MEDORA — The Medora Community School Corporation’s board of trustees and town council both met Monday for regularly scheduled monthly meetings.

During the school board meeting, Principal Kara Hunt shared who the R.E.D. Hornets of the Month were for January and February. R.E.D. stands for responsible, empathetic and determined. Each month, teachers at Medora Junior-Senior High School select three students who exemplify these qualities and treat them to a lunch at a restaurant of their choosing.

The R.E.D. Hornets of the Month for January and February were as follows: eighth-grader Lillian Cockerham, eighth-grader Faxon Phillips and sophomore Gracie Moore (January) and sixth-grader Trey Gross, freshman Noah Christopher and seventh-grader Audi Starr (February).

Special education teacher Bobbi Derheimer wrote, “Lillie (Cockerham) is kind and has a big heart. She demonstrates determination in her academics and in all areas of her life.”

Science teacher Leah Young wrote, “Faxon’s (Phillips) wittiness keeps everyone smiling throughout class each day. He is a pleasure to have in class.”

Math teacher Kyle Derheimer wrote, “Gracie (Moore) has a wonderful personality and is a pleasure to have in my classroom. She puts forth a lot of effort to learn geometry even though I know she hates math.”

English teacher Rebecca Lanier wrote, “Trey Gross is a sweet and kind student who is always concerned with doing a good job. He goes out of his way to obtain teacher feedback and guidance.”

English teacher Christopher Sinnett wrote, “Audi Starr has the most fitting name, because she’s a star. I love having her as a student, because she’s polite and hard-working while also being creative and challenging.”

Kyle Derheimer wrote, “Noah (Christopher) is a hard-working student who puts his best foot forward everyday in my classroom. I appreciate the effort that Noah continues to put into learning Algebra, even though it is probably his least favorite subject.”

Hunt also spoke about a proposal to start a Jobs for America’s Graduates aka JAG program for the 2024-2025 school year.

“I think one of the things that (JAG) will really help with is it has, not necessarily counseling, but mentoring for the kids,” Hunt said. “And I think that’s really important right now, especially with attendance.”

Brownstown Central High School has a 98% graduation rate for kids who are in the JAG program, Hunt said.

The JAG program was unanimously approved by the school board. A telehealth service by Nurses Direct Connect LLC was also approved by the board, in which — at no cost to the school —perscriptions can be called in for students following an online evaluation.

“The goal of the program is to help with attendance, so kids don’t have to go somewhere for a doctor’s appointment,” Hunt said.

At the town council meeting, two representatives from Commonwealth Engineering spoke about the town’s sanitary sewer system. Client manager Matt Wirth said a lot of pipes for the system were put in the ground many years ago and have started to fail, allowing groundwater in.

“The more groundwater that goes into these pipes, that’s more cost to treat that water,” Wirth said.

Wirth proposed taking a comprehensive look at the sanitary sewer system to identify what is causing groundwater infiltration. Commonwealth will then put together an organized plan document to be presented for public input. Wirth said they usually recommend three solutions. The council plans further discussions on the matter.

Pastor Tim Gill from the Medora Pentecostal Church spoke before the council on preparations for the fourth annual Freedom Festival for the Fourth of July. First Street will be closed for the festival, as it was last year. The council unanimously approved preparations for the festival.

The council also approved the repainting of dugouts and the use of a 100 by 100 foot section of land for a helipad at the former site of the plastic factory.

Next, Melissa Robbins spoke before the council on unkept properties in town.

“I don’t care how people live inside their homes, that’s their business,” Robbins said. “But on the outside, it affects everyone’s homes. I don’t want to say any negativity about the way people live, but trash is trash.”

It was explained to Robbins that the town issues tickets to individuals with trash in their yards, and they are fined after seven days if their property is not cleaned up.

The Medora School Board meets on the second Monday of each month at Medora Junior-Senior High School, 82 S George, Medora.

The council meets at 6 p.m. also on the second Monday of each month at Medora Town Hall, 27 N. Perry St., Medora.

Meetings are open to the public and press.