All Entries in the "The Journal Alert" Category
Drought Expanding Across Southeast Colorado
La Nina conditions are expected to weaken into June, which is expected to bring dry conditions for the eastern plains and southern Colorado. The National Weather Service out of Pueblo reports the current U.S. Drought Monitor now indicates extreme drought conditions across Baca County as well as extreme eastern Las Animas County, extreme southeastern Bent […]
Tinnes Appointed to Lamar School Board
Danny Tinnes was approved on a split vote to serve as the District F school board director until the November elections. He is replacing Constance Brase who recently moved from the District. The action was included on the agenda for a special board of education meeting for Wednesday, April 27. Tony Peck also interviewed for […]
PCDI Puts Big R Warehouse on Local Market
The Big R warehouse, donated to Prowers County Development Incorporated by the company last year, will be offered first through local real estate listings. The 2.8 acre property on Washington Street in Lamar will be marketed as a business incentive, with hopes of selling it to a ‘jobs-attached’ business developer or corporation. Board member Gene […]
Lamar’s Friday Fire Wrap Up
One thousand acres of land in a two-mile stretch, running along highway 196 north of Lamar, burned this past Friday night and Saturday morning, caused by an out of control camp fire. The fire stretched between county roads 8.5 and 11 on land owned by Marvin Gruenloh, according to Prowers County Sheriff Jim Faull, […]
Friday Fire Jumps Arkansas River, Heads to Lamar
Firefighters in Lamar and Prowers county were called out in force late Friday afternoon and into the evening on April 22, to combat a wind-driven blaze north and east of the city. Lamar Fire Chief Marshall Cook said the fire spread across the Arkansas River and was moving westward, blown by winds that fortunately, weren’t […]
Discussion for Four Day School Week Planned
The Lamar RE-2 Board of Education will hold a public forum to discuss the possibility of a four-day school week for Lamar Re-2 School District. The forum is set for Tuesday, May 3rd, at 6:00pm at the Lamar High School Auditorium. The Re-2 school board directors broached the idea during a board meeting on April […]
March Employment Figures for S.E. Colorado
Employers in Colorado added 500 non-farm payroll jobs from February to March for a total of 2,228,200 jobs, according to the survey of establishments. Government increased by 1,100 payroll jobs and the private sector declined by 600. The national unemployment rate dropped from 8.9 to 8.8 percent over the same period. The unemployment rate decreased one-tenth of a percentage […]
RE-2 School Board Closes Lincoln, Ponders 4 Day School Week
The Lamar RE-2 District school board, faced with an $860,000 budget shortfall for next year, took several steps during Monday night’s meeting to close the financial gap. One step was to close Lincoln school for next year. Director Elizabeth Whitham cast the lone no vote to close the school which was estimated to account […]
NWS Says Drought Conditions Continue in Colorado
The National Weather Service reports the current U.S. Drought Monitor continues to indicate severe drought conditions across all of Teller, El Paso, Pueblo, Crowley, Otero, Kiowa, Bent, Prowers and Baca counties. Fire Danger remains very high to extreme across most of southeast Colorado with area fire agencies having to extinguish multiple wildfires over the past […]
Lamar Social Security Visit Cancelled
There will be no Social Security representatives visiting the Senior Center in Lamar on Wednesday, April 20, 2011, due to budget cutbacks. The next scheduled visit from Social Security representatives will be Wednesday, May 18, 2011. All other business with Social Security must be taken to the La Junta office. Please call 1-888-221-0429 for […]
Tecklenburg Selected as Interim Superintendent
Lamar Middle School principal David Tecklenburg was chosen today, April 15, as the interim superintendent for the Lamar RE-2 school district. The announcement was made by Ron Peterson, president of the Lamar School board during a special session Friday afternoon. Tecklenburg replaces David Soper who resigned from the position Thursday afternoon, following an executive meeting […]
Soper Resigns as RE-2 Superintendent
An interim school superintendent is expected to be announced at a special school board meeting set for 3pm Friday, April 15, at the administration offices. Superintendent Charles Soper announced his resignation, effective immediately Thursday, April 14, following a meeting in executive session that had been called for the board’s evaluation of the superintendent. Soper has […]
Air Tankers Make Water Drops on Bent County Fire
13,500 acres of prairie have been burned in the Bent County fire since Saturday afternoon. According to Chris Sorensen, Public Information Officer for the Bent County Sheriff’s Office, heavy and light airplanes have been making water drops on the fire as of Wednesday morning. “A combination of large tankers and a single engine plane, […]
Weekend Altercations in Lamar
Lamar Police Make Arrests on Saturday Night Stabbing On April 9, 2011 at approximately 10:00 P.M. officers from the Lamar Police Department responded to the 100 block of West Hickory Street on report of an injured man in the street. The injured man was identified as Brian Hager, 34, of Lamar was transported to Prowers […]
Mop Up Operations Contain Bent County Fire
Highway 50 between Las Animas and Hasty opened to traffic around 7pm Saturday night, but firefighters from five counties are continuing their efforts to contain the last remnants of the fire that began just after 1pm Saturday afternoon. The fire, which consumed about 800 acres of grassland and several farm structures, was in the John […]
Highway 50 Closed Near Las Animas due to Rangeland Fire
A wind-driven, fast-moving prairie fire closed highway 50 to traffic at 1:10 pm Saturday afternoon. There is a multi-community response from area fire departments to contain the fire. Traffic was diverted just outside of Lamar at the Wiley Junction and another detour point at county road 20 near Hasty. The fire closed traffic on Highway […]
Lamar Not Expecting Summer Water Restrictions
Lamar’s water supply is in pretty good shape, considering the on-going dry spell in the region. Precipitation levels in southeast Colorado for this past March, measured against 2010, were averaging two inches less compared to last year at this time. Lamar’s main supply of water comes from 27 ground-water wells in the Clay Creek Alluvium. […]
Secretary of State Gessler Warns of Deceptive Mailings
On April 4, Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler alerted Colorado businesses and non-profits to deceptive mail solicitations. The solicitations ask for a $225 annual fee to file reports with the Secretary of State’s office. In most cases, the annual fee is just $10 if filed directly with the Secretary of State’s office. “We work […]
Lamar Hosts Downtown Institute this Week
The Lamar Main Street Steering Committee finalized their roster of members March 23, voting in at-large candidates, Denise Carder from Valley National Bank and Skip Gourley from the Main Street Shoppe. Main Street Director Shawna Hodge said the majority of the meeting helped outline a master Strategic Plan for the committee which will continue to […]
March Figures Indicate a Dry Spring
The National Weather Service in Pueblo has released precipitation figures for southeast Colorado for March, 2011. It was a very dry month compared to last year’s precipitation amounts, and in comparison to a thirty year average, from 1971 to 2000. The amounts shown are precipitation in inches.