, who has lived in the area for 15 years, it's an eyesore.

"It kind of gets you a little bent out of shape," Covington said. "There's cans in it, but mostly grass and weeds and sticks and stuff."

News19 contacted Lexington County to learn more and found out this street is managed by the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) as part of its vegetation management.

The vegetation management guidelines don't mention cleanup efforts after mowing.

South Carolina Code of Laws does have a specific section about putting foreign substances on highways, although it does not seem to apply to streets.

But for residents like Banks, clearing the grass clippings is an extra step he'd like to see for safety and aesthetics.

"I wish they would just clear the grass clippings," Banks said. "That'd be really helpful."

SCDOT does have a maintenance work request form online that residents can fill out with concerns.

Known for the slogan "Where the hugs and the handshakes are free," Ricky's Tire and Auto Center in West Columbia recently announced on social media that the family-owned business is having a yard sale on Saturday and permanently closing its doors. Ricky Branham said he has owned the tire and auto center for seven years, and the shop employs six people, including himself.

The yard sale will take place Saturday, Aug. 5, from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. and will feature various items, including clothes, toys, tools, and Christmas decorations.

Branham says he kept fighting despite the ebbs and flows he has experienced over the years. However, the impact was becoming a bit too much, and he prayed about it and decided to close the shop permanently.

"We just can't, can't survive. When COVID hit and all that, I probably should have closed in 23, excuse me, in 21, but we kept clawing and scraping, trying to keep the doors open, keep the guys working. And it's just gotten to the point where we just can't do it anymore," he said. "I'm sorry to say that this was the final decision. We thought about it, and we prayed on it. And we were actually closed for two weeks to the public. And then then I decided that it is time to just go ahead and close."

Standing strong in his faith, Branham hopes the yard sale will generate enough revenue to help support him for a few weeks so he can better determine what is the next best step for him and his family.

Being transparent, Branham said, not knowing what is on the horizon has him a bit worried.

"That is the part that's got Ricky worried. I have no idea at this point. Again, I've had several people stop by with well wishes and praying for me, and I've had a couple of people offer me some positions that they want to sit down and talk to me about. And so I told them that as soon as I can get this place closed, that will do that. But I really, honestly, at this point, I do not know what I'm going to do. And that's why I'm trying to sell this stuff to get a little bit of money so I can live for a couple of weeks until I figure that out," he said.

Branham is also a pastor and said he is encouraged, knowing that although this door is closing, he knows that when God closes the door, He will open another one.

WEST COLUMBIA — A new music festival is coming to Columbia’s next-door neighbor city in the Fall.

West Columbia organizers are still finalizing details for Meeting Street Music Fest, the first street music festival in the city, but it’s set for Sept. 16 and will be free to attend.

Three bands and a to-be-announced, nationally known headliner will take the stage during the four-hour festival, scheduled to run from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

West Columbia spokeswoman Anna Huffman said organizers, business owners and residents are all involved in the event’s planning. The full lineup will be announced once they finalize those details, including the bands and the vendors, which Huffman said will include “a wide array of delectable food, refreshing beverages and endless fun.”

Running from the 500 to 700 blocks of Meeting Street, the festival will take over a slice of West Columbia that’s continuously expanded its arts and entertainment scene in recent years.

One of the city’s main thoroughfares, Meeting Street saw something of a nightlife boom in the past five years with Chayz Lounge jazz club, WECO Bottle and Biergarten and pride bar The Spot. Meeting Street also drew a big crowd on April 22, continuing its tradition of soap box races, kinetic sculpture parades and obstacle courses for the fourth annual Kinetic Derby Day.

Meeting Street Music Fest is the first festival of its kind in West Columbia, but festivals like St. Pat’s in Five Points and S.C. Pride draw crowds to the city’s larger neighbor to the East. The approach to the festival mirrors the approach taken by another neighbor, the 13,700-person town of Cayce, which hosts the popular “Soiree on State” block party each spring that’s headlined by Columbia-based band Tokyo Joe.

The 18,000-person city just west of downtown Columbia also hopes to turn the section of Meeting Street between 9th Street and State Street into a walkable retail district through traffic slowing, pedestrian safety and beautification projects, West Columbia Mayor Tem Miles told The Post and Courier in February.

“My hope has always been that Meeting Street would be a destination for people for shopping and restaurants and other businesses like mine,” said Chayz Lounge owner Chaye Alexander, who predicted her venue will be “dead smack in the center of all of it.”

Meeting Street Music Fest does not have a detailed web presence yet, but the website teases that “the beats of three sensational bands” will “set the stage on fire.”

“With an abundance of culinary delights, thirst-quenching drinks, and exciting activities, this festival promises to cater to your every desire,” the website reads. “So mark your calendars and join us at this epic gathering for an unforgettable celebration of music, food, and pure enjoyment!”

WEST COLUMBIA — Three national headliners were announced for the city of West Columbia’s inaugural Meeting Street Music Fest, slated for Sept. 16 on the 500–700 blocks of Meeting St.

The one-day, four-hour festival will feature three acts: The Reggie Sullivan Band, Billy Joel tribute band Turnstiles and Meli’sa Morgan.

Morgan is an R&B recording artist who has released music since the ’80s. One of her most notable songs is a cover of Prince’s “Do Me Baby,” which she released in 1985 and charted a year later.

The Reggie Sullivan Band is a local act that has toured nationally. The three-man group formed in 2012 and is anchored by front man Reggie Sullivan, who plays the stand-up bass.

Turnstiles is dedicated to all things Piano Man. The Billy Joel tribute brand formed in 2011 and is comprised of six members.

The festival will run from 4-8 p.m. on Sept. 16 and feature local and regional bands, as well.

Jazz music fans in Columbia and perhaps all around the country are about to get an embarrassment of riches when summer ends.

The ColaJazz Foundation, a nonprofit with the goal of making the capital city and South Carolina a premiere jazz destination in the Southeast, has announced the dates for the ColaJazz Festival.

The festival will take place on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, 2023. Day one will be at the SC State Museum at 301 Gervais St. and day two will be at the 1700 block of Main Street.

The lineup hasn’t been announced yet, but the festival has compiled an impressive array of performers over its six-year existence.

Past editions of ColaJazz Fest have included performances by the Wynton Marsalis Septet, Chris Potter, Wess “Warmdaddy” Anderson, Scotty Barnhart, Liz Rosa, Carl Allen, Aimee Nolte, the Flat Out Strangers, Dante Lewis, Reggie Sullivan, the Soda City Brass Band, Brittany Turnipseed, the Partly Cloudy Brass Band, Amos Hoffman and Jim Mings — all highly respected and critically acclaimed players with impressive careers. The styles of music on display varies, as well, from blues, Latin, gypsy, swing, fusion, groove to straight-ahead jazz.

And, the festival has proven popular with both audiences and critics, winning the 2021 Governor’s Award and taking the Free Times’ “Best Music Event” prize two years in a row.

Day one of the ColaJazz Fest runs from 6 p.m to 10 p.m. and serves as an opening gala event, where the SC State Museum will play host to a full bar, hors d’oeuvres and an evening of first-rate jazz music. Day two is called “Sunday Funday” and will run outdoors from 3 p.m. until 9 p.m. There will be food trucks and beer trucks on-site, as well.

The festival is the brainchild of the ColaJazz Foundation, founded in 2015 by local jazz trumpeter Mark Rapp. Rapp created the foundation to recognize and uplift jazz talent in South Carolina. ColaJazz started as a relatively small, concentrated effort, producing a compilation album in 2015 that featured local jazz musicians.

Since that starting point, the foundation has become a vital part of Columbia’s music scene, creating an annual season including the ColaJazz Summer Camp, ColaJazz Fest, SC Public Radio programs, after-school curriculum, Jazz for Young People concerts & workshops, Great Day in Columbia, Live in the Lobby at Koger Center for the Arts, monthly Dinner & Jazz concerts, Jazz Appreciation Month, the ColaJazz Crawl and International Jazz Day concert.

WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. — A recent lawsuit is bringing attention to noise complaints in a stretch of neighborhoods in West Columbia, where residents say loud music is disrupting their home lives.

Sara Jones has lived in her West Columbia home for the past 12 years. She says in the last two years, Savage Craft Ale Works has set up shop down the road, causing concerns.

"When it disrupts my life and causes me a lot of stress I don't like them," Jones said.

You can see part of the live music stage from her back yard. She says the music isn't always a concern, and for the most part it's music she's a fan of. However, she explains, on occasion, the music will get too loud and even cause her windows to shake.

"They continue to have loud music, you can't sit on the back deck and communicate with company that you have, you have to leave the back porch." She says that it's "a real headache for me. You can't enjoy your home because the music is so loud, you can't hear the television, you have to cut the T.V. up so loud."

It's an issue that has other residents concerned too. A recent lawsuit from two neighbors in West Columbia explain the issues they've faced with the establishment.

It says in part, "Defendant's allowance of live music performances on its ground produces loud noises at travel more than 50 feet and are easily audible at and upon Plaintiff's residence including inside of Plaintiff's residence in such a manner as to annoy disturb and harass Plaintiffs."

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The lawsuit has city leaders paying attention. District Eight Councilman David Moye is worried about the future of development in the city if there isn't agreement between residents and businesses within the entertainment district. He points out development is on the way for other parts of Center Street.

"The city electric building right here at 500 Center Street is a great example of a place that might be a really good opportunity for an entertainment venue. As you can see there's new houses behind me, that are right outside the entertainment district. They're not zoned as single family residential. I think the people that are in those houses have a valuable place in the dialogue with how this would be set up if this were set up as an entertainment venue."

In a special called council meeting on June 19th, the council voted in favor of a new sound ordinance that requires permits for establishments that want to utilize loud sound devices within the district. It would also allow the business to have live music as loud as 85 decibels. Something he voted in favor of, but says the way it's written cuts out public opinion.

"I voted for the sound ordinance because it addresses some things that everybody has been worried about. But, the sound ordinance has not public hearings or very minimal communication with the people who set up live music permits."

News19 tried getting in contact with the owners of savage craft, but have not heard back.