🌱 Gas Prices Still Dropping, Hooray! + New Year's Ever Plans?

Hello, friends! It's me, Karena Garrity, your host of the Daily. Come along for the most important things happening around town. In this issue, you'll get updates on:

• A respite from high gas prices!
• See you at Dublin Winery!
• New Year's Eve Plans?

But first, today's weather:

Cloudy, a shower in the p.m.. High: 51 Low: 39.

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Here are the top five stories in Myrtle Beach today:

1. Here's something to celebrate this holiday season. Gas prices are the lowest they have been in a year. This is a gift for everyone. According to WMBF, "the average price of gas in Myrtle Beach fell an additional 9 cents over last week, officials said. GasBuddy’s survey of 197 stations in Myrtle Beach shows a median of $2.72, 45.5 cents lower than a month ago and 24 cents lower than last year. “The national average for a gallon of gasoline is down nearly $2 compared to six months ago, and heading into Christmas travel week, is at its lowest in a year and a half, saving Americans some $750 million every day,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. The national average is down 57.1 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 20.0 cents per gallon lower than a year ago, according to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 11 million weekly price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country." (WMBF)
2. Looking for something fun to do this week? Why not head over to Duplin Winery in North Myrtle Beach to check out the T & The Strats on Wednesday, December 21 from 3 – 6 p.m. According to Myrtle Beach Live," [T & The Strats] is inspired by the early R&B legends of the '60s and '70s. JT has been lending his smooth voice to many genres of music. Motown, southern soul, blues, country, jazz, classic rock and beach music favorites. He performs all of the "remember when" songs from the 50s through the 90s." Sounds like a good time. Hope to see you there! (Myrtle Live.com)
3. New Year's Eve is just around the corner. Do you have your plans set? You can celebrate New Year’s Eve with the family at Lulu’s Noon Year’s Eve! According to Myrtle Beach.com, "Lucy Buffett’s Lulu’s is the place to be for a kid-friendly party that won’t have you up all night. Enjoy crafts and games and a huge beach ball drop over Lulu’s Beach at noon. Kids will provide the “fireworks” (bubble wrap) and Lulu’s will bring the serious fun. Festivities include a live band, face painting, balloon animals and more! Lucy Buffett’s Lulu’s is located at Barefoot Landing in North Myrtle Beach." Have fun! (Myrtle Beach.com)
4. According to WMBF, "Family members and those in the Grand Strand community gathered Sunday to honor Heather Elvis on the ninth anniversary of her disappearance. Elvis was last seen on December 17, 2013, near the area of Peachtree Landing. Her body has not been recovered. The annual “Night of HELPP” vigil has been held each year to call attention to missing person cases in the community and provide support to families during the holiday season.“Leading up to the holidays is awful,” said Debbi Elvis, Heather’s mother. “And being able to focus on helping somebody else is what gets me through the holidays."' (WMBF)
5. If you live in the section of Socastee Boulevard you may have noticed the area was closed down and there was some police activity going on Sunday evening. According to WMBF, "Police were on the scene of an investigation. The Horry County Police Department said the active investigation shut down Socastee Boulevard between Coalition Drive and Stonebridge Drive. The department later stated that officers responded “out of an abundance of caution for a ‘suspicious package.’” The HCPD said the package turned out to be a collection of abandoned items that were no threat to the community." (WMBF)

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Myrtle Beach Picture of the Day:

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Today in Myrtle Beach:

• T-Mobile Tuesdays: Get Delighted Every Week (8:30 AM)
• Surfside Beach Farmers Market - Town of Surfside Beach (10:00 AM)
• Holiday Carriage Rides (4:00 PM)
• The Carolina Opry Christmas Special (7:00 PM)

From my notebook:

• South Carolina Stingrays: "Wishing a very Happy Hanukkah to all who celebrate! ❤️💙" (South Carolina Stingrays via Instagram)
• Visit Myrtle Beach, South Carolina: "ICYMI: Big Mike from Big Mike's Soulfood won his episode of Chef Swap at The Beach! This family-owned restaurant has been a Myrtle Beach staple since 2012 and offers some of the most authentic southern cooking along the Grand Strand." (Visit Myrtle Beach, South Carolina via Facebook)
• The Humane Society of North Myrtle Beach: "Today’s featured #PetOfTheDay is Smokey! His adoption fee is being sponsored today by Atlantic Heating & Cooling of North Myrtle Beach. This sweet CHONK recently lost his parent. Smokey is 10 years old and comes with enough love to last a hundred lifetimes" (The Humane Society of North Myrtle Beach via Facebook)
• South Carolina Artists: "Each week SCA explores ways to examine color. Many enter, not all will win. The winners of the Smokey White Color Wall Exhibition this week are; Tobi Elbel Joseph Berliner Brenda Gadow Clark Moona Wu Willie Clark Jr. See their works all this week SouthCarolinaArtists.com" (South Carolina Artists via Instagram)

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Events:

• T-Mobile Tuesdays: Get Delighted Every Week (December 20)
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That's it for today. I'll be back in your inbox tomorrow morning with a new update!

— Karena Garrity

About me: Journalism is in my veins. I have been a community reporter for the better part of the past 20 years. I love my community and I am honored to be a part of Patch.com. You can reach me at; karena.garrity@patch.com.

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Myrtle Beach Daily? Contact me at karena.garrity@patch.com