Riley County EMS Director Larry Couchman told county commissioners Monday morning that there were relatively few incidents during this weekend’s Country Stampede music festival.
The event, which celebrated it’s 20th year in Tuttle Creek State Park, began Thursday and concluded Sunday night. Over 100,000 concert goers attend the festival each year and Couchman said good weather and mild temperatures kept heat-related incidents low this year.
The good weather may have been a factor in increase in alcohol-related problems, though.
Couchman said there 28 incidents of medical attention related to alcohol — up from 23 cases last year.
“I think that’s contributed to the mild weather,” Couchman said about the increase. “When we see the extremes of very, very hot weather, yes we have alcohol things, but we don’t see the extremes of alcohol usage, because people just get wiped out by the weather. So (the good weather) may have contributed to that just slightly.”
Overall, Riley County EMS attended to 104 festival goers seeking medical attention, which is less that last year’s tally of 111. Ambulance transports were also down to eight from last year’s mark of 13.
One area of concern that Couchman has seen as a growing trend during Country Stampede and Fake Patty’s Day is rooftop parties, specifically on RV’s.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” he said. “I hate to legislate stupidity, but you put testosterone, alcohol and an opportunity together sometimes there’s a potential for some really significant outcomes.”
Couchman said there was one incident of an individual suffering a fractured leg after falling off a ladder while attempting to get on the roof of an RV over the weekend.
Couchman also noted the use of S.A.R.T., which stands for Sexual Assault Response Team.
“We did have two S.A.R.T. activations for two alleged sexual assaults that occurred related to the Stampede,” he sad. “Did not have any reported ones last year.”
Throughout the weekend Couchman said there 31 people taken to the emergency room, but compared Stampede to Fake Patty’s Day, where there were 36 trips to the emergency room in just a 30-hour time-span in March.
“Yes there’s alcohol and when you have that many people out there, we’re going to have some issues,” he said. “But in comparison (to Fake Patty’s Day), it’s a good, well-managed event.”
Commissioner Ron Wells asked Couchman about a particular item in Saturday’s report, where one emergency call mentioned an Adderal/Viagra/vodka drink intoxication.
“What kind of mix is that?” Wells asked.
“I wasn’t going to bring that one up,” Couchman said. “In our management meetings we’ve decided we’re going to start a new tradition called ‘The Call of the Day,’ and that was unfortunately a concoction that was mixed and we believe was given to an unsuspecting person.
“That would have been ‘The Call of the Day’ for that particular day.”
Whether that patient was released longer than four hours later was not known.
