The newest addition to the Jackson County Public Library board of trustees recently took her oath of office.
Jaime McRoy was appointed to the board by the Jackson County Commissioners earlier this year.
The oath was administered during the board’s monthly meeting conducted Feb. 16 via Zoom.
McRoy was asked by a family friend to consider serving on the board. After she prayed about it, she felt it would be a way to help our youth and future.
“I am a teacher’s assistant at Medora STEM Academy. I have worked in education for about seven years,” she said. “Helping children is my passion. They are our future. I want the best for them.”
McRoy and her husband, Miko, live in Medora and own Hague Funeral Home in Medora and Zabel Funeral Home in Brownstown.
“My beloved husband, Miko, and I moved to Medora in the summer of 2018,” she said. “We lived outside of Seymour for several years before starting this journey of funeral home owners.”
She said Miko has been a funeral director for more than 20 years. They are both from the same small town of Dexter in the boot heel of Missouri, and she is a St. Louis Cardinals fan.
McRoy said she is blessed with two bonus teens — Alex, 17 and Mikalyn, 14. She and her husband are active members of Medora Christian Church and the Medora Community Lions Club.
McRoy’s term on the library board began in January and will continue through Dec. 31, 2024.
“I enjoy reading several topics, from self-betterment to thriller fiction,” she said. “Slipping away for a few chapters is a quiet blessing.”
Other board business
In preparation for the library’s summer reading program, board treasurer Mary Reed said the library has received quite a few donations.
They include $500 from State Bank of Medora, $100 from Bob Poynter, $150 from Beatty Insurance, $150 from Skaggs Builders and $350 from Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie 655 in Seymour.
Reed also said the library has renewed its summer reading program app, READsquared, from Systems Technology Group for one more year at $1,395.
As far as fully opening the library next month, Library Director Julia Aker said they want to make sure the county is in the yellow category based on the COVID-19 positivity rate for at least a couple of weeks first.
“When we do fully open, it will be limited as to the number of patrons that will be let in, and seating will still be limited and masks will be required,” Aker said.
The board also approved a list of surplus furniture and equipment, which can be given to another government agency, including schools.
“We had talked about possibly using the surplus tables upstairs, but they’re not in the best of shape, but someone else might be able to use them,” Aker said.
She also was going to check to see if anyone who uses BiblioTech used the self-checks and might have a need for those.
Reed said they have made their own self-checks now that Ben Boyer has made them, which is cheaper than buying brand-new self-checks from BiblioTech.
Most of the self-check function is provided through the integrated library system Evergreen, Boyer said.
“The machines themselves are standard off-the-shelf equipment — a computer, scanner and receipt printer,” Boyer said. “We connect to Evergreen and configure to scan and print in a way Evergreen can recognize.”
He said there are three scanners at the Seymour library and one each at the Crothersville and Medora libraries.
The board also agreed to close the Seymour library at noon instead of 3 p.m. Aug. 20 for the Pre-Scoop Cruise-In and Car Show, conducted by the Seymour Area Cruisers and Fraternal Order of Police Donald M. Winn Lodge 108.
“The library parking lot is used for extra staging and usually ends up being full of cars, but it’s here if they need it,” Aker said.
The next regular board meeting is at 4:30 p.m. March 15, either via Zoom or at the Medora Library, dependent upon the pandemic.