Jasper will continue its water conservation efforts and burn ban until further notice.

WITZ Radio reports that Fire Captain Phil Schmitt told the Common Council that despite rain in the area recently, the ground and foliage is still very dry.

Water and Gas Manager Mike Oeding also addressed the council and mayor in regards to the continued water restrictions. The city requested the Army Corps of Engineers at Patoka Reservoir to slow their release of water from 30 to 25 cubic feet per second; that request has been implemented. Oeding stated with the lower release rate the water is once again backing off of the Dubois Dam.

A ceremony is being conducted Thursday afternoon by the National Weather Service and the Indiana Department of Homeland Security to recognize and officially accredit Pike county Indiana as StormReady.

StormReady is a national program unveiled by the National Weather Service in April 2000. A community must achieve a specific level of hazardous weather operations readiness in order to be accredited as StormReady. The Pike county accreditation is the 26th in the 58 county, four state area served by the Paducah Weather Forecast Office.

Both Dubois and Pike Counties are encouraging residents to attend public displays of fireworks rather than set off your own during the extremely dry conditions.  If you do light your own, officials say you must limit their use to ground fireworks.  No aerial fireworks are permitted this year.