Discover Levelland Community Guide 2022

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Table of Contents City of Levelland.....................................................Pg. 6 Hockley County....................................................Pg. 11 Main Street.............................................................Pg. 19 Cotton & Crude....................................................Pg. 25 South Plains College.............................................Pg. 32 Levelland ISD........................................................Pg. 38 Covenant Health...................................................Pg. 41 Civic Clubs ......................................................Pg. 46-52 South Plains Community Action........................Pg. 55

Chuck & Sandra Wallace

Levelland Police Department.............................Pg. 61

We can help with all your Health Insurance needs including:

Hockley County Sheriff ’s Dept...........................Pg. 64

LOCAL, HOME-TOWN MEDICARE SPECIALISTS

Dental • Vision • Cancer • Life

Levelland Parks.....................................................Pg. 68

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Thunder on the Plains..........................................Pg. 73

For: Individual • Spouse • Family Chuck Wallace 806-781-1290

Sandra Wallace 806-891-1173

Levelland Country Club......................................Pg. 77 Levelland Youth Baseball......................................Pg.81

110 Houston Street, Suite A / Levelland, TX 79336

Levelland Youth Softball......................................Pg. 83

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Leading the Way City of Levelland invests in the future for residents While the leadership at the City of Levelland is changing, the focus for the future and progress have not.

The city continues to be focused on fulfilling the strategic plan it adopted in 2017, which involves the city’s vision for the future focused on five pillars: infrastructure, housing, job creation, beautification and economic development.

These five pillars were established to promote growth, as the city has set a goal to be at a population of 15,000 by its centennial celebration in 2026.

In order to grow the population, though, the city has to provide adequate infrastructure, housing, jobs and quality of life to recruit and retain residents.

Joe Cavazos, who has been serving as interim city manager since October 2021, said most recently, the focus has been on infrastructure.

“We are about to be 100 years old and we have older infrastructure,” Cavazos said. “You wouldn’t build a house on a faulty foundation, you won’t build or grow without good infrastructure.

“We’re trying to build the house from the bottom up and add all the extra good things, like beautification and quality of life, along the way,” Cavazos said.

Cavazos said the goal is to get people to live and stay in Levelland because that is how it can fund future growth.

“We want people to stay here,” Cavazos said. “That’s what the city runs off, sales tax and property taxes. The more people we have here, that person and their family will spend money

6 | Discover Levelland

here in Levelland, which generates sales tax for us.”

Cavazos said the process is long and tedious, but all the small steps matter.

“It’s about seeing some progression, it’s going to be small steps not really big or quick steps, but if we can see the small steps, that shows growth,” Cavazos said.

He said growth is evident in the new infrastructure being developed, new housing, new businesses coming to town, new business downtown, and growth at the industrial rail park.

“It’s very important to focus on that kind of stuff,” Cavazos said.

He added that in order for the city to be successful in all of its endeavors, it’s important for the city to capitalize on and nurture its relationships with the various partners in Levelland and Hockley County, including the college, school district and county government.

“It’s all about relationship building,” Cavazos said. “We’re not just the City of Levelland, all the taxing entites, we all have to work together and build rapport with one another to see what we have in store for the future.

“I don’t think each entity on its own can progress as fast as we could together,” Cavazos continued.

“We are always looking at the best interest of the City of Levelland, but that includes all those other entities, as well,” he said One of those relationships is in-house in the Levelland Economic Development Corporation, which is focused on the creation of new industrial businesses in Levelland, specifically at the Levelland Industrial Rail Park.

The population of Hockley County has grown steadily over the past 122 years.

The population of Hockley County was just 44 people in 1900.

By 1910, the population had tripled and 137 were counted.

Unfortunately, the population did not grow over the next decade.

The 1920 census recorded just 137 people.

The count in 1930, however, was quite different. There were 9,289 people reported living in Hockley County.

The rapid growth continued over the next decade and the population count was 12,693 in the county.

The 1940 census showed 3,091 people living in Levelland.

The 1950 census showed an unbelievable 20,407 people in the county with 8,265 living in Levelland.

By 1960, city leaders were anxious for Levelland’s census count to break 10,000.

n Recently, the LEDC and City of Levelland partnered together on an Economic Development dministration to finish out infrastructure at the rail park to make all the lots at the rail park “shovel ready.”

“The ED grant will allow us to bring every single lot at the rail park online,” Cavazos said.

That means that if a business is interested in buying a lot at the rail park as the home to its future business, they can immediately begin construction without having to develop infrastructure such as water, sewer and streets.

The city is also focused on housing development with the city council recently approving an agreement between the TI Tax Increment Reinvestment one o. 1 and local developers.

In 2021, the development was the city’s largest focus in regards to housing, which focuses on the expansion of the Holly Heights Addition, south of Levelland High School.

The project is currently underway as the city and contractors are working to implement infrastructure. fter that, the developers will begin building new houses on the lots and for every lot or house sold, the city will receive 5,000.

The construction is part of an agreement with the developer and the City of Levelland, which says the developer will contribute 240,000, with 195,000 provided up front for infrastructure development and 45,000 upon the completion or sale of the lots.

That agreement has since been amended, adding 30,000 to the developer’s contribution to

install sewer taps on each lot.

The agreement also states the developer will build at least five new homes over six years to develop all 30 lots included in the expansion of the Holly Heights addition.

The costs for the city have been budgeted to come out of the TI o. 1, which generates revenue off taxable property within the Tax Reinvestment Zone, Holly Heights.

The city also recently entered into an agreement with reese and ichols for a comprehensive study of the City of Levelland and its future needs. Cavazos said the estimated cost of that study will be 250,000, with 134,000 for reese and ichols.

The scope of the proposed agreement includes public facilities and services, transportation, infrastructure and stormwater.

The City of Levelland is also conducting a comprehensive review of its zoning and ordinances code. The city formed a task force to narrow the scope of the study and the Planning and Zoning Board have hosted two town halls to receive feedback from the community on the review.

“Our code of ordinances hasn’t been revised since the 1980s and that’s been a big thing,” Cavazos said. “They need to be changed because what was effective then isn’t so effective now. This will help us to have a a nicer, cleaner, town where businesses want to come and residents want to live.”

As the city continues to grow, Cavazos noted the city will need to address its services

g e to ensure it provides high quality and e cient services for residents.

“With growing comes growing pains,” Cavazos said.

The most recent growing pain the city has experienced is the need for additional public safety personnel. In the last budget cycle, the city added funding for three new police o cers and one new firefighter utilizing funds from the merican Rescue Plan ct.

The federal funds the city received is 3.2 million, the first half the city has already received and the second half the city will receive this next budget cycle.

After that, the city is proposing to use the funds it is currently using for debt service on the Levelland ire Department. However, that is expected to be paid off next year, at which time, the city can begin allocating those funds towards the police and fire personnel.

Overall, though, Cavazos said this highlights a need for more employees at the City of Levelland in the future and is something that is on the radar for the city moving forward. fter nearly six months without a city manager, the Levelland City Council approved an agreement with Brandon Anderson to start as the new Levelland City Manager in June.

Anderson joins the City of Levelland after being the city manager in raham from 2015 to 2022. He started his career as the city manger in Haskell. nderson will take the reins as city manager starting in une and is excited to be a part of a “progressive city.”

When the count came in at 9,952, they demanded a recount. After an intense effort and a “Were you counted ” campaign, the final count grew by 166 people and Levelland’s population was formally reported to be 10,118.

In 2010, the Census Bureau reported Hockley County’s population to be 22,935 and the City of Levelland’s population to be 13,552.

On pril 1, 2020, the Census Bureau reported the county’s population was 21,537 as the Covid pandemic was raging and oil prices had collapsed, resulting in the highest unemployment seen in the county in decades.

The City of Levelland’s population was 13,505 on pril 1, 2020. The city was ranked the 199th largest in Texas and the 2,493rd largest in the United States.

Discover Levelland |

8 | Discover Levelland

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100 Years

Hockley County celebrates centennial this summer Hockley County, established in 1921, is celebrating its centennial this year.

The centennial celebration was delayed until this year because the Covid-19 pandemic was still raging in the spring and early summer.

The event will be held aturday, uly 9 and will include a parade, food vendors, a proclamation from overnor reg bbott’s o ce, music, and a keynote speaker. ttendees will also receive 100 year memorabilia and birthday sweets to celebrate.

The event will kick off with the parade at 9:30 a.m. and will end around lunch time.

Anyone wishing to participate may pick up a parade entry form in the Hockley County udge’s o ce on the first oor of the courthouse.

Prior to 1921, the county was dominated by ranches owned by the Capitol Land Company IT , ohn W. and Dudley H. nyder, David . Devitt, C.C. laughter, . . Oxsheer and ohn charbauer.

Their holdings, owned outright or leased from the counties which controlled the school lands here, covered most of Hockley County, which was created out of Bexar County, which was one of 36 created in 1845.

Between 1845 and 1865, 85 new counties were organized and the Panhandle was designated Young Territory.

Most of the counties created from the oung Territory were named for the heroes of the battle of San Jacinto.

Hockley County was named for eorge Washington Hockley, who was named chief of staff of the Texas rmy when am Houston was elected command chief of staff of the army.

Oxsheer’s ranch lands were sold to John Scharbauer and to C.W. Post.

Post had a dream of building another city like the one he planned in arza County. He had originally named the Levelland townsite “Hockley City” and had erected a sign with that name on it. It stood on the empty prairie with nothing around but grass, grazing cattle and wildlife and was the subject of laughter for cowboys working in the area. The view in every direction would be unblocked by any natural or man-made obstacle.

That was not to be the case for long.

In 1920, with the population of Hockley County reported at 137, a petition signed by 80 residents, was presented to the Lubbock County

Commissioners Court which called an election to elect county o cers and select a site for a county seat.

The election was held in the Ropesville School, the Zavala Camp, the waim place and at the outh pade Camp.

The issue of county seat location was contested between Ropesville, which was established in 1917, and Hockley City with Hockley City winning with 52 votes.

The first meeting of the commissioners court was held on arch 2, 1921 at the site which had been designated for the courthouse.

It had now been nine years since the spot was marked and grass had covered the marker. cowboy pointed it out to them and the first meeting was held there on the prairie. t that meeting, a decision was made to erect a 16 x 32 ft. temporary courthouse, a windmill and wooden storage tank that stood until 1927, when the city had a water system in place. t that meeting, the court ordered a wire fence be constructed around the courthouse square since the county seat was in the middle of a ranch and there was not another house in town.

12 | Discover Levelland

Downtown County Seat The first store was 25 by 40 ft. and was built in 1921. It also served as a post o ce with the owner going to Lubbock twice a month to pick up supplies and the mail.

A second, larger courthouse was completed in 1921 but the two story structure burned in 1928.

The second business to be built in the town was a filling station and garage.

The name of the small community had to be changed when it applied for a post o ce.

The postal system rejected Hockley City, as there was already a Hockley in Texas. fter several ladies decided on the name of “Levelland,” they asked that rs.

S.M. Bardwell, the wife of the manager of the Post Estate, have the honor of o cially requesting that the postal department accept the name. It was approved and the post o ce was established pril 22, 1922.

In the fall of 1921, there was only one teacher for the school, which had 15 students.

Even as the edgling community was trying to grow, the colonization of ranch lands was underway. ome of C.C. laughter’s 10 heirs were selling land to farmers, eorge Littlefield’s heirs were beginning to sell some of their Hockley County holdings and W.L. Ellwod was selling Spade Ranch lands in Lamb and Hockley counties. The Post Estate, which owned the old Oxsheer lands also prepared to sell its lands in 1924.

As a result, there was a huge land boom underway in the county. myer was settled in 1917 and platted in 1925, nton was established in 1924, Whitharral in 1925, undown in 1928 but incorporated in 1947 and Pettit was settled in 1922. Pep was established in 1936.

With growth came the development of the railroad with the ranchers subsidizing that development, as was the custom of the day. In 1925, the railroad went across the center of Hockley County and into Cochran County. The track layers reached Levelland on uly 28, 1925. By August, train service was initiated and a big barbecue was held to commemorate the event. Reports say that Levelland’s 500 residents hosted over 10,000 people at the celebration. any were home seekers.

Levelland did not exist when the . . census was taken in 1920 but was incorporated on pril 20, 1926. In 1930, the census reported the city’s population was 1,661 and that the county’s population had jumped from 137 to 9,298 during the same 10 year period.

Neither the county nor the city experienced much growth during the reat Depression 1929-1932 and a prolonged drought 19331939 had farmers struggling to hang onto their lands.

However, irrigation and the discovery of oil on Slaughter lands in 1937 kicked off a urry of activity which benefitted the county and its communities.

Discover Levelland | 13

Oil, Soil & Education Oil fueled much of the local economic recovery. By arch, 1938, all commercial lots in the Levelland town site had been sold and both commercial and residential construction were underway.

The county had 16 producing oil wells and farmers were digging irrigation wells to boost production. The numbers of both were destined to grow rapidly in the years to come.

In October, 1982, the county celebrated the production of the billionth barrels of oil. Through 2021, the county had produced 1.881 billion barrels of crude from nearly 13,000 drilled wells of which 3,200 were active.

The 1940 census showed the county’s population was 12,693, up from 9,298 in 1930.

Levelland’s population in 1940 was 3,091.

By 1950, the county’s population had climbed to 20,407, an increase of 60 percent.

Levelland’s population was 8,264.

In pril, 1957, voters established the Hockley County unior College District and voted 900,000 in bonds to build five buildings. In the fall of 1958,

a faculty of 17 greeted 574 students. In 1959, the college district’s name was changed to South Plains Junior College District. In 2008, the college celebrated its 50th anniversary with festivities and special events hosted throughout the year.

In addition to the Levelland Campus where the science building has undergone a

multi-million dollar renovation and and expansion, outh Plains College has a presence in Lubbock on the Reese Center and is renovating the former Lubbock City Hall into an academic campus which will complement its venue campus. . It also has a presence in Plainview. SPC offers dual credit courses at every high school in the 15-county

service area. Enrollment exceeds 9,000 students and is growing.

By 1960, the county’s population was 22,340, an annual growth rate of 9.47 .

Levelland’s population was 10,153. The 1970 census showed a slight decline with the county’s population which was reported to be 20,396. Levelland’s population was 11,445.

Change can be a good thing, especially when it comes to travel. The streets of Levelland in the late 1920s were a little messy to travel on. The attempt at paving was around the courthouse square. Some praised it, others criticized it. The building on the left of the photo is the eventual Upshaw Drug. The building in the middle is what is now Eddie’s Cowboy Store and the courthouse is on the right.

Long-time Levelland resident, Bob Odell, submitted this photo. (Original cutline for photo on the bottom left)

Prosperous Future The 1980 census showed the population had rebounded to 23,230 and over the next decade, it grew to 24,199. Levelland’s population re ected the county’s growth, being 13,809 in 1980 and 13,986 a decade later.

The population dropped over the next decade, being reported at 22,935 in 2010. The 2020 census showed 21,537 residents in the county but was estimated at 23,171 for 2022.

The county has continued to evolve with the fortunes of agriculture, oil and education. It routinely produces over 200,000 bales of cotton and is ranked in the top 10 producing counties in the nation.

s a result of recruitment efforts, the medical community has continued to grow over the past two decades and Levelland has a coveted medical complex of hospital, clinics, pharmacies, dentists and optometrist, all staffed by outstanding medical professionals.

To ensure quality health care was available to its residents, the county purchased the Levelland hospital and recruited Methodist Hospital, now Covenant Health ystem, to manage and operate it.

Recognizing area needs, the county built the 15 million Mallet Event Center and Arena ,

which was completed in anuary, 2012. It has hosted a number of regional events including Lubbock’s BC Rodeo. t the same time, the City of Levelland built the popular Oxy ports Complex, improved every park and is executing a master plan to overhaul City Park.

The local economy was impacted by the collapse of the oil industry in ebruary, 2020 when prices dropped into negative figures, by the Covid-19 pandemic which reached Hockley County in arch, 2020 and a drought that lingered throughout the 2020 crop year.

Showing the resiliency of

its residents, the county saw unemployment average 8.0 percent in 2020, decline to 6.0 percent in 2021 and rebound to under 4.0 percent during the first quarter of 2022.

Oil prices have rebounded to over 100 per barrel, sales tax collections are growing, cotton is being contracted at over 1.20 per pound, sorghum prices are up, South Plains College enrollment is again increasing, and new subdivisions are being platted and new homes are being built, especially in the southeast corner of the county.

Hockley County continues to grow and prosper as it prepares to celebrate its centennial.

Discover Levelland | 15

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18 | Discover Levelland

Fun on Main Street!

Levelland Main Street program develops events that bring quality of life, promotion to downtown Levelland

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The Levelland Main Street program has em braced the spirit of com m unity inclusion by introducing several new events over the past year that encourage residents to participate in their local com m unity.

Tania Moody becam e the new Main Street m anager in May 201, a nd since has im plem ented new events that give residents a reason to m ake their way to downtown Levelland.

She started the “F irst Saturday Shopping” events last summer, featuring different them es and allowing fam ilies to work t ogether and participate in the local com m unity.

At the sam e tim e, the events gave local downtown businesses a reason to offer store-wide discounts and capitalize on the crowds that were com ing downtown for the events.

Moody said her goal is to m ake downtown Levelland a place where everyone is included.

This year, the first aturday shopping event was held in May and was them ed Salsa D e Mayo, giving fam ilies and organizations an opportunity to sell salsa at a them ed booth they created in downtown.

F am ilies and organizations are able to ke ep all the proceeds earned during the event.

The Levelland Main Street program is also gearing up for the annual Sip and Swirl event, which is set for F riday, June 10.

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Moody said there will be between 10 and 12 wineries in each business around the downtown square offering samples for those with tickets.

Tickets for the Levelland ip and wirl include 10 tastings. Those in attendance can also buy a bottle or glass of wine from the wineries throughout downtown.

In the past couple of years, the event began incorporating craft beer vendors, as well, giving participants a variety of tastes to choose from.

The event will begin at 7 p.m. and go until 10 p.m. with a “wine down” at tudebakers following the event.

Prior to the event, there will be a IP event at tudebakers, featuring live music, wine tastings and heavy hors d’oeuvres.

Registration will be from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Brasch Mitchell Building, located at 513 venue , where ticket holders can pick up their wine glass and “swag bag” including their exclusive ain treet wine glass.

Moody said this event is held every year because it is popular and a great way to raise money for the Levelland ain treet program.

SOMETHING SPECIAL

FOR EVERYONE

604 Ave. H • Call: (806) 568-0024

Tuesday - Friday 10AM to 5:30PM Saturday 10AM to 4PM Follow us on Facebook

Our mission: To improve the community’s appearance through partnerships, education and action. Cleaning Levelland up - one piece of trash, one weed, one area at a time! We want to make our town as beautiful as the people who live here! We are one of the few rural communities on the South Plains that participates. Many, many other rural communities in Texas participate, just not a lot here on the South Plains. We encourage all residents and business owners to pitch in and help to make Levelland better everyday!

For more information, or to participate in a clean up, please call the Levelland Chamber of Commerce at 806-894-3157

Gazebo

Taking Pride in Downtown “What better way to raise money that will go back into downtown Levelland,” Moody said.

This year, oody has been tasked with raising a net of 25,000 by her ain treet Advisory Board.

She said one way she hopes to do this is to sell out ip and wirl tickets. Early bird tickets went on sale in arch and were 25. eneral admission sales are 35.

The ain treet program is also dedicated to preserving the history in downtown Levelland and making sure the buildings downtown maintain their historic integrity.

The program participates in preservation month every ay, and in turn hosts an “Imagine the Possibilities” tour, which allows potential store owners to tour available properties in downtown Levelland. t an advisory board meeting in arch, oody mentioned that properties that will be featured on the tour had continued to change as they were no longer available.

“Which is a good problem to have,” Moody said.

The ain treet program offers a facade grant program in partnership with the City of Levelland, through which downtown business owners can apply for up to 2,000 for repairs to their building facade.

The program has seen success over the past two years, with the Main Street acquiring additional funds to meet the needs of the downtown business owners.

The ain treet program offers additional events in the fall and spring, including Movie on the Square and the

estival of Lights.

Moody said all the events that are sponsored by the ain treet program, or hosted by the program in conjunction with other organizations and businesses, are all to promote downtown Levelland and provide visibility for the downtown businesses.

The ain treet program will add more than 30 new mosaics in the ain treet district this summer with handrails and new planters, all of which will feature new mosaics. oody said this was important for her and the advisory board because Levelland is o cially the “City of osaics” and the ain treet program wants to promote the positive message behind the name.

It also adds art to downtown Levelland, which oody said is important for quality of life.

“This is your downtown, I want residents and the community to be a part of what is happening in our historic downtown district and aware of the great businesses we have here in Levelland,” Moody said.

The much-used gazebo on the northeast corner of the courthouse square in downtown Levelland was built with private funds. groundbreaking ceremony for the structure was conducted in October, 1997 and was completed in less than a month.

Construction was the result of a fund-raising effort conducted by the Levelland Chamber of Commerce tourism committee with enny Willmon spearheading the effort.

The idea originated with the arigolds but the chamber committee took the idea and ran with it, quickly gaining the support of the community.

The community paid for the gazebo by buying memorial tiles at a rate of 125 each. The committee needed to sell 150 tiles to pay for the gazebo. The response was so positive that 306 tiles were sold and engraved.

The gazebo is 22 feet across and was built by Rogers Construction with rank Castro doing the concrete work.

Originally, the chamber had sought a state grant for the gazebo project but the application was turned down because the proposed structure was not a replica of the original.

In pril, 1933, the Hockley County Commissioners Court ordered a bandstand to be erected on the northwest corner of the courthouse lawn. Cost was 80. It, too, was for public use. It was later demolished.

LEVELLAND is waiting for you!

The City of Mosaics • Levelland is home to 14 mosaics • A self guided tour and history brochure is available at the Levelland Chamber of Commerce, or online at www.levelland.com

Mallet Event Center & Arena • • • •

Multi-purpose $15 million facility One of Texas’s newest facilities Heated and cooled indoor arena Incentives

Levelland-Oxy Sports Complex • Brand new facility • Houses softball, baseball and soccer fields

South Plains College • More than 100 Programs of study • Total of 48 National Championships • Marjorie Merriweather Post Art Collection

REST YOUR HEAD IN A COMFORTABLE BED Best Inn Texas 304 College Ave. • 806.894.7335 bestinntexas.com

Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites 703 E. State Rd 114 • 888.HOLIDAY 806.894.8555 • hiexpress.com

Best Western South Plains Inn & Suites 204 N. College • 806.894.9155 800.780.7234 • bestwestern.com

The Hope House Bed & Breakfast 211 9th St. 806.894.4062 • 866.313.HOPE hopehousebedandbreakfast.com

Budget Inn of Levelland 308 N. College • 806.894.9679

Levelland is a nationally recognized Main Street City. Enjoy our downtown with plenty of shopping, sights to see, and delicious dining. Then choose one of our fine lodging facilities in which to stay. After a great rest, you’ll be ready to discover all Levelland has to offer. Brochures and maps are available through the Levelland Chamber of Commerce.

For more information, please visit levelland.com or call 806.894.3157.

1101 Avenue H Levelland, Texas 79336 806.894.3157

The Beat Goes On...

Cha

er of Co

| Discover Levelland

er e hosts se ond annual Cotton The second annual Cotton and Crude festival is set for eptember17 in downtown Levelland and will feature a parade, street fair with vendors and a music festival that night.

The annual community festival was adapted from the former Early ettlers’ Day, previously held annually in uly. The Chamber of Commerce’s Board of Directors decided to change the event after many years of feedback from vendors and participants.

“The Chamber spent more than two years deciding to change the event and didn’t take the decision lightly,” Siders said.

The biggest change is the name and the date, however ary iders, president of the Chamber of Commerce, said early settlers day will continue to be recognized and honored during the community festival.

The Cotton and Crude festival is first and foremost the biggest fundraiser for the Chamber and also adds to the local quality of life.

In adding to the event for all generations, the decision was made to include a music festival.

“The board wanted the event to be more appealing to other generations and the response was phenomenal,” iders said.

Crude estival

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Music Festival YOUR SUCCESS OUR PURPOSE Last year, the concert featured am Riggs as the headliner, along with Slade Coulter and the Hogg Maulies.

The festival sold approximately 800 tickets and raised more money than during past Early ettlers’ Day festivals.

This year, the chamber has announced the headliner will be iovannie and the Hired uns with the opening act Will Bannister.

Prior to the main bands, South Plains College will host music on the main stage starting at 5 p.m. when the gates open.

Tickets are 25 each and cooler passes will be available for 20 each.

“We want to showcase the talent at SPC,” Siders said. iders said the chamber is working with Brent Wheeler at SPC to organize bands to play during the day at the gazebo as well as that evening during the concert.

The schedule for the day will begin in the morning with the parade starting at 10 a.m., an hour later than it has typically began.

Line-up for the parade will start at 9 a.m. and will include several different categories.

During the line-up, parade entries should line up at the

designated area for their parade category, including: outh, 13 years old and younger, bicycles and wagons, line up in the Chamber of Commerce parking lot, located at 1101 venue H Elected o cials and municipal entries, line up on venue H by Lobo Lake in front of Tattler’s restaurant utomobiles and motorcycles, line up on 11th treet and venue in front of the Levelland I D administration building –Antique tractors, line up on 11th treet between venue H and venue I Commercial businesses, line up on 13th treet at venue H by the odexo building on-profit organizations, schools, churches and school bands, line up in the parking lot beside the old Lobo football stadium, east of the LI D administration building –All other entries should line up on 12th treet between venue H and venue I and –Mounted horses and horse drawn wagons or carriages should line up in the empty grass lot west of the LI D bus barn.

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Parade & Street Fair

Each category will have a winner and awards will be presented before the parade.

Winners will be asked to display their award on their entry for public display during the parade.

Parade judges will select from all parade entries “Best of Parade” oats for first, second and third place. Prize winners will receive 100, third place 200, second place and 300, first place.

Registration is not required and there is not a cost to enter the parade.

The rules for the parade are as follows: o candy or other items can be thrown in the parade.

They can be distributed by persons walking adjacent to the crowd, only –No water guns will be allowed during the parade –No one under the age of 16 years old will be allowed to operate a motorized vehicle in the parade, including go-carts, motorcycles, four-wheelers, dirt bikes and other such vehicles n adult over 18 years old must be on or around any oat to supervise at all times Participants who walk should be prepared to complete a one-mile route in less than an hour and

–Any entry using a horse or mule must participate in the parade under the mounted horse and horse drawn carriage category. ollowing the parade, the street fair, featuring food and craft vendors, will begin on the downtown square, along with music by PC students at the gazebo.

There will be VIP tent for early settlers on the east side of the square. endors will be set up from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. iders said the most important piece of making the Cotton and Crude festival work is the volunteers who pull together to make it happen.

“Last year it literally took a couple hundred volunteers to put on the event, from marking the streets on Thursday to assisting vendors setting up riday and Saturday,” Siders said. iders said the chamber will begin taking vendor applications from local vendors within Hockley County on ugust 1 through August 4. They will begin taking applications from other vendors starting ugust 8. or more information, contact iders at the chamber by calling 806 894-3157.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Rotary Breakfast 9 a.m. Parade Line-Up Begins 10 a.m. Parade Begins 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Vendors Downtown 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. SPC Music at Gazebo 4 p.m. Cotton & Crude Gates Open Music by SPC Musicians Begins Will Bannister Giovannie & The Hired Guns Discover Levelland | 29

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South Plains College has found the best recruitment and student retention tool it has is the ability to meet students where they are.

Dr. Robin atterwhite, president of outh Plains College, said this became evident in the spring of 2020 when the college, along with the majority of educational institutions across the country, were forced to go completely online.

Since then, the college has placed a focus on its transition back to face-to-face classes, but has found it’s not as easy as “returning to normal.”

“The challenge is trying to discern and interpret what students want,” Satterwhite said. “That is a huge challenge,” He said it’s di cult to discern where students stand on returning to classes.

“We’re still in kind of a unique situation in trying to push students back to what we consider normal, and also meeting students where they are and trying to interpret what they need,” Satterwhite said. any community colleges across the state have made the mistake of going back to full face-to-face offerings with a minimal offering of online courses and in turn, suffered a decrease in enrollment as students seek out alternative online education.

“There is a lot of uncertainty with where students feel they can re-engage back into the college,” atterwhite said. “Our best bet is to provide a menu.”

He said in doing that, the college has to look at what type of classes and what format students are enrolling in on a daily basis to see what the attitude is currently, and how to meet those needs.

“We have to manipulate that menu on a daily basis,” Satterwhite said.

The challenges that come along with that is ensuring faculty are well-equipped to meet the changing tides in education format.

“We have to make sure we have faculty who can teach in different modalities,” Satterwhite said. “We also have to emphasize the strengths of the faculty, some

32 | Discover Levelland

e life

colleg h it w n io ct

are very good at online and some are more talented at in-person. We need to make sure our faculty are trained to teach online.” outh Plains College received more than 5 million in Covid-19 relief funds from the federal government, which it utilized to ensure faculty and staff were prepared and well-equipped to provide highquality online instruction.

“The federal funding we received from Covid relief, we put a lot of that into faculty development,” atterwhite said. “Our online offerings are higher quality, but in the same breath, we don’t want to be an online college. We want to emphasize we are here to be a face-to-face college.” atterwhite said another important recruitment tool the college has pursued is providing not only a top tier educational experience, but the overall college experience, too.

“The completion of our science building is going to be a recruitment tool and a retention tool for SPC,” Satterwhite said. “ tudents are looking not just at instruction, but the experience.”

Satterwhite said the college has placed a focus on the appearance of the college to amplify a student’s first impression of PC. “We want to revamp our campus and we’ve done that so students can have not only an academic experience, but an overall college experience,” atterwhite said. “It provides a unique and positive experience that is already paying off with recruitment. tudents tell me when they saw the science building, it convinced them this is where they want to go.”

Every student pursuing an associate degree has to have at least two science course credits. atterwhite said this amounts to about 30 percent of the student population during any semester moving through the science building.

“Improving that facility and giving them something they’re not going to get anywhere else and being contemporary and cutting edge is important,” atterwhite said.

Another way the college is focused on meeting the needs of students is expanding its technical education offerings, specifically the welding program, on the Levelland campus.

“We want to continue growing our presence in Levelland and continue finding ways to bring students to our community and attracting students to SPC altogether,” Satterwhite said.

In explaining to students why PC should be their first choice over a fouryear university, Satterwhite said there are multiple benefits for students choosing PC first.

“With SPC, you’re going to have an experience unlike anywhere else,” Satterwhite said.

He said smaller class sizes ensures students are receiving instruction from faculty who are 100 percent focused on student success.

“We have faculty who are focused on student success and that is their primary focus, teaching and helping those students to be successful,” Satterwhite said.

The second benefit is the thousands of dollars students can save by opting for an education at SPC. “ tudents will save tens-of-thousands of dollars by coming to PC, and when you leave, you will be just as successful as your counterparts who went straight to a university,” Satterwhite said.

And the cherry on top, Satterwhite said, is the emphasis on students receiving the overall “college experience.”

“We’re doing it well and we know we provide a tremendous instructional education experience, what we are trying to do now is provide the overall college experience,” atterwhite said.

He said administration understands that students are changing and they want the ability to enjoy their time on campus as much as anywhere else.

“Students are changing and are very

different,” atterwhite said. “They want an experience, they want to be able to grab a coffee and sit down to study in groups.

They want a library that is inviting and not just a place to check out books. They want a place to study and to socialize. We’re trying to modify that experience at PC to re ect where students are emotionally, psychologically and culturally.”

Part of the recruitment for PC is also about meeting students where they are online.

“We have a pretty aggressive marketing campaign, and again, a lot of it is meeting students where they are,” Satterwhite said.

“We are trying to emphasize our online presence through social media and are doing some creative marketing tactics.”

Satterwhite said at the end of the day, it’s about letting students know what PC offers.

“We want to tell our story and why it’s good to come to PC,” atterwhite said. n important area of focus is on the dual credit offerings of the college, which is oftentimes students first experience with higher education.

“We have to provide as high quality of an experience as we can through our dual credit students,” Satterwhite said. “That is typically the first taste of higher education and if they have a positive experience through dual credit, our hope is to get them to come over and take classes with us when they get out of high school.”

All in all, what the college has done is to provide a quality education, at a cost students can afford while providing an unforgettable college experience.

“Our ultimate goal is being able to adapt to what the students want and need, and at the same time improving what our college looks like within our community,” Satterwhite said. “What we are building and providing gives students a different experience from what they get in a lot of different places.”

Upcoming Dates First Day of Summer I | June 6 Summer I Finals | July 8 First Day of Summer II | July 11 Summer II Finals | August 11 First Day of Fall 2022 | August 29 First Day of 8-Week | August 29 SPC Fall Break | October 14 Thanksgiving Holidy | Nov. 23 - 25 Finals Week | Dec. 12 - 15 Last Day of Fall | December 15

Discover Levelland | 33

34 | Discover Levelland

Discover Levelland | 35

LEVELLAND ISD Levelland ISD Levelland ABC 1412 East Ellis / 806-894-6959 Capitol Elementary School 401 East Ellis / 806-894-4715 South Elementary School 1500 Ave. C / 806-894-6255 Levelland Intermediate School 1100 Ave. D / 806-894-3060 Levelland Middle School 1402 East Ellis / 806-894-6355 Levelland High School 1400 Hickory St / 806-894-8515

We Are Levelland!

Century of Tradition Levelland ISD celebrates a century of Lobo Pride with the 100th graduating class A hundred years brings tradition and pride to Levelland I D, but there is always room for improvement and fresh perspectives.

Levelland I D will celebrate its 100th graduating class this year. The first class at the Levelland area school was taught in a “half dugout” about four miles northwest of where Levelland is today. The Post Estate donated the first school site for Hockley County in 1921 and during that first school year, there were nine students enrolled. In 1923, the Levelland Independent chool District was formed.

Many things have changed at Levelland I D through the years as the district’s size has increased along with its program offerings.

Levelland I D is a 4 district and earned a B accountability rating in 2019, the last year that accountability ratings were made by the Texas Education gency before the pandemic.

38 | Discover Levelland

There have been some changes recently at Levelland I D, as well, specifically in the superintendent’s position.

In 2021, eff orthern and the Levelland I D board of trustees met a mutual agreement to terminate Northern’s contract. The district appointed elly Baggett as the district’s interim superintendent and the board began its search for the next superintendent at Levelland I D. In December, the board announced Becky cCutchen was the lone finalist for the position and cCutchen took over superintendent duties on anuary 17 of this year.

McCutchen said she couldn’t have been happier to have learned she was the lone finalist for the position as she knew Levelland was a top-tier community and school district.

“I knew this was a great community and a great school district,” McCutchen said. “I

was excited about the opportunity to come in and be a part of that, and maybe help it be even better.” he said she knew she wanted the position as soon as she applied for it.

“When I applied, it felt comfortable, it felt right and I decided if I was going to apply, it was going to have to be 100 percent, or all in,” cCutchen said. “To me that was important.” cCutchen comes to Levelland I D after spending more than 15 years at lpine I D. cCutchen had served as superintendent at lpine I D since 2015.

Prior to that, McCutchen served as director of special education from uly 2008 to une 2015, and before that was an educational diagnostician from uly 2005 to une 2008.

McCutchen began her career in education as a classroom teacher in 1997, having served llamoore I D, idland I D and ierra Blanca I D between 1997 and 2005 before joining the lpine school district in uly 2005 as an educational diagnostician.

In joining Levelland I D, cCutchen said it reminded her a lot of her previous district in Alpine.

“There are a lot of similarities in terms of great community pride, community support and the high schools really mirror each other,” McCutchen said. “Levelland is nearly three times larger, with six campuses compared to three.” he said the challenges that come with a bigger district are ones she is excited to tackle.

“The challenge of a bigger district with more people and more processes and more facilities was exciting,” cCutchen said.

“Along with the rewards in seeing all of that come together. We want Levelland I D to be the premier district locally, we don’t want to lose our students to the surrounding districts.”

In her first semester as serving as superintendent, McCutchen said she has spent the majority of her time building relationships and learning as much as she can about the district’s tradition and history.

“It’s been a lot of relationship building and increasing communication among all our stake holders, staff, parents, community and students,” McCutchen said. “And then it’s just been reviewing all our processes and the overview of the district’s operations...I’ve just been overwhelmed by how welcoming everybody has been.

Everyone is so nice and it has made me feel like I’m part of the group.” cCutchen said moving forward in promoting Levelland I D to students and parents, it’s important to tout the district’s strengths.

“Our greatest strength is our kids, we have the absolute best kids who do amazing things from Destination Imagination to choir, our band and just all the programs and the pride they have for our district,” cCutchen said. “The next best thing is our staff. In any organization, it’s always about the people and we have amazing staff all the way from our athletic coaches to our staff members who are all working with kids from early in the morning until the evening hours.” cCutchen said Levelland I D offers a multitude of extracurricular activities and opportunities for students, including athletics, Destination Imagination, choir, band, and career and technical programs for students to earn career certificates and technical training while still in high school.

“Our partnership with outh Plains College is key to making that a success,” McCutchen said. “We hope to get to a point where a lot of our students are graduating high school with an associated degree already from PC.” But in order to be the best district, McCutchen said there are always areas for improvement. pecifically, Levelland I D is focusing on closing the learning gaps for students who were impacted as a result of closures during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“When schools were shutting down, those students should have been in classrooms learning how to read and they skipped the crucial processes,” cCutchen said. “Now they are older and are supposed to be reading to learn but there are gaps there.” cCutchen said Levelland I D, along with school districts across the state, are struggling to retain teachers.

“That’s really hard right now across the state and we’re currently undergoing a salary survey to see if we’re competitive with salaries,” McCutchen said. “We’re also trying to make sure people feel comfortable and supported in their jobs so they don’t leave...That starts from the top down. Our school board is all in, they don’t like the fact that we’ve lost some staff.”

The district plans to move forward with a strategic planning process before the 202223 school year begins to see what areas the district wants to improve upon moving forward.

McCutchen said the district is also focused on what it can do to retain students.

“It’s also important to make sure students feel supported,” McCutchen said.

“There is a mutual respect process with students and teachers. We know our students and we know our families and our staff, those personal connections are key.” he said it’s also important to note what students are interested in, where their passions and aspirations lie.

“Our high school principal put out a survey to see what our kids would be interested in and what’s interesting to me is that I thought it would be things like welding and cosmetology, but they’re interested in things like law enforcement, the medical field and computer programming,” McCutchen said. “Their interests have changed. We’re not a huge district, but we’re still big enough to where we can offer some of those programs.” cCutchen said Levelland I D is unique in that it is focused on students’ success from the beginning of their education through to the end.

“We have a fantastic campus for prekindergarten and kindergarten where we can focus on those students and make sure the foundation is laid for great success,” McCutchen said. “We are one of the few districts that has a campus solely dedicated to early childhood education and how we break up our grade levels is so developmentally appropriate. It allows us to keep our campuses small enough and have that small school feel to them.”

McCutchen and the board of trustees are focused on looking at their goals for the future and even their goal-making processes to ensure Levelland I D sees success for another 100 years.

“We want to get where we want to be,” McCutchen said. “That’s our focus right now.”

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Wealth in Health Staff at Covenant Levelland remains dedicated to community wellness

Recent changes at Covenant Health Levelland re ect ongoing changes within the regional healthcare system and the healthcare system as a whole.

In ebruary, Covenant announced that Bruce White, former CEO and hospital administrator for Covenant Health Levelland, had been promoted to vice president and regional rural administrator for Covenant Health Levelland.

In his place, ewman Wheeler was hired to take over as CEO and hospital administrator at Covenant Health Levelland.

Wheeler is no stranger to Levelland, having worked for the local hospital between 2013 and 2019. Wheeler said he was eager for the opportunity to return to Levelland after serving as the hospital administrator for oakum County Hospital since 2019.

“I love Levelland,” Wheeler said. “It’s a rarity you find a job in your career that you love. Everybody has to work for a living, but when you get to love what you do and you enjoy it so much, it’s easy and it’s like a passion. I love getting up and coming to work.”

Meanwhile, White still plays an active role at the local hospital while he serves as regional rural administrator, focusing on regional rural health partners.

“We’ve always focused on them, we know as healthcare continues to change, that there is not one entity that can provide

healthcare by itself,” White said. “It’s very important to have partnerships and working relationships to maximize the healthcare potential on the South Plains.”

White is working with Covenant’s healthcare partners within the service region to maintain and grow Covenant’s services for rural markets.

“Levelland is home and will continue to be my home,” White said. “ y experience in Levelland just reiterates to me how important the caregivers are here and how important healthcare is in our local communities.”

White still plays an integral role at the Levelland hospital and is applying his experience to the regional rural market.

He said across the board, healthcare is changing and the healthcare system has to change to meet the needs of patients.

The biggest area where healthcare is experiencing changes, especially over the past two years, is in sta ng.

“We’re dealing with extreme workforce challenges,” White said.

White said throughout the healthcare system, the common trend is caregivers who were getting close to retirement or who had just reached retirement and are going ahead and taking that opportunity instead of staying in the field longer.

“The pandemic has caused a lot of the work to be harder,” White said. “We have a

portion of the workforce that is deciding to step out of that.”

Additionally, White said there has been a shift towards agency work, where nurses contract themselves out with an agency that assigns them to different hospitals. gencies typically pay more than traditional nursing jobs.

“The primary workforce is making decisions to not stay employed with a hospital but go to agencies to be deployed to other hospitals,” White said. “That has caused a general increase in costs.”

White said this combined with the challenges created as a result of the pandemic have caused some disruption in the healthcare industry as a whole.

“We’re not in this normal healthcare cycle and it makes it really di cult to manage,” White said.

In specific to Levelland, White said these changes have caused the hospital to respond by becoming more diverse in what it offers.

“It has required our local hospital to be more diverse in what we have here and what we can offer because our patients are sicker now than they have been in the past,” White said. “Even from a facility perspective, we had to revamp some of the facility to accommodate this type of illness. It has stretched capabilities.”

Discover Levelland | 41

Rural Healthcare Empowers Local Communities Across the board, White said patients are facing di culties when trying to access healthcare due to obstacles created by the pandemic and Covid-19.

“It’s not an isolated incident, I think patients are seeing a more di cult healthcare system to deal with and to access,” White said. “The processes that have caused those changes continue because of the pandemic and the nature of it to change rapidly, there’s this lack of knowing how to deal with the healthcare system. I think patients everywhere are continuing to struggle.”

But, one thing that was highlighted by the pandemic, White said, is the importance of access to local healthcare.

“One of the things the pandemic highlighted was the need for your local healthcare,” White said.

White said rural healthcare was a challenge and a blessing at the start of the pandemic, with the local healthcare system trying to get the resources it needed to adequately serve patients.

42 | Discover Levelland

“That was a double-edged sword when the pandemic hit as there weren’t enough resources nationally and those resources typically went to urban locations first, where the majority of the populations are,” White said. “ t that point, rural healthcare systems were at a real disadvantage. How do we deliver our promise to our patients There was a real effort in that.”

In the past, there have been some attempts legislatively to help rural hospitals address their growing vulnerabilities. But, White said it’s not as easy as a one-size fits all solution.

“I personally feel we will continue to be stuck in the bureaucracy of what we deal with, there’s not any one thing you can do to fix rural healthcare and that’s part of the issue,” White said. “Those are nuances that typically takes years upon years to make these changes. It’s a matter of continuing to work every day to meet the needs and tell your story. It’s what you have to do.” nd that’s exactly what the staff at Covenant Health Levelland does on a daily basis, shows up for their community and their patients. “ y staff is second to none, they do a great job and they’re committed to their patients and their community,” White said.

But healthcare workers are exhausted and need support in order to continue showing up.

“The primary concern I have is that healthcare staff across the country are just at out tired,” White said. “That burn out continues to exist. ou do what you can, and you can only rally so many times. t some point, it’s harder to rally.”

White said healthcare is more focused now on life outside a pandemic, which he and others see on the horizon.

“The real future is how do we manage healthcare, so we know that there is a real need to manage healthcare on the front end instead of taking care of problems on the back end when they are most expensive for

our patient,” White said.

He said the key here is promoting preventive healthcare and urging patients to seek care before there is a problem.

“The earlier you catch it, the better chance you have with it,” White said.

“That’s a big piece of it, how do you manage that and I have always thought that your family physician in a rural area has been the poster child for doing that.”

White said this is due to the education and awareness that rural healthcare facilities are able to provide their patients and local communities.

“We need to be educating our patients on how they manage that particular issue, also on how they manage their overall health and then how they manage if they have an issue, where do they seek healthcare,” White said.

This is why partnerships among the Covenant Health ystem as a whole are so important, to provide access to healthcare for rural communities, and access to higherlevel care within a certain distance.

“Covenant’s goal is to have that type of network in the entire region, so if you need access to healthcare,” White said. “Whether it be on the front end with getting someone engaged with education and monitoring and seeing a physician every year, we also need to partner with those who provide the post acute care on the extreme back end of healthcare.”

Covenant Health Levelland is dedicated to making sure local residents have access to necessary healthcare, from primary care physicians at its clinics, to emergency and in-patient care at its hospitals, as well as access within 30 minutes to higher-level cares for patients with those needs.

“We work every day to make sure that we have the appropriate healthcare here,” White said. “If you can get your healthcare at your local site, typically it’s more e cient both for the healthcare system and for the patient.”

YOUR PARTNER IN HEALTHCARE! Covenant Health Levelland offers exceptional healthcare services to Hockley County and surrounding communities. We are dedicated to exceptional care and creating healthy communities.

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MISSION STATEMENT To ensure a high quality of life for Levelland citizens and or hrough e e e n e en un p l er e n e ono gro h. u onl ne le ell n e .org or ollo Facebook @ Levelland Texas

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Our commitment to all of Levelland-

Core Value #1 - Customer service of the highest quality to our customers.

Core Value #2 - Dependability in our service and commitment to our customers and team.

Core Value #3 - Trustworthiness and integrity in our words, actions and deeds.

Core Value #4 - Continuous improvement in all that we do.

Levelland, We Work For You. Parks Department - When people think of the Parks Department, many think they are the “mowing department”. Truthfully, with 12 beautifully maintained city parks, they do mow a lot, but that’s only a small part of what they do daily. The City of Levelland parks crew is made up of four full-time employees. Responsibilities include: mowing, weed eating, picking up litter, cleaning park restrooms, spraying weeds, treating ant mounds, maintaining playground equipment and playground inspections. They also stay busy with pond maintenance, irrigation maintenance, tree trimming, landscape maintenance, structure maintenance, swimming pool maintenance and more.

Levelland - Oxy Sports Complex - The Oxy Sports Complex acts as the home fields for local softball, baseball and soccer

leagues, and is a popular destination for softball and baseball tournaments from all over the South Plains. The sports complex

has two full-time employees, and several seasonal workers during the busy season. The Oxy requires a team effort to keep it looking good and operating at the highest standards. Responsibilities include: athletic field maintenance, marking ball fields for games, mowing the entire complex, painting soccer field lines, maintenance on machinery, assisting during tournaments, cleaning restrooms, litter control, irrigation maintenance, landscaping and more.

Levelland Cemetery – The City of Levelland has two cemeteries. There are three full-time employees and several seasonal

employees during the summer. The cemetery crew is responsible for all mowing and weed eating. They sell burial plots, prepare the burial site for funerals, landscape maintenance, structure maintenance, tree trimming, litter control, grave maintenance, irrigation, weed control and more.

Street Department – The Street Department includes six full-time employees, and is responsible for the maintenance of the

streets, alleys, and drainage systems in Levelland. You will find the Street Department crew doing paving maintenance, repair, and patching. They are responsible for alley maintenance and improvement, mowing of city rights of way, street sweeping, weed control by spraying city rights of way, mosquito spraying, cleaning and maintenance of drainage systems, installation and maintenance of traffic control and direction signage, support and barricading of streets for special events, and more. The City’s Shop Department has one mechanic who maintains 140 city vehicles, including large specialized equipment.

Visit us online @ levellandtexas.org or follow us on Facebook @ Levelland Texas

Get Involved Levelland civic groups offer opportunity for community involvement

Local Clubs & Meeting Times Ambassadors Quarterly CHART Monthly Sept.-May Breakfast Rotary Fridays at 7 a.m.

Taqueria Guadlajara Noon Rotary Tuesdays at Noon Brasch Mitchell Building

Levelland Emerging ctive Professionals LE P is an outreach group of the Levelland Chamber of Commerce and is developing the next generation of community and business leaders by seeking opportunities to invest in and serve the Levelland community, network with community leaders and encourage others to support the Levelland area. Pictured from the left are Ty regory, Devin onnenburg, chair-elect ati oody, chair ylie Bogg and aryan oore.

Noon Lions Club Thursdays at Noon Country Club Evening Lions Thursdays at 6 p.m.

Dickey’s BBQ LEAP Monthly Marigolds Monthly

The arigolds of Levelland provide support to the Levelland Chamber of Commerce and the Levelland ain treet Program, to encourage a high quality of living for the community through beautification, cultural advancement and civic awareness. Pictured from the left are the 2022 arigolds o cers: Christy Clevenger, historian Barbra Pinner, treasurer Donna Wheeler, president oyla Hernandez, secretary Tammy ranklin, vice-president Beth Walls, parliamentarian and Rhonda iussani, publicity chairman.

e elland, Te as is a i rant co unit of hard or ing people on the south plains of north est Te as. ocated in the heart of the state region co prised of Te as, e e ico, olorado, ansas, and laho a the co unit is lessed ith natural resources that dri e a thri ing econo do inated agriculture and energ production. griculture products include grain, grapes ine and peanut production a ong others, ut cotton is ing. out t ent fi e percent of the orld s cotton is gro n in the e elland area. o unit pride is e idenced throughout the cit fro the school s ste to cit par s, the do nto n usiness district, e elland ndustrial ail ar and ore. irst class college education and or force training are pro ided through outh lains ollege a a or co unit partner. or ore infor ation on ho our co pan can gro in our co unit , ontact s n e elland, e are rogressi e n urpose

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Get Involved Levelland civic groups offer opportunity for community involvement

Local Clubs & Meeting Times Ambassadors Quarterly CHART Monthly Sept.-May Breakfast Rotary Fridays at 7 a.m.

Taqueria Guadlajara Noon Rotary Tuesdays at Noon Brasch Mitchell Building Noon Lions Club Thursdays at Noon Country Club

The Levelland Breakfast Rotary Club is an organization of business and professional leaders who gather every third riday morning for breakfast and project meeting. The Breakfast Rotary Club has several community projects and fundraisers The club provides the Ride with the Rotary bicycle giveaway at the Elementary chools for perfect attendance students. They also host the annual breakfast on the square fundraiser during Early ettlers Day and the club provides ags for businesses and cemeteries during emorial Day. The Levelland Breakfast Rotary Club o cers are pictured from the left: David Rushing, past president Bill Powell, tephen ohn and ryn Corley, current president.

Evening Lions Thursdays at 6 p.m.

Dickey’s BBQ LEAP Monthly Marigolds Monthly

-The Levelland oon Rotary Club meets every Tuesday for fellowship, lunch and an informative presentation from guest speakers. Pictured from the left are Levelland oon Rotary members, from left: Pat Cown, Tell Campbell, current president Tania oody irstie iddleton, ris Phillips, mber Hinson, Rob Haynie, Paul uilantan, Richard Ellis and im Cole.

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Get Involved Levelland civic groups offer opportunity for community involvement

Local Clubs & Meeting Times Ambassadors Quarterly CHART Monthly Sept.-May Breakfast Rotary Fridays at 7 a.m.

Taqueria Guadlajara Noon Rotary Tuesdays at Noon Brasch Mitchell Building

The Levelland Chamber of Commerce mbassadors are the “voice of businesses” partnering to enhance the civic, educational and well-being of the community by developing, promoting and sustaining a vital, thriving business climate for Levelland. Pictured from the left are: Donna Wheeler, ngie est, ayor Barbra Pinner, Liz Mata, Beth Walls, Janice Mireles and Cristal Isaacs.

Noon Lions Club Thursdays at Noon Country Club Evening Lions Thursdays at 6 p.m.

Dickey’s BBQ LEAP Monthly Marigolds Monthly

The Cochran Hockley ssociation of Retired Teachers CH RT is a chapter of theTexas Retired Teachers ssociation whose mission is to advocate for improved benefits for all education retirees and promotes the well-being of its members. CH RT meets eight times a year from eptember to ay for fellowship and to receive information concerning local, district and state initiatives. Programs are offered at most of the meetings. CH RT gives new books to children from birth to five as an incentive to enroll in 1,000 Books Before indergarten 1000 BB , a reading program offered through local libraries. CH RT also encourages the placement of Little ree Libraries in city parks to provide pre-school books in support of 1000 BB and books for all ages. ll retirees of Texas public schools are welcome to attend. Pictured from the left on the front row are: Louise Pendleton, co-Treasurer Debra Burnett, second ice-President aggie Husen, Carmin cWilliams, co-Treasurer-elect Pam Pitts, first ice-President-elect Rochelle Rombokas, Darlys Hale and olene weeney and back row: im Leggitt, udith Ward, ary Catherine Logan, Laurie Williams, cott Rombokas, President-elect redda chooler and Carol cCullar, outgoing President. ot pictured is Leslie Robinson, ecretary. taff Photo

Discover Levelland | 51

Get Involved Levelland civic groups offer opportunity for community involvement

Local Clubs & Meeting Times Ambassadors Quarterly CHART Monthly Sept.-May Breakfast Rotary Fridays at 7 a.m.

Taqueria Guadlajara Noon Rotary Tuesdays at Noon Brasch Mitchell Building

The Levelland oon Lions Club supports local organizations such as The Wallace Theater, Bills Backpacks, The Honor light and LI D iddle chool tudent of the onth. The Club hosts an annual pancake supper, inging alentines and a couple of new ones this year, a gun ra e and selling breakfast burritos at the Levelland car show as annual fundraisers. Pictured from the left on the front row are: Lorie arquez, director Randy Rogers, first vice-president and incoming president and Ryan oland, third vice-president and incoming second vice-president and back row: ichael Wiiest, tail twister ichael tueart, secretary Russell est, treasurer Devin onnenburg, outgoing president reg elly, Lion tamer and Todd Paxton, director.

Noon Lions Club Thursdays at Noon Country Club Evening Lions Thursdays at 6 p.m.

Dickey’s BBQ LEAP Monthly Marigolds Monthly

The Levelland Evening Lions Club is a small group that makes a big impact in the community. The club supports many resources, such as the ostering Life outh Ranch, Bills Backpacks, Ronald cDonald House, Cleft trong, Texas Lions Camp, Wounded Warriors, World ervices for the blind with eyeglass donations and Leader Dogs for the blind. The Levelland Evening Lions Club meets on the first onday of the month, with an informative program, at Dickey s Barbecue Pit, located at 512 . College venue in Levelland. Everyone is welcome to join the club and see what a positive impact you can be to the community. Pictured from the left are club members: im ancil, im Ervin, andy Israel, president icole ones, ostering Life outh Ranch representative atie Ervin, secretary and treasurer and Catrina lenn, second vice-president. ot pictured is hirley Ward, first vice-president

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Helping Those In Need outh Plains Community ction believes that communities are charged with taking care of their own, and are doing so by capturing as many federal tax dollars for the local community as possible.

The organization, established in 1964 under the O ce of Economic Opportunity in Lyndon B. Johnson’s presidency, was part of the country’s “war on poverty.”

In the years since, the organization has evolved and grown but still has the core mission providing opportunities for people.

“They’re low-income people who we serve,” said Bill Powell, executive director for more than 40 years at PC in Levelland. “The idea is to get people in a situation where they’re paying taxes, too. We are all paying taxes and we are all offered opportunities to become good citizens. The highest calling of the land is to be a citizen and we need to do that to develop good citizens.”

Powell said the organization utilizes federal and state dollars to provide a multitude of services for the populations it serves.

“If we don’t get it, somebody else will and we need to be capturing all the federal tax dollars back in this area that we can,” Powell said. “It’s our responsibility as citizens to look out for other citizens, we look after our own.”

Powell said while the organization utilizes federal and state funds that come from tax dollars, the organization also plays a role in reducing the burden on local tax payers.

“Counties are responsible for indigent people,” Powell said. “We’ve done a reasonable job in terms of keeping those people out of the local tax rolls and we’ve been able to apply federal resources to those situations.” or the past two years, PC has been faced with a unique situation in balancing the needs of the community with the needs of employees.

“We have been focused on delivering services in a pandemic era,” Powell said.

“We have had to adapt and that’s been a major concern as to how do you do that and still avoid Covid-19 and try to protect your employees as best as you can We’re always caught in the middle as an organization.”

Powell said while the past two years have hindered the organization’s ability to grow the way it has wanted to, it is now more of a focus than ever to continue to expand some programs and their offerings to the service area.

“We’re going to continue to try to grow, first and foremost, that is always our desire and it’s not so much to grow, but the idea is that we’ll be able to serve more people and provide more effective change,” Powell said.

“We are looking at providing broader areas of coverage.”

One area where PC has the opportunity to expand, and has capitalized on that opportunity is its WIC Women Infant and Children utrition program.

Services Provided Transportation SPARTAN Workforce Solutions Head Start Housing Healthcare Child Care Community Services WIC Discover Levelland | 55

Transitioning from 2021 to 2022, SPCAA fo nd a ne normal in comm nities and or place.

O r offices, clinics and classrooms ere open, and o r programs too on remote or sc ed les ecoming an e tended environment it in o r agency. ring t is time, SPCAA sa an in of prod ctivity as staff elcomed ne c allenges, along it opport nities in providing services to t e many c ildren, families, elderly, and veterans in o r ometo n and aro nd t e State.

Nationally, t e mont of May is no n as Comm nity Action Mont . SPCAA is one of over 1,000 pl s Comm nity Action Agencies nation ide servicing people t ro g programs s c as Head Start & Early Head Start, Transportation, Energy Assistance, WIC, Healt Services, Wor force, Weat eri ation, Ho sing and a m ltit de of ot er programs and initiatives designed to elp improve people s lives at t e local level.

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T ese ords, ic ma e p t e Promise of Comm nity Action, ave g ided SPCAA since o r start in 1965. As an agency, e ave al ays een committed to improving t e lives of o r comm nity mem ers t ro g vario s programs, all of ic are designed to promote self-s fficiency and economic ealt .

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“We have undertaken the WIC program in 100 plus counties and we have gained a lot of experience and know how to do a lot of things we didn’t know how to do five years ago,” Powell said. “In the future, we’d like to look at a statewide contract.”

Another area that has really shown promise for expansion is the organization’s utility assistance program.

“There is a lot of utility assistance money available and we’ve been one of the few organizations in the state that has received additional money for that program,” Powell said.

Powell said with that funding comes money for administration, which the organization can utilize to update outdated equipment to better service the community.

“We are able to come in and use that administrative money allotted to that particular program to purchase things that will enhance the program,” Powell said.

“That benefits the community, too, because we’re able to do that and we buy local.”

Powell said the organization handles a lot of federal money, to which there are limitations. But, the key is being creative in how that money can be utilized to service the community as to ensure it all stays local.

While Texas sent back 30 million in utility assistance funds to the federal government, Powell said PC is one of the few organizations that did not return money.

“We don’t need to find ourselves doing that,” Powell said. “We have people who have those needs throughout the state, not just here. I feel like we’ve done a reasonably good job applying it to the people who need it in our region.”

Powell said workforce development is an area of need in the community that continues to require attention and resources. “ job solves a lot of problems,” Powell said. If we can get people into the workforce, that’s a big deal.”

PC accomplishes this by working with a multitude of local partners, including outh Plains College and Workforce olutions, along with internal workforce development.

Powell said the pandemic has exacerbated the need for these services, but not in a way that could have been anticipated.

“The pandemic has stood the workforce on its head, it’s had an effect on both labor and management and management has had a di cult time adapting,” Powell said. “I think people have enjoyed to a certain extent the time they’ve been able to stay home and a lot of people are getting used to that.

“We’re seeing the result of that

aftershock,” Powell said.

Powell said this makes the job field more competitive, but not on the level where people are looking for jobs, but where management is looking for employees to fill specific roles.

“It’s not a competitive workforce anymore from a management perspective, what is competitive is getting someone to come in the door,” Powell said. “If you’re looking for a specific type of employee to do a certain job, that’s a di cult situation.”

Powell said at the end of the day, providing public assistance is still business and the organization has to adhere to policy and procedures to maintain its reputation outside and within the community.

“One of the most important things is accountability for money,” Powell said. “ our reputation in the community and your reputation among your peers, that’s important, too.”

In order to continue bringing services and opportunities to local individuals, Powell said the organization is dedicated to keeping a pristine reputation with hopes that the state and federal government will continue to trust them with tax payer dollars.

“It’s important to maintain that working relationship with those organizations because they’re the ones who have the money,” Powell said. “If they have a need and you have a good reputation, they may come to you. That’s just business.”

Discover Levelland | 57

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Protect & Serve Levelland police build relationships to prevent crime The Levelland Police Department is dedicated to building relationships with the community and building a culture centered around physical and mental health of o cers serving the community.

“We have done many things to change the culture of the Levelland Police Department,” said Levelland Police Chief lbert arcia. ince becoming chief in une 2017, arcia said the department has been focused on achieving accreditation and implementing policies and procedures to move closer to that accreditation.

“The Texas Police Chief’s ssociation has right under 200 law enforcement agencies that were able to get through this program,” arcia said. “ or us to achieve it means we’re doing a much better job for our citizens.”

He said the pursuit of the accreditation has impacted the culture at the police department from hiring procedures to promotional activities to the physical and mental fitness standards of police o cers.

Through this process, the chief found that the department could do a better job responding to individuals in mental crisis. arcia began working with the Hockley County heriff, Ray cifres, and together they found a grant through Hockley County’s local mental health authority, StarCare, that would provide funding for a crisis intervention team.

The grant provides for mental health corresponders to assist police o cers with calls for individuals in mental health crisis. dditionally, arcia secured

funding through the city’s budget for a mental health police o cer, specifically to respond to these types of calls.

“This is something myself and the sheriff have been working on for several years now, to make some changes within Hockley County,” arcia said. “The program itself assists all law enforcement personnel in responding to calls for service that may have persons having some type of mental health crisis.” arcia said this issue has existed, but without a solution, individuals in mental crisis causing a disturbance typically are taken to the jail instead of being provided with mental health services. “ lot of times in and across merica, we are not doing a good job responding to mental health type scenarios,” arcia said.

“O cers in the field rely on what they know, and what they know is the law... when you have someone who is truly in mental crisis, jail is not the right place for them.”

On the same note, arcia said the department has been focused on taking care of the mental health of police o cers, as well.

“We have to think about the mental health of our police o cers, especially when they are responding to traumatic events in the field,” arcia said. arcia said as part of the accreditation process, the department implemented a physical fitness program, but took it further by implementing programs focused on o cers’ mental and financial health, too.

Discover Levelland | 61

Better Together “If we are physically fit, we are able to do our job better and make more sound decisions if we are mentally fit, we are ready to come to work every day and are thinking of how to do our jobs more professionally and do our jobs the best we can,” arcia said. “If you think about what causes the most stress across the board, it’s finances to pay your bills. ometimes we need to learn how to manage our money.” arcia said the department provides counseling for o cers at least once every six months on a mandatory basis, and then throughout the year as needed.

They also provide an opportunity for o cers to meet with a financial advisor once a year to ensure they are financially healthy, too.

“Those are things we are doing to better our department and our individual o cers,” arcia said. “Because it’s not just about the overall department, it’s about the individual o cers and we want to ensure each o cer understands how much we care about each one and what we’re doing to ensure they are successful for themselves.” arcia said the department was reminded of the importance of mental health following the uly 15 standoff that resulted in the death of a Lubbock W T commander and injured a Levelland police sergeant.

“That is exactly why it is so important for police o cers and departments to focus on the mental fitness of their o cers,” arcia said.

62 | Discover Levelland

He said that day is an extreme example of the importance of having established policies to address o cers’ mental health.

“We had the majority of our police force who had responded to that call where one man had basically seized an entire neighborhood,” arcia said. “I’m very glad we had already started to work on this program and had resources in place that were readily available for us to start using.” arcia said he sees the value in providing mental health accountability for police o cers because they’re the ones responding to calls for service and showing up day in and day out.

“When they go out in the field, they’re doing their job and they’re still responding to the calls and making sure our citizens are safe,” arcia said. “They’re staying in the fight. We have some outstanding police o cers and I’m ecstatic to be a part of this team. It makes me happy every day to get up and come to work.”

In turn with changing the culture at the Levelland Police Department, arcia said the department is determined to change the culture surrounding police in the community.

“One of the key things we have tried to change is our community policing efforts,” arcia said. “We have gone out there as a department to meet with our citizens and have them understand and realize, policing today cannot be successful without our citizens.”

“That’s what community policing is

about, it’s teaming up with our community members to become part of combating crime across our community,” arcia said.

In arch 2021, the department established the Blue and ou 501c3 nonprofit organization to start raising money to host events to promote building relationships with community members.

The group hosted its first color run in May last year, which helped to provide funds for the Blue anta program, held in December, in which the department sponsored gifts for 19 children.

The department escorted the children to cDonald’s for breakfast and then to Walmart where they were allowed to spend at least 50 on gifts for themselves. ome police o cers even donated money from their own pockets for additional gifts for the children.

“It was really a successful program and it meant a lot to the o cers,” arcia said. “ ids today are afraid of police o cers.

While we might have bad police o cers out there, we have a lot more good police o cers.” arcia said the Blue and ou is also a way for community members to get involved in raising money for community events.

“We’re always looking for members on the Blue and ou team,” arcia said.

“There’s a lot of great things happening and that we still want to get achieved and accomplished, but I feel confident we will get there.”

Strategic Plan: Levelland 2026 THE VISION FOR THE CITY OF LEVELLAND By 2026, Levelland will be a growing city having a reputation as an attractive, progressive, forward looking community with strong, committed leadership; a city where services are delivered in a friendly, competent, pro-business manner, and a community which takes pride in having an excellent quality of life and being a friendly, clean, vibrant, place to work, live and raise a family.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES In an effort to lead Levelland toward its vision, five strategic pillars will be the foundation for developing Levelland 2026. Each of these pillars is a goal of the Strategic Plan and each includes actions focused on achieving the Levelland 2026 Vision. Each of the pillars is equally important and include: HOUSING • Improve and expand housing units in Levelland by 250 units.

INFRASTRUCTURE • Preserve and replace the city’s aging infrastructure including streets and sidewalks, water mains and facilities, and public buildings and facilities to support existing development and encourage new growth and development.

JOB CREATION • Create new jobs to grow the Levelland population to 14,500 by 2026 through vertical integration, diversification, revitalization of all existing and new resources, including agriculture, oil, the rail park and an aviation park.

COMMUNITY APPEARANCE • Improve the quality of life and encourage growth by improving Levelland’s visual appeal COMMUNITY EDUCATION • Consistently educate the public through public education regarding the goals of Levelland 2026 and the workings of their city government through use of electronic media, personal contact, local media and strategic partnerships. www.levellandtexas.org

Mind Over Matter o

ley County heriff s

The Hockley County heriff’s O ce has had its sights set on improving its response to mental health crises as a form of intervention and prevention.

Hockley County heriff Ray cifres, who was elected sheriff in 2016 and reelected in 2020, said he and his department have been working closely with tar Care, the local mental health authority for Hockley County, to secure a 1 million grant to provide funding for a crisis intervention team.

The sheriff’s o ce, along with the Levelland Police Department, will benefit from the program, which provides co-responders who will assist mental health deputies in responding to calls for mental health services, as well as provide intervention in the Hockley County ail to provide services to individuals who could be diverted away from the jail and into mental health services.

In addition to the funding from tar Care for the CIT program, cifres said the

64 | Discover of Levelland

f

e loo s at future for

department secured funding from the county to hire a mental health deputy, whose sole purpose is to focus on individuals with mental health issues. The deputy is assigned to respond to calls for mental health assistance, and also meets with inmates in the jail who have been identified as needing mental health services.

Right now, the problem the sheriff’s o ce is having with getting the CIT program fully off the ground is the same problem many employers are facing across the country–labor. “ tar Care is having a hard time hiring people, which is not unique to our area,” Scifres said.

But cifres said having the mental health deputy has been a huge help for the department and the jail in responding to mental health crises from an intervention and prevention standpoint.

Scifres said the deputy goes into the jail on a daily basis and checks in with inmates who have been identified as needing mental

ental health

staf n

health services, simply to put a face to the name and develop a rapport with them.

“It helps because it prevents some of the issues in the jail where they may stop taking their medication, or might not take a medication, and he can walk them through the process and encourage them to continue with their treatment,” cifres said. “It is proactive in that it prevents any incidents or meltdowns. We’re seeing an overall reduction in some of those crises happening in the jail.”

When inmates are identified as benefitting from the CIT program, upon release, the mental health deputy is able to follow up with them in the field to ensure they are still following their treatment plan, which helps to reduce recidivism, or seeing the same inmates at the jail.

“He’s been proactive in making contact with those individuals,” Scifres said. “When I said this would change how we respond to mental health, it has and we are seeing the benefits. We are seeing less frequent calls from those who experience mental health crisis, this has been huge for us.”

The grant was available for up to 1 million and tar Care received approximately 700,000 for Hockley County. It is for a two-year period. cifres said tar Care is working with the county to submit another application for another grant program that is for three years and up to 1.25 million.

“That would help us further this program,” cifres said. “If granted, Hockley County would be the grantee, it would be given to the agency.”

Scifres said the whole goal is to divert individuals away from the jail who need mental health services, not criminal prosecution.

“The whole goal is diversion,” Scifres said. “If we can find a way to divert folks away from the jail who don’t want to be here, that’s the positive outcome. It’s all going to come down to sta ng. We’re excited about the possibilities in the next few years to see where our level of care is going to be in this area.”

Discover Levelland | 65

Growing Pains Outside of getting the CIT program up and running, Scifres said he is focused on developing a plan for future growth in the county.

“We’re seeing growth in certain parts of the county, like Ropesville, and we’re looking at the future by way of sta ng and call volume,” cifres said. “We have to look at five to 10 years, what is our sta ng model and response going to look like.” cifres said this takes compiling data related to calls and cases, looking at how many investigations are currently underway compared to the past, and looking at response time.

“Instead of being behind the curve, we need to be in front of it,” Scifres said. “I would rather be ahead instead of playing catch-up.”

Scifres said despite the county growing, his entire law enforcement staff continues to respond to calls throughout the county, including the sheriff himself.

“But, I don’t want to be at a point where no one is in this o ce because we’re all out taking calls,” cifres said. “The focus for the future is going to be on sta ng analysis as our population continues to shift. I would rather be ahead of it.”

He said a second part of that is the drug problem that every agency in Levelland, Hockley County and across the region is facing.

“With the call volume we have, it is hard to dedicate someone specifically to

narcotics,” Scifres said. “We continue to foster our partnerships with the Department of Public Safety, whether that be sharing intelligence, staff or resources, we pool those together.”

Scifres said narcotics and drug problems are not something that is unique or new to Levelland and Hockley County.

“Long-term problems are going to require long-term solutions,” cifres said.

“We can’t rely on the state to come in and solve a problem for us. We have to come to the table and combat the drug problem, which starts with dedicating people specifically for the issue. Over the next year, we are going to look at sta ng and see if we can allocate someone to do that.”

Scifres said narcotics are the root of many criminal issues across the area, from theft and burglaries to violent crime.

“A lot of our issues are related to the narcotics problem, and it has been that way for decades,” Scifres said. “That one thing touches so many aspects of the legal system.” ot only does it cause criminal cases to increase, it also has an impact on the number of Child Protective Services the county deals with, which in turn impacts the county’s budget.

“Even on the civil side, with CPS cases that go to the county attorney’s o ce the county is responsible for appointing an attorney for every part involved in a CPS case, including the children and each parent

and potential conservator,” Scifres said.

“That’s a financial impact on the legal system.”

Moving forward, Scifres said it is vital for the sheriff’s department to continue working well with other departments, and possibly adding staff to focus on the issue, too.

“Those partnerships have been vital to some of the cases that have been made here,” Scifres said. “Realistically, the sta ng challenges are more evident.”

In looking to the future, cifres said developing an e cient sta ng model is going to be of paramount importance.

“We’re limited by sta ng and funding, we have visions for what we want to accomplish...we are covering so much area but yet, our staff is just so busy,” cifres said. “We are supposed to be protecting property and life county-wide, not just one city. We have a lot of responsibility and a lot of area to cover, how do we do it?” cifres said his goal is to look at developing a sta ng model that will allow the department to best utilize staff and funding to cover the majority of the county and residents.

“In the future, we want the right sta ng model to provide the right services across the board to protect the citizens of our county and to be effective in our goals and reaching our goals,” cifres said. “It comes down to sta ng, which comes down to money.”

Discover Levelland | 67

Great Outdoors City parks department encourages outdoor recreation activities The Levelland Parks and Cemetery department are continuously updating and revamping areas for the community that calls Levelland home.

“The goal is to win back the community and show everybody how beautiful, fun and amazing the city’s parks can be,” said Dustin Reichelt the director of parks and cemetery.

Reichelt and his team of seven including himself are responsible for over 200 acres of land and 13 plus parks. rom landscaping, up-keep, repairs, additions and general improvements to the area, Reichelt and his team work through the seasons to provide the community of Levelland a safe and inviting environment to enjoy the outdoors with friends and family.

With 14 years of experience in working and maintaining parks, Reichelt is in his third year as director for the city of Levelland. Reichelt spent 11 years in the city of Weatherford maintaining and expanding their parks.

“I’m a little bit of everything, but my main job is to make sure all the parks are safe and that we are expanding within reason of our funding,” explained Reichelt.

“I’m over the big picture projects, but I also pay attention to the smaller details. It is nice that we have a crew and park supervisor to handle and cover all our bases around the city.”

The level of work, up-keep and updates vary in a season in the parks system.

During the spring and summer months, the group is responsible for keeping the 200 acres of land looking sharp, while also completing their normal duties.

The fall and autumn seasons are slower for the group, but that allows for special activities to be planned.

“We did the sled hill on Lobo hill around four times this winter and we will continue to do it,” said Reichelt. “It’s a unique recreational activity that we want to keep bringing to the city.

68 | Discover Levelland

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West Texas isn’t known for being a snowy oasis so Reichelt and his team are providing the opportunity for children who can’t make the trip to ew exico and go play in the snow.

“We have our own snow making system in the parks department,” explained Reichelt. dditionally, fishers can always expect restocking of the lakes in the summer and winter. The city uses two types of fish for restocking, rainbow trout and catfish, depending on the season. or this funding year, the Levelland Community Development Center LCDC approved a little over 400,000 for this budget season.

“With the budget, we will be putting in a fishing dock at Lobo Lake with a kayak launch,” said Reichelt. “The big thing for this dock is it will be D accessible for handicap people so they can have the access to fish.”

Plans for installing lights for the soccer field at the Oxy port Complex are expected in this budget cycle.

The sports complex is split into two phases of development and what people see now is phase one completed. Reichelt is sure phase two will be completed in the future, but those plans are not in the near future.

Phase two would include an additional baseball field, two more softball fields and more space for the soccer area.

“The Oxy is important because it brings in tournaments and revenue for the city and more importantly our local leagues can make use of the facility,” said Reichelt.

The park system will be adding some disk golf tee pads and additional concrete work around the parks along with adding over 100 new trees to the City Park as the current trees have hit the end of their life cycle according to Reichelt. “ s far as projects our main focus is the City Park and we have put around 700,000 into the park.” explained Reichelt.

“We put in two new parks, three new pavilions, irrigation, 100 trees, a new fullsize basketball court and added a new set-in place restroom.” lot of demolition was desperately needed.

70 | Discover Levelland

“Our focus is to continue making the city park look better,” explained Reichelt. “There are 13 phases, but those phases are dependent on funding. The first phase was focused on getting all the infrastructure knocked out.”

The parks system plans on having a ribbon cutting for the park in the spring, but are currently waiting for everything to be green and lively.

“I have noticed a lot more tra c for the new playgrounds from families and the redone basketball court,” said Reichelt. “Another part of this year’s plan is adding new benches and tables and I think we will see a lot of people once spring is in full effect.”

Reichelt sees recreation as a very important option for the community.

“It gives people an opportunity to get out outside and play, while children can have the ability for child development,” he explained. “ rom small children to teenagers, we have basketball so they can come out with their friends, or the little ones can play on the new playgrounds.”

Reichelt also proceeds over the two cemeteries in Levelland.

The emorial arden cemetery on highway 114 and the City of Levelland cemetery located on venue H. Reichelt has three full-time guys covering the cemeteries for the city.

“Their main jobs focus on burials, maintaining the grounds and making sure rules are being followed while on the grounds,” explained Reichelt.

“Those three take a serious amount of pride in taking care of the cemeteries and helping grieving families bury their loved ones while showing the utmost respect for everyone involved.” emorial ardens is in the long process of expanding, while the main city cemetery is getting developed for more land as well.

Reichelt sees 10 to 12 more years of time left at the city cemetery and the next section could possibly add 50 more years. emorial ardens cemetery will last at least 20 more years because it is not utilized as much compared to the city cemetery.

Those numbers have been altered due to CO ID-19, but Reichelt sees the number of space needed evening out as the years progress.

Community Parks City Park 1900 McKinley Street LG Griffin Park Lucile Ave. & Jefferson St. Kaufman Park Butch Street & Lobo Ave. George Price Park Cactus Dr. & Alamo Bartlett Park Sherman Ave. & Elm St. Brashear Lake Park Holly Street & Ash Ave. Country Club Park Parkwood & Beechwood 17th Street Park 17th Street & Double U Lobo Lake Park Ave. H & 13th Street 4th Street Park 4th Street & Ave. L Discover Levelland | 71

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ON THE PLAINS Thunder on the Plains continues to be a growing summer attraction for the community of Levelland and car enthusiasts around west Texas.

The first show started with the Levelland hospital asking Lyndie Williams and her family to put together a car show and get a fund raiser going. fter the first show in 2007, it became tradition for everybody that loves cars and to celebrate their passion. At this point in time, the car community in Levelland and the surrounding area expect the event to happen every year. The public can always expect the car show and all the events to take place in the third week of August. imilar to the first year, Lyndie Williams and the group that takes their time to put together the show have continued to give back to the community every year.

Discover Levelland | 73

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74 | Discover Levelland

Giving Back With the proceeds, there is a college scholarship the group have been endowing. They have also helped college students in the past with scholarships for students in the auto mechanics, diesel mechanics, auto body and anything else car related college programs. dditionally, all money that is earned is given to various charities such as eals on Wheels, toy-drives during holiday season, and helping individuals, at times, who are down on their luck.

With hosting such a large event, Williams and the group start planning and getting together in March.

Williams husband acky, Preston Turner, RH Reaves, Clifton Turner, and Daryl Bush are only a handful of the individuals that take the time to put together this event for everyone to enjoy. “ fter 16 years of putting this event together everybody usually has a good idea of what they need to do or what needs to be changed or fixed,” explained Williams.

When the planning process begins and duties need to be taken care of, everyone is familiar with their positions. omebody handles the crews, applicants and various events, t-shirts, merchandise, advertising and vendor applications.

“It’s always worked for us and has gone smoothly over the years for the most part,” said Williams. “We’ve never had problems with anyone backing out on us or it becoming a major issue. We do have someone who handles that portion, and they do a great job of making sure there are limits to the number of vendors to avoid overlapping. We are fairly inexpensive to be part of so there are quite a few vendors willing to come out and take a part in all of it.

“Different businesses take part of our event and offer trophies and possibly a little more depending on the prizes they would like to give,” said Williams.

“Along with the various businesses that want to help, different auto parts businesses and car places like to get involved. or the car show, prizes and awards are split into various categories depending on vehicle type and other criteria. The awards include cash prizes, unique chairs offered by the event group and other unique trophies.”

There will be a hot wheel challenge for the kids as that has been a part of the event for the last four years. ometimes the group will bring in a special guest or a car of some type depending on various factors.

The public can expect the cruise the day before the show events along with the car show, burnout and other attractions. or Williams, it’s hard not to notice the numbers of people supporting and attending all the events.

Every year the numbers grow, and Williams encourages everyone that has the time to attend as the event is free.

Discover Levelland | 75

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76 | Discover Levelland

On a Levelland Country Club provides nine-hole golf course, restaurant and pool amenities for community The Levelland Country Club has served the community and its residents for decades and the services for the public continue to grow and evolve.

The Country Club continues to offer members quality services through things such as the golf course, pro shop, restaurant, bar, pool and event spaces. However, club members don’t have to be the only people to enjoy some of these perks.

Handling the golf course and pro shop for the club is Superintendent Chad Davis.

Davis has been managing and caring for the nine-hole course that spans 6,250 yards for 35 years.

“We try to keep this course as beautiful as we possibly can for our guests that enjoy this course as much as we do,” explained Davis. “I truly believe that this course is one of the most quality courses in the area and in west Texas.”

With the lush green fairways and wellkept putting greens in the warmer months, Davis and his crew work from sunrise to sunset in the spring and summer to keep appearance up to standards.

Updates and renovations to the course for this year are not extensive but are more geared to the smaller details of the course.

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Davis plans to redo the ladies and senior tee areas later in the year and will continue the tree program that is in place for the foreseeable future. Davis and his crew have planted 20 new trees every year in the past and plan to continue doing so.

For Davis, seeing the individuals that use the course and seeing how happy and relaxed the environment is makes him the most happy.

“For me, this place is relaxing and a great way to spend time outside or anywhere on the grounds such as the bar or restaurant,” explained Davis.

“Seeing these folks happy as can be without a worry on the course is amazing to see.”

For the golf shop, golfers will be able to discuss memberships, buy golfing necessities, set tee-

times and get more information for tournaments held throughout the spring and summer months.

Currently, people wanting to become members will pay a $500 initiation fee and a $159 monthly payment.

Only members have access to the course, but Davis wants the public to know that nonmembers can take part in some tournaments held on the course and the driving range is open to the public for $5 dollars a bucket.

For people interested in other events or attractions at the club, there is the pool that is available in the summer months along with a restaurant and bar that is open throughout the year.

Since October, Jim Mara has overseen the restaurant and bar in a full-time management position. Mara’s job involves

taking care of all scheduling for his team, merchandise ordering and payroll.

Mara is continuously working to bring in more traffic and offer more services for the Levelland community. Different specials for the restaurant and golf tournaments coming in the spring and summer are some of the events that Mara believes will increase traffic and bring more business and fun to the community.

Additionally, the pool will be opening toward the end of May and the traffic from the golf course, driving range and tournaments are predicted to bring a lot of buzz.

“We are willing to accommodate the public with business lunches, business meetings, reunions, reveal

parties, wedding receptions and essentially any other gatherings or functions that could be held in our available spaces,” said Mara. “My goal is to try and capture opportunities for our community.”

With the additions of various theme nights at the restaurant such as steak night or holiday focused dinners such as Valentines, Mara has seen more people attend each event and with more enthusiasm.

“The community reception has been great for everyone involved with the country club,” explained Mara. “We have new folks that are wanting to become members or want to try out the various amenities that we have to offer and that couldn’t make me more happier to see that.”

Discover Levelland | 79

80 | Discover Levelland

Play Ball!

The Levelland Youth Baseball League is seeing continuous growth throughout the entire league and the future seems bright with a good amount of community support.

“The confidence of the league looks great moving forward as the numbers of kids participating continues to expand,” explained League President,” Michael Wiiest.

“Adapting and changing with the times is important for small town leagues to thrive and this year’s numbers look strong, but coexisting with other towns, leagues will allow Levelland to grow.”

Wiiest was chosen to become the new president in the fall of 2019 and was tasked with handling the 2020 season that was affected

by CO ID-19. oing into his third season as president, Wiiest predicts a stable return of kids and community support as things have smoothed out considerably.

“With everything calming down, the positions and overseers above us in the main o ces have a better idea of how things will work and can better predict situations if the need to arises for any changes,” explained Wiiest. “It makes everyone’s lives easier knowing what is going on in positions above us. We can offer a better product or

league to the community and make parents and kids happy.”

Along with Wiiest, Mary Engledon, eorge Ray, Lance Edwards as treasurer, Emily ohnson and Corina Tomasini make up the entirety of the board.

“We really worked hard to get this board together and they have been tremendous help getting us above water and excelling,” said Weiist.

The younger leagues kick off first, at the start of pril. The league was able to field eight T-ball teams, five area teams, three minor league teams and three major league teams. The Babe Ruth league is always slated to start in May. The league was able to put together two teams. With the increase of kids signing up to play, every league has seen a team or two being added. “ inancially, the league is sitting in a healthy spot,” explained Wiiest. The past board that put together the World Series tournament in years past ensured there is enough revenue to always cover two seasons and that is the goal, no more or less moving forward.”

Discover Levelland | 81

Youth Baseball Starting this year, the league has put together a cooperative agreement with hallowater to have teams play against each other and create great opportunities for kids. undown is another town that is working with Levelland, but the struggle is getting timetables to match with smaller towns.

“Right now we do not want any parent to travel more than necessary,” said Wiiest. “ uel prices being high as they are and the price of equipment, being an economic burden is the last thing the league should be.”

Wiiest recalled the late nights with his children when they were younger and trying to get them ready for school the next day.

“Another thing that can become an issue is the late nights and kids having school in the mornings,” explained Wiiest. “ aking parents

82 | Discover Levelland

happy and having kids closer to home is great and keeping everyone involved with keeping games and the league running smoothly should not be dealing with overly long nights.”

With many recreational sports playing multiple seasons, the baseball league will continue to stay in the beginning of the summer due to being dependent Cal Ripken and Babe Ruth associations.

“Staying with those two associations allows for the leagues to continue into postseason tournaments and room for an eventual end goal in the world series in their respective leagues,” explained Wiiest. “ dding more leagues into different seasons can cause stress on kids with a greater variety of the sports they choose.”

Levelland will be hosting two district tournaments this year after putting a bid for the major league tournament.

The community that put the bid in for the minor league tournament decided they did not want it and offered it to the Levelland league.

The later part of June is the predicted timetable for the tournaments to be held at the Oxy ports Complex. Both tournaments will run at the same time and the plan is to play baseball over the course of four days. “ etting tra c for Levelland businesses and making Levelland a serious stop over for the baseball league is the goal,” said Wiiest. “It will be a memorable experience for travelers and everyone involved and we want that to continue for Levelland and its baseball leagues.”

Batter Up! The Levelland Youth Softball League has adjusted and formed a quality product that families, children and the community of Levelland can get behind.

League president acob Tucker and the board are focused on giving children the experience of playing softball and creating fun memories with friends while teaching kids the game. quality league will allow long term success and overall support.

With Tucker at the head of the board, he has been a part of the league since 2017. He has worked up the ladder throughout the years to become president. ormer league president Paula Brown handed the reigns to Tucker last year as he was serving as vice president under Brown.

This board has been together since 2017 and has developed a strong relationship with one another after building the league the best way they see fit. The board strives to help cater to the children

in the area. Danny illarreal serves as the vice president and Megan Villarreal serves as the treasurer while Tucker’s wife, essica, is the secretary.

“It’s been a learning curve for this group because we are not related to Babe Ruth this year,” explained Tucker. “We are grass roots as can be. rom vendors, sponsors, getting our insurance locally is as home grown as can be.”

With the league making the transition out of Babe Ruth and Cal Ripken, Tucker wants to be accessible to all kids and giving them the opportunity to learn, love and be a part of the game is essential.

“Travel teams are great for kids, and it allows for children to seriously develop their skills, but some kids can’t afford it or do not have the opportunity to be a part of those types of leagues,” explained Tucker.

Discover Levelland | 83

aking the transition was based upon getting the league and business as local as possible.

Looking toward the small neighboring towns, Sundown has formed a team and seeing more towns participate is a longterm goal for the league and sustainability.

“The reception from the local businesses and community have been great and I think the initial hook for keeping parents and kids together through a full season, is getting all the kids playing time and showing development as the season goes on,” said Tucker. “ s a parent, when I see someone taking the time out of their day to teach and create a great environment for my child, it is amazing.”

This year, the league consists of four Bity Ball teams that range from three to four-year-olds. There are three girls tee ball teams, two eight and under teams, three 10 year-old and under teams and two teams in the oldest divisions.

84 | Discover Levelland

There has been a lack of interest in the older divisions in the softball league, but that has changed with the numbers increasing this year.

There is a possibility for the league to expand into 14 and 13 year-olds, but Tucker and the board will stop at that age group.

“Our 10 -league is one of the bigger groups we had and I think it is awesome,” explained Tucker.

“Our goal is to get bigger and better every year and the focus will always be the kids and getting them in a fun and safe environment to have fun.” rowing up in a small Texas town, recreational leagues hold a special spot in Tucker’s heart.

“The beautiful thing is that some of these kids could be playing together until they are finished with school,” said Tucker. “The friendships and memories that can be made in the recreational league is something I cherish because that was what I grew up doing in the summer months.”

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rian S. Walsh - ttorney

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