MEDORA — The installation of the town of Medora’s first tornado siren arose during a town council meeting Monday at town hall.

It will likely be installed sometime in February before tornado season begins in late winter or early spring. Spring arrives March 20.

Town Marshal Jeff Walters told the council he is working to find the rest of the funding for the installation of the siren, which was recently given to the town by the city of Seymour.

“I almost have all of the funding taken care of, which is good,” he said.

With tornado season approaching, a small town like Medora often do not have a siren to warn residents of tornadoes. Council members were pleased with the process of installing the tornado siren and the gathering of funding was going well.

“I have been working on this for over a year, and it will be nice to see it installed,” Walters said.

He said he was able to gather funding and assistance from the Community Foundation of Jackson County, Owen-Carr Township Community Endowment and Mitchell & Stark Construction Co. Inc.

Mitchell & Stark will be donating a crane and other equipment when the time comes to install the siren installation while the Owen-Carr grant and the community foundation will provide some of the funding to cover the cost of the installation.

The siren needs to be on the newest structure in the center of town, and Walters said the red garage across the street from Medora Community Schools is the perfect place for it.

Jackson County REMC recently donated the manpower and a vehicle to install the pole needed for the siren. Once the siren is installed, it will be heard within a 1-mile radius.

The total cost to install the tornado siren is about $7,000, and with funding close to completion, Walters said he is working diligently to make sure Medora is a safe place for its residents during storm season.

“I know the need that we have for this siren,” he said. “It will definitely be good for our community and the people of Medora.”

In other business, a round of applause was given to Councilwoman Rhonda Freeman for reporting that seven of the streetlights in Medora were fixed in a timely manner. Freeman also reported four more streetlights to be fixed in Medora.

A proposal was approved for the installation of LED lighting inside the maintenance shop by the water tower on the east side of Medora. The LED lights will produce more light than fluorescent bulbs and use less energy.

The total cost to wire the maintenance shop with LED lights will be around $1,755. LED lights have a lifespan of five years or more.