MEDORA
It soon will be time for Medora residents to get rid of unwanted items on their property.
During a recent town council meeting, it was announced Rumpke will have dumpsters set up near the water tower on Oct. 17 for town residents to drop off those items.
Anything but appliances and electronics will be accepted.
Residents and the council discussed several problem areas in town, noting the large trash drop-off day will be a great opportunity to make improvements.
“I don’t know what’s going on with any of the property cleanup, if any letters have been sent out, but this town is getting to be totally disgusting,” resident Sharon Bowers told the council.
She said there’s a large pile of trash on property near her home that was started by a previous occupant, and residents since then have added to it.
“I’m frankly tired of seeing the mess over there, and it’s hard telling about the rats and the roaches and everything else,” Bowers aid.
Council President Jerry Ault asked town attorney Matt Lorenzo if letters had been sent out to property owners about cleaning up their properties. Lorenzo said he remembered the council talking about that at previous meetings, but he was never given a list of addresses. Ault provided that to him so letters could be sent.
Bowers also asked about an alley near a bridge that is grown up with weeds and wanted to see if the town could mow it.
Town employee Steve Ingle said they have mowed almost every day during this year’s mowing season. Ault asked Ingle if he could take care of the alley when he gets time, and Ingle said he would put it on his list.
Bowers said some creekbanks in town need mowed, too, and there’s one with trash in it.
“They are not the town’s responsibility to keep cleaned up. It’s the property owner’s responsibility to take care of the creekbanks, not ours,” Ingle said.
There also are branches growing over an alley that need trimmed, Bowers said. Town officials said community corrections doesn’t bring crews to the town anymore, and Ault said it would be nice to have jail inmates assist with cleanup around the town.
Town Marshal Mark Stargell said he recently saw a resident with a good-sized fire going in town, but he wasn’t sure what they were burning.
Ault and Ingle both said Indiana Code only allows people to burn clean wood and paper.
“A lot of people burn their paper trash because they don’t want to throw it in the regular trash because of identity theft, which I get that,” Ault said. “The Indiana Code says you can burn clean wood and paper, but anything else other than that, not unless it’s like tree branches and stuff like that. Then it has to be attended at all times.”