2018 Year in Review AUGUST

Airborne!

Wheels Park Officially Opens

Few recent developments in the City of Lamar have been put to so much continued good use as the skateboard park in Willow Creek Park.   The park, in the northeast end of Willow Creek Park, has been in use for the past month since the basic construction was finalized.  And there were dozens of kids of all ages in the park this past Saturday, August 11th, hours before the noontime dedication was held.

Opening remarks were presented by Lamar Mayor Roger Stagner, Emma Westhoff and Chana Reed who is a southeast Colorado representative on the Board of Trustees for Great Outdoors Colorado, one of the main funders for the park’s construction. Reed told the gathering, “Since 1992, GOCO has made 26 grant awards to projects in Prowers County with funding here totaling $4.2 million to date.  GOCO funding has supported the Lamar Loop, Lamar’s Sports Complex and Alta Vista Charter School’s playground as well as Wiley’s Smith Park Playground and Granada’s City Park.”  She said Wheels Park has now been added to the list of close-to-home projects that allow outdoor activities for local residents, adding that State Lottery proceeds have been invested back in to every county throughout Colorado with an estimated 5,000 projects.
By Russ Baldwin

Roofing Materials for High School

Lamar District School Board Receives Best Grant, Needs Matching Funds

Lamar High School and Lincoln School are in dire need of infrastructure upgrades. The RE-2 District School Board approved a resolution during their August 13th meeting to place a question on the November 6th ballot to secure the balance of funds needed to complete a BEST Cash Grant Award to pay for the project.

The total project cost is $8,357,099 and $4,429,262 has been awarded to the district, contingent on being able to provide the balance of $3,927,837 in matching funds. That will be up to the voters in the district to decide on November 6th.

Lamar School Superintendent, David Tecklenburg told The Prowers Journal, the need for repairs and upgrades with both schools has been a growing concern. “Lincoln School was built in 1948 and the high school opened its doors in 1968.  The board decided it was better to address all the repairs at one time instead of separately, although not all of the construction will be done at the same time,” he explained.

Once the full grant has been secured the first approach will be boiler replacements, probably in April when they are no longer in use and by the time school is out for the summer, Tecklenburg said as much work as possible will be done May through August of next year.

By Russ Baldwin

Entrance to Emergency Room

Prowers Medical Center Earns “Best Overall” Award from Quorum

At Quorum Health Resources’ Annual Leadership Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, Prowers Medical Center was presented as the winner of “Best Overall Performance” among Critical Access Hospitals as part of Quorum’s National Excellence in Leadership awards for 2018. A public celebration is planned for August 30th at 6 pm at The Brew.

“We invite the community to celebrate with us. The community is the reason for our success; they have a choice of where to go for healthcare, and we are honored that they choose us. One of the reasons our hospital is the choice for healthcare is because of our outstanding staff. Their unending commitment to our patients and putting patients’ needs first shows in everything we do,” said Craig Loveless, Chief Executive Officer of Prowers Medical Center.

Quorum Health Resources has worked with more than 700 hospitals across the nation, providing consultation, management, education and training, and purchasing support. Many of these hospitals are in rural areas and are deemed critical access hospitals. It was among this group that Prowers Medical Center was selected for the “Best Overall Performance” Award.