<body><div>(Posted Sept. 24, 2024)On Sept. 9, a power outage at Madison-Plains Local Schools required district leaders to make quick decisions and major changes to the schedule, resulting in dismissal of students in the middle of the school day. The biggest impacts were felt in transportation and food service.At the Sept. 17 school board meeting, Superintendent Chad Eisler praised the district’s bus drivers and kitchen staff for adapting to the situation.He explained that most of the bus drivers had left campus after their morning routes, as they typically do before returning for their afternoon routes. After being alerted to the power outage, they hustled back to campus and got students home in a timely fashion for the situation, Eisler said.With the lights out and no power to run their equipment, the kitchen staff rallied to get as many students fed as possible before they were dismissed.“We’re grateful to everybody on the staff for pulling together and helping us to negotiate that challenge,” Eisler said. “It certainly was not fun, but we got through it and got our students home safely and had food in the bellies of most of them.”Also at the board meeting, Eisler shined the light on several Madison-Plains students who performed well at this year’s Madison County Fair, including seniors Addison Reeves and Maverick Webb who were named fair queen and king, respectively. Six other Madison-Plains students also held fair royalty titles. Four students were named premier exhibitors, and Madison-Plains students made up more than half of the Junior Fair Board.Eisler also congratulated the four district students who earned spots in the fair’s grand showman of showmen contest: junior Kali Kimbler (swine), graduate Anna LeGault (equine), senior Abigail Damron (poultry), and freshman Harper Shook (rabbits).The school board approved a number of donations, including several made by organizations, businesses, and families to the Golden Threads and Food Fund. The donations totaled $6,550. Contributions were made by Agriline Supply LLC, the Bullock family, the Cordell family, Davis Hay and Straw, First Church of the Nazarene, Grace Community Church, Kiwanis Club of London, Madison County Vineyard, Madison-Plains Athletic Boosters, and Mount Sterling Post 417 American Legion.The Golden Threads and Food Fund helps with the needs of students who are clothing and food insecure. Anyone interested in making a donation can contact Elisa Gambill, Madison-Plains case manager and school navigator, at (740) 852-0290 or egambill@mplsd.org.“People trying to help our students is always appreciated, and those are students who are in the most need,” said Mark Mason, school board president.The board also approved the donation of an American flag for the high school gym from the Madison-Plains Athletic Boosters and a $2,000 donation to the Madison-Plains Athletic Department from the Ohio High School Athletic Association.</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

School leaders praise staff for work during power outage

On Sept. 9, a power outage at Madison-Plains Local Schools required district leaders to make quick decisions and major changes to the schedule, resulting in dismissal of students in the middle of the school day. The biggest impacts were felt in transportation and food service. At the Sept. 17 school...