Belmont County Sheriff’s Department personnel on Friday and Saturday said attendees had been generally well-behaved throughout the concert. As deputies patrolled the grounds on foot and on horseback Saturday afternoon, they said they had not encountered any problems to that point and would just “go with the flow” as the venue filled up with guests eager to see the evening’s show.

At the medical tent, doctors, nurses and local volunteer paramedics and emergency medical technicians were not very busy, as they had not been called upon to tend to many injuries or illnesses. In fact, they said weather conditions that were cooler and wetter than usual had greatly reduced the need for guests to seek medical attention.

“It’s been the slowest year I can remember in a while,” Bernie Albertini, vice president and chief administrative officer at East Ohio Regional Hospital, said.

EORH operates the on-site medical tent at Jamboree In The Hills, with assistance from local volunteer fire departments. Albertini said the hospital had two attending physicians at the event, along with four nurses.

In addition, the Belmont, Neffs and Martins Ferry volunteer fire departments are providing additional staff throughout the festival and did so during the days leading up to it as early campers arrived. EMT ambulance service also had squads and staff on site.

Belmont VFD Lt. Kaye Hall said she had worked at the venue Wednesday through Friday, while Albertini expected Belmont and four other squads to be present with 15-20 medics on hand to attend to the largest crowd on Saturday night. The medical staff were dealing with a few cases of sunburn and dehydration, and Albertini said rain throughout the day Thursday led to a few slips and falls.

As a result, the medical staff treated some scrapes and twisted, or possibly broken, ankles. Overall, though, Albertini said it had been a “great year,” medically speaking.

EORH is under new ownership but continued the tradition of providing medical care for the event. Alecto Healthcare Services completed its purchase of EORH and its sister facility, Ohio Valley Medical Center in Wheeling.

“Our new owner, Alecto, has been very supportive of us continuing to do this,” Albertini said. “They are very focused on doing the right thing for the community.”

Concert-goers set up tents, tarps and chairs on the lawn in front of the main stage Saturday morning, claiming their spots for the show that began at 11 a.m. with the local 1170 band and continued throughout the afternoon and evening. Many said they were looking forward to performances by Mark Chesnutt and headliner Lady Antebellum.

Most of the fans at the site said they planned to stay to enjoy at least a portion of today’s show, which gets underway at 10 a.m. Opening ceremonies will precede appearances by some country music favorites, including Lee Greenwood, Aaron Tippin, Tanya Tucker, Sammy Kershaw and Sawyer Brown.

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