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Yes, It is Hot Enough for Me, Thanks for Asking!!

According to the National Weather Service, Lamar made the record books for the hottest city in the United States on Wednesday, July 4, tying with McCook, Nebraska at 107.  The Pueblo Chieftain published a brief story on Lamar’s dubious distinction/achievement this morning.  For the most part, we’d rather skip the honor and give it to […]

Federal Government Approves Drought Disaster for Colorado

DENVER ­— Tuesday, July 3, 2012 — U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack notified Gov. John Hickenlooper today that 62 of the state’s 64 counties qualify for federal disaster relief because of drought conditions. “The Department of Agriculture has reviewed the Loss Assessment Reports and has determined that there were sufficient production losses in 62 […]

Zero Tolerance, Citations, Confiscation for Fireworks

Zero Tolerance, Citations, Confiscation– Those four words pretty well sum up the attitude of the Lamar Police Department and Prowers County Sheriff’s Department regarding private use of any kind of fireworks in the city for the approaching holiday. As of last Thursday, June 28,  Wal-Mart, the only retail store in the area that usually carried […]

HOPE Helping Hospice

Twelve willing students from the Lamar Teen Center, Project HOPE, braved the heat to help transfer stored equipment and boxes of miscellaneous items to the Lamar Area Hospice headquarters. Although they were going from West Elm Street to West Olive, the distance was minor in light of the continued heat wave. A vacant business on […]

June Precipitation Levels for S.E. Colorado

Despite the summer heat, some areas of southeast Colorado continued to receive precipitation in amounts comparable to last year. The overall drought status of southeast Colorado is slightly improved over last year, which is why some counties have not been red-flagged for burn bans from the National Weather Service. Prowers and Baca Counties are two […]

State Drought Assessment

June 2012 Drought Update for Colorado from Colorado Water Conservation Board— The persistence of above temperatures throughout the state continues to exacerbate persistently dry conditions on the west slope and parts of the eastern plains. Some areas of the state have received good June precipitation. However, high temperatures and winds have decreased the beneficial moisture. […]

Municipal Holiday Fireworks Displays Cancelled

Prowers County Sheriff’s Office June 27, 2012 Fire Works Ban Due to the high fire danger Prowers County has been added to the “Red Flag” counties. I have consulted with Fire Chiefs Warn, Cook and Duffy on the fire dangers posed by public fireworks display. I have come to the conclusion that the fire danger […]

Lamar Administrator Search Down to Final Five

Interim Lamar City Administrator Steven Rabe told the council that five finalists for the permanent city administrator position have been made aware of their status. Seven persons were given phone interviews on June 18 and 19 by Rabe, and based on those interviews, plus additional information on the candidates, five are being forwarded to the […]

Week Long Heat Wave for S.E. Colorado

An oppressive and persistent heat wave is hitting southeast Colorado and other parts of the nation.  The National Weather Service in Pueblo is predicting triple digit temperatures from Burlington, CO, to Amarillo, TX and from Pueblo to Garden City through this week. Residents are urged to take caution and find ways to keep as cool […]

Local Law Agency’s Joint Message Re: Fireworks/Fire Ban

June 22, 2012 The Law Enforcement agencies in Prowers County want to remind everyone that Governor Hickenlooper’s Executive Order “Ban on Open Burning in the State of Colorado” issued on June 14, 2012 bans the use of personal fireworks anywhere in Colorado including Prowers County and the City and Towns of Lamar, Granada, Holly, Wiley, […]

A Demolished Derby? Commissioners Receive Suggestions for Improvements

“We can do better and we’d like to try.” That was the general discussion from Cliff Warren and Larry Coberly as they addressed the recent Sand & Sage Demolition Derby with the Prowers County Commissioners, Thursday, June 21. The annual derby was held last Saturday, June 16 at the Prowers County Fairgrounds. Coberly said he […]

Prowers County Drafting Fireworks/Fire Ban Ordinance

Governor Hickenlooper’s executive order from June 14, prohibiting open burning and private use of fireworks throughout Colorado, will not impact the municipal fireworks displays for Lamar Holly and Granada, according to Prowers County Sheriff, Jim Faull.  The sheriff and Staffon Warn, Prowers County Rural Fire Chief, discussed the order regarding the approaching holiday with the commissioners […]

NWS-Pueblo Reports Drought on Increase in S.E. Colorado

National Weather Service Drought/Climate Summary as of June 1, 2012 A very warm and unusually dry spring has allowed for drought conditions to persist and advance across south central and southeast Colorado. This past dry spring, coupled with a dry winter has allowed for drought conditions to persist.  The current U.S. Drought Monitor has reintroduced […]

Lightning Strike Blasts Pile of Tires South of Lamar

Zeus used to smite his enemies with a well-thrown lightning bolt. What are the odds that a lightning strike from a storm passing over miles of open plains in southeast Colorado would hit a pile of used tires in the middle of the prairie? Pretty good, actually! Staffon Warn, Prowers County Rural Fire Chief reported […]

Hickenlooper Bans Open Burning, Fireworks in Colorado

Open burning, private use of fireworks banned in Colorado DENVER ­— Thursday, June 14, 2012 — Gov. John Hickenlooper today signed an Executive Order that bans open burning and private use of fireworks throughout Colorado because of very dry conditions and high fire danger. The ban does not apply to campfires in constructed, permanent fire pits […]

Tornado Spotted Southwest of Holly at 4:30pm

A Code Red Alert was issued at approximately 4:35pm indicating a small tornado has been spotted southwest of Holly. A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR SOUTHEASTERN PROWERS COUNTY UNTIL 445 PM MDT… AT 429 PM MDT…NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO.  THIS DANGEROUS STORM WAS LOCATED […]

Weekend Storm Clean Up Continues in Lamar ( additional pix)

Clean up efforts got underway in earnest on Sunday, June 3, following the damage from Saturday’s severe thunderstorm which produced winds in town and at the Lamar Airport at 66mph. Power was knocked out to a portion of south Lamar, mostly between Savage Avenue and West Cedar Street. Electricity was restored by emergency crews from […]

Severe Winds Damage Parts of Prowers County, Power Outages

Winds in excess of 65mph swept through the middle of Lamar Saturday afternoon, April 2.  The awning atop the fuel pumps at Tank and Tummy at South Main and Lee Street was topped, crushing one set of pumps and sending a spray of glass across the parking lot.  There were no injuries.  The winds kept […]

May 2012 Hydrology Report from NWS-Pueblo

The snowpack readings almost melted out completely in May.  Near the end of the month, automated sensors indicated that snowpack levels were running just 12% of average in the Arkansas Basin and just 3% of average in the upper Rio Grande Basin. Streamflow was generally below average across the Arkansas and upper Rio Grande Basins […]

Partial Solar Eclipse this Sunday

Prowers County residents should be able to view a partial eclipse of the sun this Sunday, beginning around 7:30pm.  The National Weather Service from Pueblo is forecasting clear skies that day and into the evening hours. This type of eclipse has been described as having a ring of fire around the sun, as the moon […]