The City of Levelland will be experiencing an influx of what is expected be roughly 6,000 visitors combined next week through three events that will require all safety personnel to ensure a smooth experience.
Beginning April 3, Levelland will be hosting the National American Division Little Dribbler’s Tournament and will conclude April 6. The games will be played at Levelland ISD basketball gyms located at the Levelland High School, Levelland Middle School, Levelland Intermediate School and South Plains College. There are an expected 80-plus teams competing in the tournament.
Throughout the week, travelers will be making their way into Levelland as the Mallet Event Center and Arena will be hosting the ABC Rodeo. Traffic for individuals involved in the rodeo will be moving throughout the week and spectators will be traveling to the scheduled showing of events.
As springtime has made its way to West Texas, baseball and softball have begun to pick up. With the City of Levelland operating the Oxy Sports Complex adjacent from the Mallet, a weekend softball tournament with 30-plus teams will be making use of the of all the fields the facility has to offer with some of the fields at the Levelland City Park being needed as well.
With each respective event taking place throughout the first week of April, public safety is one of the biggest priorities currently being focused on prior to all events behind the scenes.
Levelland-Hockley County Emergency Management Coordinator Cole Kirkland is tasked with piecing together Incident Action Plans (IAP) for situational responses in the case of emergencies. With three events slated to overlap, that requires three IAP’s and all the proper safety personnel to be in sync with each respective plan.
“This is more situational awareness for all of the response piece,” said Kirkland. “You have your medical, public safety and fire response. If we know we have prom going on at SPC which means a large gathering or a mass gathering with the potential for something to not go as planned, it is better to have a plan for emergencies.”
While events require planning and logistics to function properly, Kirkland is tasked with asking difficult questions such as what the proper steps are needed if a mass casualty incident were to occur for whatever reason imaginable.
“If you can plan for the worst-case scenario such as 200 people somehow resulting in casualties, then if one person has a heart attack during an event, we are more than capable of handling that situation,” explained Kirkland. “Putting together these plans, we will be having reviews, command staff briefing and operational briefings.”
Some examples of events requiring such level of security include Cotton and Crude, 62/82 Fest, ABC Rodeo, the past COVID-19 clinics and the political rally that was held in 2020.
While “mass” casualty seems vague in terms of what number qualifies for that term, Kirkland explained that it is a threshold that determines what is going to overwhelm one’s resources.
“We have two ambulances on duty which is equates to four medical personnel, and we have an eight bed ER,” said Kirkland. “If we have more than about 10 folks hurt, that is considered “mass” because it is going to overwhelm our resources. So, if you have even 1,000 people running around, things can turn bad quickly and overwhelm us in an instant.”
On the medical side of things, Kirkland has been reaching out to Littlefield EMS who regularly assists Levelland in case of emergency resources running thin and even Brownfield EMS as an extra layer of added communication if the need arises. He has also had discussions with the Levelland Covenant Hospital Emergency Room.
If an emergency did occur and mutual aid was required, Kirkland added that he could contact the Emergency Medical Task Force II (EMTF). The EMTF is a program that consists of state-deployable medical teams that can provide a coordinated response, offering rapid professional medical assistance to emergency operation systems during large scale incidents. An additional resource through the program available is the AMBUSes with one located in Lubbock.
For the basketball tournament, Kirkland explained that all LISD schools and SPC already have evacuation plans, loading and landing zones are the same which make the security planning somewhat easier as layout does not change as much unless there is an unforeseen circumstance which will require adapting to the situation.
Planning for the ABC Rodeo is a bit of a similar and easier process due to the Mallet not changing in layout. Plans for evacuation go through the northwest roadway and extrication of those in medical attention will be moved out the east roadway to the Levelland clinic or to the airport for airlift for any event held at the Mallet. Additionally, medical standby is required for rodeo events.
“It may sound crazy, but if a bull jumps a rail and into the stands or a drunk driver barrels through the parking lot, we have a way to maneuver efficiently and get people to a place of safety in an orderly and quick manner,” said Kirkland.
In regard to security, the Levelland Police Department (LPD) will be focusing the majority of their efforts toward the basketball tournament, while the Hockley County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) handles the rodeo at the Mallet.
“Kudos to Cole on putting together these safety plans,” said Levelland Police Captain Mateo Gonzales. “It takes a lot of work to coordinate all the resources to ensure a safe environment even in crisis and he does a great job.” To alleviate some of the stress for patrol officers having to make frequent checks multiple times at multiple locations within Levelland, the LPD is assisting by assigning officers to each facility where basketball games are played.
In turn, that is going to assist the department’s patrol staff with staying vigilant on the roadways. Additionally, officers with the LPD will be assisting the HCSO with security at the Mallet as well.
“When it comes to the general motoring public and safety, we know we are going to have an influx of visitors coming into town,” said Gonzales. “Our message to them and our community members is to stay vigilant on busy roadways. Abiding by traffic laws and limiting distractions behind the wheel are key for drivers’ safety.” LPD patrol staff will be having an additional meeting and have information disseminated to them explaining what business and main roadways they will be focusing on.
“Throughout the week we are going to have large vehicles pulling campers and family vehicles for the softball tournament, family vehicles and animal trailers for the rodeo and family vehicles and possibly campers for the basketball tournament,” explained Gonzales. “That is in addition to normal traffic throughout the day, school drop-off and pick-up times for grade school and college traffic. When we talk about all hands being on deck, we mean it.
LISD school resources officers (SRO’s) that are tied to a school will not be covering games, the department has officers signed up for security during those shifts. The SRO’s will be monitoring traffic and making sure that safety zones will stay cleared. An example is parking in fire lanes.
Additional security resources include the South Plains College Police Department and assistance from their officers.
“We have sent out messages to some of our neighboring agencies and we have a deputy coming to help with security from Dawson County,” said Gonzales. “Sundown Police Department will be assisting us with security at a local event at the Levelland City Park as well. While we are being spread out across multiple events, we have some great individuals offering their assistance.”
Throughout next week, community members are encouraged to emphasize driver safety with the expected busy traffic conditions through Levelland.