Settling in: About local services, regulations

Here is a list of telephone numbers for county, city and town administrative offices.

Richland County (ombudsman): (803) 929-6000

Lexington County: (803) 359-8000

Kershaw County: (803) 425-1500

Town of Arcadia Lakes: (803) 782-2272

Town of Batesburg-Leesville: (803) 532-4601

Town of Blythewood: (803) 754-0501

City of Camden: (803) 432-2421

City of Cayce: (803) 796-9020

Town of Chapin: (803) 345-2444

City of Columbia: (803) 545-3000

Town of Eastover: (803) 353-2281

Town of Elgin: (803) 438-2362

City of Forest Acres: (803) 782-9475

Town of Gaston: (803) 796-7725

Town of Gilbert: (803) 892-5207

Town of Irmo: (803) 781-7050

Town of Lexington: (803) 359-4164

Town of Pelion: (803) 894-3535

Town of Pine Ridge: (803) 755-2500

Town of South Congaree: (803) 755-2760

Town of Springdale: (803) 794-0408

Town of Summit: (803) 892-6161

Town of Swansea: (803) 568-2835

City of West Columbia: (803) 791-1880

PUBLIC SAFETY

Here is a list of nonemergency telephone numbers for local law enforcement agencies. For emergencies, call 911.

Richland County Sheriff’s Department: (803) 576-3000

Lexington County Sheriff’s Department: (803) 785-8230

Kershaw County Sheriff’s Department: (803) 425-1512

Columbia Police Department: (803) 545-3500

Cayce Public Safety: (803) 794-0456

Chapin Police Department: (803) 345-6443

Batesburg-Leesville Police Department: (803) 532-4408

Camden Police Department: (803) 425-6025

Eastover Police Department: (803) 353-2291

Elgin Police Department: (803) 438-2362

Forest Acres Police Department: (803) 782-9444

Irmo Police Department: (803) 781-8088

Lexington Police Department: (803) 359-6260

Pine Ridge Police Department: (803) 785-2521

Springdale Police: (803) 796-3160

West Columbia Police: (803) 794-0721

Note: For Arcadia Lakes and Blythewood, call the Richland County Sheriff’s Department. For Gaston, Gilbert, Pelion, South Congaree, Summit and Swansea, call the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department.

UTILITIES

Electricity and gas

South Carolina Electric & Gas: (803) 799-9000

Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative: (803) 749-6400

Central Electric Power Cooperative: (803) 779-4975

Tri-County Electric Cooperative: (803) 353-8746

City of Camden Utilities: (803) 432-2421

Fairfield Electric Cooperative: (800) 628-0336

Progress Energy: (800) 452-2777

Telephone

AT&T: Residential, (888) 757-6500; business, (866) 620-6000

Water

For questions about water service, call your local government office. Many of the areas outside a particular city limit are served by the city of Columbia.

Columbia Water Department: (803) 545-3300

Cable

Time Warner Cable is the area’s largest cable service provider. Some subdivisions might be served by smaller, independent companies.

Time Warner Cable: (803) 252-2253

PETS

Pet registration requirements vary from one area to the next. To learn the regulations in your area, call the appropriate administrative office.

DRIVING REGULATIONS

New residents licensed in former state

Military personnel (and their dependents) and students temporarily in South Carolina are not required to get an S.C. driver’s license. However, you must have a driver’s license from your home state to operate a vehicle here.

If you are a new resident, you may use a valid driver’s license from your former state for up to 90 days. However, you must convert to a South Carolina driver’s license before the end of the 90-day period. If your driver’s license from your home state has expired, you also must pass the knowledge and road tests.

Each qualified driver can have only one driver’s license. You may not have a valid license from South Carolina and one from another state. To qualify for an S.C. driver’s license, you must pass the eye exam given at any DMV office or submit a statement of visual acuity from an eye specialist. Your license is valid for 10 years and must be renewed by your birthday in the 10th year.

Vehicle registration

New residents have 45 days from the time of establishing residency to register their vehicles and get new license plates. You can get the proper forms at any Department of Motor Vehicle office listed below.

DMV branch offices

Richland County

• 1630 Shop Road, Columbia, (803) 737-8350

• 800 Dutch Square Blvd., Dutch Square Plaza Building A, Suite 100

Columbia, (803) 896-6238

• 2500 Decker Blvd., Decker Mall, Columbia, (803) 865-9478

Lexington County

• 509 Liberty St., Batesburg-Leesville, (803) 532-5285

• 1016 Broad StoneRoad, near Irmo, (803) 749-9041

• 122 Park Road, Lexington, (803) 356-8537

Kershaw County

• 1056 Ehrenclou Drive, Camden, (803) 432-4340

Customer service line

For other questions, call the DMV’s 24-hour customer service line at (800) 442-1368. In the Columbia area, call (803) 896-8623.

VOTER REGISTRATION

To find out how and where to vote, contact your county voter registration office, listed below.

To vote in this year’s presidential election, set for Tuesday, Nov. 4, you must register at least 30 days in advance.

Richland County

• Administration Annex, 2020 Hampton St., Columbia 29202; (803) 576-2240; www.richlandonline.com

Lexington County

• 605 W. Main St., Suite 105, Lexington 29072; (803) 785-8361; www.lex-co.com

Kershaw County

• 515 Walnut St., Camden 29020; (803) 424-4016; voterregistration@kershaw.sc.gov

ALCOHOL REGULATIONS

Beer and wine

Beer and wine can be purchased from convenience stores or grocery stores holding licenses for off-premises consumption.

Beer and wine for off-premises consumption can be purchased any time in Columbia — but not between midnight Saturday and 7 a.m. Monday in Richland, Lexington and Kershaw counties.

That could be changing, at least in Richland. A measure on the November ballot will let voters decide whether shopkeepers can sell beer and wine on Sundays. The proposed changes would not affect the retail sale of liquor on Sundays.

Beer and wine also can be purchased at locations, such as bars or restaurants, holding an on-premises license. (Businesses can be licensed to serve alcoholic beverages on Sundays in counties and municipalities where voters have approved Sunday sales.)

Liquor

Liquor can be sold at liquor stores holding a retail liquor license and at bars, restaurants, hotels and motels holding a license.

By state law, liquor stores can be open only from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Liquor by the drink can be sold only in restaurants, hotels and social clubs. Bars were given the choice of pouring liquor from larger bottles in 2006. Voters decided in 2004 to strike a longstanding S.C. law that required liquor to be served from1.7-ounce minibottles and poured in the customer’s presence. Licensed restaurants and nonprofit clubs may serve liquor on Sundays in Richland, Lexington and Kershaw counties if they have permits.

Drinking in public, on the street, sidewalk or in parking lots, may be prohibited by county and city ordinances. The city of Columbia and Richland, Lexington and Kershaw counties have laws banning open containers of alcohol on most public property.

For some outdoor functions, such as festivals and sporting events, special permits for beer and wine sales can be issued. State law prohibits open containers of alcohol in moving vehicles, regardless of whether anyone is drinking.

Age, ID requirements

You must be at least 21 to purchase alcoholic beverages in South Carolina. (You must be at least 21 to work as a bartender and at least 18 to sell alcoholic beverages in open containers as a waiter or waitress.) You could be found guilty of selling alcoholic beverages to an underage person if you have not made a “reasonable” effort to determine the age of a person purchasing alcoholic beverages.

RECYCLING

When it comes to trash disposal, going green varies widely among communities.

In some areas, recycling and yard waste removal are part of tax-supported waste disposal. In others, it’s an option that costs you extra.

If that’s the case where you live, you can save money by hauling material to dump sites. To do that, you need to learn where those sites are open and their guidelines for accepting material.

Curbside recycling: Available for all single-family homes in unincorporated areas of Richland and Lexington counties, in the city of Columbia and in some of the two dozen surrounding communities.

Residents in unincorporated Lexington and Kershaw counties must arrange pickup with a private company.

While requirements for curbside recycling vary, some items are uniformly accepted: newspapers and inserts, magazines, aluminum and steel cans and some types of plastic bottles. Richland County does not collect glass, but many others do. Some also take cardboard and used vehicle fluids like oil and antifreeze.

Drop-off recycling of computers and office equipment: Contact Richland County (576-2390) and Columbia (545-3800), which also offers recycling of light bulbs containing mercury. Lexington County is looking into a similar program.

Yard trash: Such trash is picked up in Richland County and Columbia, as well as suburbs including Batesburg-Leesville, Camden, Cayce, Irmo, Forest Acres, Lexington and West Columbia. Collection days vary by community.

In Lexington and Kershaw counties, property owners may hire private companies that provide curbside service in more populated areas. Residents also may choose to take their trash to county-run dump stations — 12 in Lexington and 10 in Kershaw.

Schedules, collection carts and other information: Contact the waste disposal office in the county or municipality where you live.

POST OFFICE BRANCHES

Richland County

Those with Saturday hours are noted below.

• Air Mail Facility, 3501 Air Commerce Drive, (803) 822-8258

• Ballentine, 1720 Dutch Fork Road, (803) 781-1648; Saturdays, 8:30 to 10:30 a.m.

• Blythewood, 401 McNulty St., (803) 754-2422; Saturdays, 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

• Capitol Station, 1233 Marion St., (803) 733-4730

• Dutch Fork, 1120 Briargate Circle, (803) 772-7807; Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• Eastover, 301 Main St., (803) 353-8482; Saturdays, 9 a.m. to noon

• Eau Claire, 4026 Lamar St., (803) 252-9009

• Edgewood Station, 2638 Two Notch Road, (803) 252-9043

• Five Points, 2108 Greene St., (803) 799-9995

• Forest Acres Branch, 4840 Forest Drive, (803) 738-8076; Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• Fort Jackson, 4400 Early St., (803) 782-8709

• Gadsden, 7731 Bluff Road, (803) 353-0995; Saturdays, 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.

• Harbison Branch, 5201 Broad River Road, (803) 798-3348

• Hopkins, 6200 Lower Richland Blvd., (803) 776-5180; Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

• Irmo, 7821 St. Andrews Road, (803) 781-4024; Saturdays, 9 a.m. to noon

• Leesburg Station, 7406 Garners Ferry Road, (803) 776-6178

• Main Branch, 1601 Assembly St., (803) 733-4643

• Northeast, 8505 Two Notch Road, (803) 736-2262; Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

• Sandhills Branch, 1805 Clemson Road, (803) 865-0068; Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• State Park, Building 20, Hinton St., (803) 935-0209

• University Branch, 1600 Hampton St., (803) 777-3168

• White Rock, 1947 Dutch Fork Road, (803) 781-9380; Saturdays, 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

Lexington County

Those with Saturday hours are noted below.

• Batesburg-Leesville, 110 E. Church St., (803) 532-4394; Saturdays, 9 a.m. to noon

• Cayce/West Columbia, 1535 Platt Springs Road, (803) 796-0455; Saturdays, 8:30 to 11 a.m.

• Chapin, 1249 Chapin Road, (803) 345-5531

• Gaston, 220 S. Main St., (803) 796-7555; Saturdays, 8:30 to 11 a.m.

• Gilbert, 401 Broad St., (803) 892-2525; Saturdays, 8:30 to 11 a.m.

• Main Office, 1830 S. Lake Drive, (803) 359-9355

• Lexington Station, 710 W. Main St., (803) 359-9356; Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on South Lake Drive; 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Main Street

• Pelion, 739 Pine St., (803) 894-3466

• Swansea, 295 S. Church St., (803) 568-2837; Saturdays, 8:30-11:30 a.m.

Kershaw County

• Camden, 542 W. DeKalb St., (803) 432-2215; Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

• Lugoff, 40 Plaza Drive, (803) 438-7860; Saturdays,8:30 a.m. to noon

• Elgin, 1100 Church St., (803) 438-1700; Saturdays, 8:30 a.m. to noon

RADIO STATIONS

WIS-10 (NBC)

1111 Bull St.

Columbia

779-1010

mailing: P.O. Box 367, Columbia, SC 29202

www.wistv.com

WLTX-19 (CBS)

6027 Garners Ferry Road

Columbia, SC 29209

776-3600

www.wltx.com

WOLO-25 (ABC)

5807 Shakespeare Road

Columbia

754-7525

mailing: P.O. Box 4217

Columbia, SC 29240

www.abccolumbia.com

WRLK-35 (ETV, PBS)

1101 George Rogers Blvd.

Drawer L

Columbia, SC 29250

737-3280

www.scetv.org

WACH-57 (Fox)

1400 Pickens St., Suite 6

Columbia, SC 29201

252-5757

www.wach.com