Winners of the Rotary Ice Melt Contest announced

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By JoAnn Laird | Pagosa Springs Rotary Club

The Pagosa Springs Rotary Club and the Pagosa Lakes Property Owners Association (PLPOA) know how to usher in spring. These two organizations recently teamed up to chase the winter blues away by conjuring up a witty little guessing game that awarded three clairvoyant people cash for their spring wardrobe.

In early February, with the assistance of the Pagosa Fire Protection District, a 55-gallon barrel containing a clock was maneuvered out to the middle of Lake Hatcher — dangerous work, but nothing scares our fearless firefighters. The challenging work is guessing when the lake will thaw enough for the barrel to drop into the water, thus stopping the clock. The exact date, hour, minute and second when that clock stops determine the three lucky cash-prize winners. Talk about springtime fun. 

According to the clock reading, this happened on April 3 at 10:43 a.m. and seven seconds. Winning $1,000 for the closest guess was Kathy Coohan, missing the exact time by an astonishing two minutes and 52 seconds. Second place, winning $500, was Larry McClintock, and third place went to Pat Love, winning $250. 

All net proceeds from this contest will go toward the Rotary Scholarship Fund for Pagosa Springs High School graduates. 

The Pagosa Springs Rotary Club awarded its first academic/vocational scholarship to a Pagosa Springs High School graduate in June of 1982. When the scholarships are awarded this year, Rotary will have given out almost $500,000 to 186 graduates. Through Rotary’s continued effort to raise funds for these scholarships, the community can attend benefit concerts, dances and contests, while our graduating youth can benefit from a financial easing for higher education. It’s a win/win. 

When cabin fever sets in for 2023, as it surely will, this fun, profitable and rewarding contest will be back to once again to help chase those winter blues away.