Events

• Get new greenery at plant exchange

Saturday is the third annual Cayce Plant Exchange, sponsored by the city’s beautification board.

The event will be at 10 a.m. at City Hall, 1800 12th St. Extension.

Participants are encouraged to come early to place plants. When officials blow the whistle, each person will choose one plant. This will continue until all plants are exchanged. You do not have to bring a plant to participate. And bringing extra plants, bulbs, or seeds is encouraged.

There also will be a master gardener on site to answer questions.

For details, call Diane Hutto at (803) 796-9020.

• Justin Smith opens Riverwalk concerts

The 2008 Rhythm on the River concert series kicks off Saturday with Justin Smith & The Folk Hop Band.

Concerts are free, held 6-9 p.m. every Saturday through June 28 at the West Columbia Riverwalk Amphitheater.

In addition to this weekend’s folk/acoustic/hip hop group, others on this season’s lineup — subject to change — include:

May 3: Corey Crowder Band, with special guest Courier (acoustic/country/Southern rock)

May 10: Bentz Kirby’s Singer-Songwriters Showcase (folk/acoustic/country)

May 17: Riverland Hills Praise Band (Christian/classic rock/pop)

May 24: Bill Wells and Blue Ridge Mountain Grass (bluegrass/country/folk)

May 31: Lauren Lucas and guest (country/pop/soul)

June 7: Analog Moon (rock/indie)

June 14: Rob Crosby and guest (acoustic/country/pop)

June 21: The Fossil Record (rock/folk rock/alternative)

June 28: Thunder Rose (alternative/acoustic/country)

For other details, log on at www.rhythmontheriversc.com

SCHOOLS

• Lexington 2 plans to split monthly checks

Lexington 2 teachers and staff will receive two paychecks a month starting July 1, 2009.

School board members recently approved splitting employees’ monthly earnings into two pay periods as long as it does not impact the Cayce-West Columbia system’s budget.

District officials told board members payroll office employees need time to prepare and a 2009 start date would give employees the opportunity to notify banks and change their automatic draft pay arrangements.

UPDATE: GASTON

• Council wants to postpone election

Gaston Town Council has voted to ask a judge to postpone a May 13 special election to replace the ex-mayor until January.

That would allow voters to replace Mayor Larry Sharpe — who is accused of embezzling — during a regular election for mayor and two other council positions, officials said.

No one has filed to complete the remaining eight months of Sharpe’s term, Gaston officials said.

Sharpe and two other town officials were arrested in April on charges of misconduct and taking $15,000 in public money.

Should a court refuse council’s request for an injunction, the election next month would be won by a write-in candidate, Lexington County elections director Dean Crepes said.

Yet the results would remain in limbo because the U.S. Justice Department is sorting through annexations dating to 1976 to determine whether as many as one in five of the town’s 800 voters might not be eligible to cast ballots.