Clark Confirmed as Director of County Health & Environment

Tammi Clark, with Commissioners During July 15 Hiring

Tammi Clark’s appointment as the Prowers County Public Health & Environment Director was made official by the county commissioners during their meeting on Thursday, November 21.  Clark, a Registered Nurse with 20 years medical experience in the community, was hired as deputy director on July 15.  She has lived in Lamar for almost 30 years, serving as head nurse for the Lamar RE-2 School District and Clark worked for the Lamar Area Hospice as well. 

Jay Brooke, Executive Director of High Plains Community Health Center, met with the commissioners on what he termed an auspicious occasion, as National Rural Health Care day was being observed.  Several health-oriented matters were discussed including the activities of the Wiley Clinic since it was reopened this past summer.  Brooke said the facility is open 25 hours a week, and has remained busy serving the clientele the Wiley and surrounding area.  He said as an economic force, the High Plains Clinic has also continued to grow, expanding from five employees in 1995 to just about 100 as of this year.  Brooke estimated the payroll is in excess of the $6 million generated in 2011, operating on a $7 million budget of which $1.5 million is grant funded.  Addressing future community health concerns, he recapped the Clinic’s involvement with other medical providers in a community health needs assessment that was conducted in early 2013.  He expected grants would be available for a strategic health plan report for the county, including the hiring of an individual to coordinate that plan among the local medical community, starting in 2014.

Not Here

Some vandals, or people who just can’t read, attempted to break through the barbed wire barrier at the rear of the pavilion parking area at the Prowers County Fairgrounds recently, according to Kirk Powers, Building Operations Supervisor.  “We could see where they had attempted to tear down the wire in order to get their four wheelers or bikes to the other side,” he explained to the commissioners.  Powers said it’s frustrating as ‘no trespassing’ signs are posted right on the fence in back of the pavilion and about 200 yards to the north, signs are posted for public entry to the dunes for atv’s and bikes.  “We laid down roto-mill and cleared the area where a pick-up has room to off load a vehicle, and they’d rather break through barbed wire in another location,” he said.  He said his staff has seen some indications of where donuts or 360 spinouts have been done in the parking lot, but trying to catch the bikers in the act is not that easy.

Go Over Here!

“The old, former Senior Center on East Elm Street may be costly to open up,” Powers informed the commissioners.  He was referring to a request made earlier this month by Professor Howard Hobbs, about seeing if the vacant building could be used as a science-oriented library.  Prior to any scheduled tour of the facility, Powers said he checked out the facilities and discovered that electric metering had been pulled from the site.  “I’d estimate between $50,000 to $75,000 would be needed to rewire the building back to pass any electric code,” he explained.  The former Senior Center had been listed for sale for several years, several years ago.  The commissioners had also considered tearing down the building and using the land as an extra parking lot for county employees, but asbestos concerns curtailed any action.  The operations supervisor said that new handicapped accessible parking spaces would become available in 2014 on the east side of the courthouse, with at least two new ones positioned on each side of the street.  In other action, the commissioners approved a proclamation for the remembrance of former President John F. Kennedy on the 50^th year observance of his assassination.

By Russ Baldwin