Looking out for each other

Looking out for each other Subhead Clifton residents encouraged to work together during eclipse Nathan Diebenow Wed, 03/13/2024 - 06:14 Image

• Representatives from the City of Clifton, Clifton Police Department, Bosque County Office of Emergency Management, and North Bosque Emergency Medical Services on Tuesday, March 5, participated at the Clifton High School cafeteria in an information session about the upcoming total solar eclipse happening on Monday, April 8, 2024. The map above shows the path the Moon’s shadow will take over Texas. Nathan Diebenow | The Clifton Record

Body

The Bosque County Office of Emergency Management and other local emergency service organizations encouraged Clifton residents to work together and calmly prepare for the large influx of visitors for the total solar eclipse on Monday, April 8, 2024.

The encouragement came during the City of Clifton’s second public meeting on the topic with the Clifton Police Department, Clifton Volunteer Fire Department, North Bosque Emergency Medical Services, and the Bosque County OEM at the Clifton High School cafeteria on Tuesday, March 5.

Bosque County Emergency Management Coordinator Kirk Turner said that in this unique situation, it’s important for residents to look out for each other – as they always have – but especially since state resources are limited for the eclipse event.

“In Bosque County, we have to be prepared to take care of ourselves, and for the most part, we’re really good at that,” Turner said. “In county government, we don’t like telling you what to do. But we’re giving you information to help you prepare for this so you can be better prepared to not ask for help.”

Clifton Police Chief Chris Blanton said that it’s anybody’s guess as to the number of visitors to the area for the eclipse, though visitors will likely start arriving the week prior and leave a day or two after the event.

“This whole thing is basically an educated guess based on other areas that have had a total solar eclipse, one of them being a town in Wyoming similar to our size,” he said. “They didn’t advertise, but had 10,000 to 30,000 people show up.”

The chief said he expected cell phone and Internet services will either run slowly or completely go down due to the high volume of people attempting to access these communication technologies.

“I don’t know how many of you still have home phones – landlines – but you’d be the lucky ones if that happens,” he said.

A day or two after the eclipse, the traffic will likely return to normal levels within the city and county, the chief said.

Emergency services

Blanton said residents have past experiences preparing for unknown events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic; however, in this situation, they have forewarning to buy groceries and fuel well ahead of time.

Blanton again encouraged residents to stay at home and refrain from performing high-risk work chores so as to reduce vehicular traffic on city streets and state highways which he expected will be crowded during the eclipse.

“Be prepared for cars to park where they can find a spot to park,” he said.

The chief said the police officers will try to keep Highway 6 open for emergency service vehicles within the city limits, adding it is legal for people to temporarily park their vehicles on city streets.

The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) will have around 10 troopers deployed along just the state highways throughout Bosque and Coryell counties, he said.

North Bosque EMS will have four total ambulances in operation in Bosque County during the weekend of the event and on the day of the eclipse.

North Bosque EMS Superintendent Cody Degges said that Goodall-Witcher Healthcare will operate a pop-up clinic in Laguna Park just for the ambulance service to take patients because the local first responders network assumes Highway 6 will be blocked by vehicles parked on it as folks taking day trips view the eclipse.

“For the week, there will be a doctor on call. There will be a nurse practitioner and her staff,” Degges said.

On the day of the eclipse, Goodall-Witcher’s clinic and emergency room in Clifton will have extra staff on hand for walk-ins, but the clinic and hospital will not schedule any appointments.

“This whole event – you all can imagine the amount of people we’re talking about – is a disaster,” Degges said. “It’s going to be managing that disaster. That’s all we can do.”

He continued, “We can’t stop it. So we’re gonna try to do what we can to take care of the most injured first, and then take care of everybody else a little later.”

Deggessaidthatnoadditionalemergency medical helicopters from outside the region will assist on calls during the weeklong event despite requests by the county’s emergency management office.

Bosque County EMC Turner said that Bosque County will likely issue an emergency declaration as well as order a burn ban ahead of the eclipse.

Turner said that Bosque County Commissioners Court and most, if not all, public independent school districts in Bosque County have decided to close down their offices and campuses on Monday, April 8.

The commissioners’ county workers will operate on stand-by in their four precincts, he added.

Turner also discouraged residents from traveling on the day of the eclipse by pointing out that every part of Bosque County will experience the once-in-alifetime celestial phenomenon.

“Don’t think that you have to get to Valley Mills to see the full eclipse. All of Bosque County will see the full eclipse,” he said. “The only difference is the farther you are from the very center line, the time under the full eclipse will just be a few seconds shorter.”

Event planning

Moving forward are normally scheduled local events, such as the Bosque Arts Center’s Big Event fundraiser and banquet on Friday and Saturday in Clifton.

Market at the Mill and On5th Gallery are also planning events specifically for the eclipse in historic downtown Clifton.

The SILO Project recently announced that it will host visitors on its property south of Clifton.

The City of Clifton is providing the outof- town visitors with space to watch the eclipse at Clifton City Park. Guests can park at the Central Texas Fair Grounds for $15 per vehicle, which will include free safety glasses with which to view the eclipse.

Between Friday and Monday, the City of Clifton will also prevent vehicle traffic from being in historic downtown Clifton; however, pedestrian foot traffic will be allowed on the 100 block of North Avenue D to shop at small businesses that decide to stay open for business there.

Blanton and Turner both advised that if small business owners feel overwhelmed by visitors, they can reduce capacity in their stores or shut down their store completely.

The City of Clifton has temporarily hired 10 additional police officers for the day of the eclipse. These officers will be stationed in places like Clifton City Park and historic downtown Clifton, the chief said.

In addition, Clifton City Hall is renting 20 additional portable restrooms which will spread across different locations within the city limits.

While the Clifton Chamber of Commerce has no events of its own scheduled for the days leading up to the eclipse, it is accepting event listings for distribution via the newspaper and other digital outlets.

Turner advised that residents should be aware that the atmosphere leading up to the eclipse will be festive, which will likely include their neighbors and visitors drinking alcohol.

Turner also encouraged property owners to speak with their attorney and insurance provider before allowing visitors on their property.

“We expect there will probably be [road rage]. What to do about it? It’s a case by case basis. If there’s violence, call 9-1-1. And dispatch will prioritize a call, and they’ll get someone there as quick as they can,” Turner said.

Chief Blanton reiterated that people only call 9-1-1 in a life-or-death situation.

The Clifton Police Department’s phone number for reporting non-emergencies is (254) 675-6620.

The Bosque County Sheriff’s Office’s phone number for reporting nonemergencies is (254) 435-2362.

About the eclipse

A solar eclipse happens when the Moon travels between the Earth and the Sun, casting a shadow on the surface of the Earth.

On Monday, April 8, 2024, the Moon’s shadow will fall over 43 millionAmericans as it passes from the south and west to north and east across the United States.

The shadow will cross North America starting in southern Mexico. At approximately 1:37 p.m., the Moon will completely block out the Sun over Clifton.

This shadow over Clifton will last for roughly four minutes and 18 seconds.

The draw to experience the eclipse in rural areas like Bosque County is that the lack of artificial light from street lamps and buildings does not affect the view of the solar eclipse.

In Bosque County, Valley Mills will experience the longest duration of darkness caused by the eclipse.