It’s hard to believe that prices for gasoline are below $2.00 in some parts of the Southern Crescent. Several stations at the Hardeeville, S.C., exit of Interstate 95 had low prices on Sunday, although in nearby Ridgeland, gas cost $0.50 more per gallon. Both are in Jasper County.
Jasper County, population 25,833, is just over the river from Savannah, Ga. Its location near the metro area likely is why poverty in Jasper County (21.4 percent) is half that of Allendale County to the north. Ridgeland has a poverty rate of more than 24 percent, while Hardeeville’s rate exceeds 32 percent.
Photo by Andy Brack, taken on Dec. 28, 2014. All rights reserved.