2020 Year in Review – OCTOBER

Municipal Offices in Lamar

City of Lamar Enacting Safety Measures to Deal with Recent COVID Surge

The Prowers County Public Health and Environment department issued a press release on Thursday, October 22nd, stating a death occurred 10/21/2020 associated with COVID-19. The person was a resident of the nursing facility experiencing the outbreak in Lamar. The process of death investigation to determine whether this person died of COVID-19 or with COVID-19 is multi-tiered and goes through local, state and federal agencies.

Lamar Mayor, Kirk Crespin, announced on Tuesday, the 20th via facebook that the county is now at risk of going to Stage 3 restrictions unless the outbreak of the pandemic can be brought under control over the next two weeks. Although Crespin said he does not like the idea of mandated mask wearing measures, “We aren’t doing enough on our own,” he stated in light of the recent outbreak of 35 new cases and the death of a resident of Lamar Estates. As such, the City of Lamar is taking steps to protect the community and comply with all orders of State of Colorado.

Asbestos Clean Up Underway at Troy Motel

Council Approves Infrastructure Funding, Mayor Urges COVID Precautions

The Lamar City Council had only a few items on its brief agenda this past Monday evening, October 26th. Before business began, Mayor Kirk Crespin noted the recent, dramatic climb in pandemic cases in Prowers County, urging residents to take the necessary steps to maintain covid-related safety measures.

The council approved an application to be sent to the Environmental Protection Association for a $300,000 Brownsfield Assessment grant. The grant does not require a match, according to City Treasurer, Kristin McCrea. The funding will be used to further the city’s efforts to clean environmental contamination through what is called the “Prairie Crossroads Project” which began in 2018. To date, the city has conducted ten phase one ESAs, Environmental Site Assessments and three phase two ESAs. These are surface and subsurface investigations to determine the type and level of chemical contamination that may be found in the study areas. Phase Two of the study is defined as the northern portion of Lamar, bounded by Parmenter Street to the south, North 13th Street to the west, the Arkansas River to the north and extends past the Riverside Cemetery to the west. This area covers the core downtown area of the City of Lamar. Administrator Kil will be the Prairie Crossroads Project manager with technical, environmental and administrative support supplied by Chief Building Inspector, Craig Brooks.

Prowers County to Launch COVID-19 Business Relief Grant Program

Beginning October 20, 2020, Prowers County is offering grants to assist small businesses in Prowers County that have been adversely affected by COVID-19. The grants will be paid from the County’s available allocation of federal relief funds under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Grants are available to assist with payroll, capital, equipment, and operating costs incurred due to the COVID-19 economic disruption. Grant funds under this program do not need to be repaid.

The grant program will provide a maximum of $5,000 per business. Applications may be accessed by visiting www.prowerscounty.net or by contacting Lisa Farmer at 719-688-3696 or by emailing lmccullough@prowerscounty.net. Follow the directions contained on the application to submit before November 15, 2020; this deadline may be extended depending upon availability of funding.

Prowers Medical Center Board Meeting Details Covid Preparations

A good portion of the PMC October board of directors meeting dealt with the hospital’s current and future response to COVID-19 outbreaks in light of the number of residents who were recently diagnosed with the virus, especially those residents of the Lamar Estates nursing home.

The board discussed how well prepared the hospital is regarding the number of beds allocated for pandemic patients. CEO Karen Bryant explained there are two beds for isolation, four swing beds and six acute care beds. She said if there is a Covid patient admitted, they are placed in a negative air pressure room in isolation to keep the virus from spreading throughout the hospital. Plans were made this spring to convert one side of the med-surge wing into negative air pressure rooms. The hospital improved on this practice using Covid Relief Funding to equip the operating room and the emergency department into permanent negative air areas. She said the hospital can handle four covid patients.

Dr. Ray added that there are now two covid patients at Prowers Medical Center, and staffing plays a role in how many patients can be admitted. He explained that after two, the hospital would look at transferring those patients into another facility. Dr. Ray also explained that the CDC provides guidelines on how many days a covid patient would have to remain in isolation and later be transferred to acute care, freeing beds for future covid patients.

By Russ Baldwin